Before You Start
Our current preferred capture app is Scanlink, and SiteSee no longer supports the Mission Planner app for new clients. This document and all related Mission Planner documentation is provided for the benefit of pilots who already have been trained in using the SiteSee Mission Planner for their captures. Please note that we will not process any image sets that are submitted by pilots who have not been instructed by us. So, if you are new to SiteSee and interested in our services, please contact us first to make the necessary arrangements to get started with the Scanlink capture app. Thank you.

Purpose of this Guide
Equipment Requirements
Planning and Flying a Mission
Step 1 - Start and Connect the SiteSee Mission Planner App
Step 2 - Determine Tower Dimensions
Step 3 - Input Cell Tower
Step 4 - Create Flight Plans
Calibration Flight Plan
Verticals - Main Run
Verticals - Final Run
Viewing and Editing a Flight Plan
Saving, Loading and Deleting Flight Plans
Step 5 - Adjust Camera Settings
Set Exposure
Adjust Focus
Step 6 - Launch Mission
Mission Pause/Cancel
Pausing a Mission
Cancelling a Mission
Resuming a Mission
Loading and Deleting Captured Flights
Reviewing Flights
Using Ground Control Points

Purpose of this Guide

SiteSee specialises in high-accuracy 3D modelling of vertical structures such as cell towers. This guide explains how to use the SiteSee Mission Planner App which was designed specifically for the automatic capture of cell towers. There also is a procedure for capturing towers manually in situations where a fully automatic capture is not possible.

Please note that this guide does not cover basic drone operation skills. It assumes that drone operators

know how to operate and fly their drones;
have sufficient flying experience to safely perform all operations described in this guide;
know how to use the camera of their drone and have successfully captured images before;
are familiar with the UAV-specific regulations pertaining to the areas where they fly their missions and have all permissions required to fly; and
know how to assess and mitigate the risks of operating their drone and do so for each mission in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Equipment Requirements

Compatible Tablet PCs
The SiteSee Mission Planner App currently only runs on Android tablet PCs. We strongly recommend using a tablet PC that is included in the list of devices compatible with the DJI Go app. To view this list, go to www.dji.com and find the specifications for your drone model. There the compatible devices are listed in the section APP/LIVE VIEW.

Test Your Equipment
It is strongly recommended that, prior to using the SiteSee Mission Planner App, you test your equipment in the field to ensure that it is compatible and everything is working. Specifically, make sure that your tablet PC, remote control and drone are connecting as designed, then fly the drone and manually capture a few images. Remove the SD card, insert it into your PC and check that it contains the images you captured. If your drone saves images in its internal memory, consult our Troubleshooting Guide for information on how to change this setting.

To get started, download and install the SiteSee Mission Planner App (currently only available for the Android operating system). For ease of use and to allow you to read the display easily, we recommend you install it on a small tablet PC that fits into the brackets of your remote controller instead of a smartphone. While the SiteSee Mission Planner App supports many drones, for best results we recommend that you use the following drones:

DJI Phantom 4 Pro (incl. V2.0)
DJI Mavic 2 Pro

Do Not Use Third-Party Apps
There are other flight planning apps available that support the capture of vertical structures (e.g. DJI GS Pro and Pix4Dcapture) which are, however, not compatible with the SiteSee services. Please only use the SiteSee Mission Planner App to plan and fly your SiteSee missions.

To upload the captured images, a fast and reliable internet connection is required. A single image set typically contains several hundred to over a thousand images, resulting in a total data volume of up to (and sometimes over) 10 gigabytes.

An internet connection is also useful in the field to download maps of the tower location. If you intend to tether your tablet PC to your smartphone, make sure that its battery is charged sufficiently. Using it as a WiFi hotspot increases battery usage considerably. Note that the SiteSee Mission Planner app can be used in locations without internet access. However, the app will not be able to download location maps. While location maps are not essential for planning and flying missions, they are convenient for flight planning, and so we recommend that you preload the location map while you do have internet access. To do so, in the app select > Search Location, then enter the location of your tower. Centre the tower on your screen and zoom in as much as possible. The maps you need are now cached in the app memory and will be available when you are onsite.

