TERRA Software

● Purchase & Preparation

How do I purchase DJI Terra? DJI Terra Advanced and Pro can be purchased through authorized DJI resellers.

For how long will my DJI Terra The DJI Terra Advanced and Pro plans are only valid for one year. Your license
license be effective? comes into effect starting the day the device is bound to DJI Terra.

What do I need to start using DJI 1. A Phantom 4 Series drone that supports DJI Terra, several batteries
Terra? 2. A laptop, a microSD card and a card reader
3. A compatible cable:
a USB-to-USB cable for Phantom 4, Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Advanced
a Micro-USB cable for Phantom 4 Pro+ V2.0
a USB-C cable for Phantom 4 RTK.

How many computers can be bound Each activation code can be used with a DJI account to activate a license, which
to the same account? can be bound to a maximum of 3 Windows computers. The binding will be
permanent and once bound, cannot be unbound.

What are the computer system A Windows 7 or above (64 bits) system is required when using DJI Terra.
requirements for 2D and 3D Minimum hardware configuration : 16GB RAM and a NVIDIA graphics card with at
reconstruction with DJI Terra? least 4GB VRAM.

Recommended hardware configuration : at least 32GB RAM and at least a NVIDIA

1050 Ti.

With these configuration requirements met, every additional 10GB of RAM will be
able to process 1000 additional 4K images. The higher the system configurations,
the larger the number of images that can be processed and the faster the
reconstructions. The results from the models generated will not be affected by
different hardware configurations.

Which aircraft are supported by DJI Phantom 4 RTK, Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, Phantom 4 Pro+ V2.0, Phantom 4 Pro,
Terra? Phantom 4 Advanced and Phantom 4. The Phantom 4 does not support 2D Real-
time Mapping.

Can I still use the paid features of DJI While connected to the internet, log into your account and bind a computer to
Terra with no internet connection? the license so you can use the paid features of DJI Terra within the next 2 days
even if you are not connected to the internet.
● Flight & Aerial Photography
What is the difference between Waypoints Mission:
Waypoints Mission, Mapping plan a flight route and capture photos or videos at waypoints along the route.
Mission, and Oblique Mission?
Mapping Mission:
collect images of an area to reconstruct a 2D model.
Oblique Mission:
collect images of an area from multiple camera angles to reconstruct a 3D model.

Why are there 5 flight routes when I DJI Terra’s Oblique Mission uses 5 flight routes to capture the same amount of
plan an Oblique Mission in DJI data as using 5 cameras simultaneously on a drone. The 5 flight routes
Terra? correspond to the 5 camera headings – downward, forward, backward, leftward,
and rightward.

How do I plan flight routes when If you have access to a mobile device that has an internet connection (such as a
there is no internet connection and cellphone), you can turn on the hotspot so that the laptop can be connected to
the map cannot be loaded? the internet.
If the site where you are operating has no internet signal, you can pre-plan the
flight route while you are indoors and have an internet connection, or manually
fly the drone around the area to be mapped to set boundaries points to plan
flight routes.

What is Ground Sample Distance In photogrammetry and remote sensing, ground sample distance (GSD) in an
(GSD)? aerial digital photo (such as an orthophoto) of the ground is the actual distance
on the ground captured as represented by pixels. The unit is cm/pixel.

In the New Mapping Mission page, Relative Height in Advanced Settings is the height of the takeoff point relative to
what does Relative Height in the area being mapped.
Advanced Settings mean?
How is it different from Mission Mission Altitude is the height of the drone relative to the area being mapped,
Altitude in Basic Settings? which is also how ground sample distance (GSD) is calculated.

