Field requirements
What DroneMapper.ai needs from a job, for the crew flying it. Required items are the ones we check. Recommended items are what we've found works.
- Required
- Without it, the job is blocked or rejected.
- Recommended
- Not checked, but it affects your result or your price.
Camera positions
- RequiredRTK-fixed photos, or a positions file (.csv, .txt or .tsv with a header row). The camera positions place the map.
Targets
Your targets set the map's overall position and then measure its accuracy. They don't shape the model.
- RequiredAt least 3 targets inside the flight area, each in 5 or more photos.
- RequiredUse black-and-white cross panels.
- Recommended5 or more targets, spread across the site.
- RecommendedUse 2 ft black-and-white cross panels at 0.05 ft/px. That's what we've tested.
DroneMapper.ai recommends at least 5 targets spread across the site — our own guidance, not an ASPRS standard. We need at least 3 to process.
Target codes
- RequiredGive each target a point code starting with AT, GCP or CP (e.g. AT or GCP12). All three are treated the same.
Control file
- RequiredThe control file is a Trimble JXL with a full coordinate system, no site calibration, and ellipsoid heights or a supported geoid.
Photos
- RequiredPhotos are JPEG or TIFF. A RAW file needs a matching JPEG.
Flight
- RecommendedFly the GSD and overlap you entered on the quote. If your photos differ materially from what you described, your confirmed price changes to match.
- RecommendedThe standard flight: 80% forward and 80% side overlap at 0.05 ft/px.
- RecommendedFly nadir (straight-down) grids. That's what we've tested.
What happens next
We process your Job and send back your mapping, with a compliance report and checkpoint analysis.
Your report lists your check points and the error measured at each one. That is how we report accuracy, and we never guarantee it — how good the result is depends on how the data was collected.