Propeller AeroPoint Ground Control Points for Drone Mapping

The Propeller AeroPoint Ground Control Points for Drone Mapping are built for beginners and validated by experts. AeroPoints are the industry’s only smart ground control points. Use it with any drone and on any worksite to capture survey-grade data every time you fly.

Fully Automated Processing In Propeller Corrections Network Coverage Areas

Aero Points Ground Control automated processing is the simplest way to use Aero Points Ground Control Points on your site. It ensures a standard 24-hour turnaround time and preserves the efficiency benefits that these smart GCPs provide on your drone survey.

If you’re within the Network, choose the Propeller Corrections Network during your dataset upload and we will take care of the rest. There is no need for sending in supporting data or spreadsheets.

Using an Aero Point as a Base Station on a Known Mark

You might also be working on a site with its own calibration. If you are using local coordinates, we recommend using your AeroPoint on a known mark.

 

Simply place an AeroPoints Ground Control Points on a known survey mark or benchmark location in your survey area. Be sure to place this AeroPoint first, and pick it up last. This allows it to record data for the duration of your flight. Propeller then used this AeroPoint, combined with the known coordinates of the mark it was sitting on, as the reference point for the other AeroPoints used in the survey.

 

Using an Aero Point to Create a New Known Mark

If you don’t have the option of using the Network or there aren’t known marks available, the global accuracy of your survey will be reduced.  But you can still use AeroPoints to get results that are internally accurate and consistent over time.

To use this method: Find a hard, flat surface that won’t move or be disturbed, and establish your own “mark.” (We recommend using heavy-duty spray paint like that used for line marking.) Place one AeroPoint at this mark and ensure it is left in place to record at least two hours of data.

For your first drone survey, we’ll use the data from this AeroPoint to calculate an estimated point. Then when you fly your site again, we’ll treat that coordinate as a “known mark.”

Using Your RINEX Corrections

Should you have access to a dual frequency L1/L2 RTK rover or your site has an RTK base station receiver, you can provide us with RINEX formatted GNSS observations for the period of your survey. We then use that as the reference point.

This RINEX file must have an accurate location for the base in the header, as this is the location that the AeroPoints will be measured against. To properly process your data, we need RINEX version 2.11 with a minimum frequency of one observation every 10 seconds. It must cover the whole period of the drone survey and have no gaps longer than 10 minutes.

 

Specifications