THE VIDEO THREAD!

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Casey Neistat lost his, but it was an early release version.  I hope they worked the bugs out!

 

@Rehab1 did you reprocess that video?  It doesn't seem as clear as the other ones that you have posted.  Maybe Youtube is still reprocessing it?

 

[steve454]

@Rehab1 great tracking ability the Mavic has.  Will it also do the same at lower altitude and distance?  That would be an interesting comparison on the same path, and also can it follow from the side?  

The technology in these drones is amazing.

It would be cool to have it follow at 10 feet from the ground, too high for a selfie stick but close enough to show the wheel better.  That is a good place to film, large open area for the drone to fly safely.

[Rehab1]

1 hour ago, steve454 said:

@Rehab1 great tracking ability the Mavic has.  Will it also do the same at lower altitude and distance?  That would be an interesting comparison on the same path, and also can it follow from the side?  

Yes I am totally blown away by the tracking. There is a minimum tracking altitude which appears to be about 10 feet. I tried to start tracking at a lower altitude but was prompted that I was to low. Mavic has tracked me and my little patient in his wheelchair at 60 foot but it seems to get lost if you perform any quick maneuvers or turns.

I recently stopped carrying the controller as I ride. Unfortunately my custom chest holster was too uncomfortable to move freely. This untethered  method gave me an adrenaline boost yesterday when I lost the drone. I rode the V5F+ for about 100 yards on a park path and then turned around and the drone was gone! OH Sh..t!!! The drone's decibel level is so low at a distance and the footprint so small that I lost complete  sighting of it. I quickly rode back to the controller that was lying on the ground and to my relief I could still see it hovering on the screen! What a relief!  I simply pushed the return home button and 30 seconds later it landed at my feet! So awesome!! 

I am still experimenting with side and front view tracking. The problem is the lack of side and rear collision avoidance which could be fatal.  Another neat feature offered on a different app allows you program the drone to fly at a specific altitude and radius. So if you program it to fly at a 100 feet with a 65 foot radius it will keep the camera focused directly on the selected POI as it flies in circles.  So many possibilities!

Edited November 17, 2016 by Rehab1

[Rehab1]

3 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

I think I want one!  I don't know how it tracks you, but I'd be worried riding near the highway - what if it then gets confused and starts tacking one of the cars that enters its field-of-view.

No worries! The drone controller draws a box around the subject or what is termed 'point of interest' (POI). If it looses track of the POI it immediately goes into a safe hover mode.

2 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

Casey Neistat lost his, but it was an early release version.  I hope they worked the bugs out!

 

@Rehab1 did you reprocess that video?  It doesn't seem as clear as the other ones that you have posted.  Maybe Youtube is still reprocessing it?

 

I have followed some of his reviews. He likes controversy as it builds ratings and profits! He probably smashed his controller with a hammer just like Hillary did with her cell phones 

Today was smokey and foggy so the clarity was diminished. 

Edited November 17, 2016 by Rehab1

[The Fat Unicyclist]

1 hour ago, Rehab1 said:

There is a minimum tracking altitude which appears to be about 10 feet.

Bugger - that makes it too high for use inside the, house / bedroom...  

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

No need to film your bedroom activities with a fancy drone when a selfie-stick works just fine!  

[Cerbera]

 

2 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

I recently stopped carrying the controller as I ride.

Wow. I gotta say - to put the controller down while you have a flying object in the sky is massively irresponsible piloting. NEVER DO THIS. DJI flight controllers are nothing like good enough to just park in the sky and forget. Do a youtube search for 'DJI flyaway', and see the vast amount of results you will get, and you will quickly realise how little DJI care about this problem that has been recurrent in every single flight controller they have ever released.

Really (and by law, in this country at least) you should have constant eye contact with the drone all the time it is in the air. If you are filming you, then you need to bring someone else to watch it for you / hold the control.

Sorry to be somewhat forthright about this, but the reason drone laws are so ridiculously restrictive, and getting worse all the time is precisely because of people using drones like this. If that controller is on the floor, you are not in control of that vehicle - simple as that. Don't do it.

CBR

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

I think @Rehab1 might be pretty new to these quadcopter drones so it's easy to make a simple mistake and trust too much in the high tech tracking electronics.   

