Construction progression photos

[BaerEssentials]

Hello all. Already posted this on commercial drone fb page, but haven’t had much sucess.

Still having issues with Lichi. Went out to take the second run at some progression shots of construction site. Using lichi waypoints, taking shots from 5 locations, the bird was significantly out of location vs the first run and oriented pointing at least a few degrees off vs the first take.

DO others use litchi waypoints for progression shots so that the pics are VERY close each time out? We scrapped it on location and did it manually, comparing live screen to iPad next to it with previous shots. Not very professional imo.

Me thinks it’s too late for ground “anchor” points

 

[Glenn Goodlett]

In my opinion ground points and some kind of bearing reference is the only way to go. Angle is the tricky part. A lot can change on a big long term construction project, so pick your reference points carefully. Also remember that you could be flying a different drone or software before the end of the project or even a different pilot flying by that time. Your photos will never be perfect, but it will show the progression, nonetheless.

 

[modbuilder]

There are several things that limit the precision of getting an exact same view from run to run. I've found the most generally satisfying solution is to add a "Wait For ## Seconds" at each waypoint, and use the time to get the best composition and manually trigger the shot. This gets a pretty close approximation of same-shot reproduction, but not an over-lay. Generally 5 seconds is long enough at each WP.

I've been able to make some pretty sweet time-lapse videos using video clips with LItchi waypoints, but I don't try to make identical photos from day to day. The GPS built into the drone is just not that accurate unless you're running an RTK version with a ground fix. The compasses can drift as well and the altitude reproducibility is good, but I dont know how precise they are.

I think the limitation is the drone itself, not Litchi.

 

[BaerEssentials]

Thanx guys for the input!

we have been using litchi to get close, then comparing to previous shots. That gets us pretty close. But, unfortunately not close enough for photoshop to “auto align”

 

[Dave Pitman]

You are limited by the precision of the gnss receiver. So, Litchi can only tell the drone to go to XYZ. But due to the precision problem, that can be up to 10 meters (>30 feet) different than previous. In reality, it will probably be closer than that but no guarantees that it won't be farther either. Unless you want to use an RTK equipped drone that has a precision gnss receiver, making a huge difference in positional accuracy, your current strategy is probably as good as any.

 

[BaerEssentials]

Thank you for the confirmation. Don’t make enough $$ at this to but 10k drone

 

[Dave Pitman]

Thank you for the confirmation

We do progress perspectives and progress 360's and we usually don't bother using an RTK drone for the job. To be honest, the information provided by the product is sufficient for it's purpose if you are close to the same camera position and use what you have to replicate the view. It may not be tripod accurate and doesn't look as cool overlaid as it would if the camera position was nailed. But, really, you generally get no practical benefit for the purpose of the imagery, right. There are companies that will mount fixed cameras on site to collect progress over time if the site lends itself to it. Time lapses from those setups are cool. But again, not practically "better" than what you are doing.

 

[BaerEssentials]

thanx Dave. I suppose you’re right. I suppose it really is just a “wow factor“. I was just looking to do a nice job for this guy as there is lots of potential behind this if he is impressed.

i’ve been playing around with Photoshop and its ability to align photos. It’s pretty slick. However, the first photo of the group so far is too far out of alignment in order for it to work. Maybe I’ll just be able to get it close enough.