Also bring along the following gear when flying a mission:

Sufficient spare batteries and propellers.
A launch pad to mark the liftoff position and to keep your drone and camera lens clean when taking off from and landing on dirt, grass, etc.
A measuring tape to measure tower and obstacle dimensions.
A lens cloth and some microfibre cleaning cloths.
You might also want a monitor hood to help you see the display of your tablet PC in bright conditions.

Planning and Flying a Mission

Planning and flying a mission consists of the following steps:

Starting the SiteSee Mission Planner App
Determining and inputting tower dimensions
Planning the flights (calibration flight, main run, and final run)
Flying the mission

These steps are described below in the order they need to be performed.

When to Fly
Preferable fly in these conditions:

Fly in calm weather, with no strong wind or wind gusts. Windy weather can result in inaccuracies when determining tower dimensions and in deviations from the planned flight paths. Obstacle avoidance also becomes less reliable.
Ideally the sun should be near its zenith (i.e. avoid early mornings and late afternoons when the sun is low). During the winter months at high latitudes, it is better to fly on an overcast day with diffuse light. Flying when the sun is low results in harsh light that makes it difficult to set exposure and can cause lens flare. If you cannot avoid capturing in high-contrast conditions, expose so that the brightest parts of the tower are as bright as possible (but without overexposing them). How to set exposure correctly is described in Step 5 - Adjust Camera Settings.
The weather should be stable. If the weather changes rapidly (sun shining, then disappearing behind cloud, then reemerging, etc.), the resulting image set will be exposed unevenly. If you must fly, make sure that you set exposure when the sun is out (i.e. not when it is behind clouds), then leave exposure unchanged, even if the sun disappears behind clouds.

Step 1 - Start and Connect the SiteSee Mission Planner App

Batteries Charged?
Ensure the batteries of all equipment (remote controller, tablet PC and drone) are charged sufficiently to fly your mission (full charge is recommended).

To avoid connection issues, turn off your drone.
Ensure your drone's remote controller and tablet PC are both turned on.
Connect the tablet PC to the remote controller using a USB cable.
When asked to choose an app, select SiteSee.

Choosing an App
When choosing an app for the USB device, always tap 'Just Once'. This will make it easier to switch to the DJI GO app, which may be necessary to, for example, calibrate the compass. If you accidentally chose 'Always', consult this guide for information on how to switch between the apps.
Turn on your drone, wait a few seconds, then check that the Drone Connection Status is as follows:

If you experience connection issues, consult the Troubleshooting Guide for more information.
Close the Drone Connection Status message.
If you have not done so before, select the the area and distance units you will be using (metric or imperial) by tapping > General > Settings > Area and Distance Units. This only needs to be done once.
If you always use the same drone model, set the Default Drone Profile for it as follows: Tap > General > Settings > Default Drone Profile and select your drone model. You can also change the profile for each individual flight. How to do so is explained in Step 4 - Create Flight Plans.
You are now ready to plan your mission.

Map Download
To show your location, the SiteSee Mission Planner App needs to download the corresponding Google map which requires an internet connection.

Step 2 - Determine Tower Dimensions

Terminology
The diagram below shows the dimensions required by the SiteSee Mission Planner App to automatically capture a cell tower. In order to provide the correct input and to fly a successful mission, it is important that you familiarise yourself with the labelling of the tower dimensions and know which parts of the tower they refer to.

Operator Checklist
To assist you with planning and flying a mission, we have created an Operator Checklist in the form of a Google Spreadsheet. This spreadsheet automatically calculates all required flight parameters based on tower and antenna dimensions. It also allows pilots to enter job details and camera settings used, and it contains a handy equipment checklist. In order to prevent calculation errors, we strongly recommend you use this checklist when planning your missions. To access it, click on one of the following links:

To use these spreadsheets on your smartphone or tablet PC, download the Google Sheets app which is available for both iOS and Android.

