Allow offline maps

Pix4D Capture is an amazing app - except that when we are in the field we have no maps!
We need the functionality to allow offline or cached maps. I realize that it is possible to cache the maps in memory, but the beta version of the app crashes so frequently with the P3 Pro, that this feature is useless.

Thanks for all the work the team is doing to improve the app and software.

1 Like

Hi Will,
Thank you for your feedback.
The application has 100 Mb of cache to store the maps that are loaded. To store the maps in the cache you should load the maps and zoom in and out to save different zoom levels. However if you restart the application the maps stored in the cache will be erased.

We will be improving the stability of the beta with new versions.

We are also thinking on adding an option to store the maps in the application so that if you have to restart the app, the maps are not erased. Currently our priority is to integrate the Phantom 3 and the Inspire 1. So this feature will not be available in the short term.

Regards,

Thanks for replying.
I have seen those caching instructions, however the app crashes so frequently (especially when not connected to the phantom), that we always lose the maps. I am looking forward to the new app versions, and would love to be able to store maps in the application.

I would like to add a request for this important feature.

All locations where we have been using drones have no internet, and with the app crashing frequently it is virtually impossible for the cache to work. Even without the crashes, it is common for Android to close background apps when memory is low.

The ability to permanently download maps or read maps from a local folder is critical for this being useful where drone mapping is more useful.

 

I would like the possibility to load local maptiles, not the ones that you found internet but your own maptiles, in this way you could add some marks on the base map, or points of interest or anything you want.

There are many software available that can create maptiles in the Openstreetmap format for example that can be loaded in many applications.

For me it would be a great feature to have and forget about having the cache.

I have to add that were I live in we have very good free base stuff.

Hi Gregor and Roma,

Regarding the background map, it is possible to cache them before going to the field when you have internet connection in the office.
If the app crashes, the cached information should remain but it also depends on the phone and the memory usage as highlighted by Gregor.

It should work in most cases. Here are our recommendations to make it effective:

  • Define the size of the grid you wish to fly and move it to the background of the location of interest.
  • Move all around the grid in order to load the surrounding tiles.
  • Repeat it at different levels zoom. For high level of zoom make sure to cover the area below the grid.
  • Wait a bit to between each move to make sure the tiles are loaded properly.

We are aware that in some places, tiles are missing depending on the zoom level. It can be possible to zoom but no tile is displayed or the zoom level is blocked. Unfortunately, only the map provider is responsible for that. Switching from the satellite to the map view might partially solve the problem of the missing background information when adjusting your grid in Pix4Dcapture. It is indeed more up to date than the satellite view.

So far it is not planned to change the provider, but our developers are working on finding a solution that would allow the users to import/save some local maps so that you can easily perform missions when the data are completely outdated or when you are offline for instance.

Regards,

Hi,

I knew this feature you are telling, but It would be very useful that you can load your own maps, I mean some .ecw for example or maptiles created with another software, for example the Slippy map tiles format:

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Slippy_map_tilenames 

In my case I have very good base maps from aerial images, and I would like to use them instead of depending of googlemaps or any other provider. You could even use for base map and orthophoto created from a previous flight and generated with pix4d.

Thank you very much.

Hi Roma,

Indeed we totally understand the need for importing your own offline maps.
We have forwarded this suggestion to the developers and product development team which is highly requested and in our pipeline as a top priority.

Thank you for your feedback.

Regards,

Good to hear that this is a top priority. For us support for mbtiles would be useful, since this is a standard, open format for tiled maps used by many other applications that support offline tiles. It would be fantastic to be able to be able to load an mbtiles file onto the app and use that as the map background.

Hi Pix4D,
I have the same problem as everybody else, I am going in the field, the remote beaches of south Australia and no internet there…
But instead of saving map for aa futur offline use, I wiould like to plan my missions (not just one) when in the office, save the grid in the mission manager and then run the mission when i get to mission location, is that possible?
Cheers
Medie

Hi,

@ Gregor: We took the request for the MBTiles into consideration for the current development of the app.

@ Mederic: We also forwarded the need for offline maps. Note that it is possible to temporarily saved the background tiles for few days so you can load the tiles having Internet connection and then go to the field where there is no connection.

As for the possibility to plan several mission, we have just released a new official Android version of Pix4Dcapture (3.0.1).
These are the release notes: https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/210447423
How to use the Project List: https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/208820126

Let us know your feedback!

Regards,

Adding another voice to the mob here. Our company has been extremly impressed with Pix4D mapper software as we roll out our UAV department. We are engaged in a number of surveys across remote regions of northamerica for mining and enviromental moitoring mapping. Pix4D Capture, in it’s current for, is not suitable for our work. As much as we would like to remain in a closed and supported environment from capture to processing, without the ability to load custom map tiles or to input flight grid corners with exact coordinates from a selectable coordinate system, it will remain as software for small demos only.

Will be following continued development closely.

I’ll add my hat to the list. I’m headed to demo sUAS in South America, extremely remote, and without internet and I see this being a problem as I’d like to sell them on Pix4D too…

Hi Bill and Nick,

Thank you for your feedback.

The offline map option (to save background tiles locally on the device) will be available in the coming new Android version that will be released very soon (this week).

Regards,

Is it possible to use the previous aerial photomosaic as a background map instead of google when planning the next mission? Google map is outdated and when you need to survey stockpiles or other earthworks, they aren’t shown on google maps, for IOS.

Hi Iain,

That is not possible. You can try some other basemap providers: https://community.pix4d.com/t/7319–Android-iOS-Background-map-basemap-provider-resolution-is-low- 

Momtanu,

Thank you for replying. Maybe then that should be priority on the wish list to set the previous job as a background map. If you have certain areas within a large site you need to make particular notice of, then that would be very useful indeed when planning a mission. I know drone deploy allows this.

Hi Iain, I will surely forward the suggestion to our developers.

Many thanks Momtanu.

Could you also suggest a double grid for a polygon also in Pix4D capture.this has been a wish for a long time.

Hi Iain, I have added this as well to the list. However, the developers try to prioritize the features which are in most demand. I cannot really say when you will get to see this feature, but we try to take feedbacks and feature requests into account always.