Perform a mapping mission
Capturing RTK data requires your Hovermap to be connected to an RTK-capable platform such as the M300 or M350. In addition to this requirement, you must have the following essentials in place to ensure a smooth and successful mapping mission:
Fully-charged Hovermap Battery: Make sure that the Hovermap’s battery is fully charged. A drained battery could result in a premature end to your mission or data loss.
Emesent Commander Installed: Ensure that the Emesent Commander application is installed on your tablet. The app should be up-to-date with the latest software version to guarantee optimal performance.
Full-charged Android Tablet: Your tablet should also be fully charged to prevent any interruptions caused by a sudden loss of power.
To perform a mapping mission
Connect Hovermap to a battery or other approved power source. Hovermap doesn’t come with an internal battery, so it will either need to be platform-mounted or powered by an external battery.
Press the power button to power on Hovermap. The LED will change from OFF to a flashing red indicating that the Hovermap is initializing.
After completing initialization, the status LEDs will flash orange and then switch to a slow pulsing Emesent blue. This indicates that the Hovermap is now ready to scan. Ensure that Hovermap is positioned in a way that allows the LiDAR sensor to rotate freely.
If, after 30 seconds, the status LEDs are not a slow pulsing blue, the start-up checks have been unsuccessful. If this happens, please restart your Hovermap.
Use the Emesent Commander application to access the Mission workflow.
Launch the application then tap either Connect to Hovermap or the red Wi-Fi icon on the top banner.
Look for ST_xxxx, HVM_xxxx, or LRR_xxxx (where xxxx = Hovermap device to connect to) in the list of networks.
Select that network then enter the Wi-Fi password (hovermap).
Once the connection is established, you will hear an audio message indicating that you are “Connected”. The red banner is removed from the landing page.
Complete the required pre-mission checks then tap the Start Scan button on the Scan setup page of the Mission Workflow.
The LiDAR sensor will start spinning. The status LEDs will start by flashing green, and will then change to a slow green pulse. When the status LEDs start to pulse, keep Hovermap still for the first 10 seconds. This gives Hovermap time to start to build a map and to position itself within its environment.
This step is essential! If Hovermap is moved before it has collected enough points to start mapping its environment, it won’t be able to create a map successfully.
Once you have given Hovermap time to position itself, you can start your scan.
To end the mission, tap the Stop Scan button (or short press the power button) in the Emesent Commander app. The LiDAR sensor will stop spinning after a few seconds, and the status LEDs will return to a slow pulsing blue. Hovermap is now ready for another scan or data retrieval.
Download the data from Hovermap by inserting a USB flash drive into the USB port at the back of the unit. The status LEDs will change to a flashing light blue while the data is being transferred to the USB flash drive. All data that has not previously been transferred will be copied to the USB flash drive.
You can only download data when Hovermap is on standby (a slow pulsing blue). To retrieve data, the USB flash drive must be formatted in an exFAT file format.
Once the transfer is complete, the status LEDs will return to a slow pulsing blue. The USB flash drive can now be removed.
Scans are stored internally until they are deleted manually.
Shut down Hovermap by pressing the power button for at least 4 seconds (or until the status light turns off) to shut down Hovermap.
Check GPS/RTK status via Web UI
GPS and RTK status can be checked via the Web UI so there is no need to keep the Emlid Flow application open after the initial setup.
To check GPS/RTK status once you have connected to your Hovermap’s Wi-Fi network, open an internet browser then type hover.map into the address bar. The GPS/RTK status is displayed at the bottom of the screen.
This feature can only be accessed through Hovermap Software 3.1 (or later versions).
Process RTK data
Once the data has been retrieved from Hovermap, it is in a raw state and will need to be processed. Use Emesent Aura to create a rich 3D point cloud. Emesent Aura supports georeferencing a scan using RTK data via the M300/M350.
Ensure you have correct version of Emesent Aura to be able to process RTK data.
M300: version 2.7 or higher
M350: version 3.1 or higher
Launch the Emesent Aura software application. You will need an RTK license to access the feature.
Go to the Process tab then click Process Scan.
Select the Process option then click Add Dataset.
Browse for the folder that contains the point cloud dataset to be processed. Select that folder.
Select the processing profile to use.
In the Location field, enter the preferred name for the output folder. Emesent Aura will create this folder, which stores all the processed results and data, as a child directory within the raw scan folder.
If RTK data is detected in your dataset, toggle on Use RTK data when prompted to use the real-time corrections provided by the RTK system to improve the accuracy of the georeferencing of the point cloud data.
In Processing Settings, proceed to fine-tune the RTK and output parameters or change the Georeferencing Mode. When done click Save. To exit without saving the changes, click Close.
If you have selected a built-in profile, you will be prompted to create a new profile to be able to save the changes.
Click Start to begin processing. The Configure New Scan Job panel is replaced with the Processing Scan panel and shows a progress bar showing how far along you are in your processing job. In addition to the progress bar, the elapsed time of the processing job is shown to the right.
The directory file path below the progress bar provides a way to identify the dataset source. This is useful if simultaneously processing multiple jobs with the same output folder name. Copying the file path and pasting it on your computer’s file explorer allows you to access the completed files without having to wait for the processing job to be completed.
Once the processing job has finished, the bottom panel displays the generated files.
Click View beside each generated file to load them into the Viewport for analysis or further editing. The following main files are generated:
Full point cloud — The point cloud with the complete set of data points. The output file type varies depending on the profile used in generating the point cloud. The filename includes the output folder name with the output file type appended to it. For example: Output_laz1_4.laz where the output file type is PointCloud LAZ (1.4) and the file is located in the “Output” folder.
Subsampled point cloud — The point cloud containing a subset of points from the original point cloud dataset (based on Subsample Factor value in Processing Settings). This output is only generated if Subsample Point Clouds is enabled in the Output tab of the Processing Settings panel.
Trajectory file — The data file containing the recorded movement or path of the Hovermap as it acquired the point cloud data.