Waypoint Planner Help & Documentation

Quick Start

Interface Overview

Map Controls

Projects

Up to 20 named missions are stored in your browser's localStorage. Changes auto-save whenever a parameter changes. Use + New to name and save a mission, and the ▶ / ⧉ / ✕ buttons to load, duplicate, or delete.

Flight Parameters

Altitude

The height above your takeoff point at which the drone will fly the entire mission. All altitude values in the KMZ are relative to takeoff — the drone does not read terrain elevation.

Higher altitude → larger ground footprint → fewer photos needed → faster mission, but lower image resolution (higher GSD).
Lower altitude → smaller footprint → more photos → slower mission, but finer resolution.

Speed

The drone's flight speed along each scan line. Faster speeds complete missions quicker but can cause motion blur at lower altitudes and may not give the camera enough time between shots.

Overlap

Higher overlap = more photos = more redundancy for photogrammetry software = slower mission and larger KMZ. Most photogrammetry pipelines (DroneDeploy, Pix4D, Agisoft Metashape) recommend at least 75% front and 65% side overlap.

What is GSD?

Ground Sample Distance (GSD) is the real-world size of one pixel in your images when projected on the ground.

The planner uses each drone's actual focal length (not the 35 mm equivalent) and physical sensor dimensions for accurate GSD calculation.

Drawing Your Mission Area

1. Use the search bar to fly to your location, or pan/zoom the map manually.
2. Click Draw Area. The cursor changes to a crosshair.
3. Click each corner of your survey boundary. A preview polygon appears as you click.
4. Double-click the final vertex to close the polygon.
5. Flight lines generate automatically inside the boundary.
6. To adjust, click Edit Vertices and drag any point. Click Done to confirm.

The flight path drawn on the map shows the complete route, including the connecting turns between rows.

Reading the Stats

Shot Interval Warning

Every drone has a minimum time between photos. If your speed is too high, the camera physically cannot fire fast enough and you will have gaps in your coverage — even though the mission will appear to complete normally.

Exporting the KMZ

Click Export KMZ to download the mission file. The file is named waypoint-planner-mission.kmz.

What's inside the KMZ?

A KMZ is a renamed ZIP file. This planner creates DJI's WPML format, which contains two files:

Each waypoint encodes: GPS coordinates, altitude (relative to takeoff), flight speed, heading mode, and a takePhoto action. The drone fires the camera each time it reaches a waypoint.

Large missions — automatic file splitting

DJI controllers have a hard limit of 65,535 waypoints per mission file. If your mission exceeds this, the planner will ask to split the export into numbered files (part1.kmz, part2.kmz, …). Load them as separate missions and fly them back-to-back.

Loading the KMZ on Your Controller

RC-N1 Controller (Phone required)

The RC-N1 uses your smartphone running DJI Fly. The KMZ file must be on your phone.

Android

1. Transfer waypoint-planner-mission.kmz to your phone via USB, AirDrop, email, or cloud storage.
2. Open DJI Fly → tap your drone on the home screen.
3. Tap the ▶ Fly button to enter the camera view.
4. Tap the three-dot menu (top-right) → Flight Route.
5. Tap Import → navigate to your KMZ file → select it.
6. The mission loads on the map. Tap Start to begin.

iOS (iPhone/iPad)

1. Save the KMZ to your Files app (iCloud Drive, On My iPhone, etc.).
2. In DJI Fly, follow the same steps above — the iOS file picker will open.

DJI RC / RC 2 (Built-in Screen)

These controllers run DJI Fly on an Android-based built-in screen. No phone needed.

1. Connect the controller to your PC or Mac with a USB-C cable.
2. The controller appears as a USB storage device. Open it in File Explorer / Finder.
3. Navigate to Internal Storage / DJI / missions / (create the folder if it doesn't exist).
4. Copy waypoint-planner-mission.kmz into that folder.
5. Safely eject the controller, then disconnect the cable.
6. On the controller: open DJI Fly → camera view → three-dot menu → Flight Route → Import.
7. Select your file and tap Start.

DJI RC Pro (Built-in Screen)

The RC Pro is a higher-spec version of the RC with a brighter screen and longer battery. File transfer is identical to the RC / RC 2 above.

The RC Pro also supports Wi-Fi file transfer:

1. Enable Wi-Fi on the RC Pro (Settings → Wi-Fi).
2. Connect your computer to the same network.
3. Access the RC Pro's shared storage via its IP address in a browser or file manager.
4. Copy the KMZ file into DJI / missions /.

DJI Pilot 2 (Enterprise Drones)

DJI Pilot 2 is used with enterprise drones (Mavic 3 Enterprise) and enterprise controllers (RC Plus, Smart Controller Enterprise).

1. Connect your RC Plus to a PC via USB-C.
2. Copy the KMZ to Internal Storage / DJI / missions /.
3. Open DJI Pilot 2 → Plan → Route Library.
4. Tap Import → select the KMZ file.
5. Review the mission on the map and tap Execute.

Drone & Controller Compatibility Chart

* DJI GO 4 drones can fly waypoint missions via DJI Ground Station Pro (iPad only) using a different mission format. The KMZ from this planner is not compatible with DJI GO 4 or Ground Station Pro.

Tips & Best Practices

Planning

• Check the airspace before flying — use B4UFLY (US), NATS (UK), or your regional authority's tool.
• Scout the site on satellite view. Look for obstacles (trees, towers, buildings) that may fall within or near your polygon.
• Add 10–20% to your estimated flight time for take-off, landing, and return-to-home. Plan battery swaps accordingly.
• For large areas, break the mission into battery-sized chunks and use multiple projects.
• Use higher overlap (80/75) in areas with repetitive textures (corn fields, flat roofs) — photogrammetry software struggles to match low-overlap images in these conditions.

Altitude & GSD

• A GSD of 2–3 cm/px is typically sufficient for agricultural scouting and construction progress monitoring.
• For stockpile volumetrics, aim for 1–2 cm/px with 80%+ overlap on all sides.
• For large corridor surveys (roads, pipelines), you can increase altitude and reduce overlap to cover ground faster.

Camera & Conditions

• Fly in consistent lighting — avoid missions that cross from shadow into sunlight mid-run, as exposure differences make stitching harder.
• Fly within 2 hours of solar noon for shortest shadows. Early morning / late afternoon light is great for visual inspection but produces long shadows that confuse photogrammetry.
• Wind above 15 mph (24 km/h) can cause the drone to drift, reducing overlap consistency. Check wind forecasts before flying.
• Use fixed shutter speed where possible (not Auto) to prevent motion blur. A rule of thumb: shutter speed should be at least 1/(2 × GSD_cm × speed_m/s). For 2 cm GSD at 8 m/s, that's 1/32 s or faster.

Post-processing

• Common photogrammetry apps: DroneDeploy, Pix4D, Agisoft Metashape, OpenDroneMap (open source).
• Most apps accept a folder of JPEG or DNG images. You don't need to import the KMZ into the processing software.
• Add ground control points (GCPs) for survey-grade accuracy. Without GCPs, expect 1–3 m horizontal and 2–5 m vertical absolute accuracy.

Troubleshooting