RTK / PPK and GCPs Explained

[@dronetoulouse]

Great video. Waiting for the next one. I like youtubers showing the topic instead of showing their own face.

[@aviosmedia]

More to come! There's a good reason for that. I have a face for radio :).

[@TechWizeGuy]

Nicely laid out

[@aviosmedia]

Glad you liked it

[@danielsnyder3563]

Clearest explainer on all of KZbin! You win the Internets today Barry! Thanks!

[@aviosmedia]

Thank you Daniel!!

[@firefighterleetiktok85]

best explanation I've seen. Please ignore your 5min rule for this as it's such an important part for those whom using it for work and it could potentially be 4 weeks of 5 mins clips to explain it all. I'm sure everyone will agree and appreciate you making a long video.

[@aviosmedia]

Thanks! I'm glad you found it helpful. I do put out longer videos occasionally, but I keep them short for a couple of reasons. Many people like the shorter format as they can watch it straight away. Otherwise they put things in the "watch later" and then never get back to it. The other is that it takes time to put them together and, especially at the moment, I'm very short on time. I won't have time to get this out for tomorrow for sure.

[@firefighterleetiktok85]

@@aviosmedia did I see somewhere before that you do have longer videos on another video stream website?

[@aviosmedia]

No. I used to put stuff out on Vimeo - it has some advantages such as if there is a correction I can swap a video without changing the URL (and losing all the comments etc.). But...frankly...no one goes there so I finally switched to YT. I'd love to be able to do this full time - maybe one day!

[@firefighterleetiktok85]

@@aviosmedia I agree, I’m a full time firefighter in Hampshire doing 2days, 2nights and 4 days off so something that keeps me busy like drone work. I’ve created a number of good 3d models but the plan is to try setup a small drone business and map all the most used GA fields and then the 3d airfields can be licensed to Sky Demon as an example as all maps are old, heavy pixelated and always nadir due to them being satellite images. As a pilot myself it makes navigating airfields so much easy

[@aviosmedia]

@@firefighterleetiktok85 Sounds like a fun project. You've probably seen I have done other videos on 3D modeling.

[@DanDroneATL]

Thank you for all the great videos. I am a bit unsure, though, about something. At 5:00 you indicate that an Enterprise or RTK is required, but then immediately after you say that one of the PROS is that you don't need an RTK enabled drone. Can you please clarify? TY

[@aviosmedia]

That's a great question! When processing PPK, most software (possibly all?) needs additional log files that contain additional timestamp information (mrk file) and additional gps log information (bin or obj file). On DJI drones, these are only created if you have an enterprise drone that has an RTK module installed. For example, the Mavic 3 Enterprise will create these but only if the RTK module is installed. If the little module is not installed they are not created. When you are using RTK you need a constant signal between the drone, the controller and the base station (or NTRIP/CORS station if you are using that). If that fails you get errors. But if you know that you are going to use PPK then you don't have to enable RTK, just have the module installed so that the extra files are created. So it needs an enterprise drone...but RTK does not need to be turned on (enabled). Now...there is a part of me that says that since even non-RTK drones timestamp the photos, and have GPS, that you could theoretically still use PPK here. And, in fact, you can if you use GCPs, but that is in the next video. However, smarter people than me tell me that non-RTK drones are only single band, vs dual band, and that means they are not accurate enough. Hopefully that makes sense and clears it up but, if not, let me know

[@DanDroneATL]

@@aviosmedia Thank you for the great explanation. I do fly the M3E with RTK and Emlid Reach RS2... and did not know that the module had any function without the RTK being enabled. I can't thank you enough. I'll keep watching!

[@aviosmedia]

@@DanDroneATL I'll get the GCP one out as soon as I can. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on the viewpoint) I'm crushed with jobs right now so it might take a little longer than I hoped.

[@DanDroneATL]

@@aviosmedia Thank you, sir. I did a little test yesterday and can firm that the M3E does create (3) addition data files when the RTK module is installed, but not connected. Wondering... are these good for anything (added accuracy processing, etc.) without being connected to a GNSS receiver. Thank you again for all you do.

[@aviosmedia]

@@DanDroneATL You doubted me :o. Just kidding - trust but verify always! I'm told that the RTK antenna is a dual band and the standard is a single band so, in theory, this should be more accurate. Now...here's an interesting thing and something i may do a five minute Friday on at some point. Most CORS/NTRIP providers not only provide a signal for correction in real time, but also keep all of that data historically. So you can go to a provider, download the RINEX files from that date, and then use something like Emlid Studo to correct the EXIF data of your photos ala PPK (post processing remember). So, yes, they are useful to have. Hope that helps!

[@TickleThyBrain]

Thanks. Looking forward to the next part. Another clarification pertinent to accuracy would be Absolute Vs Relative. The correct understanding of this decides the equipment to be used and the type of output needed. Do clarify if my understanding is right.

[@aviosmedia]

A great rabbit hole to go down! I'll try to incorporate that more into the next video - or at least a future video. Thanks!

[@russellredmond4267]

You said “you need an enterprise level drone or something with rtk module otherwise the observation files needed for the ppk process are not collected” then immediately say the ppk process “does not require an rtk enabled drone” …this is confusing and sounds like conflicting statements. Am I missing something?

[@aviosmedia]

Yes. Sorry - it was a bit confusing. Someone earlier posted the same question. You DO need a drone with an RTK module INSTALLED. But you do not need RTK to be ENABLED. It just need to be there. If the unit is on the drone the drone will still collect extra data even if you are not connected to a base station or CORS/NTRIP network - hope that clears things up.

[@tymb278]

Seems something of a lost art to be able to take complex systems and to boil them down to something close to the "need to know" essentials that can be understood by non experts. Now armed with some basic understanding of these systems I'm looking forward to learning more.

[@aviosmedia]

That's what I do try to do as much as I can, so I'm glad you found it helpful :)

[@ghost1917]

Thanks for another super informative 5MF Barry….looking forward to part two…: )

[@aviosmedia]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@lemarconi]

Very nice. I want to hear a bit more about getting known point to place the base station. Sometimes is not so easy to get one.

[@aviosmedia]

That is another great rabbit hole to go down. There are a few interesting options here, and some new ones that are starting to happen. Will certainly cover that in the future.

[@morturn]

Super video, thank you. Please do more on this subject.

[@aviosmedia]

Will do!

[@mamdouhali1892]

Wow, this is amazing. thanks for the video 👍

[@aviosmedia]

Happy you liked it!

[@henkthoma2422]

Thanks for the nice video! As I understand it correctly, one would have the best of both worlds by first recording with RTK, but in case there was a failure of the RTK corrections between base station and drone, still further correct/update the data with PPK software afterwards?

[@aviosmedia]

Correct. If you can establish a solid RTK connection then your drone flight will be more accurate, and the metadata collected will also be accurate. However, if there were a failure (e.g. loss of RTK) during flight, which can happen especially in areas with poor coverage, or you just wanted to add an extra layer of protection, then you can post process the data using the method show in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXa2iamPnrZoptU Finally, I would always recommend having GCPs and checkpoints. You can then process using those for another level of security - especially checkpoints which help ensure that everything is where it needs to be.

[@henkthoma2422]

@@aviosmedia Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. Good luck with the channel, I just subscribed!

[@aviosmedia]

@@henkthoma2422 Happy to help!

[@honaap]

Thank you, thank you, please continue. 🚁

[@aviosmedia]

Will do! I have a super hectic period coming up but I'm hoping to keep to the weekly schedule when I can