Running a Survey

Survey processing is the Process step of the job: raw photos in, measurable maps out. Every map lives on a mission card inside its Project. Open the project from Office › Work › Field › DSP · /office/work/field/dsp: each mission card walks through eight steps, from “Add mission” to “Deliver to client”. Maps that are not in a project yet are listed on the DSP page under “Not in a project”, with “Move to project”.

Start a run

1. In the left menu, click Office › Work › Field › DSP.
2. Click the folder, then click the project.
3. On the mission’s card, click “Upload photos”. The map page opens at the upload step, already linked to the project and the mission.

Step 1 — Upload your drone files

Drag and drop everything from the drone into “Drag & drop your DJI drone files here” — or click to browse:

• Photos in JPG, PNG or TIFF image format — minimum 5, though real jobs are usually hundreds.
• GNSS files (MRK, OBS, NAV, RTK) — these enable PPK position correction.
• GCP files (.txt or .csv) — auto-detected, and anchor the reconstruction to known coordinates (see GCP & PPK Accuracy).

PPK correction

When your DJI GNSS files (OBS/NAV/MRK) are detected, you’ll see “PPK data detected”. PPK correction locates your flight from the observation file, pulls base-station observations for your flight’s date from the nearest NOAA/NGS CORS station, and post-processes with RTKLIB to compute centimeter-level photo positions — no base station required from you. If CORS data isn’t available for your flight’s date or area, we’ll tell you honestly and ask for a manual base station file instead. Accuracy is best when a CORS station is nearby; on long baselines expect it to taper.

Step 2 — Quality, cost, and start

1. In “Review Before Uploading”, pick a Processing Quality: - Fast (up to 10 cm/px) — quick progress maps and coverage checks. - Standard (up to 5 cm/px) — most client deliverables. The default. - High (up to 2 cm/px) — final measured work; takes significantly longer. - Ultra (up to 1 cm/px) — the finest detail.
2. Check the Processing Cost card. It shows exactly what the run will draw before you commit — how much comes from your plan’s monthly allowance and how much from purchased credits. Standard quality costs about one credit per photo (with a small minimum per job to cover job start-up), Fast costs half, High double. If you’re short, the card says so and offers “Add Credit” (/survey/billing/credits); the run won’t start until it’s covered.
3. Click “Upload & Process”. You can close the page; processing continues on our servers.

Flying with ground control? In step 3, choose “Upload only — then ground control (step 6) and processing (step 7)”. After the GCPs are set, the mission card’s step 7, “Make the map: options”, has Coordinate system, Contour interval (default 2 ft), Turbo (priority processing, up to about 2× faster, +50% credits) and Structure mode (one whole 3D textured model of a building or object instead of tiles). Click “Process Data” to start.

What the statuses mean

The run’s badge walks through UPLOADING → QUEUED → PROCESSING → READY (or FAILED, or NEEDS_CREDITS if the balance ran short). In the new UI the badge reads Uploading, Queued, Processing, Ready, Failed or Needs credits. While processing, the page shows the live stage — extracting and matching features, reconstructing the scene, building the dense point cloud, meshing and texturing the model, then the elevation model, orthomosaic, and map tiles — plus how many jobs are ahead of yours in the queue.

What you get

When the run turns Ready:

• Orthomosaic — the measurable top-down map.
• Digital Surface Model (DSM) and Digital Terrain Model (DTM).
• Contour lines and hillshade.
• Classified point cloud — explore it in the “Point Cloud” tab.
• 3D model — a textured mesh in the “3D Model” tab.

Click “Open Map” to launch the map workspace: toggle and reorder layers, add survey points (ground points, spot elevations, benchmarks), draw lines, breaklines and polygons, and measure distance and area. Tools include “Cross-Section”, “Volume (Cut/Fill)”, contour regeneration, and surface flattening. From the run page you can also click “Export DXF”, “Export PDF”, “Deliverable Report”, and “Coverage Map”. (In the new UI these are under “More”, in lower case: “Open map”, “Deliverable report”, “Coverage map”.)

Already have a finished ortho?

1. Go to Office › Work › Field › DSP, click the folder, then the project.
2. On the mission’s card, click “Upload photos”. The map page opens.
3. Find “Already have a finished map? Upload a pre-processed GeoTIFF (orthomosaic / DSM)”.
4. Click “Upload GeoTIFFs” and pick your Orthomosaic and/or DSM GeoTIFF.

The ortho is wired in as the map’s ortho layer (with a Cloud-Optimized build for smooth panning) rather than being filed as a photo.

Common questions

How many photos do I need? At least 5 to start a run, but quality comes from overlap — plan missions with the default 85/70 overlaps and let the photo count be what it is.

Do I need my own base station for PPK? No. Base observations come from the nearest NOAA/NGS CORS station when available. If we can’t get CORS data for your flight’s date or area, we tell you and ask for a manual base station file instead.

What does processing cost? About one credit per photo at Standard quality (half at Fast, double at High, +50% for Turbo), with a small per-job minimum. The cost card shows the exact number — plan allowance first, then credits — before you start.

Can I leave while it processes? Yes. Processing runs on our servers; close the page and come back anytime. The run’s status badge and stage bar pick up where things are.