Using MissionPlanner completely offline with pre-loaded and saved maps

Ground Control Software Mission Planner
1

Hi all,

I shall be using mission planner to fly my fixed wing drone in a very remote part of the world, where there will not be any internet. I have some pre-created flight paths (.KML) which I can upload to MissionPlanner, but will want to create more, when I’m out there.

My question is this:
Can I download maps into Mission Planner, and use the software 100% offline to a) fly transects (which I think is a YES) and b) create new transects/waypoints, onto pre-saved google earth maps in the programme?

I will not have the luxury of connecting to the internet between drone deployments and want to have all my maps loaded and saved/secure before I head out into the field, which is a 2-month stint.

Has anyone got any tips or had experience of working like this?

Many thanks in advance.

2

You can prefetch small patches of Google Maps imagery inside Mission Planner.
But this will not work on a large scale, due to constraints made by google.

There are other possibilities to do that, but you will need basic geoinformatic skills…
Keywords for that: Geoserver and WMS

3

Globalmapper is an option, google mission planner with offline maps and you are going to find step by step options, I hope it was in Diy drones forum.

4

I’ve used Mission Planner offline to create new flight paths. I think the only major functionality Mission Planner needs an internet connection for is downloading background maps.

5

This issue is that we need the background map to know where to place new waypoints at, and without the internet, we will be shooting in the dark!

6

If I prefetch a map of the islands I need (a bunch of atolls in the Ocean), will the map stay at highest resolution, for the next few months, without an internet connection? I’m worried that if I try to zoom in or play with MP, I might lose them. I think I will test this and see if it works over the next 2 weeks or so, as a start…!

7

Thanks I will research this option!

8

Consider that you can use custom maps too if you need…

9

I haven’t had a problem with Mission Planner losing maps - they’re stored in the Mission Planner directories and not just in a Windows cache.

You can also import shapefiles as polygons so it’s worth having your study area defined that way as well for more backup.