Hi, I´m trying to configure Pix4d Capture to work with Micasense Rededge. I haven´t been able to find where I can change the camera model, which is Z# by default. I´m using a Matrice 100, eith 2 cameras mounted on it, Z3 and rededge. But for agricultural mapping I only need the rededge to take photos. How do I do this with pix4d capture?
regards
Franco Santoro
RedEdge supports three methods of Auto-Capture: Timer mode, External Trigger mode, and Overlap mode. You can configure these settings in the RedEdge WiFi Configuration > Settings page. More in this article from Micasense’s Knowledge Base: https://support.micasense.comhttps://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/235230068-RedEdge-Automatic-Triggering-Options
I would do the following: set the RedEdge on the Overlap mode, define a mission in Pix4Dcapture (that will acquire images with the Z3) and start the mission. You should end up with images of both the Z3 and the RedEdge. At the moment it is not possible to directly trigger the RedEdge in Pix4Dcapture.
@Franco Santoro,
I am in the exact same boat. If you are running the Red Edge on the bottom of the DJI Matrice 100 using a setup like the one MicaSense sells, you can use the settings below.
Pix4DCapture: IOS Device- set your overlap to around 65%-70% and sidelap to around 85%-90%.
Android- set the overlap to around 85%-90% since you can only set the overlap.
Red Edge: Set the trigger mode to Overlap. Set percentage to 75%
The Red Edge had a much smaller sensor size than that of the X3 that is standard on the DJI Matrice 100. The auto trigger works great on the Red Edge and will capture the correct overlap. The problem is the sidelap or the amount of overlap obtained when putting the passing lanes together. If you run Pix4DCapture on an Android phone or tablet, you do not have the option to increase the sidelap separately as you can on an IOS device in its current build. What you end up having to do on Android is set the overlap (overlap & sidelap being combined) to around 85-90% for the X3 to capture around 75% sidelap on the Red Edge. This makes for extremely slow flights as the Matrice slows way down in order to capture the high overlap for the X3. I highly recommend using an IOS device until the Android app is brought up to speed.
Questions for Pix4D:
In the future will there be an update to tell DJI aircraft that there is another sensor besides the standard equipped from DJI such as the Red Edge?
Will Android devices have the ability to change overlap and sidelap independently as you can on IOS devices?
Thanks and I hope this helped.
The Micasense RedEdge camera is not integrated to Pix4Dcapture, meaning all settings related to image triggering (overlap, camera angle, etc.) cannot apply and they will not be taken into account during the mission. The drone takes off but the the camera has to be triggered externally (e.g. timer).
I can, however, report this need for integrating the camera to fly with DJI drones like the Matrice 100.
As for the separate overlaps, front and side, the Android developers have it in their pipeline.
Thank you for the feedback!
I have a Rededge M.
What are the settings for Focal length (mm), Sensor width (mm) image width (pixel) image height (pixel) and Min. triggering interval.
Hi Gennaro,
The focal length of Rededge M is 5.4 mm, sensor width: 4.8 mm, Image width: 1280 pixels, image height: 960 pixels.
Hello,
We have a matrice 100 with rededge but no camera from DJI mounted!, just the rededge and the mission with pix4d Capture does not go thru!. Is there any chance to avoid pix4d capture to jump this camera mandatory settings and fly just the mission, having in mind we will setup the micasense separately fot this purpose.
Have you consider develop this functionality or even consider other sensors integration instead the DJI ones??
Hi Julian,
Thank you for your questions. It is possible to implement customs camera using Pix4Dcapture.
It is important to notice that the integration of the camera on the drone has to be done properly by the user. Also, the camera needs the ability to set a timelapse in it as it won’t be triggered by Pix4Dcapture.
Also, we are evaluating at the moment the possibility/feasibility to integrate a Micasense camera on Matrice DJI drones.
Are you using the Android or iOS version of Pix4Dcapture?
If flying with Android, do you bump into the issue that has also been reported in this thread on our community? The Android version does not have the custom camera functionality for the moment which enables to fly taking into account the parameters of the camera you would like to integrate and then to have the good overlap.
I would recommend you to use the iOS version of Pix4Dcapture as a development has been done to implement custom camera which is not existing on the Android version. The procedure to implement a custom camera can be found here. The important step is to define the time-lapse directly in the settings of the camera, and then apply the same value for the Min. triggering interval [s] in the application. If not, the camera will not take any picture as it cannot be controlled by Pix4Dcapture.
Best,
Hi Gael-
Has custom camera configuration been added to the Android version of Capture yet?
And has Capture been tested to support the DJI M210 V2 yet?
I recently acquired a MicaSense Altum and would like to fly our M210 V2 with it and the X5S. Please advise on the best way to accomplish this, preferably using Android OS.
Thanks,
-pat
Hello @Pat_Iampietro,
The custom camera option is not yet added to the Android version of the Pix4Dcapture app and it is currently not in our pipeline to support it in 2020. The app has not been tested with DJI M210 V2 drone. For more information about supported drones and camera, I would recommend you to go through our support article on Supported drones, cameras and controllers.
If a Non-DJI camera is mounted on DJI drones, Pix4Dcapture will not be able to trigger the camera. Making it work will rely on the fact that a timelapse can be set in this custom camera. A specific functionality has been developed on iOS to keep the right overlap up to the camera specifications. More information here.
Regards,
Hi Kapil-
Thanks for your response. What has happened to Capture development and support? It seems Pix4D has pretty much abandoned the idea of keeping Capture current with industry standard aircraft and sensors, as well as reaching equity between the iOS and Android versions.
The M210 V2 is over a year old, and the V1 is no longer even available. The MicaSense Altum has been around at least as long. This ticket regarding the RedEdge-M is even older.
If Capture is dead in the water, I suppose your users will need to explore other flight planning & control applications.
Thanks for all the references, I’ve already explored them all.
Cheers,
-pat
No comment? Has Pix4D Capture development halted, or can we expect it to be updated to work with new drones as they replace aging models? Will the Android and iOS versions ever have the same functionality?
Thank you.
Cheers,
-pat