Rehab needs to make a cross body harness or just use a strap to carry the controller on the side with easy access to grab if needed.  Although it was a nice custom build, I think that terrorist tummy belt was not that ergonomic.   Maybe a side holster would work?

[Cerbera]

21 minutes ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

Maybe a side holster would work?

Nope. If a drone's FC goes nuts on you, you haven't got time to 'get the controller' from anywhere, let alone time for your eyes to find it in the sky, and then to adequately react to whatever it might be doing, which most of the time involves a switch to manual flight mode to regain control of the UAV. To be able to fly in full manual mode is essential, but incredibly, most newbies don't take the time to learn to do this, so they are utterly at the mercy of whatever that flight controller is doing on that particular day. And they are affected by so much stuff ! Wind, magnetic fields, GPS signal loss, direct sunlight on the FC, even solar radiation can cause the IMU to malfunction, and if a flyaway does happen, there will be no warning, and you won't know why. 

Nope - you need constant eyes on the drone, and the controller in your hands, with your thumbs on both sticks to give you any chance at all of rescuing a disaster  

Edited November 17, 2016 by Cerbera

[The Fat Unicyclist]

7 minutes ago, Cerbera said:

Nope. If a drone's FC goes nuts on you, you haven't got time to 'get the controller' from anywhere, let alone time for your eyes to find it in the sky, and then to adequately react to whatever it might be doing, which most of the time involves a switch to manual flight mode to regain control of the UAV. To be able to fly in full manual mode is essential, but incredibly, most newbies don't take the time to learn to do this, so they are utterly at the mercy of whatever that flight controller is doing on that particular day. Nope - you need constant eyes on the drone, and the controller in your hands, with your thumbs on both sticks to give you any chance at all of rescuing a disaster  

What about a really long piece of string?

Edited November 17, 2016 by The Fat Unicyclist

[Cerbera]

Just now, The Fat Unicyclist said:

What about a really long pees of string?

There are tethered drones on the market, but they are few and far between. It is quite difficult to solve the 'string in props' problems inherent in that approach

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

10 minutes ago, The Fat Unicyclist said:

What about a really long pees of string?

I experience that when I drink too much floss.

[The Fat Unicyclist]

1 minute ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

I experience that when I drink too much floss.

FFS... I re-corrected that auto-correct in like 23 seconds! 

I think you are manipulating my innocent comments...

[Roll Model]

1 hour ago, Cerbera said:

Nope - you need constant eyes on the drone, and the controller in your hands, with your thumbs on both sticks

That drone has a range of OVER 4 miles...Much further than you could passably see it!
It tracks all US and all Russian satellites, so GPS performance isn't much of an issue.
The gesture to get it to follow you is one you make in the video frame, waving your arms and what not, so I'm not sure the manufacturer shares your concerns or would echo your admonitions.  If they did it would only fly about 30 feet away and no further in order that you could see it perfectly under all conditions.
There is a "tripod" mode which is great indoors or for slower, steadier motion.
I'm all for safe and sane recreation, but these are not 'radio controlled airplanes' in the old fashioned sense - They 'see' and can track terrain, track objects in motion, navigate between weigh points, exclude themselves from prohibited airspace, and return to a set location or to the controller autonomously - Nothing like a traditional 'RC Airplane'...
Did I mention the thing will broadcasts 720 video back to you from OVER FOUR MILES AWAY!!??
 

[Cerbera]

14 minutes ago, Roll Model said:

That drone has a range of OVER 4 miles...Much further than you could passably see it!
It tracks all US and all Russian satellites, so GPS performance isn't much of an issue.
The gesture to get it to follow you is one you make in the video frame, waving your arms and what not, so I'm not sure the manufacturer shares your concerns or would echo your admonitions.  If they did it would only fly about 30 feet away and no further in order that you could see it perfectly under all conditions.
There is a "tripod" mode which is great indoors or for slower, steadier motion.
I'm all for safe and sane recreation, but these are not 'radio controlled airplanes' in the old fashioned sense - They 'see' and can track terrain, track objects in motion, navigate between weigh points, exclude themselves from prohibited airspace, and return to a set location or to the controller autonomously - Nothing like a traditional 'RC Airplane'...
Did I mention the thing will broadcasts 720 video back to you from OVER FOUR MILES AWAY!!??
 

