Autonomous Waypoint Navigation and Camera Control with the FreeSkies Copilot

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Hello Phantom Pilots,

We are FreeSkies, a startup based in Menlo Park, California, and our product is called the Copilot, an app which will revolutionize the way you use your Phantom. What we provide is a brand-new way of flight and video planning, allowing Phantom pilots to achieve and chain together complex and breathtaking shots with an easy-to-use planning interface, and full autonomous control. Our product is aimed at users who desire professional-quality videos, but may not possess the experience to manually fly their Phantom and achieve them.

Our app is currently being developed to support both the iPad and Android tablets, and it will be compatible with both the Phantom 3 and the Inspire 1. It will be available for alpha and beta testing soon. If the concept of this app is something you find interesting, we would be delighted to have you join us as a tester for Copilot. Beta sign-ups and more information about us and our team can be found at our website, freeskies.org.

Additionally, if you are located in the San Francisco Bay Area and would be interested in coming into our offices to meet our team and test our product, please email us at [email protected].

For direct questions, please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected] as well, or leave a reply below, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.


FreeSkies – Who’s your Copilot?

Hello Phantom Pilots,

We are FreeSkies, a startup based in Menlo Park, California, and our product is called the Copilot, an app which will revolutionize the way you use your Phantom. What we provide is a brand-new way of flight and video planning, allowing Phantom pilots to achieve and chain together complex and breathtaking shots with an easy-to-use planning interface, and full autonomous control. Our product is aimed at users who desire professional-quality videos, but may not possess the experience to manually fly their Phantom and achieve them.

Our app is currently being developed to support both the iPad and Android tablets, and it will be compatible with both the Phantom 3 and the Inspire 1. It will be available for alpha and beta testing soon. If the concept of this app is something you find interesting, we would be delighted to have you join us as a tester for Copilot. Beta sign-ups and more information about us and our team can be found at our website, freeskies.org.

Additionally, if you are located in the San Francisco Bay Area and would be interested in coming into our offices to meet our team and test our product, please email us at [email protected].

For direct questions, please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected] as well, or leave a reply below, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Looks pretty sweet... I already signed up as a beta tester!!!

I'm local. Sounds interesting.

Welcome aboard guys!

yep i signed up

Sorta local as well. Signed up...

I'm in! East Coast

I signed up also, will your app support both the Pro and Advanced models or just Pro?

I signed up also, will your app support both the Pro and Advanced models or just Pro?
We are currently developing and testing with the Pro, but see no reason why it wouldn't work the the Advanced as well.

What's your timing for testing? I'm already committed to Autopilot beta testing, so don't want to overcommit [emoji6]..... I do need this functionality by the 4th of July....so first come first serve

Signed up!

Sounds like great stuff.

:harry in Silicon Valley

Nice

Now signed

Sounds like an incredible tool that I would like to add to my arsenal. I signed up for your Beta program. Maybe a diverse mix of testers across the country could give you a extensive database. I am located in Texas, so I could be in your South Central pool. Good Luck to you in this endeavor.

Justin

My dog.

Signed up!

Very cool. I live in Menlo Park and just signed up.

In Ohio.. Signed up

We are currently developing and testing with the Pro, but see no reason why it wouldn't work the the Advanced as well.
You might want to look into this a bit more. I'm working with a couple of Betas and it appears that there may be some differences in the firmware between the two that are causing some issues with the SDK.

Jerry

So... no love for Google Plus?

Hello Phantom Pilots,

We are FreeSkies, a startup based in Menlo Park, California, and our product is called the Copilot, an app which will revolutionize the way you use your Phantom. What we provide is a brand-new way of flight and video planning, allowing Phantom pilots to achieve and chain together complex and breathtaking shots with an easy-to-use planning interface, and full autonomous control. Our product is aimed at users who desire professional-quality videos, but may not possess the experience to manually fly their Phantom and achieve them.

Our app is currently being developed to support both the iPad and Android tablets, and it will be compatible with both the Phantom 3 and the Inspire 1. It will be available for alpha and beta testing soon. If the concept of this app is something you find interesting, we would be delighted to have you join us as a tester for Copilot. Beta sign-ups and more information about us and our team can be found at our website, freeskies.org.

Additionally, if you are located in the San Francisco Bay Area and would be interested in coming into our offices to meet our team and test our product, please email us at [email protected].

