matttay
Aug 02, 2008, 03:59 PM
I've been in need of an app that can let me place waypoints. I'm not crazy about google and microsoft's terms of use, and I also want an app that I can easily run on my PDA, both online and offline. Finally, I want the ability to know trip durations, time of flight, mAH required to reach a waypoint, etc.
So, here's a first version of waypoint builder. For now, it can only run as a web app. I'll release the source in the coming months.
What it does:
1) Loads maps from USGS terraserver. There are no restrictions on the usage of these maps. And you can cache and builder larger maps and save those as jpgs for fast loading. The downside is that this is US only, and the maps just aren't as pretty as google or ms. But for building waypoints, I don't mind.
2) You can specify a starting point, and then add waypoints by right clicking on the map. The right click brings up a context menu that lets you select if you are adding waypoint, start point, etc.
3) You can make measurements easily from various features.
4) Total waypoint distance is measured, along with time required at your given cruise speed. mAH etc will come soon.
5) You can also see an altitude profile. Right now this is disabled because the USGS server isn't responding. But after you have selected a range of waypoints, you can see the elevation change for the entire mission. When you select a waypoint, it defaults to 50 m above AGL for that spot. To know this, it queries the USGS server. Then in the altitude profile you can make sure you won't fly into a mountain. I am surrounded by moutains and changing terrain so this is very important. If you live in Kansas, not so much.
When you run the app, click "load map" in the upper left corner. It will start loading a map for marymore RC park in Redmond, Washington. Everytime you left click on the map, it will re-center your position. This doesn't permit scrolling the way google maps does--the USGS server is too slow. But, the tiles are all stored in your "my docs\uavmaps" folder, so after a bit of use it gets quite a bit faster. You can see in the lower left if it is loading tiles from the internet or your hard drive. You can delete the uavmaps dir at any time. You'll just re-load those maps next time they are needed.
Note there's not a lot of error checking the app right now, so it's easy to make it barf with erroneous data.
Let me know if there are features you'd like to see.
http://www.peakeff.com/uavapps/waypointbuilder/publish.htm
So, here's a first version of waypoint builder. For now, it can only run as a web app. I'll release the source in the coming months.
What it does:
1) Loads maps from USGS terraserver. There are no restrictions on the usage of these maps. And you can cache and builder larger maps and save those as jpgs for fast loading. The downside is that this is US only, and the maps just aren't as pretty as google or ms. But for building waypoints, I don't mind.
2) You can specify a starting point, and then add waypoints by right clicking on the map. The right click brings up a context menu that lets you select if you are adding waypoint, start point, etc.
3) You can make measurements easily from various features.
4) Total waypoint distance is measured, along with time required at your given cruise speed. mAH etc will come soon.
5) You can also see an altitude profile. Right now this is disabled because the USGS server isn't responding. But after you have selected a range of waypoints, you can see the elevation change for the entire mission. When you select a waypoint, it defaults to 50 m above AGL for that spot. To know this, it queries the USGS server. Then in the altitude profile you can make sure you won't fly into a mountain. I am surrounded by moutains and changing terrain so this is very important. If you live in Kansas, not so much.
When you run the app, click "load map" in the upper left corner. It will start loading a map for marymore RC park in Redmond, Washington. Everytime you left click on the map, it will re-center your position. This doesn't permit scrolling the way google maps does--the USGS server is too slow. But, the tiles are all stored in your "my docs\uavmaps" folder, so after a bit of use it gets quite a bit faster. You can see in the lower left if it is loading tiles from the internet or your hard drive. You can delete the uavmaps dir at any time. You'll just re-load those maps next time they are needed.
Note there's not a lot of error checking the app right now, so it's easy to make it barf with erroneous data.
Let me know if there are features you'd like to see.
http://www.peakeff.com/uavapps/waypointbuilder/publish.htm