6.3 L2 Pro Drone Mode
The L2 Pro can be mounted to a DJI M350 RTK or M300 RTK and flown as an aerial LiDAR scanner. Every step of the installation and configuration sequence is order-dependent. Skipping or reversing steps produces either a failed scan or a device that detaches in flight.
What Drone Mode Is and When to Use It
In Drone Mode, the L2 Pro acts as the aerial LiDAR sensor. The drone provides power, RTK positioning, and the flight platform. The L2 Pro captures the LiDAR scan data from the air. The result is an aerial point cloud processed in LixelStudio, not a 3D Gaussian Splat. This is a point cloud workflow, not a visual reconstruction workflow.
Drone Mode is the right choice when you need aerial LiDAR data for elevation modeling, roof geometry, or terrain capture, and your deliverable is a point cloud in E57, LAS/LAZ, or RCP format. If you need a photorealistic 3D model that combines aerial and ground perspectives into a single rendered scene, that is Aerial-Ground Fusion and uses a different workflow covered in section 6.4.
M300 RTK
30 m alt
Hardware Preparation
Before mounting, confirm you have the complete L2 Pro Drone Mounting Kit. It ships separately from the standard L2 Pro case and contains three components: the mounting bracket, the gimbal adapter ring, and the custom Type-C cable. The installation toolkit inside the kit contains three screw sizes. Each size is used at a specific step and cannot be substituted.
Remove the RTK module from the L2 Pro before mounting. In standard handheld operation, the RTK module sits on top of the L2 Pro body. In Drone Mode, the drone itself provides RTK positioning via the gimbal adapter ring and custom cable. The standard RTK module is not used and must be removed before the mounting bracket is attached. Flying with the RTK module still attached will create a clearance conflict and will not fit the bracket correctly.
Mounting Procedure
Complete these steps in order. The orientation of the bracket in step 3 determines the scan alignment. The cable retention in step 6 is a flight safety requirement, not just a mechanical concern. An unsecured cable that works loose mid-flight will cut the RTK signal and corrupt the scan data for the remainder of the flight.
Attach the bracket backplate to the L2 Pro body
Remove the standard RTK module from the L2 Pro first if you have not already done so. Align the bracket backplate against the back of the L2 Pro body and secure it using the M2.5×5 screws from the installation toolkit. M2.5×5
Do not overtighten. The L2 Pro body is precision-machined aluminum. Snug is sufficient.
Connect the Type-C cable to the gimbal adapter
Plug the custom Type-C cable into the port on the gimbal adapter ring and secure it using the M2.5×8 screws. M2.5×8
This cable carries both power and RTK data. Make sure the connection is firm and the cable exits in a direction that will not be pinched when the bracket is mounted to the drone.
Mount the bracket to the drone using the existing gimbal holes
Align the mounting bracket with the gimbal mounting holes on the DJI M300/M350 undercarriage. Use the M3×8 screws to secure the bracket. M3×8
Orientation is critical: The arrow on the bracket (indicated by the red box in the installation diagram) must point toward the gimbal adapter ring. If the arrow is pointing away from the adapter ring, the L2 Pro will be oriented backward relative to the drone's flight direction and the scan data will be rotated incorrectly.
Install the gimbal adapter ring on the M300/M350
Slide the gimbal adapter ring into the drone's gimbal port. This is the same port used for DJI's standard camera gimbal accessories. The ring must seat fully before proceeding. A partially seated adapter ring will prevent the L2 Pro from locking securely in the bracket.
Secure the L2 Pro in the bracket and engage the green safety lock
Insert the L2 Pro into the mounting bracket. Once seated, engage the green safety lock button. The green lock prevents the red tension button from releasing during flight, which would drop the L2 Pro.
This is a flight safety requirement, not optional. Verify visually that the green safety lock is engaged before every flight. If the green lock can be pushed in easily, it is not engaged. It should resist movement when properly locked.
Connect the power and Type-C cables and secure the Type-C cable with M2.5×8 screws
Connect the drone's power cable to the L2 Pro. Connect the Type-C cable from the gimbal adapter ring to the L2 Pro's Type-C port. Secure the Type-C cable with the M2.5×8 screws. M2.5×8
The Type-C cable must be physically screwed down. Vibration during flight will work a friction-fit cable loose within minutes. When the Type-C cable loses connection, the RTK signal drops. The scan will continue recording but without valid RTK data for the rest of the flight. That data cannot be recovered after the fact. The screws are the difference between a usable scan and an unusable one.
Verify the completed installation
With the L2 Pro mounted and all cables secured, verify the following before powering anything on: green safety lock is engaged, bracket arrow is pointing toward the gimbal adapter ring, Type-C cable is screwed down at both ends, no cable is routed through the drone's prop arc or motor arms.
Pre-Flight: Power Sequence and LixelGO Configuration
The power sequence is not interchangeable. The L2 Pro must be powered by the drone, not by its own battery. If you power the L2 Pro independently before powering the drone, the device will initialize in handheld mode with the wrong RTK parameters, and the resulting scan file will not process correctly in LixelStudio.
Power the drone first. Then power the L2 Pro. The L2 Pro receives power through the Type-C cable from the drone. When powered this way, it initializes in Drone Mode. If you power the L2 Pro with its own battery first, you must power it off, remove the battery, and start over with the drone powered first.
