Best Practices: Flying a Muckpile for Fragmentation Analysis

Post blast drone flight and data collection is relatively simple. You can get started almost immediately after the dust has cleared from the blast.

We recommend using autonomous flight planning software for flight planning. There are many applications out there available to use, depending on your drone. Feel free to reach out to support for further support in choosing applications. 

Manual flights can also be carried out, as the same criteria below will apply in regards to camera angle and overlap. 

The drone mission planning software should have the following settings:

• Define the drone model you are using (to estimate flight time and battery life)
• Set the drone camera angle to 90° (perpendicular to the ground)
• Set the imaging overlap to 80% (reduces optical distortion)
• Set the mission flight altitude between 50ft-150ft (15m-45m) ***Dependent on muck pile height and bench heights in the area surrounding muck pile***
• If possible, fly the mission at noon ±2 hours (minimizes long shadows)
• We recommend flying a GRID pattern using any autopilot flight planning app

Define a geofence that surrounds the muckpile area, once this is complete an estimated flight time (5-15 minutes typical) will be displayed in the flight planning app.

If the flight conditions are acceptable and clear to start, connect the device to the drone remote control and launch the mission. The drone will autonomously fly the mission and return to where it started once complete. Upload the images to the Strayos platform to generate the 3D model for further analysis. 

Keep in mind, the lower the GSD (Ground Sampling Distance) the better, as this will provide more accurate results when detecting rock sizing, especially fines detection. 

Be sure to toggle the Post Blast Option when uploading your images, and link to the Pre-Blast Profile if available. 

Keep in mind, the lower the GSD (Ground Sampling Distance) the better, as this will provide more accurate results when detecting rock sizing, especially fines detection.