Sentera Phantom 4 Single Sensor, DJI Mavic NDVI Single Upgrade User Manual

Phantom 4 Single Sensor
User Manual

Flying a drone autonomously with FieldAgent is extremely

easy, but like driving a car, there is a training process that

should be completed before you can fly safely and

comfortably. This document will set you up for success,

regardless of your current skill level.

Advice: Set aside 1 day to become comfortable using your system.

Questions? Contact Sentera Support at:

+1 (844) SENTERA (844.736.8372) | International Direct Dial: +1 612.204.2000 | [email protected]

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR

NEW SENTERA SOLUTION PURCHASE!

Contents

1. Getting Licensed & Part 107

2. Manual Flight Practice

• Getting to know your Drone

• Flight Controls

• Incremental Practice Flight Ideas

3. Activating Your Free FieldAgent

Account

4. Autonomous Flight & FieldAgent

Mobile

• Preparing For the Field

• Flight Planning

• Monitoring your Flight

• Checking for Images

5. Looking at Your First Dataset &
FieldAgent Desktop

• Selecting Images for Import

• Navigating the Import Process

• Making Annotations

• Viewing Maps

• Adjusting Your NDVI Health Maps

• More Precise Data (Ordering Mosaics)

• Ordering Analytics

6. Fine Tuning Parameters to Work
For You

1

4

3

2

5

6

If you are using your drone for business purposes, the FAA expects

you to obtain a Remote Pilot Certificate as outlined in the FAA Part 107

Rules.

This involves studying, registering for and passing a written exam.

To learn if your situation requires a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, or

other general information about the exam, visit:

Sentera’s Part 107 Explanation Page

sentera.com/Part-107-Explanation/

S e c t i o n 1 G e t t i n g L i c e n s e d & P a r t 1 0 7

Section 1 Pg. 1

Use your paper QuickStart from DJI and Section 2 of this guide to get to know

your drone. Practice flight ideas on page 5.

An online version of the latest Phantom Quick Start Guide and full manual can be

found here:

Phantom Quick Start Guide Link

www.dji.com/phantom-4/info#downloads

Tip: Make your first flight at a local park. Just ensure you are abiding by local

and federal laws. (Don’t fly over people!)

We recommend all users take their drone out to complete AT LEAST 10

successful manual flights before performing an autonomous mission with

FieldAgent.

Section 2 Pg. 2

S e c t i o n 2 M a n u a l F l i g h t P r a c t i c e

Sentera NDVI

Single Upgrade

DJI Color

Camera

Gimbal

Propellers

Match BLACK or GREY rings to motors

Push and

rotate to lock

into place

Battery

Power on/off by pressing

the circle once and then

again for 2 seconds.

Getting to Know Your Drone

Section 2 Pg. 3

GPS

The drone’s GPS is under the top cover

NEVER obstruct this area

Up (Increase Altitude)

Down (Decrease Altitude)

Rotate
CW

Rotate
CCW

Forward

Backward

Left

Right

Basic In Flight :
Controls

Right Stick

Left Stick

Spin up Motors &

Take Off:

Up

Land & Turn Off Motors

Hold down on landing to

stop motors

Down

Connect Mobile
Device using
USB Cable

Power On
Controller

Launch DJI
Go 4

Power On
Vehicle

Setup:

Setup & Flight Controls

Section 2 Pg. 4

1

2

5. Rotate clockwise (CW) and counterclockwise (CCW)

Left stick only!

6. Fly a rectangular flight path facing one direction.

Right stick only!

7. Fly a rectangular flight path w/ 90⁰ CW rotation at

corners. Right stick only moves forward. Left stick only

rotates 90⁰ at corners.

1. Take-off. Hover at 10ft. Let go of sticks for 3
seconds and then land.

Left stick only!

2. Auto Take-off and Auto Land with the on
DJI Go 4 onscreen buttons

3. Take-off and hover at 50 ft. Fly out 100 ft.
Use Return to Home (RTH) button to bring
the drone back and land itself

4. Move Forward, Backward, Left, & Right.

The RTH Button is located both on

the physical controller and in the DJI
Go 4 App as an onscreen button

Practice with the right stick

Auto
Take-Off

Auto
Land

Incremental Practice Flights

Section 2 Pg. 5

1

4

3

2

5

6

7

CCW

CW

Backwards

Left

Right

Forwards

**Overhead View**

**Overhead View**

90⁰ CW

90⁰ CW

90⁰ CW

90⁰ CW

Forward Forward

8

Fly smooth Figure-8 patterns.

