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Frequently asked questions

Maps

Which map providers can I use?

Kite ships with several free map sources — no account or API key required. Pick one under Settings → Interface → Map → Tile Provider; the choice applies to both the 2D map and the 3D globe:

  • OpenStreetMap — the standard street map.
  • ESRI World Street Map — an alternative street map.
  • ESRI World Imagery — satellite / aerial imagery.
  • ESRI Hybrid — satellite imagery with street and place labels on top (the default).
  • OpenTopoMap — topographic map with contour lines.
  • CartoDB Dark Matter — a dark, low-contrast basemap.

All of them work offline once the tiles have been cached — see below.

Can I use the maps offline?

Yes, within limits. Kite caches every map tile it downloads (Settings → Data → Map → Tile Cache). Pan and zoom over your flying area while you still have an internet connection, and those tiles stay available offline afterwards. There is no bulk "pre-download this whole region" button — the cache fills from what you actually view. The default cache is 200 MB and can be raised up to 5 GB.

Why isn't Google Maps or HERE Maps available?

This comes up because other ground stations (Mission Planner, QGroundControl) show Google satellite imagery. We looked at both Google and HERE carefully and deliberately chose not to integrate them. The short version: for a ground control station the downsides outweigh a marginal difference in map style, and the satellite imagery is not actually better than what Kite already offers.

Google Maps. The way other apps show Google imagery relies on undocumented tile endpoints that Google's Terms of Service explicitly forbid accessing outside the official Maps Platform. It works only because Google doesn't bother enforcing it against small projects — it can be blocked at any time, and it is not something we want to build into an open-source application. The official Google Maps Tiles API, by contrast, requires every user to create a billing-enabled API key, forbids caching imagery for offline use, and mandates Google branding that can't be removed. Neither path fits an offline-capable UAV tool.

HERE Maps. HERE requires a per-user developer account and API key, its Acceptable Use Policy restricts "high-risk" use, and — like Google — it does not permit pre-caching tiles for offline use. On top of that, a direct comparison showed no quality benefit: HERE's satellite tiles are the same mid-zoom imagery as ESRI, it lacks the highest zoom levels ESRI provides, and its low-zoom imagery is the older Bing basemap that ESRI already serves in better quality.

In both cases the extra setup (account, API key, billing) and the licensing constraints simply aren't worth it for a map style you can already get, key-free, from the built-in providers. If a specific, properly licensed provider ever adds real value, we would add it as an optional bring-your-own-key source rather than route around anyone's terms of service.