It does have a huge range, but you need to be pretty good at flying and highly experienced to use it. Even if you are flying FPV, video can drop out at any time, and when it invariably does, at those distances, you'd better hope that RTH saves your arse. 

As someone who has flown drones of all types for nearly 5 years, I feel relatively qualified to say that it doesn't matter how many satellites, Russian or otherwise you connect to, sometimes you will have GPS problems. And if your drone is 4 miles away when that happens, and you hit Return to Home because you can't see it, well - that's the last you'll see of that unless it kills someone on the way down.

Edited November 17, 2016 by Cerbera

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

2 hours ago, The Fat Unicyclist said:

FFS... I obviously didn't correct that in time! 

I think you are manipulating my subconsciously dirty comments...

Hey I wouldn't have noticed it if Cerbie over there didn't quote you.  I just quoted his quote for a quote funny.    There's always an interesting way to spin things.  Ever watch "Wag the Dog?" 

[Rehab1]

2 hours ago, Cerbera said:

It does have a huge range, but you need to be pretty good at flying and highly experienced to use it

I see your point and concerns. What are the specific skills or education required to afvance me into the 'Highly Qualified' drone operator category that would permit me to fly the drone out of site? What are the emergency maneuvers required if you loose complete contact with your drone?  

Edited November 17, 2016 by Rehab1

[Cerbera]

2 minutes ago, Rehab1 said:

I see your point and concerns. What are the specific skills or education required to fall into the 'Highly Qualified' drone operator category that would permit me to fly out of site?

Mainly the ability to fly without any assistance from self-levelling or GPS in full manual mode, and to be able to control the UAV without thinking, no matter which way it is pointing. That skill alone can take years to master, which is why most new pilots just don't bother. But those skills are the only thing that stands between your craft smashed into the ground, and your craft returned safely to you in the event of an 'unforeseen episode' as us former DJI pilots call them

[Rehab1]

36 minutes ago, Cerbera said:

Mainly the ability to fly without any assistance from self-levelling or GPS in full manual mode, and to be able to control the UAV without thinking, no matter which way it is pointing. 

Very good! You are correct that new owners rely mostly on gps mode. I will begin increasing my manual management flying skils in the event of loosing contact with the Mavic. Thanks!

Edited November 17, 2016 by Rehab1

[Roll Model]

10 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

I will begin increasing my manual management flying skils in the event of loosing contact with the Mavic. Thanks!

If you have lost contact with your drone wouldn't that take just about all the functionality out of your controller? If it is sitting on the ground or in your hand is there much difference when there is no connection to the drone?
I do believe the Mavik Drone has a fly by smart phone mode (WiFi) - So it actually operates with no controller kinda by design by design.
The technology appears to have evolved some what from it's ancestral roots! Now they advertise the ability for the drone to follow you as you snow board or mountain bike, or walk down a tight garden path or a hallway into your small dorm room. This model has collision avoidance capacity as well. Not all the autonomous features are GPS dependent.
An EUC forum would seem to be a strange place to suggest that the very technology you depend on to keep your face from getting planted in the cement every time you ride, isn't reliable enough to be relied on!
They make them to be operated by people with little training who are often distracted by a more primary activity - It's the wave of the future - Self driving cars, autonomous drone deliveries, even huge freighters and tankers are going to be operated from a work space far away on land very soon.
Our ability "to see" a thing has increasing little to do with our ability to control a thing...It's the whole "remote" thing in a nutshell.

Again, I'm for safe and sane recreation that minimizes the potential for collateral damage. Becoming familiar with how your drone functions, how well it tracks objects and the factors that confuse it, come from a familiarity the OP appeared not to have gained.

[Roll Model]

12 hours ago, Cerbera said:

And if your drone is 4 miles away when that happens, and you hit Return to Home because you can't see it, well - that's the last you'll see of that unless it kills someone on the way down.

I recognize that 'killing some one on the way down' is a very, very bad thing. But any drone can fall from the sky at any moment it is in the air, right? (true for traditional 'RC Planes' as well) The myriad of causes extend from operator error to GPS failure and a million things in between! Even if the drone is still well with in 'sight' it can simply fall like a rock (or a powered ninja death star) uncontrollably into a person, right?

