Droneception Mission Creator Instructions Technical Details Litchi Mission Utilities Logo

Instructions

  • Create a file containg two GPS coordinates. Accepable file formats include:
    1. A Google Earth Pro KML/KMZ file
      1. Use Google Earth Pro to navigate to the mission area.
      2. From the ribbon select the "Ruler" tool.
      3. In the Ruler tool, select the "Line" tab (normally selected by default).
      4. Click once on the map where the first waypoint is to be located. NOTE: This position will be the start of your mission where the first photo will be taken relatively close to the ground.
      5. Click once on the map at the desired ending point of interest (POI). NOTE: This position will be the end of your dronception mission where the drone is high and the camera is pointing straight down at gimbal pitch angle of -90 degrees.
      6. In the Ruler tool click on "Save".
      7. The New Path window will open. Click OK.
      8. In the "Places" window pane (on the left), right-click on "Line Measure" and "Save Place As" a kml file.
    2. A DJI KMZ file

      This could be obtained from either Litchi's Mission Hub or directly from DJI Fly.

    3. A Litchi CSV file

      A two-waypoint mission can be exported from Litchi's original Mission Hub

      In all cases, the first waypoint (or point) will represent the starting point (first photo) of the droneception mission when the drone is low and close to the ground. The second waypoint (or point) will represent the final photo location of the droneception mission when the drone is high and the gimbal is pointing straight down. The only inforation read from the input file are the GPS coordinates. All other parameters such as heading or heights are ignored.

  • In page one of Droneception Mission Creator for Litchi:
    1. Select the desired units.
    2. Select the starting height. The starting height should be low, maybe 20 feet (7 meters).
    3. Select the ending height. The ending height should be high enough to capture some sort of point of interest which will end up at the top of the droneception image. Often, 400 feet (120 meters) is optimal.
    4. Select the number of photos to capture. Some capture as few as three images. There is no penalty in capturing more, and the more photos you have, the more you will have to work with. Plus, you don't have to use them all.
    5. Use the file chooser to upload your input file.
    6. Select "Generate Droneception Mission for Litchi".
  • In page two of Droneception Mission Creator for Litchi:
    1. Review (and understand) the parameters and calculations shown.
    2. The Saturation Exponential equation is displayed in case you are interested.
    3. Download the CSV file to your computer.
  • In the Litchi Mission Hub
    1. Use the Missions menu to import the CSV file created by this web application.
    2. In "Settings" make sure that the following are set:
      1. Heading Mode should be set to "Custom(WD)".
      2. Path Mode should be set to "Straight Lines". Litchi will not perform waypoint actions unless the "Path Mode" is set to "Straight Lines".
      3. Cruising Speed should be set to something comfortable like 8 mph (13 km/h).
    3. Save the mission.
  • Preview the flight using Litchi's Google Earth simulation option
    1. It is recommended to preview and verify the flight using Virtual Litchi Mission.
  • Fly the mission
    1. Fly to a position somewhere between the first and last waypoint while pointing the camera to the POI.
    2. Set the camera to manual mode and adjust the exposure as desired.
    3. Load the mission and fly.
  • Post-processing
    • Merge the images together to create a Droneception montage.

Technical Details

The inputs to this application are:

  • A file containing two GPS coordinates representing:
    1. Point 1: A starting location where the first photo is captured
    2. Point 2: A point of interest (POI) which ends up being the same as the final waypoint and is where the final photo is captured
  • A starting height
  • An ending height
  • The number of photos to be captured

The input file may be any of the following:

  • A Google Earth Pro KML/KMZ file containg a single line segment (2 points)
  • A DJI KMZ file containg two waypoints
  • A Litchi CSV file (from the original Litchi Mission Hub) containing two waypoints

The only information used from the input file are the GPS coordinates. All other parameters such as headings or heights are ignored.

With this information, a Saturation Exponential is used to compute the flight path. Then, the desired number of photos (waypoints) are uniformly distributed along the flight path using interpolation.

Once the location and height of each waypoint has been calculated, the gimbal pitch angle can be computed for each waypoint so that the camera points at the POI.

Finally, all waypoint and POI information is written to a CSV file along with camera actions to pause and take a photo at each waypoint.

A snapshot from the Inception movie
Inception (2010)

A "Droneception" image is a "mind-bending" photo montage where it looks like the ground is bending upward as you look into the distance. The inspiration of this type of image is from the movie Inception (see photo). Creating a "Droneception" image requires three primary steps, each presenting a different type of challenge:

  1. Identify a subject that will look good.
  2. Take a series of photos with a drone at various heights and distances.
  3. Use photo editing software to blend the individual photographs into a single, warped photo montage.

Identify a subject that will look good

From examples I have seen on the web (there are many), a good subject for a "Droneception" photo montage includes:

  1. A rarely-travelled road going off into the distance
  2. A point of interest located on or around the road in the distance
  3. Not too many objects on either side of the road (which will make the final blending process more difficult)

Examples

Take a series of photos with a drone

This web application provides an easy, repeatable method for generating a series of photos. The application not only determines the height and position for each image but will also define camera actions in the file that will be imported into Litchi. The result is a Litchi mission that automatically captures all photos as the mission is flown. It may be desirable to set the camera to manual mode. Auto mode will most likely result in photos being taken with different exposures.

Blend the series of photos into one

This step is done using photo editing software such as Photoshop or Gimp. The general idea is to import each image into a different layer and then use warping functions and masks to overlay and blend the layers into a seamless montage. Users familiar with Photoshop (or equivalent) software should find this process relatively straightforward. There are tutorials and instruction videos describing this process on the web. It is easy to find them by searching.

Units:
Starting Height:
feet
Ending Height:
feet
Number of Photos:
KML/KMZ/CSV File Upload:
  • Improved Waypoint/Camera Actions: Despite having a heading and gimbal pitch angle defined for each waypoint, the drone does not strictly adhere to them at the first and last waypoints of a mission. To remedy this, additional waypoint/camera actions were added to each waypoint. The following actions are now performed at each waypoint:
    1. Rotate aircraft to the correct heading
    2. Tilt camera to the correct gimbal pitch angle
    3. Stay for one second
    4. Take photo
    5. Stay for one second
    This results in more accurate camera positioning at each waypoint, especially the first and last waypoints of the mission.
  • Cosmetic User Interface Improvements
    • Litchi Utilities dot Com
    by Wes Barris