When do I have to adjust the When there is a large difference between the elevation of the takeoff location
Relative Height in Advanced and the elevation of the area being mapped, you can adjust the Relative Height in
Settings? Advanced Settings to ensure that the Mission Altitude is determined considering
the elevation of the area being mapped. Please see the attached illustration:
If the drone takes off from a 50m building marked H1 in the illustration, the area
being mapped is marked A, and the expected altitude for aerial data collection is
100m, you can set the Mission Altitude in Basic Settings to 100m, and Relative
Height in Advanced Settings to 50m. Similarly, if the drone takes off from H2 to
map area B, which is a hill with an elevation of 40m, and the expected altitude for
aerial data collection is 60m, then set Mission Altitude to be 60m, and Relative
Height to be -40m.
What should I do to ensure accuracy 1) Conduct your missions in clear weather conditions with high visibility.
in my missions when collecting data
with the Phantom 4 RTK? 2) Check the images and videos for brightness and clarity immediately after
your mission.
3) During a surveying mission, avoid areas with strong electromagnetic
interference or obstructions to ensure the accuracy of the attitude
algorithm of the Phantom 4 RTK. Also make sure that the remote
controller is properly linked to the aircraft.
4) Ensure there is enough forward and side overlap. It is recommended to
have a forward overlap rate of 80% and a side overlap rate of 70%.
Overlap rates can be adjusted depending on the terrain.

When should I adjust the overlap It is recommended to have a forward overlap rate of 80% and a side overlap rate
rates based on the terrain? of 70%, which should meet the requirements for most application scenarios. The
overlap rate can be increased when the area being mapped has a large difference
in elevation to ensure the highest point mapped has enough overlap. When the
area mapped is relatively uniform in elevation, the overlap rate can be adjusted
lower to reduce the amount of data that needs to be processed, making the
mapping mission more efficient. However, it is recommended to keep the
forward overlap at a minimum of 65% and side overlap at a minimum of 60%.

When I connect DJI Terra to It could be that you are operating somewhere with a lot of signal interference or
Phantom 4 RTK, the app tells me obstructions, which affects the strength of the RTK signal. Try turning off the RTK
that I cannot take off because the module and take off manually with the GNSS positioning. Once the drone reaches
RTK signal is too weak. What should a height where there is less interference, you can turn on the RTK module and
I do? connect to DJI Terra to conduct your flight missions.

Does DJI Terra support the marking Currently, DJI Terra does not support GCPs, but a similar mapping accuracy can be
of Ground Control Points (GCPs)? achieved by using DJI Terra with Phantom 4 RTK without marking GCPs.

● Building Reconstruction Models

Why is my computer stuck when To build reconstruction models as quickly as possible, DJI Terra uses all the
processing images locally to computer resources available, including the CPU, RAM, and VRAM of the graphics
reconstruct a model? Can I run DJI card, which could make the computer slower while running DJI Terra but should
Terra while running other programs? not be a problem once the processing is finished.
It is recommended that you don’t run other programs that might be GPU-
intensive while running DJI Terra, as doing so could result in failure of model
reconstruction.

What are the Field, Urban, and Fruit Field Scenario:

Tree Scenarios in 2D Map? Designed to capture data from a relatively flat land, for example rice or wheat
fields.
Urban Scenario
Designed for areas with buildings of different heights.
Fruit Tree Scenario
Designed for orchards that might have a large variation of elevations and heights.
The 2D mapping algorithms are optimized for the three specific scenarios, so you
can choose the one that best fits your mission type.

What projection is used to obtain The map tiles in DJI Terra use the Web Mercator projection. The digital
the 2D mapping results in DJI Terra? orthophoto map (result.tif) and digital surface model (dsm.tif) use the Universal
Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection, where the projected zone number is
calculated by taking the average of longitude coordinates collected.

Why is there a large discrepancy The location information on aerial images collected by a drone that’s not
between the elevation result in the equipped with RTK is not the most accurate, which will result in a difference
digital surface model (DSM) of the between the elevation in the digital surface model (DSM) and the actual
2D map generated by DJI Terra and elevation.
the actual elevation measured via When conducting missions with the Phantom 4 RTK, if the 2D map is generated
RTK? with only the Nadir view images collected, the precision of the DSM will be
limited, which is why it is recommended to incorporate oblique imagery in
building the 2D map to enhance precision. This can be done by setting the gimbal
pitch to -45° and circling the point of interest during flight.

What is the difference between 3D There is no difference. If only Nadir view images are available, it is recommended
Reconstruction in Mapping Mission to use a mapping mission for building 2D maps. If oblique photos are available,
and in Oblique Photography you can choose an oblique photography mission.
Mission?

