Autel Robotics is already a leader in commercial drones, with Autel RTK drones used for land surveying, drone solutions quickly collect accurate geotagged data, and photogrammetry software processes this data to provide standardized output.
In this article, we will illustrate an Autel RTK drone photogrammetry flight and RTK accuracy test.
Autel RTK drones can choose Autel RTK drones and Autel RTK Enterprise drones. Autel RTK Enterprise drones can be configured with RTK modules, Spotlight, Loudspaeker, and Strobe. RTK modules are configured on the top of the drone.
Autel RTK drone is sturdy and well-constructed, with waterproof function, 12 stereo vision sensors, 7.9" smart remote control, simplified and clear control application, easy operation, and can fly according to the predetermined trajectory.
The Autel RTK drone is a small foldable drone with replaceable cameras. You can choose between a 1-inch 20MP 6K camera or a dual camera with 640x512 px radiometric thermal imaging, the larger sensor will provide better quality images, the Autel EVO II Pro RTK V3 drone and the Autel EVO II Dual 640T RTK V3 drone will bring you high quality images.
During flight tests, the average wind speed was 5 m/s (18 km/h) with gusts of force 7-8. The standard flight time of 36 minutes can reach 32 minutes in actual conditions. The maximum speed of the drone is 72 km/h, and the wind speed can reach 60 km/h.
In drone photogrammetry, task types include waypoint, rectangle, polygon, tilt, and on the map of the application we select our area of interest and define parameters for it, such as: altitude (constantly converted to terrain resolution ), speed, longitudinal and lateral coverage, gimbal angle and what the drone should do afterwards (e.g. return and landing). After each parameter change, the predicted raid time, number of photos, and coverage area are refreshed.
How to configure RTK? Autel RTK drones are equipped with RTK, network RTK, and PPK. When using network RTK, the smart remote control must be connected to the Internet for correction.
After the drone flies according to the planned plan, hundreds of photos will be obtained. The edge clarity of the picture is an important factor in building a 3D model. Autel EVO II Pro RTK V3 Theoretically, at an altitude of 120m, a resolution of 2cm/px, and a speed of 10m/s, it can even cover 75 hectares in one flight.
The photos of Autel EVO II Pro V3 are satisfactory and allow for accurate research. All photo points are only used as control points, providing a sufficient reference standard in the software's synthesized 3D model. The drone also generates RINEX files so we can process the results in the PPK workflow as well, so even if we don't have RTK fixes during the flight we can achieve geodetic accuracy after the fact.
All in all, the Autel EVO II Pro RTK drone is an affordable, convenient and accurate mobile photogrammetry solution, and its interchangeable cameras add new ways to use drones. What's more, the manufacturer Autel Robotics provides an SDK for it, so we can expect more changes in apps and hardware accessories.
