Reference
Documentation · formats, settings and their defaults.
Panel files
A panel is described from its calibration certificate. Panels added in DEDAL can be downloaded in this format (download as file) and used unchanged with the command-line calibration and the cluster pipeline. Reflectance is a fraction (0.517, not 51.7 %).
{
"id": "RP04-1913009-SC",
"name": "MicaSense RP04 1913009-SC",
"manufacturer": "MicaSense", "model": "RP04", "serial": "1913009-SC",
"certificate_date": "2019-05-14",
"bands": {"G": {"reflectance": 0.51793, "wavelength_nm": 560},
"R": {"reflectance": 0.51733, "wavelength_nm": 650},
"RE": {"reflectance": 0.5168, "wavelength_nm": 730},
"NIR": {"reflectance": 0.51593, "wavelength_nm": 860}},
"detection": {"max_elongation": 2.5}
}
Only bands is required. detection holds only settings that differ from the defaults below; using any flags the result.
Panel detection settings
| max_elongation | 1.25 · long / short side (1 = square). About 2.5 for a target twice as long as wide. |
|---|---|
| max_surround_ratio | 0.6 · surround / panel brightness: the surround (the case) must be darker. |
| max_cv | 0.03 · non-uniformity allowed inside the panel (local std / mean). |
| min_side_px, max_side_px | 60, 900 · panel side in the image, pixels. |
| erode | 0.2 · share of the side trimmed from each edge before measuring. |
| window_px | 9 · window of the uniformity test, pixels. |
Calibration thresholds
Validated defaults. Set per user in DEDAL (Calibration thresholds (advanced)) or per run on the command line; any change is recorded and flags the result.
| low_sun_deg | 25 · flag below this sun elevation (degrees). |
|---|---|
| panel_flag_gap_min | 60 · flag if the panel shot is further from the flight (minutes). |
| panel_max_gap_min | 180 · do not use a panel shot further away (minutes). |
| panel_max_spread | 0.15 · reject a panel reading less uniform than this ((p90 − p10) / median). |
| panel_outlier | 0.10 · drop panel images further than this from the band median. |
| factory_tolerance | 0.08 · flag if a band's balance departs further from DJI's factory calibration. |
| fleet_tolerance | 0.15 · flag if a band departs further from the camera's typical factor. |
| nadir_tolerance_deg | 10 · leave out images tilted further from straight down (degrees). |
| panel_max_captures | 30 · a group of at most this many captures can be a panel shot. |
| edge_captures | 8 · without a panel shot, look for the panel in this many first and last captures. |
Plot extraction columns (CSV)
| plot | Plot code: from the plot sheet or imported layout, otherwise the panel's numbering (prefix + number, row by row from plot 1). |
|---|---|
| row_no, col_no | Row and column, counted from plot 1 (rows across the direction the columns run). |
| plot sheet / layout columns | plot_name, block, treatment, variety, rep and any other columns of the plot sheet or the imported file, as given. |
| area_m2, pixels | Plot area, and the number of valid pixels used. |
| sampled_cm | Only for very large plots: the spacing at which pixels were sampled. |
| reflectance_G/R/RE/NIR_mean | Mean reflectance per band (calibrated multispectral tasks only). |
| <INDEX>_mean, _median, _std, _min, _max | For each index chosen: NDVI, NDRE, GNDVI (multispectral) or VARI, GLI, ExG (RGB). |
| dsm_median_m, dsm_p95_m | Median and 95th-percentile elevation of the surface model in the plot, in metres, in the vertical reference of the images' GPS altitude. Compare heights within a task, or subtract a bare-ground elevation. |
| relief_p95_p5_m | 95th − 5th percentile of the surface model in the plot: a first estimate of canopy height. |
The GeoJSON download has the plots' outlines (WGS84) with the same values as properties.
Plot sheets and layout files
| Plot sheet | CSV or Excel (.xlsx), one row per plot. Headers are recognised whatever their case or punctuation: a plot code (Plot, plot_code, Plot ID...), optionally Row and Col, and Variety/Genotype, Treatment, Rep, Block; any other column is kept. Plot codes must not repeat. |
|---|---|
| Matching | By row and column when every record has both; otherwise in plot order (plot 1 first, row by row). |
| Layout files | GeoJSON, zipped shapefile (.shp, .shx, .dbf and .prj in one .zip) or KML/KMZ; polygons, up to 5,000. Any coordinate system with a .prj or a GeoJSON CRS; WGS84 otherwise. |
| Plot code in a layout | The first of the columns plot_code, plot_id, plot, code, label, name, id (any case). |
QGIS project files
| <flight>.qgs | The project (QGIS 3.34 or later). Open it from the unzipped folder. |
|---|---|
| orthophoto.tif | The orthophoto as processed. Multispectral bands: 1 Red, 2 Green, 3 NIR, 4 RedEdge, 5 alpha; reflectance × 32768 when calibrated. |
| ndvi.vrt | NDVI computed from bands 3 and 1 of orthophoto.tif (multispectral only). No data: −9999. |
| dsm.tif | The surface model, elevation in metres. |
| plots.geojson | The plots of the last extraction, with all the columns of the CSV (WGS84). |
| README.txt | Layers, values and band order, and Raster Calculator formulas for other indices. |
Calibration preset: OpenDroneMap options
radiometric-calibration none texturing-skip-global-seam-leveling auto-boundary matcher-neighbors 16 feature-quality high pc-quality medium dsm dem-resolution 2 orthophoto-resolution 1 cog primary-band NIR camera-lens brown use-fixed-camera-params cameras (the drone's factory lens) gps-accuracy 0.1 (only when every position is RTK-fixed)
Resize Images: Yes, 100000 px, which keeps the images at full size.
Limits
| Images per task | 2,500 |
|---|---|
| Calibration | DJI Mavic 3M multispectral only; needs a panel shot (or the typical-factors option); not below about 25° sun without a flag |
| Plots per extraction | 5,000 |
| Project retention | 30 days |
| DEDAL-Lab session | 10 hours; launch link valid for 1 hour |