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Using Propeller PPK with Autel EVO II

If you fly an Autel Evo II Pro RTK (V1/V2) drone with the XT705 Camera, you can use the Propeller PPK workflow to process your images accurately. The Autel Evo II Pro RTK is a drone solution that may be used on job sites that require American-made drones. It is not Blue UAS certified.

Data Capture

Review these considerations when using an Autel Evo II Pro RTK to produce the most accurate model possible. 

Ground Control

AeroPoint 2s are required for all situations when processing Autel Evo II Pro RTK data with Propeller PPK. 

AeroPoint 1s are not compatible with the Autel Evo II Pro RTK + Propeller PPK workflow.

Camera and Mission Settings

For any questions on troubleshooting, drone setup, using Autel Explorer, etc., please refer to the Autel Knowledge Base. Please review our Autel Support Article for support responsibilities. Autel can also be reached for support by email at support@autelrobotics.com.

Propeller recommends the following mission settings:

Mission Setting Set to Question to Ask Yourself Reason
Altitude 200-300ft (60-90m) How high should I fly comparative to the takeoff point? The height is a balance between how quickly you would like to complete your survey (higher makes it faster) and the ground sampling distance that you need. This range satisfies this balance.
Mission Relative Altitude 0 Is the terrain I want to survey at a different altitude than my homepoint? Unless the terrain you are surveying is at a very different altitude than your takeoff point, leave this setting at 0.
Speed 50-60% of max allowable How fast should I fly? *Unless you're trying to reach the required 10min mission time, increase the speed to minimize overall flight time. In low light conditions, reduce the speed and the shutter speed to ~1/800.
Front Overlap 80% How much should each of the images overlap each other? This provides enough overlap for if some images are missing or poor quality, while still building a contiguous model. The lower the detail on the surface below, the higher your overlap should be. If you have a large area to survery, you can look at reducing the horizontal overlap (no lower than 60%) to increase the area you can cover per battery.
Shooting Angle 0° Which way should the craft orient itself when flying? We want the camera to take images along the flight path in alternating directions.
Side Overlap 80% How much should each of the images overlap each other? This provides enough overlap for if some images are missing or poor quality, while still building a contiguous model. The lower the detail on the surface below, the higher your overlap should be. If you have a large area to survery, you can look at reducing the horizontal overlap (no lower than 60%) to increase the area you can cover per battery.
Gimbal Pitch 90° What should I point the camera at while flying? All good surveys start with images facing directly down (nadir). These can then be complemented by angled shots (obliques). 90º is facing straight down, 0º is horizontal facing the direction of the drone.
Finish Action Go Home What should the drone do after completing the mission? Safety and not losing your drone. Once completed, the drone will make its way back to the home point automatically.
Loss Action Go Home What should the drone do after if it loses connection to the remote? Safety and not losing your drone. If connection is lost, the drone will make its way back to the home point automatically.
Course Angle User Preference What direction should I fly to cover the survey area? You want long passes across the site.
Double Grid Off Do I need good vertical face imagery? If VFI is important, we recommend doing an oblique mission.
Elevation Optimization Off Is my terrain or altitude expected to vary during flight? When enabled, the drone will take a few oblique images at the end of the flight. You do not need these to process your data with Propeller.
Weather Set to conditions What conditions should I accomodate for? Adjust the setting to reflect current weather conditions. Setting the white balance incorrectly will result in poor stitching and/or inaccurate coloring of your model.
EXIF Compatibility Pix4D How do you want the EXIF data to be written? Our system expects images with the EXIF data in certain formats.

 

Camera Settings Set to Question to Ask Yourself Reason
Size 5472x3648 (3:2) How much of the image should I delete? 3:2 deletes nothing, utilizing the whole sensor. Everything else deletes data.
Format JPG How should the images be saved? Images must be in a JPG format to upload to Propeller.
Exposure Mode Shutter Priority How should the exposure be controlled? To avoid motion blur. Shutter priority tells the camera that a fixed shutter speed must be used. The camera can adjust the exposure with apeture and ISO.
Shutter 1/1000 How fast should the shutter close? 1000 is usually a good place to start for sunny conditions. In low light conditions, reduce the shutter speed to ~1/800 and lower the speed.
ISO Mode Auto How bright do I want my images? You want your ISO to adjust to the conditions of the day.
EV 0 How much do I want to stray from the recommended exposure? This dial shows you how far away from the recommended exposure settings you are before you take a photo with manual settings.
WB (White Balance) Set to conditions What conditions should I accomodate for? Adjust the setting to reflect current weather conditions. Setting the white balance incorrectly will result in poor stitching and/or inaccurate coloring of your model.
Digital Zoom 1.0X How much do I want to zoom in on my survey area? If you want to closer imagery of the ground or features, use a lower mission altitude.
AF (Camera Focus Mode) AF Do I want to manually set the focus for each image? Without adjusting the focus for every image, the images will only be clear on at one particular elevation. Blurry pictures are catastrophic for photogrammetry.
Color None Do I want to change the colors in the images? You don't want to alter the color in the images.
Style STD. Do I want to change the colors in the images? You don't want to alter the color in the images.
Camera Slider Bars Set to Question to Ask Yourself Reason
Lock Gimbal While Shooting Enabled Do you want the gimbal to lock in place while it takes a photo? Leave this on its default setting. This will help prevent blurry images.
Save Location SD Card Where should the images and GPS files be saved? Images and files should be saved to the microSD card.
All Other Settings Disabled Do I need any other settings to be changed? These settings matter for manually-taken images, not planned missions.

Data Upload 

After creating a site, you can then begin the upload process. 

Upon the drone’s first upload, you will be prompted to register the drone in Propeller.

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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