Fly a vertical scan in Site Scan Flight for ArcGIS

Summary

Site Scan Flight for ArcGIS Vertical flight mode is used to safely and reliably scan vertical surfaces, such as mine walls, bridges, dams, buildings, and towers. Instructions provided describe how to set up a vertical scan on an iPad.

Procedure

Planning

1. Update Site Scan Flight for ArcGIS to the newest version.
2. Open the app on the iPad.
3. Select Vertical from the Flight Modes screen

4. Type a name for the flight (optional).
5. Type the address or closest city to the flight location. Use the map to zoom to the specific flight area.
6. Tap Next in the bottom left corner to go to the 2D settings screen.
7. Drag the horizontal line using the three vertices (white circles) so that the line runs along the wall of the area of interest. No offset is needed yet. The green pointers indicate the direction the drone faces.
8. Tap Next, and adjust the path flight settings on the 2D view or 3D view.
9. Once the flight path is parallel to the surface to scan, tap Next in the bottom left corner.
10. On the 3D flight planning screen, adjust:
    • Offset
    • Region of Interest ROI
    • Min ROI Elevation
    • Max ROI Elevation
    • Minimum Altitude
    • Maximum Altitude
    • Travel Altitude
    • enable Overlays

• To reduce the flight time and number of images increase the Offset.
• Additional visual flight path settings can be accessed by tapping the settings button (gear icon) in the top left corner of the 3D map viewer.
• Enable the Camera Projection at the bottom of the settings menu, and adjust the distance to visualize the area of the ROI's facade to be captured by each photo.
• To adjust the horizontal flight path tap the left arrow (<) button at the top of the left sidebar.

11. After finalizing the settings in the 3D flight planning view tap Next to go to the Pre-Flight checklist.
12. Make sure the iPad is plugged in to the controller and connected to the drone. Check one last time for any potential obstacles above and on the flight path to the region of interest. When ready slide the bar below the checklist to take-off.

Settings definitions

Note: 
Use these settings to minimize the amount of sky captured in the photos and avoid other obstacles while scanning vertical structures.

• Offset: horizontal distance from the drone to the ROI's surface. Increase the offset to reduce flight time.
• Min ROI Elevation: the lowest elevation for the region of interest.
• Max ROI Elevation: the highest elevation for the region of interest.
• Minimum Altitude: the minimum altitude the drone is allowed to fly. Can be set to 20 feet if the Min ROI is at ground level.
• Maximum Altitude: the maximum altitude the drone is allowed to fly.
• Travel Altitude: the height the drone flies to after takeoff and maintain until it reaches the region of interest.