Ground Control Point Planner
Plan GCPs and a checkpoint layout designed to ASPRS Edition 2 for your drone survey, from a phone or a desktop browser.
Free. No account needed.
How it works
Three steps, on site or in the office.
Mark the site
Tap the corners on the map, on site or in the office, or upload a KML, shapefile, GeoPackage or GeoJSON file.
Choose the spacing
Set the GCP spacing directly or from your flight height. The planner places GCPs round the edge and spreads them inside, then adds checkpoints away from them.
Download the files
Load the GCP and checkpoint files on your RTK controller and walk each route on site.
What you get
Pick only the files you need. Each one is named by the coordinate system it holds, so nobody loads the wrong one.
Why you can trust the layout
Checkpoint numbers follow ASPRS Edition 2 (Table C.1).
GCPs go round the edge and spread inside, as research on drone mapping recommends.
Every default is labelled in the Summary Report with where it comes from, so you can check it or change it.
A plan is not proof of ASPRS compliance. That needs the field survey and the accuracy report.
Built for real sites
What happens on the ground, planned for in the office.
Works anywhere
Choose any projected coordinate system for your files, with the ones that cover your site listed first. Latitude and longitude are always included.
Avoids buildings and water bodies
Uses OpenStreetMap to keep targets off roofs and out of ponds, with the option to plan without it.
Your own no-go areas
Draw railways, gardens, hedges or a client's no-go zones, or upload them as a file.
Two walking routes
One loop for GCPs and one for checkpoints, each starting where you choose, with IDs in walking order.
Made for outdoors
Large buttons and clear text in sunlight. If the signal drops, your site and settings stay on the phone.
Honest about accuracy
If a coordinate system converts with low accuracy, the planner says so and suggests your site's UTM zone.
Your site stays yours
Your site boundary is used to make the plan, then deleted. It is never kept on the server. No account, no tracking.
Guides
Straight answers to the questions surveyors ask, with the sources behind them.
