Ultimate Guide To Drone Mapping

[@johnroberts6266]

Outstanding video. I took TONS of notes. So many things explained and broke down in a very easy to understand way. I have my P107 and have partnered with a developer. So eager to get started! I will be seeking out all of your other related videos! Thank you for this!

[@bushyfpv9403]

Great comprehensive video! My tech manager for the arcade that we work for is getting ready to retire. He taught me so much over the years about repairing electronics. Over the last and a half year I have been showing him how my drone business has been growing exponentially. He wants to start his own business in retirement, this is defiantly the next video I am going to have him watch!

[@brandonthevisionary485]

Heck yea

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

Awesome! Well, if you have a rocking drone business, maybe you’d be a good guest for season seven of our drone to 1k podcast?

[@6528371]

Drone Launch Academy, this is a fantastic video with fantastic material. Accurate, honest, and deliberate. Great job! As a professional commercial drone service flight provider and aerial data collector professional, I would include aviation insurance as another requirement for conducting business. As a vendor, my clients require aviation insurance for drone work, or they would not be a client unless I otherwise obtain aviation insurance. Keep up the good work! -Drone615

[@farrajali8967]

Was literally just looking for more detail on what drone mapping is and this video explained everything brilliantly, thank you, providing good value

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@alexander1557]

I am rewatching this video and taking notes. This is incredible. Not to call out DroneU but you just ran circles around them.

[@Day-NNight]

16:57 ⭕️ out of curiosity question ! if I would want to survey a river. To determine + calculate the areas are prone to drowning in rainy season : which been the case recently and quite frequent. ⭕️ is ( drone ) when we be talking about 100’s of thousands of kilometers still the best bet or here I would gear awards satellites imaging as base model : than go with the drones or something else to survey lower areas determining the at risk areas of drowning ? ⭕️ how would you approach a task like that ? I know it’s huge am curious and to be Honestly never thought or done 3D survey before . Thanks for the video !

[@themadgreek]

lengthy but informative... appreciate the time & effort you put into this for our benefit ...

[@JonMac-f4x]

Well done, bro. You explained this subject with such detail. I appreciate what you do. 👍

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

🙏

[@WinslowDrone]

Thank you for all the info! You're a hero man! I'll be getting started with my new endeavor right away. Subscribed and following!

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

🙏🏻

[@downtubecrank103]

Best overview Video I've seen so far. Thank You for the quality gidance Sir.

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

thanks

[@johnnycaps1]

Wow. So much to consider and plan. Excellent explanations.

[@christopherconkright1317]

What is a good way to get my work on my website for advertising?

[@omarlopez2532]

Would mapping work with a mini 4 pro? Just bought it and one of the DLA courses 😊

[@artovilkman1310]

very good video. thank you for sharing

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

you bet.

[@jessiepayne737]

Very informative I took away a lot of knowledge, will eb watching this one over a few time. I am a new subscriber wish I have found you sooner and could of taken advantage of you free off on the construction course. I will be checking it out, now it's time to go back and watch past episodes,

[@marketerj.murray2716]

Great information David. I’ll be responding to your automation emails soon. Definitely want to take my drone abilities to the next level.

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

You can dooooooo it

[@jeffhudson1744]

great video, very informational.

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

🙏🏻

[@terrypaquet9871]

Appreciate the training on mapping and many tips given. Owner, Blue Aloft, LLC

[@bryanyoutubechannel]

I garnished value all the way to the end of this video. I just can't get enough knowledge about this industry and the opportunities that abound.

[@brandonthevisionary485]

This is definitely a education for me

[@njrivetelite]

The brand New DJI Air 3S has lidar.. I wonder if it can be used for Photogrammetry

[@andreinicolae8305]

Hi. Thanks for the video. What PC specs you would need for larger projects?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

for large projects you might use something like Pix4Dmatic. Their recommended specs can be found here: support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044895711

[@thedlawrence4931]

Can you use the dji mini 4 pro for mapping? or geotagging?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

Not really. The Mini 3 works with Dronelink now. You can use that. The problem with mini 4 pro is that it’s not currently compatible with any flight automation software you’d need to use to collect images for photogrammetry

[@jackiegray3323]

really enjoyed your video looking to learn all i can about the drone industry getting jobs building a business and all the different gear and software required to be successful in the drone industry got a lot out of your video but still have some questions

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

what questions do you have? happy to try and help

[@vrguytokyo]

such great material! how do ya feek about the mini4p now? I have mp2 ,,, wondering if size will be advantage.. Need the best quality I can get for foreground modeling.