Use a combination of both the Right and Left Sticks

Each Sentera sensor includes a 1 year FieldAgent subscription

To activate your free year and create a FieldAgent Account, visit:

FieldAgent Account Activation Page

fieldagent.sentera.com/activate

Fill in your info and enter your activation code found on your shipment’s paper

Sentera “FIELDAGENT QUICKSTART GUIDE”

Example Code:

A J T Y – 1 S 8 D 2 9 J

Section 3 Pg. 6

S e c t i o n 3 A c t i v a t i n g Y o u r F i e l d A g e n t

A c c o u n t

In the iOS App Store, search for "Sentera" and download the FieldAgent App.

Launch the app and log-in with the credentials you provided when creating your

FREE FieldAgent account in the previous section (3).

Questions? Contact Sentera Support at:

+1 (844) SENTERA (844.736.8372) | International Direct Dial: +1 612.204.2000

[email protected]

iOS App

S e c t i o n 4 A u t o n o m o u s F l i g h t &

F i e l d A g e n t M o b i l e

Section 4 Pg. 7

Set up your full system outside as if you were getting ready to fly.

Power all systems on. Connect your mobile device to the DJI Hand

Controller with a USB cable.

Launch the FieldAgent App and select the icon of the drone in the
lower left.

Check for a green dot and the word “Healthy". If your 'dot' is red, tap the
dot, and correct the issues listed. If you have questions, contact Sentera
Support @ 844-Sentera.

Before leaving for the field, test your equipment:

Preparing for the Field

1

2

3

Section 4 Pg. 8

Packing List:

Drone (including propellers)
1 SD Card in the side of the drone
1 SD Card in the green Sentera Single
Fully charged drone battery(ies)

Fully charged Hand Controller

Fully charged iOS device w/ FieldAgent
Lightning USB Cable (For your iOS device)

Part 107 Identification (if applicable)

It’s also helpful to bring:

Laptop Computer
SD Card Reader

Preparing for the Field

Section 4 Pg. 9

Set up your drone & controller in a safe location for flight.

Ensure the hand controller is in P-mode

(Top left toggle on the hand controller)

Launch FieldAgent on your Mobile Device and tap .

Ensure the area you want to fly is in frame.

Long tap the corners of your field

To delete a pin: Tap to select. Tap again to delete.
To edit the location of a pin: Tap to select. Then press and drag

to move

Preparing to Fly

PLANNING YOUR FLIGHT

Section 4 Pg. 10

1

SENSOR LIGHTS

Red

No SD Card/Error/Trigger

Yellow

Blinking = Waiting

Solid = Ready for Flight

Green

Powered

Wait for Solid Yellow & Green before

flight!

Set the

2

cameras on your vehicle. These are most likely

&

When you're ready to Take-Off, select the launch button
and stand back. Your drone will take-off to begin its flight!

Section 4 Pg. 11

3

2

4

Note: These settings will yield good results for your

first flight. You will most likely change these settings in

the future to better match your use case.

This is covered in section 6 of this document, “Fine Tuning for Your

Specific Use Conditions”

Preparing to Fly

Select “DSM/Ortho” and set Altitude & Speed

Watch your drone throughout the

flight. It will fly the planned route and
return to land almost exactly where it

took off. Fine tune the landing spot

with the control sticks if necessary.

Getting low on battery? Your drone

will automatically return and land.

Power off the drone and insert a fully
charged battery. Power on the drone,

select the launch button as you did for

take off, and your drone will
pick up where it left off.

RTH Button: Located on the

hand controller below the right

stick. Hold until the controller
starts to beep. This will bring the
drone home to land.

Section 4 Pg. 12

If an emergency occurs and the
mission must be suspended:

1. Press & Hold the

5

6

Monitoring your Flight

2. Manual Control (optional)

If it is not appropriate to command the
drone home immediately, press the RTH
button a second time. The drone will
hover to give you full manual control.

You've performed your first autonomous flight!

To check for images before leaving the field, remove the SD card from the green Sentera Single
and insert it into your computer.

Navigate to the folder containing the SD card and select snapshots >
appropriate date and time labeled folder.

Confirm photos are present from this flight.

There are 2 cameras on this vehicle, and therefore 2 SD cards.

Remove the SD card from the side of the Phantom.

This is the DJI RGB camera’s SD Card.

Again, confirm presence of photos

Head back, as you’re ready to process your first dataset!

Section 4 Pg. 13

Checking for Images

3

2

4

1

In the future you’ll be able to process data at the field’s edge. For today, we’ll take it one step at a time.

• When you get back on Wi-Fi, download
FieldAgent for desktop by visiting:

FieldAgent Install Page

installs.sentera.com/fieldagent

• Follow the download process to install.