When using the spreadsheets, only the yellow cells in the tap 'Cell Tower' need to be completed. The flight parameters are then calculated automatically (taps 'Calibration', 'Main Run' and 'Final Run'). The calculated values are contained in the column 'Default'; if for some reason you want to use different values, you can record them in the column 'Actual'.

Important: These are shared spreadsheets, that is, other users can also access them. So please make a copy first before using them (File > Make a Copy) and rename the copy. Only you will have access to the copy, and other pilots won't be able to see your input.

Accuracy
Approximate estimates are sufficient. You may round the altimeter readings as instructed below.

When flying missions, your drone determines its altitude using barometric pressure changes relative to its liftoff position. For this reason, it is important that you do not rely on technical specifications and blueprints for tower and antenna dimensions. Instead, always obtain your own estimates as follows:

Select a position to launch the drone and mark it clearly (e.g. with a launch pad), so that you will remember its location. Make sure this position is located a few metres (yards) away from any obstacles and that the drone can ascend from and descend to it without hitting any power lines, tree branches, etc.

Remember Launch Position
If you land the drone while performing steps 3 to 7 below, always re-launch it from exactly this position. You will also use this position when you create the flight plans and launch the mission.
Adjust the camera gimbal to 0° (horizontal).
Using manual control, fly up along the tower until you reach the antenna array you want to measure. Adjust the altitude of your drone until the bottom of the lowest antenna panel is centred on your screen. To increase accuracy, fly as close to the antenna panel as you safely can. The resulting altitude reading at the top of the screen (vertical arrow) now represents the Antenna Height of the lowest antenna array. Round it down to the nearest half meter (or foot) and write it down.

GPS Signal Interference
The radio waves emitted by a cell tower can interfere with the GPS system of your drone. As you fly close to the antenna panels, keep an eye on GPS signal strength. If you loose the GPS signal, your drone might become difficult to control. If you do notice significant interference, move your drone further away from the antenna panels.
Fly up along the antenna array until you reach its top. Center the top of the highest antenna panel in the array on your screen. Again, to increase accuracy, fly as close to the antenna panel as possible. Read the altitude reading, round it up to the nearest half meter (or foot) and write it down. Calculate Antenna Thickness for the array by subtracting the Antenna Height (as measured in the previous step) from this reading.
If there are several antenna arrays, repeat the above steps for each of them.

Multiple Antenna Arrays
A tower may have more than one antenna array. For example, the tower in the diagram above has two antenna arrays. If there are several antenna arrays, you must determine the Antenna Height and Antenna Thickness for each of them.
Fly up until you reach the tower's highest point (this can be either the tower pole itself or an antenna). Center the camera on it to determine Tower Height. Round the reading up to the nearest half meter (or foot) and write it down.
If there are obstacles that obstruct the tower and will likely make it impossible to capture images of some parts of the tower (e.g. buildings, trees, etc.), also measure and write down the highest points of each of these obstacles (rounded up to the nearest half meter or foot). Note that the SiteSee Mission Planner App will not permit your drone to descend below and altitude of 7 m (23 ft), so it is not necessary to include obstacles with a height below 7 m (23 ft) as measured from the launch position.
Land the drone.
Estimate the Tower Radius (i.e. the radius of the pole or lattice mast) using a measuring tape. If it varies, estimate the tower's widest diameter.
For each antenna array, estimate its Antenna Distance from Tower by looking up and positioning yourself right under the antenna panel furthest from the tower, then measuring your distance from the tower.
To obtain the Antenna Radius, add the Tower Radius to the Antenna Distance from Tower.

Radius Required
Do not confuse radius with diameter. The SiteSee Mission Planner App requires radius measurements. If you measured the diameter of the tower, divide it by two to obtain the Tower Radius.

Step 3 - Input Cell Tower

If your tablet PC is in FPV (first-person camera view) mode, close it.
Ensure your drone is turned on and your tablet PC is connected to the internet. This enables the app to download a map of your location.
Wait until your drone has established a good GPS connection (i.e. the colour of the satellite count next to the satellite icon has turned yellow or green) and the SiteSee Mission Planner app shows your drone's position and orientation, home position (green H), and your own location (blue spot).

