IRC logs for #farmOS, 2023-07-19 (GMT)

2023-07-18
2023-07-20
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[22:44:18]* farmBOT has joined #farmos
[10:33:22]* gbathree[m] has joined #farmos
[10:33:22]<gbathree[m]>Hey guys, we're using a DJI Mavic drone for field mapping. This one comes with a reference marker to ensure high-quality GPS location, so you have very high accuracy field boundaries, enabling other drones (sprayer or seeding drones) to not hit tree limbs or power lines and stuff :)
[10:33:22]<gbathree[m]>The output is a map overlay that's more accurate. It can export KML or geoJSON. I was wondering if others had experience with stitched drone maps with reference points, and how easy / hard that was to pull into farmOS.
[10:34:44]<symbioquine[m]>wotnak has a module that allows new base map layers to be configured just by specifying the url
[10:35:01]<symbioquine[m]>That means you could serve the data using something like MapServer or MapProxy and then bring it into farmOS without any code from there.
[10:35:14]<gbathree[m]>cool!
[10:35:26]<symbioquine[m]>https://github.com/wotnak/farm_map_custom_layers
[10:35:41]<mstenta[m]>gbathree: are you looking to get TILE imagery included? Or KML/GeoJSON?
[10:35:49]<symbioquine[m]>I assume the imagery is in GeoTiff right now?
[10:36:00]<mstenta[m]>If tiles (that are hosted somewhere), then the module symbioquine pointed to would work!
[10:36:13]<gbathree[m]>I believe (?) it includes TILE imagery. These are high definition images so yeah, tile imagery (sorry I'm not that fiamilar with this space)
[10:36:14]<mstenta[m]>But you mentioned KML/GeoJSON so curious what you're trying to do
[10:36:32]<mstenta[m]>KML/GeoJSON is only points/lines/polygons - not imagery
[10:36:39]<mstenta[m]>So maybe that is just the path of the drone?
[10:36:46]<gbathree[m]>I'm about to get access to the DJI account so I'll tell you what the export options are in detail when I get there (sorry I may have been wrong in my initial description)
[10:36:55]<mstenta[m]>Cool!
[10:37:02]<mstenta[m]>I bet it has both (tiles and geometries)
[10:37:09]<gbathree[m]>no you were right, it's images -- DJI provides are interface to view it which is quite nice. Yeah, I'll check
[10:37:29]<mstenta[m]>The hardest thing with tiles is hosting them - but if you can get them hosted somewhere, then it's pretty easy to pull them into farmOS maps
[10:39:11]<gbathree[m]>I'm home with family and can see that drones are no joke... like a normal sprayer is 500k and is very complicated to maintain and run. A drone is 25k, and while it's complicated it's probably easier than a sprayer.
[10:39:11]<gbathree[m]>So you can get 20 drones for the price of a sprayer :) And you get maps with the drone, and you don't mess up the field as you do with the sprayer, etc. etc.
[10:39:24]<gbathree[m]>It's already cost-competitive, but as Li batteries get cheaper and better, and tech gets better, these drones are really going to take off, especially for smaller fields on row crop farms (50 - 150 acres) where machine paths are complicted (lots of turns) compared to big fields (200+) where it's all straight lines, like out in the midwest
[10:39:54]<mstenta[m]>I've always been curious about drone sprayers - I know nothing about them - how do they refill?
[10:40:33]<gbathree[m]>There's really only 3 companies in the ag space - DJI (by far the biggest) and 2 in the US hel.io and another. But DJI is the biggest by far. May be worth considering an integration (or process evaluation, even if not a formal integration) so people know how to connect info from one to another
[10:40:48]<gbathree[m]>We have a trailer that has a generator, chargers, a tote with a fuel bump
[10:40:51]<gbathree[m]>pump
[10:41:07]<mstenta[m]>wow cool
[10:41:39]<gbathree[m]>you have to recharge them every ~10 minutes which seems crazy, but it does work. They hold 35 gallons, but the next version will hold 55 gallons (55 gal is the FAA limit apparently without a more hard core pilots license). In other countries they have ones that hold 200 gallons, so at this point it's an FAA regulation issue
[10:42:00]<gbathree[m]>I wouldn't be surprised in in 5 years having a drone operator on a row crop farm of any size is basically a requirement for any farm
[10:42:07]<gbathree[m]>for real
[10:43:52]<symbioquine[m]><mstenta[m]> "gbathree: are you looking to get..." <- I just did a bit of googling and I think I'm understanding that they might **not** be providing the imagery already georeferenced...