• Launch FieldAgent and login.

S e c t i o n 5 L o o k i n g a t y o u r F i r s t D a t a s e t

& F i e l d A g e n t D e s k t o p

Section 5 Pg. 14

Click in the upper right to get started.

A window will open. Insert the SD card from the green Sentera Single into your

computer and click .

Navigate to the SD card folder labeled, “snapshots” and

select the folder containing the images from

your mission. To confirm, click .

Note: The individual pictures will not show up when choosing a folder.

Repeat

steps 2 & 3 with the 2

nd

SD Card from the side of the drone to include

your color (RGB) images.

Selecting Images for Import

Section 5 Pg. 15

3

2

4

1

Click to populate photo dots on your field.

Note: Clicking dots will remove associated images from import.

Click again, and then to name your field.

Fill out the field name, click next for a final time to start processing your images.

Finally, in the summary screen, click on the map pin icon ( ) to go to your field.

Navigating the Import Process

Section 5 Pg. 16

7

6

8

5

To view full resolution images from a specific location in the field, click

a colored dot on the field. These are called “Photo Dots” ( )

Switch between

photo types from

the same location

on the field

Right click to add

an annotation to

the image

Share the image

and annotations

via email

Making Annotations

Section 5 Pg. 17

De-select . from the “Image Layers” section on the left

Select .

You’ll notice a map created from your data populate on the screen.

You can also select QuickTile™ NDVI to populate a health map on your screen.

RGB

NDVI

vs.

Viewing Maps

Section 5 Pg. 18

To further analyze the health of your field, select . in the top left of the map.

Use the sliders and bin count to inspect your field. If management zones are

desired , select . . To export, select .

Less

Resolution

More

Resolution

2 Bins (Colors) 4 Bins (Colors)

Need to write a

prescription?

Click .

Adjusting Your NDVI Heath Maps

Section 5 Pg. 19

A QuickTile places all individual images from a survey onto a map to create a snapshot of

your field. These are created locally on your machine and can be produced within

minutes at the field’s edge.

A Mosaic stitches all the pictures from a survey together into a single .tiff file. A mosaic is

more precise than a QuickTile and useful in combination with variable rate technology.

QuickTile

Mosaic

vs.

Notice the difference

in the irrigation ditch

More Precise Data (Ordering Mosaics)

Section 5 Pg. 20

*Sentera offers a free stitching software for compatible
computers. Click here to see if your computer qualifies.

To order mosaics of your

survey, click here*

S e c t i o n 6 F i n e T u n i n g P a r a m e t e r s t o

W o r k F o r Y o u

Section 6 Pg. 21

In section 3 a flight designed for ordering mosaics was completed. But what if you

don’t need the precision of a mosaic and can get away with a QuickTile (reduced

flight time)?

Flight Type

Overlap Setting

Altitude (ft)

Speed (mph)

Other Notes

QuickTile

QuickTile

200

-400ft.

15mph

Mosaic

DSM/Ortho

200

-400ft.

15mph

3D Mapping

DSM/Ortho

400ft.

15mph

Fly Field Twice:
1

st

: North/South 2nd:

East/West

Stand Count

Spot

50ft.*

20mph

V2 or a leaf length of

at least 2in.(5cm)
from tip to tip.

Weed
Density Maps

Weed

150ft.

20mph

V2 or a leaf length of
at least 2in.(5cm)
from tip to tip.

This table indicates the
best flight parameters

for different flight types.

Use this in conjunction

with the considerations

on the following page
to set parameters that
work for you.

*Take note of surroundings and adjust accordingly to avoid

collisions

Flight Considerations

Desired Resolution: The NDVI camera’s Ground Sample Distance

(GSD)/pixel is shown right. Alter flight altitude accordingly.

Wind Speed: If the wind is near the upper limit of your vehicle’s operating

limit (22mph for the Phantom), set a lower flight speed (~10mph).

Flight Direction: Every field is a different shape. Try to orient your flight
for minimal passes. This will increase data quality and reduce flight time.

Time of Day: Always try to fly when the sun is highest in the sky. Flying
close to dawn or dusk will have a negative impact on the data collected.

Cloud Cover: Data is most true when the sky is consistent (100% sunny
OR 100% cloudy). Flying with a mix of sun and clouds may provide varying

results, but shouldn’t stop you from flying.

GSD Altitude

2.1 in. | 200 ft

3.3 in. | 300 ft

4.3 in. | 400 ft

OR

Section 6 Pg. 22

Visit us: sentera.com/support
Email us: [email protected]
Call us: +1 (844) SENTERA (844.736.8372) | Direct Dial: +1 612.204.2000

Questions?

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