If the map location is incorrect and you don't see the above information, try tapping then to centre the map to your drone. Alternatively you can tap to centre the map to your location (i.e. the position of your tablet PC). In order to search for a specific location, you can also tap then 'Search Location'.

You can use two fingers to rotate the map and to zoom in and out. Tap then to reset map orientation to north and or to re-centre it.

Tap then to select a different map type (e.g. street map, etc.).
Tap
Tap 'Input Cell Tower'.
Follow the in-app instructions to mark the centre of the tower. For better accuracy, use two fingers to zoom in. Note that the extent to which you can zoom in is limited and that high accuracy is not required at this stage. Tap 'Next'.
Input obstacles (e.g. buildings, trees, etc.) where the drone cannot fly. To add an obstacle, tap , then follow the in-app instructions. Tap the first (red) vertex to complete the polygon. You can adjust a completed polygon by tapping it and dragging its vertices. Note that in the case of large obstacles such as groups of trees, it is sufficient to extend the obstacle polygon away from the tower by about 15 m (50 ft). When you have finished, tap 'Submit'.
In the tab labelled Obstacles, add the height of each obstacle you have entered. You can also choose a custom colour for each obstacle (e.g. green for a tree). To do so, tap the colour. When you have finished, tap 'Submit'.

Obstacle Height Safety Buffer
By default, the app adds a safety buffer of 1 m (3.3 ft) to the obstacle height. For example, if you enter an obstacle height of 10 m, the drone will not descend to an altitude lower than 11 m while above this obstacle. If you require a larger safety buffer (e.g. on windy days or when it is difficult to establish the height of an obstacle), simply add 1-2 m (3.3-6.6 ft) to the measured obstacle height. If you want to change the default buffer, you can do so in the main menu > General >Settings > Distance to keep away from obstacles.
In the tab labelled Tower, name the tower and specify its height and radius. If the pole diameter varies, input its largest radius. The values in brackets indicate the minimum and maximum values permitted and take into account the position and size of the obstacles you have specified in the previous step.
In the tab labelled Antennas, specify antenna height (to lowest antenna panel, as measured from the ground), radius as measured from the pole centre, and thickness (bottom of lowest antenna panel to top of highest antenna panel). If some antenna panels are further away from the pole than others, enter the radius for the antenna panel furthest from the pole. To change the colour, tap on it. If the tower has several antenna arrays at different heights, add them as separate entries. When you have added all arrays, tap 'Submit'.

Edit Cell Tower
You can edit an already submitted cell tower by tapping then 'Edit Cell Tower'.

Step 4 - Create Flight Plans

Tap > Planning Options > Create Flight Plan.

As shown in the screenshot below, a complete flight plan consists of three distinct mission types:

Calibration Flight Plan
Verticals - Main Run
Verticals - Final Run

If desired, you can create more than one instance of each mission type. Each of these mission types is explained in the respective sections below.

Calibration Flight Plan

The purpose of this step is to create an overview of the tower and to calibrate the drone camera.

Tap 'Calibration Flight Plan' (see screenshot above).
Set the Liftoff position as follows:
1. Position your drone exactly where you launched it to measure the tower dimensions (you should have marked this spot with e.g. a launch pad).
2. Wait a few seconds for the GPS to update your drone's position on your screen.
3. For best accuracy use two fingers to zoom in, then tap the position of your drone.
Tap 'Submit'.
Set the Calibration Flight parameters shown in the screenshot below. The required settings (including how to calculate Orbit Altitude) are summarised in the table beneath the screenshot.

Parameter Setting

Orbit Altitude Tower Height + 10 m (33 ft)

Orbit Radius 8.2 m (27 ft)

Gimbal -65°

WP discretization angle* 24°

*The WP (waypoint) discretization angle determines the number of waypoints around the orbit used to approximate a circle. It does not affect the number of images taken. A discretization angle of 24°, for example, results in 15 waypoints (360/24=15). A smaller angle equals more waypoints and so results in a better orbit approximation. A value of 24° is recommended and usually works well.
Tap the 'General' tab and check that the 'Camera profile' is set for your drone model. If you always use the same drone, you can set the default profile for it by going to the main screen and tapping > General >Settings > Default Drone Profile.
Tap 'Generate'. The newly created Calibration Flight is shown as an icon on the right side of the screen.

