RESEPI Hesai XT-32 Drone LiDAR Workflow

In this video walkthrough, we demonstrate the streamlined technical field operation and data processing workflow of Inertial Labs' mobile drone LiDAR systems. The hardware integrated for this deployment consists of the Emlid Reach RS2+ base, the DJI Matrice 300 RTK airframe, and the RESEPI XT-32 LiDAR payload. Note that DJI's upgraded flagship platform, the Matrice 350 RTK, is fully compatible with this payload setup as well.

Step 1: Drone Airframe & Payload Setup

Prior to beginning this mission, we installed reinforced structural dampeners onto the XT-32 chassis to minimize vibrations in flight. When setting up the system components, the physical mounting location of the GNSS antenna on the aircraft body is flexible, as the processing software cleanly calculates the structural lever-arm offsets during post-processing.

We carefully routed our high-frequency antenna connection cable along the airframe structural members, ensuring complete clearance to avoid physical interference with safety proximity sensors or the rotating propeller blades. Finally, we loaded a high-speed USB drive into the payload hub port to record the raw diagnostic datasets.

Step 2: IMU Convergence & Calibration Flights

Before initiating your automated mapping pass, you must execute precise convergence maneuvers to calibrate the LiDAR's integrated INS (Inertial Navigation System):

• Initial Static Alignment: Place the aircraft on a level surface and power on the system. The RESEPI payload requires an absolute 30-second stationary window to stabilize its core internal sensors prior to takeoff.
• Kinematic In-Flight Calibration: Once airborne, pilot the drone straight ahead for at least 5 seconds at a velocity at or above 5 m/s. Following this burst, the drone must complete a smooth figure-8 trajectory pattern before starting data capture.

Operators can command the initialization of the figure-8 manually or deploy an automated waypoint route block. For this mission, we built an hourglass-shaped waypoint template that commands the aircraft to curve dynamically through the turnaround nodes to easily achieve the figure-8 trajectory path.

Immediately after completing the figure-8 configuration loops, begin your mapping mission passes without landing the aircraft. Once your survey grid lines are completely wrapped up, maintain the hover and execute a final 30-second static alignment step before shutting down the power grid on the RESEPI system, followed by powering down the aircraft.

Step 3: Trajectory Processing in PCMaster

Remove the USB flash drive from the payload hub and insert it into your office processing workstation. Extract your state-maintained reference base station tracking log file and place it directly into your main raw LiDAR mission folder partition.

To optimize ingestion speeds, rename your base station file explicitly to "BaseFile". This specific naming convention allows Inertial Labs' native PCMaster software to automatically recognize and import the file to process the precise flight trajectory paths. Launch the main processing engine from within your local directory layout by double-clicking the automated "ppk" command script asset.

PCMaster initializes the workspace script, parsing parameters and validating the antenna spatial lever-arm offset metrics along with the exact geographical coordinate constraints of your reference base. The computing engine then post-processes your flight trajectory and automatically compiles the master raw point cloud.

Step 4: Cleaning and Exporting the Point Cloud

The preliminary raw output profile captures data across the entirety of your engine runtime—including manual startup sequences and ground steps. To clean up the dataset and isolate your clean survey grid data, navigate to the top software menu bar and select LiDAR Tools > Paths > Remove Selected Path.

To isolate and highlight only your precise mapping flight lines, right-click exactly on the primary transition node where your mapping pass begins and select Start Selection Here. Next, scroll to the trailing edge of your final survey pass line, right-click, and select End Selection Here. Export your tailored clean flight path selection directly as an industry-standard LAS file format—with the option to compile with or without integrated RGB colorization matrices.

In this abridged deployment walkthrough, we demonstrate how streamlined Inertial Labs has engineered its processing pipeline. Our focus has been on modeling a typical baseline workflow structure for professional RESEPI LiDAR systems. To review the absolute hard-surface tolerances achieved during this deployment—where an Emlid Reach RS2+ provided reference corrections and a DJI M300 RTK served as the aerial prime mover for the XT32—explore our technical case study link above.