Import Cycle

Requires a TrueView One Lite Annual Processing, LP360 Drone or LP360 Land Basic or higher license.

The Import Cycle wizard is opened by selecting “Import Raw Missions into New Project…” in the Startup Dialog or select Import Cycle on the Sensor tab of the ribbon.

Import Cycle is the first step, post flight, to begin processing using any sensor workflow, including TrueView, microdrones, DJI, Wingtra, etc. collected with drone, mobile, and handheld systems. A Cycle can be imported into LP360 to create a new Project or, if a Project already exists, to add a Cycle to an existing project.  

All TrueView sensors write their various data streams to a standard file folder structure called a “Cycle.”  The original meaning of cycle was an on/off cycle of the sensor.  It is possible to have multiple collections (flights, in the case of a drone) in a single Cycle so it is not necessarily correct to think of cycle as being synonymous with a flight.

The source data from a TrueView flight will consist of a folder with at least one Cycle folder named Cycle_YYMMDD_hhmmss showing the date and time of the data collection. Each cycle folder will contain one or more flight subfolders with a similar naming convention Flight_YYMMDD_hhmmss to segregate the source data if there were multiple takeoffs and landings during the cycle. Each Cycle folder will also contain a System subfolder with the associated configuration files and logs for that cycle.

How to Import a Cycle, Mission, or Flight Data

Import Settings

1. The first step is to select how the Cycle will be imported. There are three Import Mode options on the Import Settings page:

• Import Flights into NEW/CURRENT Project (Not Recommended for TrueView sensors!) – this option imports a Cycle into an existing or new project. We recommend against this because you will not have a backup of the Cycle in the native Cycle structure.
• Import and Archive Flights into NEW/CURRENT Project – this option adds the Cycle to an Archive and creates/adds to an LP360 project (Recommended for TrueView sensors). Note: Requires an Archive to be configured in the Archive Manager prior to starting the Cycle Import.

• Archive Flights – this option imports a Cycle from a USB or file and creates an Archived Cycle. This option does not run the same checks on the data as the previous step would do. We recommend against using this option because you will not have performed any checks on the data being put into the archive. Note: Requires an Archive to be configured in the Archive Manager prior to starting the Cycle Import

2. On the Import Settings page, select the desired Sensor type for import. 

LP360 Drone licenses can import and process data from most sensors on the market, in many cases for both real-time kinematic (RTK) and post processing kinematic (PPK) positioning workflows, and image processing to an orthomosaic and generated point cloud.

• TrueView / Microdrones / TerraDrone
• TrueView GO
• Wingtra LiDAR
  Learn more about the Wingtra LiDAR Workflow
  Note: Wingtra Photos may be imported using Add Photo Layer
• DJI
  • Raw DJI Zenmuse L1 or L2
    Learn more about the DJI L1/L2 Raw Import Workflow
  • Processed DJI Zenmuse L1 or DJI Zenmuse L2 or 🆕DJI Zenmuse L3
    Learn more about the DJI L1/L2/L3 Processed Workflow
  • Zenmuse P1 (M300 RTK)
  • Mavic 3 Enterprise (M3E) and M4E
  • Phantom 4 RTK (P4RTK)
  • M210 RTK (X7S)
• Other: Additional sensors may be added upon request. The Other option supports any point cloud in the LAS format with a sensor trajectory file in a supported format.

See the LP360 Drone Users Guide

LP360 Land licenses can import and process data from TrueView Go handheld sensors.

See the LP360 Land Users Guide

Learn more about TrueView GO (TVGO) Processing Workflow

Once the Import Mode and Sensor Type are set, press the Next button. 

Input Flights

On the Input Flights page, browse to and select the folder location or select an archived Cycle from an established archive.

• Folder – Add one or more TrueView Cycle/Flight by selecting the Cycle folder(s) found on the USB. Select this option and browse for the desired Cycle folder(s).
• Archive Zip File – If you or a pilot in the field has previously archived TrueView Cycles/Flights to an LP360 Cloud Cycle-Archive and shared that archived Cycle for download, use this button to add archived Cycles to the queue for import into the project without them needing to reside in a configured TrueView Archive.
• Archive Manager – If you or a pilot in the field has previously archived TrueView Cycles/Flights to an Archive, use this button to add archived Cycles to the queue for import into the project. 
  • NOTE: The archive folder location must be set up in the Archive Manager prior to using this option.

On the Input Flights page, some columns, indicated by a pencil icon, can be edited by a user:

• Area (Site) name – This is an optional label that can be added when you are segregating a
  Project (e.g., “Peabody Mine 77”) into multiple areas such as “Pit Area” and “Stockpile Yard.”

• Ancillary Files – This section of the dialog allows you to add any files you would like that are
  relevant to this project. For example, you could add a Check Point file, pdf description files,
  project reports and so forth. Note that these ancillary files will be associated with the Cycle, not
  the Project (that is, added to the Cycle file structure). If you are simultaneously archiving this
  project, these ancillary files will be included in the compressed archive.