For direct questions, please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected] as well, or leave a reply below, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
If you fly on waypoints with the original app for the phantom vision2+ and want to film, you Can only film in flight directions. Would be Nice if possible to turn the drone sideways along the route. Can you ADD that feature, i am on

Would be Nice if possible to turn the drone sideways along the route.

This is definitely something we're working on implementing.

“The ultimate goal is the adventure,” Putch said. “For me, it’s the learning; (as students) we’re still in an environment where failure is an option.”

I hope failure is not an option! Crashing my P3P due to another software bug is unacceptable to me. This sounds like a suicide mission. Never the less, I'm in!

If you fly on waypoints with the original app for the phantom vision2+ and want to film, you Can only film in flight directions. Would be Nice if possible to turn the drone sideways along the route. Can you ADD that feature, i am on

Hi Michael,

You can launch the mission in Hybrid Mode. This allows the drone to move along the 3D path you've set, while positioning your camera sideways, so you can capture shots such as that.

I'm eager to give it a test spin.

If you fly on waypoints with the original app for the phantom vision2+ and want to film, you Can only film in flight directions. Would be Nice if possible to turn the drone sideways along the route. Can you ADD that feature, i am on
The native Course Lock feature also accomplishes the exact same thing, allowing you to fly in one direction while rotating in place along a straight line that you set, to shoot anything in any direction along the route.:cool: Turns the Phantom into an Inspire 1!

Does anyone have an update on when this app will be released.? It was my understanding it was going to be yesterday.

There's just enough detail about what this will do if I choose to participate. All I see is marketing hocus pocus, but no meat. What specifically will this do that I cannot do already?

What a failure of a launch.. Next time make sure your app is in the App store first before setting a release date... Also marketing your app as a 3D Map waypoint GS that relies heavily on Apple Map Flyover which is only available in very few select cities gonna keep a lot of people from giving this app a try... I suggest you upload a video showing what happens when no fly over is available or you gonna have a lot of people asking for a refund... This is a failure from the start. Also whats good is the weather feature if this is a iPad only app and most people will have no wifi/cell available in their flying location.

Apparently Apple are still approving it and is in final review, says this on their Facebook page, so let's hope

Apple rejected copilot due to a bug, ahhhhhh

Who knows what other bugs that could lead to aircraft crashes are also lurking within the code?:eek:

CoPilot Basic is now live on the App Store. Currently compatible with the P3A, P3P, and Inspire 1 (Standard compatibility coming soon) and iOS 9. Apple Maps 3D data is limited, please check your area before purchasing. We love our early adopters so for the month of October CoPilot is 20% off at $39.99.

Thank you for supporting us in this journey and we hope you enjoy CoPilot as much as we have building it! Happy Flying! Subscribers, check your email for full details and find out more at http://freeskies.co/copilot.html!

CoPilot Basic is now live on the App Store. Currently compatible with the P3A, P3P, and Inspire 1 (Standard compatibility coming soon) and iOS 9. Apple Maps 3D data is limited, please check your area before purchasing. We love our early adopters so for the month of October CoPilot is 20% off at $39.99.

Thank you for supporting us in this journey and we hope you enjoy CoPilot as much as we have building it! Happy Flying! Subscribers, check your email for full details and find out more at http://freeskies.co/copilot.html!
Don't know about how others feel but $40 for an app is WAY out of my price point. Wish you guys luck!

CoPilot Basic is now live on the App Store. Currently compatible with the P3A, P3P, and Inspire 1 (Standard compatibility coming soon) and iOS 9. Apple Maps 3D data is limited, please check your area before purchasing. We love our early adopters so for the month of October CoPilot is 20% off at $39.99.

Thank you for supporting us in this journey and we hope you enjoy CoPilot as much as we have building it! Happy Flying! Subscribers, check your email for full details and find out more at http://freeskies.co/copilot.html!

Way too expensive.

Don't know about how others feel but $40 for an app is WAY out of my price point. Wish you guys luck!
Actually, it's $50! :eek:
The $40 is a 20% discounted price, available only until October 31.

CoPilot Basic is now live on the App Store. Currently compatible with the P3A, P3P, and Inspire 1 (Standard compatibility coming soon) and iOS 9. Apple Maps 3D data is limited, please check your area before purchasing. We love our early adopters so for the month of October CoPilot is 20% off at $39.99.

