Use KML to import POI

Help
1

I have a kml file with several points that I need to treat as POI. Currently, POI can only be placed manually. Is there a method to import a kml with several points and treat them as POI?

2

I think Litchi treats KML file as a waypoint path only when its imported.

3

I am looking for the same thing. I need to import a bunch of POIs, wish there was a way to do it.

4

Importing a kml file (or csv file) currently replaces a mission that is currently displayed. It sounds like you would like to append data (POIs) to an existing mission already displayed. Can you describe the utility of what you need and how you would expect it to work?

5

It would be nice to have the option to import .kml points as either waypoints or POIs.

6

Any updates on this? I have imported from a CSV to create waypoints and it works great but wish there was a way to do the same for POIs. For the survey work I do I often have the lat/longs for locations to fly and importing in to POIs would be very helpful. Then I could just use the Focus mission option.

7

A Litchi csv file can contain both waypoints and POIs. How would you define the POIs in a KML file? A KML path can be converted to waypoints. What would be converted to POIs and how would you associate a POI with a waypoint?

8

One survey type that i do is for eagle nest status of occupancy. I am sent the eagle nest locations in shapefiles, gps, csv or kml. What I’d like to do is to import these locations into Litchi as POIs and fly to them manually that way rather than waypoint missions. Any suggetions?

9

Could you add an option to choose whether to treat points as waypoints or POIs? The KML file can’t contain both types, so I would need to perform two separate imports. The POI import feature is especially useful for marking the exact locations where the drone should fly. Imagine having to manually insert hundreds of POIs instead of doing it with a single click—this option would save a lot of time!

10

The use case both of you describe is not directly supported by Litchi. I am guessing (but I don’t really know) that such a use case is rather specific and may not be something that would be generally used. A Litchi CSV file would need to contain waypoint coordinates in addition to POI coordinates. Importing a list of POIs (without any waypoints) might be possible but saving a mission currently requires at least one waypoint.

I can think of several options that may provide a way for this to be done.

  1. If one had a list of POI coordinates (and Excel), it would be relatively easy to manually construct a Litchi CSV file and copy and paste those POI coordinates into both the waypoint columns as well as the POI columns. Once imported into Litchi, you would see a mission with both waypoints and POIs occupying the same locations. You would not fly it as a waypoint mission. Instead, you would fly it manually using the POI/waypoints as a visual guide.

  2. If you imported a KML file containing a path into Litchi, a mission with waypoints (and no POIs) would be created. Again, you would load this mission but then fly manually using the waypoints as a visual guide.

  3. Software could be written to convert shapefile/gps/csv/kml data into a mission with POIs. Waypoints could be computed between the POIs. Once loaded, the mission would be used as a visual guide and flown manually. I would be interested in seeing the data that you are provided. I don’t know if such a utility would be of general use but I am always interested in at least understanding requirements such as this.

11

Thanks Wes for your feedback on this. I’m very new to Litchi and mostly just want to use it for flying to preset lat/long locations (before flight) which unfortunately DJI Go 4 doesn’t do, at least as i understand it.
Your option #1 is what i’ll try next. I might also just stick with import locations as waypoints and manually fly to them. Was just hoping for more of a POI focus type mission but i’ll play with it some more.
I do think there are some good uses of POI only missions - inspections of oil wells, nest sites, anything with known lat/long that is the focus but still giving the pilot freedom to manually fly around these locations with out the use of waypoints.
thanks again for your feedback and suggestions