Has anyone used Drone Base?

They just announced that they are giving a P4P to the pilot that submits the 10,000th pano mission.
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Hey guys, after reading all you've posted here I decided it was worth a shot. I did 5 panos, 3 res 2 com. Got paid for the 3 res, nothing so far on the coms. The nice thing is 2 of the res were next door to each other so I did one pano for both. I'm digging it. It's a good excuse to get out and put the bird up and get a few bucks for it. I think I'll be doing more when the weather is better and my schedule allows.
The one thing that I do that can help you is that I cross check the properties on Zillow to be sure they are still on the market. I come across a few that were off the market, pending sale or sold so I skipped those.
Good luck and happy flying.


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AerialEye said:
Hey guys, after reading all you've posted here I decided it was worth a shot. I did 5 panos, 3 res 2 com. Got paid for the 3 res, nothing so far on the coms. The nice thing is 2 of the res were next door to each other so I did one pano for both. I'm digging it. It's a good excuse to get out and put the bird up and get a few bucks for it. I think I'll be doing more when the weather is better and my schedule allows.
The one thing that I do that can help you is that I cross check the properties on Zillow to be sure they are still on the market. I come across a few that were off the market, pending sale or sold so I skipped those.
Good luck and happy flying.


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Click to expand...

So part of who drone base is selling these photos to aren't just realtors. They also sell them to data companies and what not so that being said there still is a chance of those panos selling even after its been sold. Actually the first 2 I did one was sold and the other one was pending and I believe they both sold.

I would say check some type of map though. I had to pass on a couple after I did a drive by and saw all the trees it would never work. OHH and the maps in the app and what comes up on the computer aren't the same. Computer uses a more up to date earth view.
 
Oh, I was aware of that. Just thought it better to shoot properties on the market because 1. realtors pay more (I think) and 2. the shots can be sold more than once (to data companies and realtors) at the same time. Two birds, one stone.


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Where are you all flying from when doing commercial buildings? The way I see most panos in my area, I'd literally be on a public sidewalk with busy traffic. Are you taking off from adjacent parking lots or something? Wouldn't that put you on private property doing that? I can't see any way to secure appropriate flight operations area without just being conspicuous as all hell in the middle of the public. That just weirds me out and since you can't fly over traffic, I'm not comfortable putting my 107 on the line with no real support behind me other than a dot on a map. I'd be completely on the hook myself,with no authorization behind me as to why I'm even there. Forget privacy issues- no one feels really exposed out there doing this in completely public places over public roads?
 
shockwave199 said:
Where are you all flying from when doing commercial buildings? The way I see most panos in my area, I'd literally be on a public sidewalk with busy traffic. Are you taking off from adjacent parking lots or something? Wouldn't that put you on private property doing that? I can't see any way to secure appropriate flight operations area without just being conspicuous as all hell in the middle of the public. That just weirds me out and since you can't fly over traffic, I'm not comfortable putting my 107 on the line with no real support behind me other than a dot on a map. I'd be completely on the hook myself,with no authorization behind me as to why I'm even there. Forget privacy issues- no one feels really exposed out there doing this in completely public places over public roads?
Click to expand...
Yeah, commercials can be tricky. I've only done two so far but here's what I do. Find a safe place to launch. First one i launched from a public parking lot, no problem. Second one, not so lucky, no open areas to launch from so I put the carrying case on the roof of my car and launched from there. The beauty shots are going to put your drone in the middle of the road so watch the traffic. Wait for a red light, get in position, get your shots and pull out. You gotta be quick. If you don't like your shots, wait for the next break in traffic and go back in. Then just do your pano. Point the cam down to make sure you're not over any people or traffic. As far as pedestrians, if there's a lot of foot traffic in the area, just don't do it. You should plan every flight before you take off and use extreme caution in cases like these. If there are any red flags, pass on that property and move on. I think I'll be doing more residential because of the issues involved with commercial.
Hope that helps, happy flying.
 
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Well it's good to know someone is actually thinking about good judgment. With so many people saying they're piling up commercial pano flights, it's concerning that many are just showing up and buzzing through the shots using poor safety judgment. Having a 107 does not give you license to fly over traffic on public roads or fly over anyone who isn't directly involved in flight operations. Like I said, I see exactly one pano mission I can fly within 107 compliance near me. The rest of the properties are just showing up and buzzing in a hurry to get it done because of compliance issues. You know when you're in the wrong. You show up to a location and you know pretty quickly what you can or shouldn't do. When you study and pass the 107, you know it all too well. I certainly will be choosy because after all, it's my desicion and my 107 on the line out there and actually, that's the least of it.
 
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I did one yesterday, and with the wind the aircraft had drifted over the street by the time the last nadir shot was taken (using Litchi).

Not surprisingly, the resulting pano had lots of stitching errors because of the drift, but completed. This morning that mission status had changed to Rejected.

Not sure if that is because a human decided it was too crappy to keep, or if they are looking more closely for images that may show potential violations because of the recent flurry of activity on FB and forums after the DroneU interview video.
 
Litchi definitely has issue with wind. I've found autopilot holds up better and seems a bit quicker


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RocketBrew said:
I never figured out how to configure AutoPilot to the DroneBase requirements (2 rows of 12 + nadir).
Click to expand...

Well the dronebase parameters don't need to be exact as long as you have adequate overlap for their sticking. If you have a P3/P4, something like these settings will work. Gives an extra couple pics, but that's fine. I use a mavic and have been successful with 3 rows of 9-11 pics plus 1 nadir.
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Humm all residential panos have disappeared off of my map

Update: this is just a bug it's being worked on
 
Last edited:
I posted this question in another thread but anyway, how do you know if a pano mission hasn't already been done by someone else? I realize that there are multiple avenues to sell the photos for db, but I would think the chances of getting paid are much lower if a mission has already been completed and paid out to another pilot. So, is there a way to know this when considering a mission? And if adding a mission reserves it specifically for you, what's stopping someone from monopolizing every mission in an area for themselves? I have two missions added but because of the weather I haven't flown them this week yet. I can hold them indefinitely? Another pilot in my town can add every local mission and wipe out the offerings indefinitely?
 
I did a mapping job and a residential house, both were client missions. They both went well, I did a pano last weekend but I must have screwed up it was rejected, I think I forgot the the facing down shot.
 
Drone Base pilots - would you post the Drone Base typical recommended settings for Litchi IOS pano shots? I have started with P4 pano shots (and processing), would like a good starting base settings. I'm having trouble with the processing. Thanks!
 
Cowboy1 said:
Drone Base pilots - would you post the Drone Base typical recommended settings for Litchi IOS pano shots? I have started with P4 pano shots (and processing), would like a good starting base settings. I'm having trouble with the processing. Thanks!
Click to expand...

A lot of people are having stitching issues right now. Re submit your photos if they are rejected and you feel they are good. They usually go through the 2nd time.

Start here for settings.
 

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