Visionary Intelligence. Elevated Accuracy.

DJI has rethought its drone technology from the ground-up, revolutionizing its systems to achieve a new standard for drone accuracy – offering Phantom 4 RTK customers centimeter-accurate data while requiring fewer ground control points.

Centimeter Level Positioning System

A new RTK module is integrated directly into the Phantom 4 RTK, providing real-time, centimeter-level positioning data for improved absolute accuracy on image metadata. Sitting just beneath the RTK receiver is a redundant GNSS module, installed to maintain flight stability in signal-poor regions such as dense cities. Combining both modules, the Phantom 4 RTK is able to optimize flight safety while ensuring the most precise data is captured for complex surveying, mapping and inspection workflows.

Fit the Phantom 4 RTK to any workflow, with the ability to connect this positioning system to the D-RTK 2 Mobile Station, NTRIP (Network Transport of RTCM via Internet Protocol) using a 4G dongle or WiFi hotspot, or store the satellite observation data to be used for Post Processed Kinematics (PPK).

Gather Accurate Data with TimeSync

To take full advantage of the Phantom 4 RTK’s positioning modules, the new TimeSync system was created to continually align the flight controller, camera and RTK module. Additionally, TimeSync ensures each photo uses the most accurate metadata and fixes the positioning data to the center of the CMOS – optimizing the results from photogrammetric methods and letting the image achieve centimeter-level positioning data.

Precise Imaging System

Capture the best image data with a 1-inch, 20 megapixel CMOS sensor. The mechanical shutter makes mapping missions or regular data capture seamless as the Phantom 4 RTK can move while taking pictures without the risk of rolling shutter blur. Due to the high resolution, the Phantom 4 RTK can achieve a Ground Sample Distance (GSD) of 2.74 cm at 100 meters flight altitude. To ensure each Phantom 4 RTK offers unparalleled accuracy, every single camera lens goes through a rigorous calibration process where radial and tangential lens distortions are measured. The distortion parameters gathered are saved into each image’s metadata, letting post-processing software adjust uniquely for every user.

NEXT GENERATION MAPPING –SAVING TIME IN CONSTRUCTION SURVEYING WITH DRONES

To match the growing demand for improved transportation infrastructure, Teams have seen towards new technologies to increase efficiency. Throughout that process, many contractors have put drones to use on Site to create regular site maps and conduct surveying missions faster.

"The use of drones for construction mapping has a lot of Advantages. Their integration changes our workflow and Simplifies many operational steps. Conventional surveying Methods do deliver 3D models as well, but digital terrain Model created from drone data provide a higher point Density, and therefore reality is portrayed in much higher Detail,” says Thomas Gröninger, Head of Business Unit Digital Object Survey and UAV at STRABAG.

CLICK HERE to read the full case study.

Measurement Accuracy of the DJI Phantom 4 RTK & Photogrammetry

Photogrammetry is not a new science and has been used for topographic mapping, architecture, and engineering long before the advent of drones. But the rise of computer vision-driven photogrammetry in recent years has paralleled the development of accessible commercial drone hardware and software. The simplicity and automation of today’s solutions allow professionals to integrate these flying robots into existing workflows to map huge swaths of land and generate high-resolution 3D models. This data makes it possible to analyze the world around us more accurately and quickly than traditional measurement methods, such as ground surveys and manual measurements. In our last white paper, we showed drones can deliver accuracy within 1% of real-world measurements when using Ground Control Points (GCPs).

Click Here for DJI & DroneDeploy's whitepaper on the measurement accuracy of the Phantom 4 RTK. (Link opens in new tab)