Verticals - Main Run

The purpose of this step is to capture the tower in its entirety.

Tap then 'Create Flight Plan', then 'Verticals - Main Run'.
Set the liftoff in the same way as you did for the Calibration Flight Plan.

As shown in the screenshot below, there are three tabs: Approach, Verticals, Return and General. Select each of the first three tabs and set the parameters as outlined in the table beneath the screenshot.

Parameter	Setting
Distance to tower*	Antenna Distance from Tower + 7 m (23 ft)
Approach Altitude	Tower Height + 5 m (16 ft)
Gimbal	-45°
Horizontal Overlap	89%
Vertical Min Altitude**	Equal to Distance to tower
Vertical Max Altitude	Tower Height + Distance to tower
Return Altitude	As desired

*The Image Resolution estimated by the app is an approximation relative to the tower's pole or mast. Since the antenna panels are protruding further and are therefore closer to the drone, they are captured at a somewhat higher resolution.
**This setting ensures that the base of the tower is fully captured.

Tap the 'General' tab and check that the 'Camera profile' is set for your drone model. If you always use the same drone, you can set the default profile for it by going to the main screen and tapping > General >Settings > Default Drone Profile.
Tap 'Generate'. The newly created Main Run is added as an icon on the right side of the screen.

Verticals - Final Run

The purpose of this step is to capture additional detail for the antenna arrays.

Tap then 'Create Flight Plan', then 'Verticals - Final Run'.
Set the liftoff in the same way as you did for the Calibration Flight Plan.

Parameter	Setting
Distance to tower*	Antenna Distance from Tower + 7 m (23 ft)
Approach Altitude	Tower Height
Gimbal	-10°
Horizontal Overlap	92%
Vertical Min Altitude	Antenna height of the lowest antenna array
Vertical Max Altitude	2 m (7 ft) above highest antenna panel in the top antenna array
Return Altitude	As desired

Tap the 'General' tab and check that the 'Camera profile' is set for your drone model. If you always use the same drone, you can set the default profile for it by going to the main screen and tapping > General >Settings > Default Drone Profile.
Tap 'Generate'. The newly created Final Run is added as as an icon on the right side of the screen.

Viewing and Editing a Flight Plan

As mentioned previously, each mission type you have created is represented by an icon on the right side of the screen (see screenshot below). If you tap one of these icons, its mission name is displayed and a bird view of the flight path is shown in yellow.

You can edit an existing flight plan as follows:

Tap on a flight plan icon to highlight it.
Tap then 'Edit Flight Plan'.

Deleting a Flight Plan
To delete a flight plan, long-press its icon.

Saving, Loading and Deleting Flight Plans

To save all flight plans of a mission (individual flight plans cannot be saved), tap > Plans & Flights > Save, then enter a name and tap 'Save'.
To load the saved flight plans, tap > Plans & Flights > Load & Backup, make sure the 'Plans' tap is active, then select the plan(s) you want to load. Confirm by tapping . To delete the selected plan(s), tap
To backup or share saved flight plans, tap

Step 5 - Adjust Camera Settings

Avoid Incorrect Camera Settings
Incorrect camera settings are a frequent cause of capture issues and result in low-quality, often unusable image sets. So please make sure you strictly adhere to the instructions below. Check your settings prior to launching each flight, and do not change them while flying the mission.

Set Exposure

High Contrast Situations
Especially on sunny days and when the sun is low, the side of the tower exposed to the sun is much brighter than its shady side. The procedure below uses the histogram to help you capture images that are neither too dark on the tower’s dark side nor too bright on its bright side. For background information on what a histogram is and how to use it, please consult this page.

Turn on your drone and tap in the top right corner of the main screen.
Tap > and adjust the image ratio to 3:2 and the image format to JPG.

