Litchi for Phantom 4 (v1.5.0) and newer

[philipfretwell]

Hi all ...

Not sure if anyone has had a problem with Maps while using Litchi .. I am videoing a small golf course and following an initial visit to the site to check out obstructions and tree height etc, I planned the course for each of the nine holes using Litchi on my Mac at home. When I returned to the course I found that the map was about fifteen feet out from the actual location (I'm in the UK). I have searched the web but can't find a way of calibrating the mapping. CAN ANYONE HELP ...

BTW I decided to fly the first hole manually and as I flew I clicked on the C2 button (which you can program in the app) on the Phantom 3 Pro controller to record the waypoint in Litchi. This worked great. On the second hole I realised that I didn't need to fly the route, I just carried the Phantom and it worked just as well without the drain on the P3 battery. By hole three I had taken off the props, and swapped out the ipad 4 for the iphone 6 which did the job just as well with less weight to carry.

Litchi records not only the position when you click on the C2 switch but also the height of the P3 and the direction which the camera is pointing. I think that this is a great low risk way of plotting a small and complex course of this type. Don't forget that if you do carry the model you will still need to edit the waypoints in Litchi as they will all be at Zero height.

Once I was happy with the course, I flew it with the P3 before flying it again with the Inspire Pro ... Result.

 

[maseman88]

Hi all,

Just downloaded got Litchi last night and messed with it. It seems to be very cool and has a lot of possibilities. I did a couple autonomous flights last that went beyond rc range and it did very well.

I have a couple questions.

- Is there a way to fly the heading that you created with the way points? I basically would like it to follow the line... do I just need to adjust the heading for each waypoint to my liking?

- How the heck do you take off ? I have only gotten it to take off in mission mode. I just want to take off manually.

- When plotting points, it doesnt seem like it is taking the ground elevation into account. I want to fly in a mountainous area and plot points based on the ground elevation.

Just scratched the surface with this app but it seems awesome.

 

[AIRSPACE]

Hi all ...

Not sure if anyone has had a problem with Maps while using Litchi .. I am videoing a small golf course and following an initial visit to the site to check out obstructions and tree height etc, I planned the course for each of the nine holes using Litchi on my Mac at home. When I returned to the course I found that the map was about fifteen feet out from the actual location (I'm in the UK). I have searched the web but can't find a way of calibrating the mapping. CAN ANYONE HELP ...

BTW I decided to fly the first hole manually and as I flew I clicked on the C2 button (which you can program in the app) on the Phantom 3 Pro controller to record the waypoint in Litchi. This worked great. On the second hole I realised that I didn't need to fly the route, I just carried the Phantom and it worked just as well without the drain on the P3 battery. By hole three I had taken off the props, and swapped out the ipad 4 for the iphone 6 which did the job just as well with less weight to carry.

Litchi records not only the position when you click on the C2 switch but also the height of the P3 and the direction which the camera is pointing. I think that this is a great low risk way of plotting a small and complex course of this type. Don't forget that if you do carry the model you will still need to edit the waypoints in Litchi as they will all be at Zero height.

Once I was happy with the course, I flew it with the P3 before flying it again with the Inspire Pro ... Result.

Im also trying to film a nine hole golf course with litchi but I was setting the waypoints prior the flight. Interesting idea carrying the drone and then I assume you get to 'frame the shot' before hitting the C2 button which is great. Do you also use the POI on the green?

 

[maseman88]

Yes, good idea. Here is one (click here) I just created for purposes of demonstrating interpolation. This is a straight line reveal of a mountain (Camels Hump) in the distance. What I did was first set up a POI at the top of the mountain (zoom way out on map to see POI that I set up), then I set up waypoint 1 and waypoint 2 in a straight line heading towards mountain. For WP 1, i set the interpolation to -90 (camera facing down) and for WP 2 I set interpolation to 0 facing at the horizon. This is a slow reveal and will take the gimbal about 1 minute to fully tilt up to 0 degrees

i look at your mission and the camera orientation does not have any variation between waypoint 1 and 2. is that just a mistake?

 

[sar104]

Hi all,

Just downloaded got Litchi last night and messed with it. It seems to be very cool and has a lot of possibilities. I did a couple autonomous flights last that went beyond rc range and it did very well.

I have a couple questions.

- Is there a way to fly the heading that you created with the way points? I basically would like it to follow the line... do I just need to adjust the heading for each waypoint to my liking?

- How the heck do you take off ? I have only gotten it to take off in mission mode. I just want to take off manually.

- When plotting points, it doesnt seem like it is taking the ground elevation into account. I want to fly in a mountainous area and plot points based on the ground elevation.

Just scratched the surface with this app but it seems awesome.

If you use the web-based mission hub to plan the missions, it shows the ground elevation for each of the waypoints, making it much easier to choose a flight altitude.

 

[maseman88]

If you use the web-based mission hub to plan the missions, it shows the ground elevation for each of the waypoints, making it much easier to choose a flight altitude.

I just saw that but I wish it would make it the same elevation no matter the change in elevation at the waypoint location. Meaning, if I take off and have it 60 feet up, and I fly to a waypoint down the street 60 feet up from my location, I don't want it to crash. I would prefer it automatically calculate the ground elevation and then make my waypoint 60ft above that point. Make sense or no?

 

[sar104]

I just saw that but I wish it would make it the same elevation no matter the change in elevation at the waypoint location. Meaning, if I take off and have it 60 feet up, and I fly to a waypoint down the street 60 feet up from my location, I don't want it to crash. I would prefer it automatically calculate the ground elevation and then make my waypoint 60ft above that point. Make sense or no?

