Litchi Tracking Accuracy

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Hi all, I'm a newbie here and a new Drone Pilot (of sorts).

I have the Litchi app which has tracking features that I wanted that DJI doesn't have.

In setting up some simple tracks, I have found the drone follows them fine, what I am having issues with is the accuracy of the maps used for placing the waypoints and where they are when one goes to the place for testing.

Has anyone else experienced a wide variation of plotting points and where they actually are in reality? Does one have to account for a rather ride variance in plotting these points? I would appreciate anyone's assistance who has experience in this matter.
 
It all works well. I use it numerous times and also use a tracking device and the tracking device shows where it's been on the map and it is identical to the litchi way points on missions I done

Neon Euc
 
I have completed dozens of Litchi flights, and I find them to be quite repeatable and accurate. If you are having difficulty with accuracy, there are a couple of ideas to consider.

First, I'd recommend using the litchi mission hub on a desktop for your mission planning, rather than the handheld app. That allows you to place your waypoints more easily and precisely. I tried some mission adjustments on my phone a couple of times, and sometimes it can be very tedious that way. The desktop is far easier.

Second, I usually open Google Earth and Bing maps, as well as Google Maps, to double or triple check the imagery around my waypoints. There is a remarkable variation in the imagery, even though the underlying geospatial coordinates are the same in all three systems. Depending on the daylight of the image collection system (aerial, versus satellite, versus streetview, ), as well as the season, and the time of day that the image was captured, there are sometimes significant variations in the appearance of the waypoint that can be important if you are trying to avoid an obstacle (e.g trees), mostly due to the shadows in different directions, foliage growth over the seasons, as well as the 3D image processing in Google Earth for terrain elevation, etc. All these differences can make the waypoint appear somewhat different depending on all those factors. If you are trying to fly within 25ft of a tree line for example, you are pushing your luck if you rely on just one system. 50 ft is probably okay on any one geospatial image system, but the inherent GPS accuracy in the bird is usually good enough to get a little closer than that if you are very careful in your planning and cross check with other systems.
 
In setting up some simple tracks, I have found the drone follows them fine, what I am having issues with is the accuracy of the maps used for placing the waypoints and where they are when one goes to the place for testing.

How far are they off? 3 meters or more?

SB
 
It helps if you calibrate the compass on the Drone.....duh.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots
Compass doesn't really affect the position accuracy, that's strictly the GPS. On any given day, the GPS absolute accuracy can be off 1-10 meters. The relative accuracy (between any 2 points) usually much less than that. From day to day, the 'shape' of a mission won't change appreciably, but the position of the route on the map can. The error circle (known as the 'circular error probable' or CEP) will vary over that same 1-10 m range. Not much you can do about that unless you use a separate ground receiver and go the differential GPS processing route. Not really feasible with our equipment.
 

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