[@EagleEyeDroneNetwork]

Thank you for this valuable info.

[@GizmoMaxx]

TOP CLASS ACADEMY Class 💫

[@agustinortega5716]

I am using drone deploy un rural zones and its not working... I need something else??? maybe the rtk?? Thanks

[@takeofftrackcoach]

Excellent. i’m sold. Drone mapping is the future.

[@MikeBabsBC]

This is a pretty timely video. I run a video production company and have run various consumer level mavic's and phantoms. I do enjoy working with drones and have started to wonder if there is a market in my area for mapping / ortho /etc. I used to work in real estate and I know that's not conducive to this type of work as orthos and mapping isn't needed for listings. I'm starting to do some research and build a business plan to assess if this is a service my area needs and will pay for. What types of clients need this type of work?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

Construction companies, engineering firms, cemeteries, landfills, mines, architecture, firms, anything where someone needs to cover large amounts of outdoor area or need monitoring/inventory control

[@MikeBabsBC]

Thank you so much for your reply! This helps a lot!

[@mataiochock4904]

Nice Job,as always,very informative. Thank you David. I think you meant the Osha 10 or Osha 30 Certifications. As the “Osha 40” is often referred to as Hazwopr. For Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response. It is a common mistake. Just didn’t want anybody thinking they had to partake in a 40 hour course to handle Hazardous Waste. I did sign up for the free mapping Course that you offered, and canʻt wait to begin and learn more about mapping.

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

Oh yes thank you for the correction!

[@MikeysGarage-kc1dv]

Hi David. I am a porpoise researcher and often fly over water, some bays, and some open ocean. I need to count the number of surface entries that the mammal makes in a particular area. I understand that the reflections off the water would interfere with the post-processing but I just want to count the number that breech the surface. Seems I just need to plan a mission and look at the the resulting photos. Any suggestions?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

Is it that you want to count the number over as specified period of time? Or at one snapshot in time? With photogrammetry you’re usually capturing several hundred (or thousands) of photos of your flight area over the course of 10 to 45 minutes. Those photos get stitched together. So the problem is if anything moves within that area during that frame, it will not reconstruct well on the final model (hence why water is very difficult). Seems like photogrammetry would be a tough option for an application like this. If you can give some more context, I might be able to make other recommendations.

[@MikeysGarage-kc1dv]

@@DroneLaunchAcademy Just want to count the number over a certain area. Don't want to generate hundreds of photos, just enough to see the area of interest. Thanks

[@user-zu4zn2zw4w]

This was great. And i just made my first map with my own imagery a few days ago before watching this. I used maps made easy, but I was very limited with what I could do for free. I'm not willing to pay a lot of money for software before I even have any clients or real solid projects to fly. another snafu, I flew over a very flat park, no obstacles, and I was trying to get the best resolution I could, my mavic 3 e wouldn't let me plan a mapping mission lower thann 40ft/.33cm resolution, anyone know what I can do to fly it lower??? It was on wide and I didn't have the option to change to zoom. I think I have 70 and 80 percent overlap, whatever was default. How does anyone here go pitch their map making services to a construction genereral contractor??

[@JennOuttDoors]

Will the new Mavic 3s work?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

Not right now. Good to check for compatibility with software like Dronelink or Pix4Dcapture (or something similar)

[@JennOuttDoors]

@@DroneLaunchAcademy thanks!

[@ParleysWoodedJourney]

I live in North Carolina and heard about the surveying litigation and rules they are enforcing. Does it only apply if the finished product has aerial measurements? I looked at what it would take to become a licensed surveyor and it’s neither cheap, easy, nor fast.

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

I think it's still being litigated, so im not sure as to all of the details. But I believe they were trying to argue that any "mapping product" is required to be done by a surveyor, regardless of disclaimers.

