Howdy all!
I’m diving in to the deep end of GIS and am starting to realize getting some drone data is the next logical step and need some advice.
I’ve primarily been researching pixhawk and dji. Is it necessary to have a drone with fancy sensors to get started in photogrametry or can I get the ball rolling by hiring the kids down the street with a basic dji to zip around and take a few hundred pictures for me?
I’d go Pixhawk myself, but that’s mostly due to Open Source VS Closed, as well as having a ton of great flight planning software for it on mobile and desktop.
I’d also strongly consider the Parrot Anafi.
can you please elaborate on your choice to buy the Parrot Anafi? id love to know more
The anafi looks like an impressive little unit… Glad to see its not necessary to spend thousands for some pretty significant functionality.
Is it driven by pixhawk or is parrot closed source? I’ll do some research as well but was up at 3am this morning to fix the furnace and keep the kids warm and thought I’d pop in and say thanks
Thanks!
From what I understand, Parrott’s software platform is derived from Ardupilot, but is otherwise their own thing. Their older SLAM/CHUCK flight controllers are pixhawk-compatible and ports of Ardupilot have begun.
Their newer USA model has passed strict DOJ guidelines, allowing usage for federal projects, as well as for collecting data of CIKR.
For the Anafi platform itself, it is incredibly small/light, has an excellent camera module, great range, better than most flight autonomy time, and great compatibility with Pix4D Capture.
It isn’t that expensive for the base model, either.
I use a 3DR SOLO with a modified GoPro, but this is very much a DIY platform these days with the need for modified batteries. Otherwise, I think this is a perfect platform since the entire stack is open-source and under constant development.
Not knowing the implementation, I would worry about the electronic stabilization, as this could effect camera calibration parameters in unpredictable ways. But it looks quite nice for the price point.
The electronic stablization on the Anafi is only for the yaw axis, so pitch/roll are mechanical. I could see it potentially impacting when doing something like a tower survey, but shouldn’t it be a non-issue for most terrestrial survey?
No idea. 
But I agree it seems for a terrestrial survey that it could be less of an issue.
There’s a part of me that immediately wonders what kind of rolling shutter like corrections we may eventually have to contemplate compensating for, as camera designs get more sophisticated.
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