UgCS is great for importing DEMs from a project that has been run through Rock Surveyor.
UgCS has a bit of a learning curve, so definitely set aside some time for testing prior to using it on a mission.
The figure 8 feature is cool, but hardly usable for the most part because by the time you did it on the laptop and then started the mission you could have just done an 8 and hit go just like @RSI_Eric said.
However the LiDAR mission planning is actually pretty cool as you can set the FOV and overlap instead of using a custom camera (both work great TBH) and it allows you to really smooth out the turns with LiDAR area scan and I’ve found that actually decreases battery use.
Note: Be careful of your AGL tolerance settings when using a DEM as if you set it too low you’ll have a TON of elevation changes and that can certainly impact your battery usage.
Lastly, the biggest hurdle with UgCS is the need to have a “client” (laptop) in the field to do any mission corrections and changes. This as well as having both the smart controller and the client connected to a hotspot. I.E. 3 devices to do the job of 1 (all of which need to be powered throughout the mission)
I plan on doing some testing with a smaller form factor (MS Surface type laptop) which potentially has a longer battery life and wouldn’t have to be on charge constantly.