Camera Settings
There are many more settings available than the ones covered in this section. They all must be set to their default. If you are not sure that this is the case, please reset all camera settings prior to adjusting them. You can do so by going to > Tools and selecting 'Reset Camera Settings'.
Place your drone on a white sheet of paper as shown below (to avoid reflections, do not use glossy or laminated paper). Ensure that the paper is exposed to as much ambient light as possible. If the sun is shining, make sure the paper is in full sun and neither the drone nor anything else cast a shadow on it.
Adjust the gimbal angle downward until the paper completely fills the screen.
Tap , then select manual exposure mode M and adjust the ISO and aperture settings as shown in the screenshot below (ISO 100, F 4).

If You Cannot Adjust Aperture
This is a know issue caused by underlying DJI software. It affects only some drone models. For these drones, the SiteSee Mission Planner app uses whatever aperture has been set in the DJI Go app. So, to set the aperture to the specified F4, switch to the DJI Go app and set the aperture there, then switch back to the Mission Planner app.
Adjust the shutter speed until you can see a single sharp peak approximately in the middle of the histogram (bottom left corner of the screen). This peak represents the current exposure of the white paper.
Slowly decrease the shutter speed in single steps and watch how this histogram peak moves to the right as you do so. Stop when the peak has nearly reached the right margin of the histogram (see screenshot below).

Here some examples of correct and incorrect exposure settings:
Check the brightest parts of your tower (tower pole, antenna panels, dishes, etc.). If they are significantly darker than your sheet of paper (e.g. painted gray or green), reduce the shutter speed by a another stop (for example in the screenshot above from 1/1250 to 1/1000).
Exposure is now set correctly. Tap again to close the settings.

Adjust Focus

The following procedure will set focus to a distance of approximately 15 m (50 ft). This distance is used because due to the depth of field achieved with apertures of F4 and above it will result in sharp images from about 3 m (11 ft) to infinity.

On the left side of the screen, tap to switch to AF (auto-focus).
Once AF is selected, tap to activate touch focus .
Set the camera gimbal to -90° (i.e. pointing down).
Take off and fly your drone to an altitude of 15 m (50 ft).
On your screen, tap on the ground below to focus on it (tap on a well-lit, well-structured area). A green square will briefly flash to confirm that focus has been set.
Tap again to switch to MF (manual focus). While this step is not necessary to set focus, switching to MF will prevent you from accidentally changing focus while the mission is in progress (e.g. by accidentally tapping the screen, etc.). Also, the app will display a focus slider that shows the current focus as set in the previous steps. You can close this slider by tapping 'Close'.

Getting to Know Your Drone
If you have never used your drone before, consider repeating the above steps a few times. Doing so will help you understand where the optimal MF focus slider position is for your drone and enable you to detect focus errors early on.

Focus Slider Anomaly
Due to DJI's focus implementation, the behaviour of the MF focus slider is counter-intuitive, so that at the same focus distance of 15 m (50 ft) the slider position will vary for different drone models. For example, for the DJI Phantom 4 Pro it will be almost completely to the right, whereas for other drone models it might be partly or almost fully to the left. Do not manually shift the MF focus slider position. If you accidentally do so, repeat the above steps.

Focus Slider Position
As you gain experience with your drone, you can use the MF focus slider position as an indication of whether AF touch focus was set correctly. For example, if the slider position for your drone usually is about 20% from the left, a slider position that is significantly different (e.g. near the middle or, worse, to the right) points to a focusing error. In this case, repeat the steps outlined above.
Tap to close the FPV (first-person view). Your camera is now set correctly to fly the missions.

Step 6 - Launch Mission

Fly Missions Immediately
Your drone's altimeter measures altitude using barometric pressure and is, therefore, susceptible to weather-related pressure changes. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you plan and fly all missions within a few hours of measuring the tower and obstacle heights, or else your drone might not fly at the correct altitude and there is an increased risk of it hitting an obstacle. If you do need to spread a capture over several days (e.g. due to insufficient batteries, bad weather, etc.), we recommend that you re-measure the tower dimensions and adjust camera exposure settings.

Know How to Pause and Cancel a Mission
Before launching, ensure you understand how to pause and cancel a mission. This will enable you to manually control your drone in the event of a mission error or other unexpected difficulties. How to pause or cancel a mission is explained in the next section.

