The best for autonomous mapping – Map Pilot for DJI - Business Review

This is my premier go-to app for autonomous mapping applications. I have used this app for 6 months now on dozens of missions. Also tried pretty much every other option out there by now. Yes, most other options cost less or are even free. I found some of these other options perfectly usable for professional applications. Why the best? First of all, it’s stable. That seems like a no-brainer for a pilot app of all things, but I had stability issues with several other mapping apps. One wouldn’t even open on my phone, others would crash mid-flight (app, not the UAS). The other reason are features, including safety features. UAV Position and mission progress are shown on a map (another app doesn’t show current position). Only app with a direction indicator to the UAV. Very helpful for relocating when loosing track of UAV. Take-off is when you tell UAV to take off, not as soon as mission is uploaded. Flying multi-battery missions, resuming after an interruption, works better and is more flexible than in any other app. No other app adjusts flight speed based on available light. Yes, you can check blur for yourself, and you should. I’ve flown missions with other apps, only to find after the fact that images are not as sharp as they should be. Never happened with Map Pilot yet. Other unique features: continue beyond radio contact, if you choose to do so (not recommended, may be illegal, depending on where you live). Follow terrain, rather than stay at constant elevation above take-off point (including a warning when this may be a bad idea). Works on both, iPad and iPhone. iPad is obviously preferable, but it’s great to have options. I often work in remote locations, so caching maps is important. Not all other apps do this or do this well. Customer service is quick, helpful, and competent. I have no experience with customer service from the other companies. Why did I try all these other options and not settle for Map Pilot from the beginning? Why only 4 stars? I don’t usually give 5 stars unless things are absolutely perfect and nobody is perfect. The following features I like better in the competition: planning a mission on a desktop and automatic syncing between devices would be nice. You can share missions with Map Pilot, but it’s more cumbersome. Polygon, instead/in addition to convex hull missions would be nice (in one case of an odd-shaped Island, it was a requirement for me). Exposure control interface works, but could be more intuitive. This app isn’t free, but well worth it for the professional feature set and peace of mind.
Review by Gopher19812 on Map Pilot for DJI - Business.