Plan Mission in Google Earth, convert, import to Litchi Mission Hub

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I wanted to be able to draw a path in Google Earth and import that into Litchi Mission hub, I also wanted the path to automatically follow the terrain, maintaining a set distance above the ground at each point.

It takes a few steps but it seems to work.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Check all waypoints and settings in Litchi to make sure your points and altitudes are correct. Note that the DEM elevation data is not exact and could cause you to misjudge ground elevations.

Here is a link to the spreadsheet that has instructions and does most of the work. I use Open Office Spreadsheet and that is the format it is in:

http://logdovetailjig.com\utility.ods

Here is a version I saved in Excel format. I have not tested this version since I don't have excell

http://logdovetailjig.com/utility.xls

Thanks to Adam Schneider at GPSVisualizer for his help and conversion tools.

See screenshots below.



GE screenshot.jpg
MH screen.jpg
View attachment 48714
 
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Using Google Earth is nice because you can see the ground in 3D

The first few times it seems like a lot of steps and kind of slow but after you get used to doing it, it is a pretty fast process. It would be nice if Litchi had a terrain follow option in the mission hub.
 
Great stuff, thanks!

It would be nice if Litchi had PC/MAC software that utilizes google earth/maps like 3DR Robotics MissionPlanner :)
 
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I wanted to be able to draw a path in Google Earth and import that into Litchi Mission hub, I also wanted the path to automatically follow the terrain, maintaining a set distance above the ground at each point.

It takes a few steps but it seems to work.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Check all waypoints and settings in Litchi to make sure your points and altitudes are correct. Note that the DEM elevation data is not exact and could cause you to misjudge ground elevations.

Here is a link to the spreadsheet that has instructions and does most of the work. I use Open Office Spreadsheet and that is the format it is in:

http://logdovetailjig.com\utility.ods

Here is a version I saved in Excel format. I have not tested this version since I don't have excell

http://logdovetailjig.com/utility.xls

I was able to create a mission using Excel and it worked fine first time. I have visually compared it to real missions I have flown at the same venue, and it looks good.
There are a lot of steps, and obviously the POIs and actions need to be added still, but I am sure it can be refined, perhaps by Litchi and Adam Schneider at GPSVisualizer collaborating.
 
I setup a complicated course through mountainous terrain that resulted in 37 segments on Google Earth, exported it, converted it and then processed it with EXCEL. It worked perfectly. I tried to compress some of the steps and here is what I found: You can copy the converted output directly to a new Excel window. At this point it is text. Click on "Format as Table" and then copy the results directly into your spreadsheet copy area. Then select and copy the results into Notepad and save it for Mission Hub to import. It works great!
 
I am not sure what the maximum number of points is that Litchi allows but the spreadsheet is limited to 100. That could be increased if need be but I doubt there will be a need any time soon.

edit- the sheet will currently handle 99 waypoints
 
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rel.jpg
I corrected an error in the spreadsheets today. The links above will take you to the corrected versions.

Also, a nice feature in Google Earth is setting the altitude to "Relative to Ground" and entering in your height above ground. This let's you visualize the actual path of the drone in the air.

Don't forget that the elevations always have some error so leave plenty of room to clear obstacles.
 
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View attachment 48942 I corrected an error in the spreadsheets today. The links above will take you to the corrected versions.

Also, a nice feature in Google Earth is setting the altitude to "Relative to Ground" and entering in your height above ground. This let's you visualize the actual path of the drone in the air.

Don't forget that the elevations always have some error so leave plenty of room to clear obstacles.
I do not find the 'Edit Path' window anywhere. Is it universal?
 
Not exactly sure what you did. What was step one?
 
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FPV Camera can get all these done in the app at a glance without extra steps.

IMG_0410_800.jpg

  • Home Elevation: Elevation of planned home point. Once home point is changed or updated upon connecting to RC/aircraft, the elevation and all corresponding AGL of waypoints and targets (POIs) are updated accordingly. The screenshot shows 693m elevation at home point.
  • Waypoint Ground Elevation: Ground level elevation of waypoint. The screenshot shows 794m at waypoint-1 and 884m at waypoint-2 respectively.
  • Target (POI) Ground Elevation: Ground level elevation of target (POI). The screenshot shows 932m at target-1, which is a weather radar station at the peak of mountain. With accurate target (POI) ground elevation, Auto-Tilt gimbal control can focus the targets right at the center of your footage even in various elevation terrain.
  • Height: This is normal planned Height of waypoints and targets above/below home point (as known as AHL - Above Home Level). All waypoint/target/panorama height settings are based on home point. The screenshot shows 150m at waypoint-1 and 180m at waypoint-2 respectively. When you set/adjust the height of waypoint/target/panorama, AGL of waypoint/target/panorama is updated accordingly.
  • AGL (Above Ground Level): This is planned altitude of waypoints and targets above/below the terrain (calculated per Home Elevation + Height - Waypoint/Target Ground Elevation). The screenshot shows 49m at waypoint-1 and -11m at waypoint-2 respectively, while negative value means below terrain elevation. If we fly this mission, aircraft will crash into mountain/tree between waypoint-1 and waypoint-2. AGL also excludes trees, buildings, power line towers or any obstacles in the field, which should be taken into account in planning stage.
 
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I'm just wondering, if the ground level is not changing too much isn't this google earth approach rather a disadvantage for smooth videos? If the phantom keeps ascending and descending it will just add unnecessary motion in the video, and who cares whether you are 50m or 47 or 52 above ground.
 
View attachment 48969 I wanted to be able to draw a path in Google Earth and import that into Litchi Mission hub, I also wanted the path to automatically follow the terrain, maintaining a set distance above the ground at each point.

It takes a few steps but it seems to work.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Check all waypoints and settings in Litchi to make sure your points and altitudes are correct. Note that the DEM elevation data is not exact and could cause you to misjudge ground elevations.

Sir, Thank you ever so much for this post. This east Tennessee (USA) Hillbilly appreciates it.
 
Hate resurrecting an old thread but I found this to be useful and instead of following the excel spreadsheet procedure listed above, I wrote a script that does it for you. It's very easy to use, but it is not very robust - i.e. you can break it pretty easily if you try. feel free to give me some feedback if it doesn't work for you.

http://spectralsky.com/kml-to-csv/
 
Hate resurrecting an old thread but I found this to be useful and instead of following the excel spreadsheet procedure listed above, I wrote a script that does it for you. It's very easy to use, but it is not very robust - i.e. you can break it pretty easily if you try. feel free to give me some feedback if it doesn't work for you.

Not found
This link for a kml-to-csv script seems to be broken. Sounds like a great way to make this whole process more efficient. Spectralsky...can you repost? Thanks.
 

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