[@weeeniewagon]

Can I use a mini 3 pro?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

Yup. Use Dronelink

[@weeeniewagon]

@ thank you!

[@heathmichael142]

Very helpful. Thanks for breaking this down. Do you think drone mapping is still a viable business for someone to get into even now in 2024? Even with someone who is relatively fresh to the drone game?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

Viable? Yes. But like anything, if you wanna be successful, you will need to practice, get experience, and keep getting better. Educate yourself, go out and practice mapping your house, different buildings, offer to do some work for free at first, even if people turn you down. All about learning and perseverance!

[@dainjah]

if youre on a budget or just starting, buy used Phantom 4 PRO V2 (about 500-700$). It's a photogrammetry beast even still in 2024. And if you want to do photogrammetry and video only, pick Dronelink. You can automate almost everything, even shooting a facade, which helps a lot (I've been flying manually before)

[@bryanyoutubechannel]

Thank you! I just bought a P4P and ready to put my 2D mapping studies to the task this week. I keep hearing more and more about the legacy benefits of the P4P. Thanks for your re-enforcing comment.

[@nickalex636]

i have a mini 3 right now, you think i should try to find a Phantom 4 pro V2? Will it be a big difference?

[@dainjah]

@@nickalex636 yes, it has a bigger sensor, mechanical shutter, variable aperture.. It's also heavier and more stable in the wind. It's a workhorse.

[@dainjah]

@@nickalex636 but there are some things you should know about. It's not a toy like the mini drones. It's loud and heavy. People will notice it 😀 and it has no class so if you're in EU for example, you need an A2 license. No warranty, no DJI care, so be cautious.

[@dillon_ohh]

⁠@@nickalex636 The mechanical shutter on the p4p v2.0 would be the difference

[@Farmingdaneo]

Are there any good courses that can increase your credibility when providing data from the orthos/point clouds? For example, there is the lvl 1 UAS Thermography certification. Is there any equivalent for mapping that doesn't require years of school to become a surveyor?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

We have a course that teaches how to do mapping fundamentals. But all of the actual certifying bodies typically require experience/apprenticeships to for their official certifications. You can find out some more info here… www.asprs.org

[@JeffYoungbloodPhoto]

I have the regular mavic 3 (the one that got discontinued right before the pro).. Is it possible to use the RTK module on that, or does it need to be the Enterprise?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

for the RTK module, it only works on the enterprise version. but you could always use ground control points and do PPK instead (if you aren't using RTK). I know many people who do it that way by choice, even if RTK is available.

[@amaliejensen16]

@amaliejensen16 for 0 sekunder siden @DroneLaunchAcademy Will the PPK with the mavic 3 (not enteprize) and GCP give survey grade accuracy?

[@jorgeignacio79]

What is the going rate for aprox 500 acres?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

I don’t think there’s necessarily a standard “going rate”. It depends on the deliverables that you will be giving. Are you just doing photogrammetry and handing over an image? Are you doing any type of analysis? Do they have accuracy requirements? Can change things drastically. If someone needs 2 cm of vertical accuracy that’s gonna take you 10 times more work than if they just need an ortho photo with no absolute accuracy. I would imagine if you’re just doing photogrammetry with no accuracy requirements (they are using for general planning/documentation), then 500 acres is probably low thousands.

[@jorgeignacio79]

@@DroneLaunchAcademy this is what they need with RTK . (We need RTK ortho images to be delivered and uploaded to our pilot app, with 1 360 degree spherical panorama)

[@jorgeignacio79]

It has to be done once a week for one year

[@KamagateAmadou-19]

Formidable!

[@RecoveryoneDrone]

Great info

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@Orcaben1]

for a video being 5 months old, i'm surprised you're talking about the dji mini 2 when you have the mini 4 pro out

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

mini 4 pro isn't great for mapping because it doesn't integrate with any flight automation tools at the moment. The mini 2 does and still works great for small stuff.

[@MichaelAylmer-f7f]

why not just use DJI Terra?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

You certainly can. I know lots of people that use it and say good things about it.

[@user-zu4zn2zw4w]

@@DroneLaunchAcademy Is it very expensive?

