I am looking to buy an Emlid Reach M2 (link here) and use it to improve the georeferencing of images taken with a Micasense RedEdge-P.
I wanted to ask if anyone knows whether what I want to do is feasible.
Basically, I want to capture images with the RedEdge and improve the metadata (GPS position). I will be capturing images in two ways:
Use the automatic trigger mode of the Micasense and capture data with a drone.
Use a Python script to trigger captures via the HTTP API.
I’ve seen online that I can get the GPS position from the M2 via USB (here) and post it to the camera to update the metadata (here). So, for the second method of capturing data, I should be good to go.
For the first method, I was wondering if it is possible to pass the corrected GPS position directly to the camera. An example is provided by Micasense (here), but if I understand correctly, it requires post-processing.
The primary feature of the MicaSense integration and all similar ones is that Reach records time marks very precisely by receiving electromagnetic impulses on its event pin (0.1 μs). That’s why the described workflow requires post-processing, and we recommend the same when integrating Reach with other SLR cameras.
Streaming an RTK solution doesn’t solve the task of matching image time stamps in the EXIF metadata with the GPS time at which they were recorded. Furthermore, the GPS positions can have a maximum update rate of 10 Hz, which is insufficient to provide accurate GPS positions to the images.
Overall, I’d recommend sticking with the approach described in the MicaSense integration guide.
To clarify, is the recommended solution to “link” the Micasense and Reach sensors to synchronize them, and then, during post-processing, use the image timestamps to determine their accurate GPS positions?
I apologize if my questions seem basic; this is my first time working with these types of sensors.
My main concern is the post-processing workflow. What information will I need, and is it relatively straightforward to perform?
Yes, it is. When processing raw data logs in Emlid Studio, you get the events.pos file first. It contains precisely computed coordinates matching the time marks when the images were triggered.
The tricky part is geotagging images. As I know, MicaSense cameras generate .TIFF files that we don’t support in Emlid Studio – only .JPEG. They suggest using the Python script for that; you can find more details in this guide – the Post-Processing section.