Check Battery Levels

Before launching the mission, ensure the batteries of all equipment (remote controller, tablet PC and drone) are charged sufficiently (full charge is recommended).

Launch from Liftoff Position
Always launch your drone from the liftoff position you used when you measured the tower dimensions and planned the flights.

GPS Signal Interference
The radio waves emitted by a cell tower can interfere with the GPS system of your drone, causing it to stop and hover. If this happens, either increase the 'Distance to tower' settings (see Step 5 above) or capture the tower manually. See the Troubleshooting Guide for more information.

Before you can launch a mission, you must first calibrate the tower centre. To do so, wait until your drone has established good GPS connection, then tap followed by 'Calibrate Center'.
Follow the in-app instructions as shown in the screenshot below. Note that you must repeat this step whenever you turn off your drone (e.g. after changing batteries).
You are now ready to launch the flights you have planned. Each flight must be completed individually. While the flights can be done in any order, it is strongly recommended that you start with the Calibration Flight. This is the shortest flight and will give you an opportunity to visually check the tower dimensions and camera settings you selected. During the Calibration Flight, the top of the tower should be approximately centred in the screen and well exposed on all sides.

Safe Time and Batteries
It is not necessary to land your drone after calibrating the centre or between flights. If your drone's battery has sufficient power left, you can let your drone hover and launch the next flight in mid-air.
Tap on the flight plan you want to fly so it is highlighted, then select 'Launch Mission'.
Adjust the settings as shown in the screenshot below.
Scroll down to see the 'Auto focus' and 'Set AE Lock' settings. Leave them at their default (i.e. as shown in the screenshot below).
Tap 'Next'.
Make sure 'Set mission end action' is set to 'Hover' and 'Set signal loss action' to 'Continue Mission'. Tap 'Next'.

Do Not Auto-Land
We recommend you do not use the Auto-Land feature unless there is a lot of space for your drone to land. The drone's GPS is not very accurate, which may result in it not returning precisely to the liftoff location and instead hitting nearby obstacles or landing on unsuitable ground.
The next screen shows you a graphic representation of the flight. Confirm by tapping 'Next'.
To enable you to perform and emergency stop, make sure you understand the instructions shown in the next screen. Before launching a mission, your drone's flight mode must be set to 'P'. Tap 'Next'.
Make sure there are no warnings displayed in the screen below, then tap 'Launch Drone'.

The Mission Planner App will upload the flight plan to your drone. When upload is complete, the app will take over control of your drone and automatically complete the flight plan.

While flying the mission, the app shows the FPV (first-person view) camera screen, which allows you to check mission progress. Each time the the camera is triggered, a brief notification appears on the screen.

Mission Pause
Tapping the icon will immediately pause the mission. Use it in an emergency or when you get too close to the tower or obstacles. When the mission is paused, this icon is replaced by . Tapping it will continue the mission. The next section explains in more detail how to pause, cancel and resume a mission.

Failed Mission
If the icon disappears prior to mission completion, the mission has failed (most likely due to GPS signal interference from the cell tower). If this happens, re-launch the mission and keep an eye on the GPS signal strength. If the mission fails repeatedly due to GPS signal loss, increase the 'Distance to tower' setting for the Main and Final Runs (see the Troubleshooting Guide for more information).
When the flight is completed, the drone will return at the Return Altitude you have set for this flight until it reaches the liftoff position and then hover. After a few seconds the icon will disappear. You can now launch the next flight (check your drone's battery level first) or manually land the drone.

