Supported survey drones
DroneField currently works exclusively with DJI drones, as it relies on DJI’s XMP metadata convention for precise image positioning (and on the MRK file, when the drone writes one).
Supported models
Section titled “Supported models”| Drone | Camera | RTK | MS bands | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJI Phantom 4 RTK (P4R) | 20 MP RGB | Yes | — | The classical survey drone |
| DJI Phantom 4 Multispectral (P4M) | 2 MP RGB + 5 mono bands | Yes | B, G, R, RE, NIR | Older multispectral platform |
| DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise (M3E) | 20 MP RGB | Yes | — | Compact, fast, field-ready |
| DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral (M3M) | 20 MP RGB + 4 MS bands | Yes | G, R, RE, NIR | The most common MS drone today |
| DJI M300 / M350 RTK + Zenmuse P1 (beta) | 45 MP RGB full-frame | Yes | — | RGB orthomosaic creation — see the notes below |
| DJI Matrice 4E / Matrice 4T | Wide camera (RGB) | With RTK module | — | RGB orthomosaic creation — see the notes below |
| DJI Matrice 5TD (Dock 4) (beta) | Wide camera (RGB) | Yes | — | RGB orthomosaic creation — see the notes below |
Matrice 4E / 4T — what to know
Section titled “Matrice 4E / 4T — what to know”Surveys captured with the wide camera of the Matrice 4E (and Matrice 4T) are imported and processed into an RGB orthomosaic:
- Zoom and thermal images are skipped automatically — only the mapping-ready wide-camera images go into the project, so you can import the whole flight folder as it is.
- Like every RGB camera, it gets the RGB vegetation indices (VDVI, NGRDI, ExG, VARI) and an application map (VRA) from them; the multispectral indices (NDVI, NDRE…) and AI analysis need a multispectral drone.
Matrice 5TD (beta) — what to know
Section titled “Matrice 5TD (beta) — what to know”Surveys captured with the wide camera of the Matrice 5TD (Dock 4) are imported and processed into an RGB orthomosaic:
- Zoom and thermal images are skipped automatically, just like on the Matrice 4E / 4T.
- The wide camera has an electronic shutter — on very fast flights the images can show slight distortion; fly at a moderate speed.
- RGB vegetation indices (VDVI, NGRDI, ExG, VARI) and VRA from them are available; multispectral indices (NDVI, NDRE…) and AI analysis are not.
Zenmuse P1 (beta) — what to know
Section titled “Zenmuse P1 (beta) — what to know”P1 support is beta, focused on RGB orthomosaic creation:
- RGB indices only — the RGB vegetation indices (VDVI, NGRDI, ExG, VARI) and VRA from them are available; NDVI, NDRE and the other multispectral indices and AI analysis are not (it is an RGB sensor).
- On mixed nadir + oblique missions only the nadir images are used for the orthomosaic.
- The P1 does not guarantee RTK-fix accuracy on every flight — check the RTK status field after import.
- An earlier issue that reduced P1 positional accuracy, mainly near the ends of the flight lines, has been fixed — if you processed a P1 project with a version older than 26.5.2, process it again.
The MRK file
Section titled “The MRK file”DJI Pilot 2 writes an MRK file next to the images at the end of every RTK flight. It is not required: when it is missing, DroneField reads the positions from the photos’ own GPS tags. Copy the MRK along with the images whenever the drone writes one — see Importing images.
Flight recommendations
Section titled “Flight recommendations”The quality of processing depends largely on flight planning. The values below are tuned for agricultural use.
| Parameter | Recommended value |
|---|---|
| Along-track overlap | 75–80 % |
| Cross-track overlap | 65–75 % |
| Altitude | 80–120 m AGL (RGB) / 60–90 m (MS); low flights at 30–60 m also stitch accurately |
| Speed | 6–10 m/s |
| Pattern | Lawnmower (back-and-forth parallel strips) |
| Gimbal | Nadir (straight down) |
| Weather | Overcast or thin clouds — direct sun shadows are noisy |
Multispectral drones (P4M, M3M) do not need calibration-panel shots for DroneField — reflectance is computed from the drone’s sunlight sensor (irradiance) data; panel shots, if captured, are not used.
What about the area you actually want to see?
Section titled “What about the area you actually want to see?”Objects on the edges of an aerial photo are tilted by parallax — they distort more and more as you move away from the image centre. So:
Whatever you want to see in detail in the result, fly over it. Don’t just observe the field edge from afar — fly over the important area.
If you need to measure NDVI on a tree at the edge of the field, or see a wire obstacle in the corner, the drone should pass over the tree / wire — not just up and down the field’s centre.
Unsupported drones
Section titled “Unsupported drones”Currently we do not process imagery from:
- DJI Phantom 4 Pro / Advanced (non-RTK)
- DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise / Pro
- Mavic 3 Cine
- WingtraOne, senseFly, Parrot Anafi (other manufacturers)
If you would like a particular drone added, write to us via the portal support form.
Looking for the spray drones?
Section titled “Looking for the spray drones?”Everything on this page concerns the survey drone. The spray drone brands DroneField exports application plans to — DJI Agras, XAG, ABZ Innovation — have their own page: Supported spray drones.
What is RTK?
Section titled “What is RTK?”RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) is a GNSS augmentation that gives the drone centimetre-accurate positioning — versus the ~3-metre error of plain GPS. It requires either a ground base station or a network correction service (NTRIP).
DroneField handles both modes (see the Project info panel’s RTK status field):
- Full RTK — 95+ % of images are RTK Fixed.
- Mixed (RTK + GPS) — some images RTK, some not.
- No RTK (GPS) — all images on plain GPS. Image alignment accuracy is lower, but processing still works.