Game Changer - Winter 2023

31 January 2023 - Game Changer

Up until this point I have been using a compass, pole, rope and imagination to create designs. I have been programming my drone to fly over the designs and photograph and video tape them. With trial and error I had tried to use an old handheld GPS to create patterns. I had even created programs and uploaded them to that GPS without being able to walk a successful design. (Click on any photo to enlarge)

Brainstorming, I wondered if I could use my drone? I had already figured out how to overlay a pattern on the field using Google Earth and plot out GPS points. I then transferred that pattern to Litchi and set up a program for the drone to fly 10 feet off the ground to those GPS points; I planned to follow the drone. A known issue is that GPS is only accurate to about 10 feet.

Initial results were exciting! The outline came out as good as could be expected. I did make one mistake by following the drone from an outside point to the middle. You can see it's not perfect, but a great template to work with. I quickly learned that trying to do a design within a design was not possible. The GPS is just not accurate enough.