• Archive Description – An optional description that can be viewed when viewing the archived
  Cycle in the Archive Manager . Only visible when one of the import options that creates an archived Cycle is selected.

Once the flights are selected and visible in the Cycles section of the Input Flights page, click the Next button.

Base Observation Files

The Base Observation Files page, or Base Observation Files button - when importing TrueView GO or raw L1/L2/L3, allows for the optional input of base station observation files which LP360 will automatically correlate with the applicable Cycle/Flight. Note: If you are not using a Single Base strategy (i.e., SLAM, RTK, SmartBase or PP-RTX) or wish to add the base observation files later during Trajectory Processing or SLAM Processing , you can skip this step. 

Learn more about using PP-RTX as a positioning solution

Learn more about using SmartBase as a positioning solution

LP360 reads the base station antenna model from the observation file to determine whether a valid NGS antenna calibration is available. If the antenna model is recognized, it is displayed normally. If the antenna model is missing, unknown, or no calibration exists, the antenna name is shown in red.

Hovering over a red antenna model displays a warning tooltip indicating that no antenna calibration was found and that APC‑to‑ARP offsets will not be applied if processing continues. In this case, LP360 will prompt for confirmation before trajectory processing proceeds.

For a detailed explanation of this warning, when it may be acceptable to proceed, and how to resolve missing antenna calibrations, see Troubleshooting: Missing Antenna Calibration.

Once satisfied with the Base Observation Files page, press the Next button.

Output Project

The Output Project page appears only when importing Cycles into a New project (i.e., you are not running this wizard from within an existing Project). This page is used to configure the settings for the new project.

Output Project Location

Projects Roots Folder: Select the output folder location for the project files (this will default to the Default Projects Root Folder if previously set in Project Settings ). 

Project Name: Defaults to a suggested name, such as the input Cycle folder, but can be changed as desired. You will see an error message if a project of that name already exists in the selected project folder. If this occurs, choose a different project name (or location).

Input Folder Settings

Delete Input Folders After Import (Faster import, less disk space required): When enabled, this option automatically removes the original input folders after their contents have been successfully imported into the output project. This helps:

Project Coordinate Reference System

In the lower section of the dialog, set the Coordinate Reference System (CRS) for the project by selecting from the Recent Coordinate Reference System (MRU) list at the top of the dropdown, the Suggested Coordinate Reference System list at the bottom of the dropdown, or by selecting the Select... button to open the Select Project Coordinate System Utility dialog.

Suggested UTM Zone is provided for most imports to assist users processing to UTM, but unsure of in which zone the data resides.

Remove an item from the list: by selecting the item to delete in the dropdown and pressing the delete tool. 

Epoch: The project epoch is automatically set when the project CRS is selected, if one is known for the datum of the selected project CRS.

Use the decimal year of the Cycle Date for coordinate reference systems using variable ellipsoid and variable epoch, such as the WGS84 datum, otherwise select enter the applicable epoch for the datum of your coordinate reference system.

For example, NAD83(2011) has a fixed ellipsoid and variable epoch date of 2010.0. Typically, the epoch date for your project datum should be selected by default.

It can be verified later in Project Settings (File -> Project Settings -> Project -> Project Epoch) and modified after Import Cycle has completed. Though caution should be used.

Once all options are set on the Output Project page, press the Next button.

Output Archive Folder

If you choose one of the import modes that creates archived Cycles (Import and Archive Flights into NEW/CURRENT Project or Archive Flights), the Output Archive Folder page is presented. This page of the wizard is used to select the Archive location where you would like to store a compressed copy of the Cycles being imported. To select the Archive where you would like a compressed copy of this Cycle stored, select a row in the Available Archives list. Archives must be configured in the Archive Manager prior to starting the Cycle Import or you will not have any archives from which to select.

Compute Size - Runs a quick update to the list to report the current total size of archived Cycles in the Archive folders.

After selecting the Archive, press the Next button to take you to the Flight / Base Positioning page.  

Flight/Base Positioning

On the Flight/Base Positioning page, users may enter the Reference Mark (base station location) either by using a previously set-up survey nail or by manually entering the location information. If desired, the Reference Mark can be entered later in during Trajectory Processing or SLAM Processing , as applicable.
 

Press Finish to begin importing the Cycles/Flights.

Layers Created Upon Completion of Import

Learn how to review the layers generated by Import Cycle

Usual Next Steps

Upon completion of the Cycle Import, the user may be prompted to the next step of the workflow depending on the type of Cycle/Flight that was imported.

1. Create flight lines, drive, or walking passes.
   1. Auto Create Flight Lines
   2. Manual Flight Lines
2. Sensor Processing Launcher
   Recommended for batch processing, includes:
   1. Trajectory Processing
   2. Geocoding
   3. or SLAM Processing , as applicable.