[10:44:26]<symbioquine[m]>In that case you might need to preprocess the images using the path data from the drone flights
[10:47:13]<symbioquine[m]>You might need to use something like this: https://github.com/verticalphotoplacer/VerticalPhotoPlacer
[10:47:13]<mstenta[m]>Maybe DJI offers a hosted tile service?
[10:47:13]<gbathree[m]>Well, we got a system that includes a georeferenced point that you put in the field... let me see. It's RTK --> https://www.dji.com/d-rtk-2
[10:47:14]<symbioquine[m]>mstenta[m]: I wondered that too
[10:47:22]<mstenta[m]>gbathree: that's essentially how the Mapbox layer works in farmOS (the default satellite imagery) - Mapbox provides the hosted tiles and you access them with an API key
[10:47:28]<symbioquine[m]>I don't know much about the drone imagery format and I'm seeing conflicting information about what data they're providing (and how)
[10:48:17]<gbathree[m]>yes, I think they must. You can manage all your stuff on their app. I'll try to take screenshots and share. It'd be extra cool if there's a URL from DJI, that'd be super simple. I kind of doubt it thought
[10:48:17]<mstenta[m]>So from farmOS's perspective, it just needs the URL to the tiles
[10:48:17]<mstenta[m]>Super simple
[10:48:30]<gbathree[m]>right. Yep, that helps
[10:48:30]<mstenta[m]>Your challenge is getting that URL :-)
[10:48:57]<gbathree[m]>haha :) 🫡
[10:48:58]<symbioquine[m]>mstenta[m]: Browser network console?
[10:48:58]<mstenta[m]>Whether that means setting it all up yourself, or seeing if DJI offers it already
[10:49:16]<mstenta[m]>Oh I just meant "getting that URL" to encapsulate the whole "hosted images" side of the equation... whether that be manual or paying for DJI to do it
[10:50:20]<symbioquine[m]>oh, yeah
[10:50:20]<mstenta[m]>But yea, if DJI offers it and shows it in a map on their website, you might be able to just grab the URL!
[10:50:20]<symbioquine[m]>at least for personal use
[10:50:21]<symbioquine[m]>Might want to check TOS if building around it
[10:50:21]<mstenta[m]>That's what prevents us from just using Google's imagery
[10:50:21]<mstenta[m]>Although there may be licensing restrictions... ;-)
[10:50:59]<mstenta[m]>Though using wotnak's module wouldn't be "building" persay :-)
[10:51:00]<mstenta[m]>(Not sure if I, as the host of farmOS, would have any liability there...)
[10:52:55]<symbioquine[m]>Might have safe harbor protections as long as you don't know about it and respond if anyone complains.
[10:53:34]<symbioquine[m]>(Obviously, IANAL)
[10:56:28]<gbathree[m]>I would think safe harbor would count, as it is another piece of software also used and controlled by the individual, but yes all good points. I'll investigate!
[10:59:34]<paul121[m]>had no idea DJI did agriculture. write us a blog post once you figure it all out :-)
[11:00:11]<paul121[m]>it's like micro crop dusters :P
[11:01:06]<gbathree[m]>yep... but once you get to 200 gallons that's not very micro :) I'll try to take some videos. A blog post would be cool - good idea!
[11:03:04]<gbathree[m]>Also paul121 and Mo they have a nice dev login similar to john deere - I wouldn't be surprised if it's pretty easy to access those maps etc. Here's the cloud API dev page to sign up https://developer.dji.com/cloud-api/