Importing Custom Geofences (EAP)

Published: Updated:

  1. Skydio
  2. Skydio Dock and Remote Operations
  3. Skydio Dock for X10 Manuals

Operational requirements often include local constraints, such as schools, cranes, hospitals, towers, custom waiver areas, or other areas that are not already represented in Skydio's default map data. To account for this, organization admins can import custom Keep-Out geofences for Pathfinder or manual flight.

[note]During the current Early Access Program (EAP), imported geofences in the Tall Obstacles layer only apply to Pathfinder Fly to Point and Pathfinder Returns.[/note]

Prerequisites

Before importing custom geofences, the following prerequisites must be met:

  • Administrator access to Skydio Cloud and a supported custom geofence file. Skydio supports GeoJSON, KML, and KMZ imports in the custom geofence flow.

  • For organizations that already have a dataset, such as GIS data or a Google Earth project, admins can import datasets (must be in one of the Skydio-supported formats mentioned above) directly. Only global floor and ceiling values can be set for these data sets. For organizations that do not have a dataset and simply want to define an area manually, site geofences should be used instead.

  • For organizations with geofences that need custom floor and ceiling values, download the sample file from Airspace Manager in Skydio Cloud and follow the sample format.

Importing a Custom Geofence File

To import a custom geofence file:

  1. Sign in to Skydio Cloud.

  2. Go to Settings > Airspace Manager.

  3. Click Import Custom Geofences.

  4. From the Import Boundary window, select Click to Upload or drag and drop GeoJSON, KML, or KMZ file.

[note]Click the drop down in the upper-right hand corner to download a sample GeoJSON, KML, or KMZ file.[/note]

  1. Enter a label for the geofence. It will be saved under this name.

  2. Admins may optionally specify Ceiling and Floor values if they are not already specified in the file. Keep Out cannot be modified (e.g., A custom FAA waiver may not have a ceiling, so set the ceiling toggle to Off.)

  3. Click Import.

  4. Confirm that the new custom geofence appears in the list of geofences displayed in Airspace Manager.

If Apply Boundaries Immediately is enabled, the imported geofences are available for use by Pathfinder on the next flight after the files have been processed (around 10 minutes). If this setting is disabled, the custom geofence set is saved but remains inactive until an admin enables it.

Enabling or Disabling an Imported Custom Geofence

From Airspace Manager, click on the custom geofence to view its details.

  • From the Geofence Mode drop down, admins can choose to set the geofence as On for all flights, for Pathfinder only, or Off.

  • Admins with appropriate permissions can also rename the custom geofence, add notes, replace the source file, download the original file, or export the custom geofence as GeoJSON.

  • Admins can lock or unlock the ability for pilots to change this geofence mode in flight.

Troubleshooting

  • If the file does not import, confirm its format is one of the following: GeoJSON, KML, or KMZ. Files in an unexpected format show a validation error.

  • If the file imports but the route does not avoid the custom geofence, confirm that the custom geofence is enabled, Pathfinder is enabled, and the vehicle has the required Pathfinder map data available.

  • If the custom geofence was created from a custom dataset, compare it against the Skydio sample file and confirm required floor, ceiling, and keep-in/keep-out values are present where needed.

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