You do realize there is a vast fleet of international drones roaming the earth at every second of the day and night, right? I mean like millions of them, Russian, Chinese, American, Israeli, Pakistani, Indian...French, British...Many of them armed with some pretty powerful explosives...Been going on for DECADES now! Seems to be a pretty robust way to ROVER around MARS as well, no?
No technology is perfect and of course commerce will always cut corners, but by and large we seem to 'be there' on the assisted driving/remote driving/autonomous driving - GOOGLE has a fleet of self driving cars they go everywhere.

[Cerbera]

18 minutes ago, Roll Model said:

I recognize that 'killing some one on the way down' is a very, very bad thing. But any drone can fall from the sky at any moment it is in the air, right? (true for traditional 'RC Planes' as well) The myriad of causes extend from operator error to GPS failure and a million things in between! Even if the drone is still well with in 'sight' it can simply fall like a rock (or a powered ninja death star) uncontrollably into a person, right?

You do realize there is a vast fleet of international drones roaming the earth at every second of the day and night, right? I mean like millions of them, Russian, Chinese, American, Israeli, Pakistani, Indian...French, British...Many of them armed with some pretty powerful explosives...Been going on for DECADES now! Seems to be a pretty robust way to ROVER around MARS as well, no?
No technology is perfect and of course commerce will always cut corners, but by and large we seem to 'be there' on the assisted driving/remote driving/autonomous driving - GOOGLE has a fleet of self driving cars they go everywhere.

Yes, any drone can fall from the sky at any time. But what you can do about that while your controller is on the ground, and your concentration is focused on wheeling about cinematically for the video ? Nothing is the answer. Part of being an excellent RC pilot is the constant maintenance and checking of your craft for airworthyness, and the rest of it is how fast, and how quality your reaction is when something you can't control (like GPS loss, control signal loss, battery failure, solar flare madness, video TX dropout, IMU malfunction, obstacle tracking fail) happens. And these things can and do happen !

I was really trying to emphasize a point about due diligence while in command of an aerial vehicle. I was simply keen to get across that putting the remote on the ground, and then using all your attention to ride your wheel while you leave your UAV to its own devices is not good piloting. Until these systems are flawless (and currently they are not) we must take every precaution to avoid an accident, and to know that we have done everything possible to be able to rescue the situation if something terrible happens. If the controller is on the ground, there is 100% chance that you can do nothing to prevent or mitigate any failure of any aspect of the craft. And I think that argument still holds up

Edited November 17, 2016 by Cerbera

[Rehab1]

I gave it some thought and found this might be the best way to keep an eye on my drone 

Just arrived today.  This micro drone actually records video! Tough to fly! My dogs really despises this mosquito on steroids! 

 

[steve454]

@Rehab1 great tracking ability the Mavic has.  Will it also do the same at lower altitude and distance?  That would be an interesting comparison on the same path, and also can it follow from the side?  

The technology in these drones is amazing.

It would be cool to have it follow at 10 feet from the ground, too high for a selfie stick but close enough to show the wheel better.  That is a good place to film, large open area for the drone to fly safely.

21 minutes ago, Rehab1 said:

I gave it some thought and found this might be the best way to keep an eye on my drone 

Just arrived today.  This micro drone actually records video! Tough to fly! My dogs really despises this mosquito on steroids! 

 

@Rehab1 manual control is overrated, once the drone is over 100 feet away it's hard to tell the orientation or heading anyway.  For video you pretty much have to trust the Gps.  As long as you're not flying near other people the chances of a flyaway hurting someone are tiny.

I agree with @Roll Model that the technology is improved enough to fly hands free now, unless of course you are filming a lot of people, then I agree with @Cerbera that there should be one person flying and one person filming, so one set of eyes are on the drone at all times.  If it's just you and one or two others, they are probably watching the drone anyway and can duck if it comes at them.

Edited November 18, 2016 by steve454

[Rehab1]

1 hour ago, steve454 said:

I agree with @Roll Model that the technology is improved enough to fly hands free now, unless of course you are filming a lot of people, then I agree with @Cerbera that there should be one person flying and one person filming, so one set of eyes are on the drone at all times.  If it's just you and one or two others, they are probably watching the drone anyway and can duck if it comes at them.

Wondering if DJI's soon to be released VR goggles will allow me to maintain a clear view of the Mavic as it follows me (with the controller)  but still allows for adequate visual perception?

Edited November 18, 2016 by Rehab1