[@cliffordmpaulick]

with such high equipment and software costs and such technical flying required, I take it these services sell for a pretty penny? can you give direction how that'd go - how to get started with this after getting 107 - and how to start getting such jobs?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

Yeah, you can get started usually with the Air 2S. You can pick up one that’s used for about $1000. Most people in this arena start off with construction progress site monitoring. That’s a good entry point as you learn more about GIS/mapping.

[@icemikebullcity08]

@@DroneLaunchAcademyhow much can be charged to do a mapping of a average construction site?

[@bryanyoutubechannel]

​@@icemikebullcity08 Until you get a qualified answer to your question, here's my 2 cents worth: I have been in construction for the past 17 years. Currently construction companies are really tightening up their budgets and you will need to present a very good solution to any problems they are currently experiencing. Not a forecasted problem, but rather a current problem. You will hear "Oh, we bought our own drone and fly it ourselves". Many problems abound with the latter scenario. There is no "Average construction site". Every construction site has it's own "personality", as I like to say. Every construction site has it's own unique challenges to be solved, problems that need an answer "for cheap or free". Consider an hourly fee that you can settle on and be certain to solve a particular problem for a fee. Estimate the hours involved pre mission, during mission and post mission. I have a project that came in 900,000 yards short on soil so that indicates that somebody messed up really bad. Google how much a yard of soil delivered 100 miles to a construction costs. The math supports your interest to provide a service that solves not only problems but unforseen circumstances. DO NOT promote or offer survey services if you're not certified as such. Consult an attorney as to how you can legally offer less than surveyor content as a value added service. Other pricing considerations: What kind of airspace will your mission be in? Will you need a waiver? Will there be any waiver delays that conflict with the contract you sign with your client? What's the maximum airspace allowed in your mission area? What if your client requires 100 foot AGL but LAANC only approves 50 feet when you arrive to the mission site and your maximum minimum RTH is 60 meters? Some of these questions are rhetorical but are some of the few things to factor when pricing services. Keep pushing forward and grab that first opportunity! Cheers!

[@byfsox8571]

Would you be able to provide a business inquiries email?

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

[e-mail]

[@TheColonelJJ]

I was enjoying this until it became a DJI ad. Autel doesn't exist? DJI 'bricked' two of my drones because I live next to an airport. No more DJI for me.

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

DJI are just most popular. You can certainly use other drones. I just don't have personal experience with autel (and I haven't heard of many people using them for mapping), so I didn't want to talk to things I wasn't familiar with. You can get those drones unbricked if you get some LAANC authorization.

[@coryhansen2893]

Sounds like you need to get your part 107 and learn what you are talking about.

[@toneydefreitas5630]

I think the same thing many times. They begin by saying the advice is for all drones, suddenly you star hearing everything dji and it turns you off. Because everyone isn't interested in dji we just need to hear what we want to know, and how to operate our drones.

[@TheColonelJJ]

@@coryhansen2893 Do you know what they say about making ASSumptions? Especially about someone you don't know? DJI's geo-fencing makes my drone life harder than it should be. Autel doesn't do that to me. And they make a great mapping drone.

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

The technique and application doesn't really change much from drone to drone regardless of the hardware or software. Differences are usually just in features or where the buttons are. But drone mapping is the same concept, regardless of what tool you're using. This video isn't meant to be a tutorial on any one type of drone. DJI is just most popular so it's what is referenced. There are certainly other options, but they are almost all enterprise level... Wingtra, Sensys, etc. You're going to be doing the same thing with whatever drone you pick.

[@toneydefreitas5630]

Other drone manufacturers have drones that can do that too. Not just dji sir.

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

Which are your favorite brands and drone models?

[@awolffromamongus875]

Stuff DJI, build your own.

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

if you can, go for it!

[@tarakivu8861]

Again America-centric.. one way to ignore your other markets..

[@DroneLaunchAcademy]

That’s where I live. If I knew about mapping in another country, I’d talk about that. 🤷🏻‍♂️ principles are pretty universal, although some of the survey stuff can be specific to the US

[@princeofprintness2892]

Perfect info!! Great video!!

[@omarlopez2532]

😮 me watching this in December after its not free anymore 🥲