How different are the 3D models There are three options for reconstruction resolution: high, medium, and low,
built at different resolutions? How which will generate models at full, half, and quarter resolution respectively. The
long does it take to build models at higher the resolution the better the quality of the reconstructed models. The
these resolutions? rough ratio of time consumption for reconstruction at high:medium:low
resolutions is about 16:4:1.

Why are there gaps in my model? Gaps in the model can be due to missing shots of the area being mapped, or
What are some factors that affect images taken at poor angles. The quality of reconstruction can be affected by
the quality of the reconstruction? factors such as reflective surfaces in the area (water or glass), or large areas of the
same color or pattern (white walls, skies).

Can I trim or edit the 3D models Currently this function is not supported. If you would like to edit the model, you
generated in DJI Terra? can export it and edit in another software.

What files can I get from the 2D In addition to the map tiles shown in the app’s interface, DJI Terra’s 2D maps
maps and 3D models built in DJI provide digital orthophoto maps and digital surface models in the GeoTIFF format
Terra? used with UTM projection.
DJI Terra’s 3D model reconstructions contain texture mesh in .ply format and
level of detail model in .osgb or .b3dm formats.

How do I view the results and files You can click the More button in each Mission and open the file folders where the
from my 2D maps and 3D models? files generated from the missions are stored. You can also use Ctrl + Alt + F to
quickly go to the folder. 2D maps are stored under “map” and 3D models are
stored under “models”.
To view log files, use Ctrl + Alt + L.

What variables might affect the The accuracy of the reconstruction can be affected by factors such as camera
accuracy of the 2D and 3D distortion, image quality, flight height, side and forward overlap settings, GPS
reconstructions in DJI Terra? (RTK) positioning accuracy and the area’s texture information.

What is the accuracy when building When using the Phantom 4 RTK, the absolute accuracy achieved by the 2D maps
2D maps and 3D models with the in DJI Terra is around 1 to 2 times the GSD, which is a similar level of accuracy as
Phantom 4 RTK? other data processing software. When flying at 100m height, the absolute
horizontal accuracy of the 2D map is 2-5cm, and the absolute accuracy of the 3D
models is within 4cm.

Which coordinate system and The coordinate system used depends on the location of data collection. When
elevation are used for 2D and 3D using the Phantom 4 RTK to collect data, you can choose the coordinate system of
reconstructions in DJI Terra? the RTK module on the remote controller from the China Geodetic Coordinate
System 2000 (CGCS2000), the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84, which is the
default system), or a custom coordinate system. If you use another drone, the
images collected have coordinates from the WGS84 system. The elevation of the
data collected with the CGCS2000 and WVS84 system is the ellipsoid height.

Can I run multiple missions on the Currently you cannot run multiple missions due to limitations in the computer’s
same computer? processing capacity.
● Other
Can I modify the location where my Yes. The default path is C:\Users\***(User Name)\Documents\DJI\DJI Terra.
2D & 3D reconstructions are saved?
You can modify the path by going to >> >> Cache
directory.

Can I import models generated in DJI When you convert .ply files generated in DJI Terra into .obj files, you can import
Terra into other software programs, them into Maya, Blender, SketchUp, and 3ds Max. Look up tutorials for the
such as Maya, Blender, SketchUp, specific process for each software.
and 3ds Max?

Can I embed a 3D model into a Yes.

webpage? .b3dm, .osgb, and .ply files generated by DJI Terra are universal file formats and
can be embedded into webpages. You can find instructions for embedding each
of these formats online.

Can I use non-aerial images to build Theoretically they can be used to reconstruct 3D models although the quality
2D or 3D models? might suffer. They cannot be used to build 2D reconstructions.

Can I process images taken from Theoretically yes for 3D models, but the results might not be as good as if you
non-DJI drones in DJI Terra to build were to use DJI drones. The quality of the reconstructions will benefit from GPS or
2D and 3D reconstructions? RTK positioning data on the images. 2D reconstructions are not supported.