Overview
Before uploading a data set for mapping purposes there needs to be a suitable map to upload to and to process from. If this has not been created already or provided to you please follow the below steps, otherwise skip to the uploading section.
Creating a Map
Login to your account at cloud.birdi.io and click on create a map
Give your map a name that will make it easily identifiable by yourself and anyone you will be sharing it with and put in the location of where the flight has or will occur.
Click +Create a map from the top right
Click next and then choose the mapping style objective.
Give your objective a name that will clearly identify the contents of the data you will upload and upload the KML file (flight boundary file) that was used during the flight planning phase. This KML file will generally form the boundary of any outputs requested during the processing phase such as orthophotos, DTMs and DSMs.
Following this you can create more objectives for different different data sets that you would like to have processed into mapping outputs.
Uploading the Data
Go to your Birdi profile at cloud.birdi.io and go to ‘My Missions’ if you created it or ‘Shared With Me’.
Once you’re inside the correct mission you please click on the ‘Objectives’ tab and then scroll until you find the relevant objective.
Click on the upload button.
From here you can start to upload your data set either by directly uploading from your device or using one of the integrations including Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive. To upload directly from your device either drag and drop the files or click on ‘browse files’ and navigate to the data and select all relevant files.
Alternatively you can click on the Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive link which will take you to an external page to log you into your cloud service before you can select which files you would like to upload.
Once the files have been selected you can click on the upload button in the bottom left of the window and then you can track the progress of your upload. Please make sure not to close your browser until the upload is complete.
You can add additional files by clicking on the ‘+ Add more’ button in the top right corner and following the steps as before otherwise you can click on the X to close the popup window.
Please note that if your internet connection is either particularly slow or prone to interruptions it is recommended that you upload the data in batches or conduct an initial test batch.
Checking the Data
Once the data has finished uploading it is advised that a couple of checks are completed before either requesting any processing or sharing the mission with anyone.
Check Number of Attachments
You can quickly compare the number of photos that have been uploaded with the number you intended to by going to the objective and checking the number of attachments such as in the screenshot below.
If there is not enough data you can select the media tab.
Then you can filter by objective name and scroll through the data. Assuming your files were numbered sequentially you should be able to identify any mission section of photos.
Map Coverage
Once the upload is complete you can conduct a visual check to ensure there is adequate coverage of the area of interest.
First make sure the media icons are switched on by clicking the media button in the bottom right hand corner.
Then you can check the coverage of the KML. The image below is an example of good coverage that is suitable for processing.
If there are gaps in the coverage please follow the steps above to ensure that all of your data has been uploaded otherwise gaps may cause issues with processing and could require a refly.
If any gaps are on the outside or the photos do not reach the edge of the KML an alternate KML can be used during the processing to discount those areas.
What's Next?