Fixed AGL makes complete sense. I put that on the suggestion list for the developer a couple of weeks ago.

 

[gtpark]

Fixed AGL makes complete sense. I put that on the suggestion list for the developer a couple of weeks ago.

The craft or GS would have to know the ground elevation in real time do do what you desire.
The problem is that a database of accurate ground elevations over any sizeable area would be huge. I am not aware of any GS for any MR platform that currently has this capability.

 

[sar104]

The craft or GS would have to know the ground elevation in real time do do what you desire.
The problem is that a database of accurate ground elevations over any sizeable area would be huge. I am not aware of any GS for any MR platform that currently has this capability.

This is only in reference to pre-planned missions, and the Google Earth DEM used by the app and Mission Hub has appropriate data, although there are still a couple of issues to be addressed.

Fundamentally, it would be nice to be able to draw a continuous flight path or define one by a set of waypoints, and then specify a desired AGL for the entire flight.

Both the app (when online) and Mission Hub have the requisite data to construct such a flight plan. When defining a path by a line, the software needs to interpolate a set of waypoints to use, with sufficient linear density to capture elevation changes. If it is designed via waypoints then the planning software would have to check ground elevation on the paths between the waypoints and add enough additional points to be able to clear all elevation variations (a hill between two waypoints, for example).

In terms of available data and computational overhead, that is not a difficult problem.

 

[gtpark]

Many have wanted this functionality for some years now on other GSs yet no one yet offers a solution to this "not difficult problem".

 

[sar104]

Many have wanted this functionality for some years now on other GSs yet no one yet offers a solution to this "not difficult problem".

I can imagine that the earlier iterations of GSs were more primitive, but I really can't see much technological challenge now. Of course there may be other concerns - DEMs generally don't take into account building heights, or tree heights, and so that kind of flight planning still needs significant user review and intervention. Perhaps developers are worried that it would be misused, and they would be blamed.

 

[maseman88]

Just a little after work run. Watch in 4k.

 

[lfaitas]

I use Llitchi Mission Hub on my Mac all the time to prepare long range missions and then when i go to the location i want to start flying i just press Play from litchi app to execute the mission.
It is an amazing app that has changed the way i am using my drone mainly for me as i can fly missions that have a range of 10km and more without a need for the RC to be connected to the drone.. which means that whenever i used to fly with building or trees in front of me with the dji go app and the rc-drone got disconnected the drone initiated a RTH everytime.. that i good but very annoying!
If you plan you missions very carefully, using the advice of the previous posts.. like last points always close to home point and the last one always next to the start point.
Although mission hub on your computer shows Ground elevation it is not that accurate so either do a google search for specific height estimates or fly on the spot manually to check heights and then plan the mission with lots of margin of error .. ie fly mach higher just in case!
I always use Curved Turns so the video is very smooth but you cant perform any actions in that mode like stop to take photos etc.. what i do is take screen shots of parts of the video.. i find it the best way to choose the best photos instead of taking just a couple of photos during the mission.
I never fly for more than 15-18 mins to leave a margin of error or wind resistance or whatever else ... and in any case the last waypoints returning home i try to place them so i establish connection to the drone in case the battery runs out faster and i need to abort the mission or land quickly... oh and avoid flying over water towards the end of the mission!!

 

[maseman88]

I use Llitchi Mission Hub on my Mac all the time to prepare long range missions and then when i go to the location i want to start flying i just press Play from litchi app to execute the mission.
It is an amazing app that has changed the way i am using my drone mainly for me as i can fly missions that have a range of 10km and more without a need for the RC to be connected to the drone.. which means that whenever i used to fly with building or trees in front of me with the dji go app and the rc-drone got disconnected the drone initiated a RTH everytime.. that i good but very annoying!
If you plan you missions very carefully, using the advice of the previous posts.. like last points always close to home point and the last one always next to the start point.
Although mission hub on your computer shows Ground elevation it is not that accurate so either do a google search for specific height estimates or fly on the spot manually to check heights and then plan the mission with lots of margin of error .. ie fly mach higher just in case!
I always use Curved Turns so the video is very smooth but you cant perform any actions in that mode like stop to take photos etc.. what i do is take screen shots of parts of the video.. i find it the best way to choose the best photos instead of taking just a couple of photos during the mission.
I never fly for more than 15-18 mins to leave a margin of error or wind resistance or whatever else ... and in any case the last waypoints returning home i try to place them so i establish connection to the drone in case the battery runs out faster and i need to abort the mission or land quickly... oh and avoid flying over water towards the end of the mission!!

I've been having a weird issue... Zero issues creating and loading missions but I have one waypoint set up to have the drone stay there for 60 seconds. It simply will not... It goes to the waypoint and immediately continues on. Any ideas?

 

[Ramphex]

Still fighting myself on whether it's worth $19.99 and whether I'll use it as much or not.

 

[NorthcountySD]

It's worth triple that in my opinion. I have most other apps too and just got this the other day but so far. Very very easy to use and understand. Does what they say and the intuitive set up of missions. Very cool. $20. For a drone that's well over $1,000. Easy decision

 

[Ramphex]

I'm having an OCD moment trying to part with flight logs in DJI GO. I know that Litchi logs too but then ill have two sets of logs for different flights

 

[maseman88]

It's awesome. Can't get enough of it... I just wish it would obey my command when i tell it to stay above a waypoint


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ramphex]

What do you mean above a way point?

 

[maseman88]

What do you mean above a way point?

When it reaches a waypoint, say number 7 out of 10... I put it in the mission to have it hover at that waypoint for 60 seconds and then continue on to waypoint 8. It just won't stay. It continues right along without pausing like I told it to.