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DroneTM is currently in alpha testing. It is NOT complete, NOT safe for unsupervised use, and can NOT necessarily be used in the way it will once completed (we estimate that the safe, working, public-facing version should be ready before February 2025).
The only drone currently supported by the DroneTM is the DJI Mini 4 Pro. Many other drones, including several DJI models other than the Mini 4 Pro, are compatible with commercially available flight planning applications such as Pix4D Capture, DroneDeploy, DroneLink, Litchi, and others. We intend to support other drones in the future, but for now the Mini 4 Pro offers the best combination of low cost, high image quality, light weight (important for safety and compliance with laws), so it is our main testing/development platform. If you have a DJI Mini 4 Pro and wish to test/try the DroneTM, please contact our team for support.
Version: September 26, 2024
- Introduction
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System Modules
2.1 Home Page
2.2 Sign In
2.3 Project Creator
2.4 Drone Operator
2.5 User Profile
2.6 Replacing a Flight Plan in the Drone
The Drone Tasking Manager (DroneTM) was developed to address the limited accessibility and management of aerial imagery in low-income and disaster-prone areas. By using affordable consumer-grade or DIY drones, DroneTM empowers local communities to capture high-quality aerial imagery, enabling timely data acquisition for various applications like crisis response, urban planning, and environmental monitoring. The platform reduces operational costs while providing up-to-date data, contributing to better decision-making and resource allocation.
The Drone Tasking Manager (DroneTM) is a collaborative platform for coordinating drone operations. It allows project creators to define mapping areas and parameters (such as GSD, altitude, and image overlap) and assign tasks to drone operators. Drone operators can download flight plans, autonomously fly drones, and upload the imagery for processing. The system integrates real-time updates, safety protocols, and ensures smooth operations across different use cases.
- Visit the platform by navigating to http://dronetm.org.
- Access technical documents and guides via the "Documentation" button on the homepage.
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Click the Sign In button on the top-right of the homepage.
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Choose between signing in as a Project Creator or Drone Operator.
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New Users: Use the Google sign-in option to log in with a Google account.
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Existing Users: Enter your email and password or sign in with Google.
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Select "I am a project creator."
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Update your details (first name, last name, etc.), and complete your organization details.
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Set your password and complete the profile setup.
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Select "I am a drone operator."
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Enter your basic information, such as name, experience, and license (if applicable).
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Set your password and complete the profile.
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Click on Forgot Your Password? on the login page.
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Enter your email and receive a reset link.
As a Project Creator, your role is to manage drone survey projects, define areas for mapping, and ensure data quality.
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View all projects in a grid format.
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Click Add Project to create a new project.
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Define the Area of Interest (AOI) and No Fly Zones using map drawing tools or upload files (e.g., GeoJSON).
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Configure parameters like GSD, altitude, and image overlap.
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Choose final outputs (e.g., 2D Orthophoto, DTM, DSM).
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Turn on "Follow the terrain" option if your project area is at undulating terrain. You need to upload DEM data of Project Area to enable Follow the terrain.
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Split the project area into smaller tasks and set conditions for contributions.
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Define the conditions for contributions such as Instructions for Drone Operators, Deadline for Submission and Approval Required or not required.
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Click on "Save" button to successfully create a project.
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View project requests and approve/reject drone operator tasks.
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Monitor ongoing tasks, unflyable tasks and completed tasks.
As a Drone Operator, you are responsible for executing drone surveys and uploading imagery.
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Select an available project and lock tasks to reserve them for yourself.
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If Approval is required for Task locking, message appears saying "Task is Requested for mapping."
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Download flight plans and operate the drone as per the task instructions.
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Upload captured images to the server for processing.
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View ongoing tasks and check the status of completed tasks.
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Update your profile information from the dashboard.
- Access account settings and log out via the profile icon in the top-right corner.
- For added safety and learning, you can also download the GeoJSON flight plan if you wish to inspect the flight in QGIS or other GIS software.
This assumes your DJI Mini 4 Pro is already working; you've unboxed it, put a compatible SD card in it, gone through DJI's registration/account process, and flown the drone manually at least once (if you're not at this stage yet, or if you can't yet do a basic manual flight, please stop now and get some help or training in basic drone operations, the DroneTM is not a tool for beginners.
- While flying the drone, enter Waypoint mode.
- Record at least one waypoint before landing.
- Land the drone, and open the loading screen for the waypoint mode. Ensure that there is at least one waypoint mission visible and loadable.
Using a USB cable from your computer to the RC2 controller (or the Android phone connected to the RC-N2 controller). Make sure the controller is ON, and it should pop up as a USB device in the file manager of your computer.
Navigate to the directory /android/data/dji.go.v5/files/waypoints/, where you'll see a folder with a complicated alphanumeric name.
Inside this folder you'll find a KMZ file, with the same type of complicated alphanumeric name. Delete the KMZ file, and replace it with the flight plan from the DroneTM. Rename the flight plan from the DroneTM with the same name as the deleted file.
I find it easiest to do this in the following order:
- Copy/paste the flight plan from the Drone Tasking Manager (
flight_plan.kmz) into the folder, next to the KMZ file already present. - Right-click on the original KMZ file, choose "Rename" and copy the name (the long alphanumeric string) using Control-C.
- Delete the original KMZ file.
- Right click on the new file (which should still be named
flight_plan.kmz) and choose "Rename." Paste the name you copied in step 2 using Control-V. - The flight plan should now have replaced the original waypoint KMZ file, sitting in the same place with the same filename; only the contents (in this case, the flight plan) are different.
Reminder: this process is a temporary workaround and will be replaced with an automated file replacement in the production version of DroneTM!
- Move to as near to the center of the flight plan as you can.
- Turn on the drone and controller as usual. Wait for the drone to get a GPS position.
- Set the photo mode to timed, 2s.
- Enter waypoint mode. Hit the load button, and select the flight plan. It should load up on the controller screen, with waypoints visible around your location.
- Hit "Next"
- If there aren't any warnings, push "Fly." The drone should take off and head toward the first waypoint.
- When the drone approaches the first waypoint of the flight plan, press the "take photo" button on the front right shoulder of the controller. The camera should visibly start snapping photos every 2 seconds, and the controller should make a photo shutter sound every two seconds (at least a first, sometimes it slows down or stops as the connection between the drone and the controller gets weaker with distance and obstacles).
- Don't press the "take photo button
- Keep an eye on the camera and map view. If possible (strongly, strongly recommended) have another person with you to keep the drone itself in sight at all times (this can be difficult; once you lose sight of the drone it can be tricky to find it in the sky again).
- If the drone seems to be going further than the edge of the flight plan, or if it seems to be coming near obstacles, or there's any other danger, abort the flight by pressing the "Return to Home" button on the controller.
- The drone should land quite precisely on the location it took off from. If not, or if that location is no longer safe, wait until you can see the drone very clearly, and move the control sticks to take manual control. Land in a safe place.
- Remove the SD card from the drone and put it into a card reader to access it from your computer
- Transfer the photos onto your computer
- (ADVANCED) You may need to remove some of the photos which aren't part of the flight plan (in case of wayline flights)
- Upload them for processing (ADD INSTRUCTIONS)
- AOI: Area of Interest, the geographic region to be mapped.
- GSD: Ground Sampling Distance, the distance between pixel centers on the ground in a digital photo.
- DTM: Digital Terrain Model, representing the bare ground surface.
- DSM: Digital Surface Model, representing surface features like trees and buildings.