If You Selected 'Auto-Land'
If you selected 'Auto-Land' instead of 'Hover' when setting 'Mission end action', the drone will land automatically where you set the liftoff position. The drone's GPS is not very accurate, however, which may cause the drone to try to land on unsuitable ground or too close to obstacles. To prevent this from happening, watch your drone closely and be ready to pause the mission if the situation requires it.
In map view, the image set of the completed flight is shown as an icon at the top of the screen (for example, in the screenshot below, there are five image sets). The icon also shows the flight launch time. Tap the image set icon to show the capture path around the tower. Tap on one of the image icons in the capture path to show the following information:

- The actual image (the SD card containing the images must be inserted in your drone)
- Filename
- Total image count and image sequence number
- Altitude
- Camera pitch

Uploading Your Images
When you have captured all flights (i.e. Calibration Flight, Main Run and Final Run) you are ready to upload your images. The upload procedure consists of two distinct steps: the quality check and the actual upload. Step-by-step instructions are provided in our guide on how to upload images. Please read these instructions carefully before attempting to upload your image set.

Mission Pause/Cancel

You can either pause or cancel an ongoing mission. The purpose of pausing a mission is to temporarily interrupt it, for example in a dangerous situation or when the drone gets too close to the tower or obstacles. When you pause a mission, you can't land your drone. To land your drone (e.g. to change its battery, or because you have decided to abort the mission) you must cancel the mission. A cancelled mission can later be resumed.

Pausing a Mission

To pause a mission, tap at the bottom right of the screen. The drone will stop immediately and hover, and the icon is replaced by a icon. Tapping it will continue the mission.

Do Not Use Manual RC Controls
When you pause a mission, your drone is still being controlled by the Mission Planner App. Leave the flight mode switch of your remote in 'P' mode. Switching it can cause the drone to behave erratically and result in dangerous situations.

Cancelling a Mission

To cancel a mission, you must pause it first. To do so, follow the instructions in the previous section. To cancel a paused mission, do the following:

Tap to close FPV (first-person view) and return to map view. As shown in the screenshot below, there now are two options available, to continue the paused mission, and to cancel it.
Tap and confirm that you want to cancel the mission.
Land your drone.

Resuming a Mission

To resume a mission means to continue it where it was cancelled or aborted (e.g. after a battery swap).

Camera Settings
Before resuming a mission after changing your drone's battery, check that the camera exposure settings were not changed accidentally.
Important: When the drone is turned off (e.g. to swap batteries), the manual focus setting is lost. Therefore, before resuming a mission, the camera focus must be set again as explained in the section Adjust Focus above.

To resume a mission, you need to launch it again as explained in the previous section on how to launch a mission. The only difference is that the third screen (i.e. the graphic representation of the mission) now also shows a checkbox labelled 'Resume'. Make sure that it is checked, then tap 'Next' and launch the mission as usual. Note that this checkbox will only be available if images were already recorded for this mission. The mission will resume at the end of the last completed vertical. Partially completed verticals will be re-captured.

Loading and Deleting Captured Flights

The SiteSee Mission Planner App saves flights automatically. To load a saved flight, tap > Plans & Flights > Load & Backup, then tap 'Flights', then select the flight(s) you want to load. Confirm by tapping . To delete the selected flight(s), tap To backup or share flights, tap

Reviewing Flights

This feature is useful for reviewing planned flights before flying them (e.g. checking whether the verticals are aligned with the antenna panels, etc.) as well as already captured flights.

To enter the 3D review mode, tap in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Tap on a flight plan (on the right of the screen) or a captured flight (at the top of the screen) to display its flight path. If you select a captured flight, its liftoff position (red point) and waypoints are also displayed. Several flights can be selected at the same time.
Use the slider at the bottom of the screen to simulate the selected flight path(s). If selected in the settings , the camera angle and projection will also be simulated, and the portion of the tower captured at the current camera position will be highlighted.

Using Ground Control Points

Instead of drone GPS data recorded with the photos during image acquisition, our processing software can use ground control points (GCPs) such as the one shown in the image below to improve accuracy significantly. Detailed information on the accuracy of the 3D models produced by SiteSee is provided in this document.

SiteSee requires its customers to use a specially designed system based on Propeller AeroPoints and AprilTags which automates both the GCP position logging onsite and their subsequent processing, resulting in a significant reduction of processing time and cost. Please consult our Ground Control Points User Guide for details on how to use this system.

Parameter	Setting
Orbit Altitude	Tower Height + 10 m (33 ft)
Orbit Radius	8.2 m (27 ft)
Gimbal	-65°
WP discretization angle*	24°