How long does it take to process data?
We take great care in processing your data and strive to deliver results promptly. However, some datasets may present challenges that extend processing times.
Processing Timelines
Surveys
- Most datasets, provided they are in a usable format, are processed and viewable on the Propeller platform within 24 hours.
- For urgent needs, contact us—we'll do our best to prioritize your dataset.
- Processing may exceed 48 hours if data issues require manual intervention by our team.
Inspections and tiling of processed data
- Inspections are typically completed within a few hours, depending on the number of images.
- Tiling an existing GeoTIFF is often faster or comparable in turnaround time.
How do I check the status of a dataset I submitted?
You can check the status of any datasets currently being processed by clicking the DATA PROCESSING tab in the top navigation bar.
When would processing be delayed?
- GCPs are provided, but the coordinate system and height datum they were recorded in are not specified.
- Only a portion of the images have geotags.
- The survey images are of an extremely high-density vegetation area.
- The images are blurred.
When would processing be rejected?
- The images are not geotagged. Some software solutions can rectify this at your end, but the best thing to do is to ensure the camera is set up correctly for geotagging.
- The geotags have severe errors. Some examples include all images geotagged in the same location, all the images are geotagged with the ground height, or the geotags have inverted lat/long values.
- There is insufficient overlap between images. All images should have at least 70% frontal and 60% side overlap to enable us to process.
- There are less than 20 photos for a survey dataset.
- There are less than 10 photos for an inspection dataset
- GCPs are provided with a local site calibration. The coordinate system of GCP data should have either an EPSG code or a valid definition in a PRJ file.
The camera's serial number can't be detected
The Corrections section gives you more control over how we will process your data.
- Propeller PPK will merge your GNSS files with the Propeller Corrections Network, Known Point data, or a provided RINEX file to ensure the highest levels of accuracy.
- Choose Use my drone photos if you want to upload your drone photos, including any high accuracy geotags, if applicable.
Once you select the correction method, your data will be checked, and you will be guided to recommended flows through validations.
Common dataset question
Why is the data displayed incorrectly?
- The image EXIF data offers a negative altitude. This will result in the outputs displaying negative heights. (It is possible for legitimate negative geotags to occur, but this is unlikely unless flying below sea level).
- Drone data accuracy.
Why doesn't the data line up with the base map?
Occasionally, after processing a dataset, it will appear sunken or raised at a different height than the base map when viewed through the platform.
This can occur for a couple of reasons. Some drone manufacturers record altitude information, often relative to the takeoff height, instead of actual GPS altitude information.
The result is that reconstructions of the site may be inaccurate after processing. The reason they are sometimes rendered as "sunken" or "below the ground" is that differences between the base map's assumption of a perfect ellipsoidal earth and the actual shape of the planet cause them.
Your data is presented 100% at the correct actual height. It's just that the base map is slightly off. One method of changing the underlying base map so that the height discrepancy is less obvious it to change the base map to Bing Maps Roads from the Map Settings.
How can I fix it?
This can be resolved with some additional manual steps. If you are aware of any survey marks or known heights, this can help. If not, we can take rough manual steps to correct this issue for legacy data.
What is a contiguous image collection error?
Collecting and uploading a dataset should comprise only one area, not separate distinct regions. If you need to view separate areas in one map, use our Composite Survey tool to merge datasets.
Processing datasets with separated regions of images is much more likely to degrade the accuracy of the whole dataset. If there are holes in the survey you are uploading, please submit more images to fill in the holes or remove the region not connected to the rest of the survey.
If the uploader detects this issue, it will flag the images that are not connected and offer to remove just those images. If you have more to add, the validation will update to reflect that the regions are now connected.
You may receive this warning if you have a dataset with sufficient overlap but is flown much higher than the standard limit for drone operations. If this is the case, please contact data support using the chat feature in the portal to submit the dataset.
Why is the coordinate reference system not showing up?
Enter your site's coordinate reference system (CRS) when uploading survey data. If you use the Propeller Corrections Network, a list of published systems will be available.
If your CRS is not on the list, check the EPSG Code of your ground control points. You can check it through this site: https://epsg.io/
I still can't do it!
We wrote these articles to equip you with everything you need to get the job done on your own, but we understand that sometimes this isn't sufficient.
If you're stuck, you can connect with our support team by clicking the support button on the top right corner of your user portal.
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