Thank you for supporting us in this journey and we hope you enjoy CoPilot as much as we have building it! Happy Flying! Subscribers, check your email for full details and find out more at http://freeskies.co/copilot.html!
Several questions come to mind:

1. It's unclear to me whether both the developer SDK and the DJI firmware can co-exist simultaneously on all devices (P3P, RX, and all batteries). Can you please clarify?

2. Also, when you switch out of F mode, during an aborted flight, and switch back into P mode, can you then immediately launch DJI GO to take control your aircaft, or are you completely in manual control, through the transmitter only, with no assist from DJI GO?

3. Once your app is purchased, downloaded, and installed, can all the features of setting up a mission and previewing it be accomplished, without first installing the developer SDK onto all hardware? I could see some real value in that capability, even if I never used your app to actually fly the mission.

4. The $50 (discounted to $40 during October) says it is for the Basic version.
What else will the user have to pay to access whatever you deem to be the Advanced version, and what features will that include that won't ever be included in the Basic version?

5. Lastly, your link to the FreeSkies CoPilot - Autonomous mobile app for drones in your post is redirected to a facebook 404 error. You might want to edit it to correct it, if my retyping it hasn't fixed it, so everyone can click on the link, rather than having to copy and paste the text of your URL to find out more about the app and FreeSkies.:cool:

Several questions come to mind:

1. It's unclear to me whether both the developer SDK and the DJI firmware can co-exist simultaneously on all devices (P3P, RX, and all batteries). Can you please clarify?

2. Also, when you switch out of F mode, during an aborted flight, and switch back into P mode, can you then immediately launch DJI GO to take control your aircaft, or are you completely in manual control, through the transmitter only, with no assist from DJI GO?

3. Once your app is purchased, downloaded, and installed, can all the features of setting up a mission and previewing it be accomplished, without first installing the developer SDK onto all hardware? I could see some real value in that capability, even if I never used your app to actually fly the mission.

4. The $50 (discounted to $40 during October) says it is for the Basic version.
What else will the user have to pay to access whatever you deem to be the Advanced version, and what features will that include that won't ever be included in the Basic version?

5. Lastly, your link to the FreeSkies CoPilot - Autonomous mobile app for drones in your post is redirected to a facebook 404 error. You might want to edit it to correct it, if my retyping it hasn't fixed it, so everyone can click on the link, rather than having to copy and paste the text of your URL to find out more about the app and FreeSkies.:cool:

Hey Gadget Guy,

1) Yes. The best way to think about it is the SDK is a toolbox to easily access and use all the complex features in the DJI firmware, like waypoint navigation, auto landing, etc. Instead of rebuilding these functions, the SDK let's developers just call them out.

2) Yes, you could open the DJI GO app. This would not be necessary as from the FPV screen you can see all the same information the GO app has, such as the live camera feed, distance from home, altitude, speed, battery life, etc.

3) Yes, the app work as a stand alone without any flight hardware.

4) Other versions will be separate products that are enterprise focused. New features will arrive in updates in the coming weeks.

5) Thanks!

Looks awesome. I've not read that much about installing the SDK. Is that different than the beta firmwares? The idea of flying with a beta is very unnerving to me. I signed up for the Level 1 SDK but still am a little uncertain as to what to do next.

How long until this app will be available for people with the public firmware?
 
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Sounds cool, also in the bay area.. albeit the signup also says

FreeSkies
1012 W Illinois St.
Room 514
Urbana, Illinois 60504
I guess you guys have multiple offices though.. I'd love to chat/test/compare
 
Sounds cool, also in the bay area.. albeit the signup also says

FreeSkies
1012 W Illinois St.
Room 514
Urbana, Illinois 60504
I guess you guys have multiple offices though.. I'd love to chat/test/compare

Free Sky's website shows some of the team is at U of I, right down the road from me :)
 
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Reactions: Freeskies Inc.
Signed up, it looks like you guys are building something very innovative that nobody has thought of yet. Very interested to see how it works.
 
I signed up yesterday. Tampa Bay FL.

BTW tell your peeps the responsive design on your website needs some work. It's not scaling on my iPhone very well at all.
 
Signed up for the beta... thx
 

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