Power on the drone
Start the DJI M350 or M300 RTK using the standard DJI power procedure. Allow the drone to complete its startup sequence and establish RTK satellite lock before proceeding.
Power on the L2 Pro
The L2 Pro receives power from the drone via the Type-C cable. Press the L2 Pro power button. The device will start up using drone power. It will not draw from an internal battery in this configuration.
Open LixelGO and connect to the L2 Pro
Open LixelGO on your phone (version 1.2.0 or higher required). Connect to the L2 Pro as you would for handheld scanning. The connection process is the same regardless of mount type.
Set Mount Type to: Drone
In the LixelGO startup screen, tap the Mount Type field and select Drone. This setting tells LixelStudio the geometry of the sensor relative to the RTK antenna during processing. If this is left at Handheld, all coordinate offsets will be computed incorrectly and the resulting point cloud will have systematic positional errors that cannot be corrected in post-processing.
Set RTK Type to: Aerial
In the RTK Type field, select Aerial. This activates the RTK parameter set for XGRIDS drone accessories. The Aerial RTK type uses different internal correction parameters than Standard RTK or Survey RTK. Selecting the wrong RTK type produces a scan that processes without errors but has incorrect absolute positioning.
Set the drone source ellipsoid to match the DJI remote controller
In the Drone Source Ellipsoid field, select the coordinate system that matches what is set on the DJI remote controller. This is either WGS84 or CGCS2000 depending on your region and drone configuration. A mismatch between the L2 Pro ellipsoid setting and the DJI controller's coordinate system will offset the final point cloud by meters.
Check the DJI controller's coordinate system setting before setting this field. They must match exactly.
Start the scan in LixelGO before the drone takes off
Tap Go and start recording in LixelGO while the drone is still on the ground. The L2 Pro must be actively scanning before the drone lifts off. Starting the scan after takeoff means the ground-level initialization data is missing, which reduces SLAM stability for the entire flight.
LixelGO must be used to start the scan. Starting the scan via the physical button on the L2 Pro will not register the correct mount type, RTK type, or coordinate system information in the project file. The project file will not process correctly in LixelStudio.
The Expected Drone Camera Error
The DJI drone will display a camera obstruction warning. This is expected and does not affect the scan.
The L2 Pro body physically covers one of the downward-facing obstacle avoidance cameras on the DJI M350 or M300 undercarriage. The drone's obstacle avoidance system detects that a camera's field of view is blocked and generates an error message on the DJI controller. This warning will appear every flight and cannot be suppressed.
The L2 Pro does not interfere with the drone's flight systems, RTK, or primary imaging sensors. The only affected system is the downward-facing obstacle avoidance camera that is physically covered by the mounting bracket. You can acknowledge the warning and proceed with the flight. It will not recur mid-flight as a new alert; it appears at startup as a persistent status indicator.
Be aware that with one downward camera blocked, the drone's obstacle avoidance coverage in the downward direction is reduced. Factor this into your flight planning over complex terrain or in environments with obstacles below the flight path.
Flight Parameters
Set the flight route on the DJI remote controller before taking off. The L2 Pro operates in a constant scan mode during flight; there is no mid-flight adjustment needed from LixelGO once the scan has started.
Higher altitude reduces point density. Higher speed produces sparser LiDAR returns and increases noise. Both the recommended and maximum values are soft limits in the sense that the scanner will continue to function outside these ranges, but data quality degrades noticeably above 5 m/s or above 50 m altitude.
After the Flight
When the drone returns and lands, stop the scan in LixelGO before powering off the L2 Pro. Wait for the fast-flashing green LED to return to solid green before removing power. Cutting power during the save sequence corrupts the project file.
Power off the L2 Pro before powering off the drone.
Data Organization and LixelStudio Processing
Drone Mode data is processed entirely in LixelStudio. LCC Studio cannot process L2 Pro drone LiDAR data. The output is a georeferenced point cloud, not a 3D Gaussian Splat.
Folder Structure
Organize your drone project files in a parent folder with two subfolders before importing into LixelStudio:
ProjectName/
Drone/ ← drone photos (if capturing aerial imagery alongside the LiDAR scan)
Lixel/ ← the L2 Pro project folder from the device
Processing in LixelStudio
Update LixelStudio to version 3.3 or higher
Drone Mode project files will not process in versions prior to 3.3. Confirm your version before attempting to import drone data.
Click Project Processing and select the project file
Navigate to the L2 Pro project folder from the drone flight and select the project file. LixelStudio will automatically detect the mount type recorded in the project file (Drone) and configure processing parameters accordingly. You do not need to manually select Drone Mode in LixelStudio.
Confirm the coordinate system and process
Verify the coordinate system matches the ellipsoid you set in LixelGO before the flight. Run the SLAM optimization. Processing time for a drone flight is generally longer than for an equivalent ground scan due to the aerial trajectory characteristics.
LixelStudio reads the mount mode from the project file automatically. This is why starting the scan via LixelGO (not the physical button) matters. The project file written by LixelGO contains the mount type, RTK type, and ellipsoid fields. The project file written by the physical button does not. LixelStudio uses those fields to set processing parameters. Without them, you must manually configure each parameter and any mistake produces an incorrect result.
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