Phantom 4 RTK

Terrain Awareness Guide

*Updated 03/03/2023 - No need for TFW creation for these to work

*DSMs created using this guide also work with the M300 RTK - although you should not need to create them manually any longer for the M300RTK since a recent firmware update provided the ability to directly download and utilize publicly available DSMs for TA on DJI Pilot 2.

Terrain Awareness will allow the drone to remain at a set altitude above topography with changing elevations. This leads to consistent overlap throughout the entire project and makes it so you don’t have to “terrace” your flight into a few different missions when mapping a mountainside or other area of undulating terrain. We recommend considering Terrain Awarenes/Terrain Following any time there is more than 50’ of elevation change on your project site.

Unlike Map Pilot’s Terrain Awareness, which uses the SRTM model of the earth already loaded into the software to map for elevation change, DJI’s terrain awareness is a bit less streamlined.

DJI requires you to import a DSM onto the controller via micro SD, however, there are a few technical tweaks required in order to get the GSRTK app to recognize and properly utilize the DSM.

The good news is, we know how to do it! Using the SRTM data, you can create a usable DSM in QGIS. Not sure how to use the SRTM data or QGIS we may be able to assist in creating the DSM for you.

Contact FlightOps@aerotas.com or (949) 386-2277 for more details.

If you want to give it a try yourself, you can find our technical write-up below.

The purpose of the technical workflow is to get elevation data from SRTM data for areas in the United States and make that data usable for Terrain Awareness in the DJI Phantom 4 RTK.

There are GIS applications, like Global Mapper, that can assist in this endeavor. But, you have to pay for those tools. This workflow is FREE.

This process will consist of 4 main steps:

1. Getting the Elevation Data

2. Converting and clipping the data

3. Adjusting the Elevations

4. Loading the data onto the drone SD card

5. Import data to the DJI controller

These are the steps for leveraging free SRTM elevation data in order to use the Terrain Awareness feature.

• Getting the Elevation Data

  • Download QGIS

  • Open QGIS

  • Download the SRTM Plugin

  • Add a base map

  • Import your KMZ polygon area of interest

  • Clip the data

  • Adjust the Elevations of the data

• Loading the data onto the Controller SD card

  • Put an SD card in your computer

  • Create DJI folder and a DSM folder within it

  • Within the DSM folder create another folder named whatever you like

  • Place the TIF on the SD card into the new folder within the DSM folder within the DJI folder

• Import data to the DJI controller (P4RTK)

  • Insert the SD card into the DJI controller

  • Tap three lines

  • Tap the SD card icon

  • Select the DSM file

  • Select Terrain Awareness Mode

  • Select the right DSM

  • Plan Task (aka Plan Flight Path)

• Import data to the DJI Smart Controller (M300RTK)

  • Insert SD card into controller

  • Plan mission as normal but switch “Terrain Following” ON

  • Select DSM from the appropriate external storage option

  • Continue with flight plan