Can it return to home if "home" is inside?

Joined
Oct 4, 2016
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Age
70
Hello,

I understand that the Mavic can be flown inside relatively safely. It can even return to "home", even though there is no GPS signal inside, because it recognizes the optical features of "home". I have several questions related to this.

  1. What if the "home" location is not within one contiguous space? For example it's in a house with multiple rooms on multiple floors?
  2. What if "home" is in one contiguous inside space (to make the example simpler), but the window is open and I fly the drone out of the window? Is it still able to come back "home"? If yes, how? Even if it remembers where "home" is (even though there is no GPS reception there), it cannot descend through the roof.
  3. What if "home" is in an airport hangar? Whether it's legal or not to fly inside the hangar, technically it's doable. What if the hangar door is open and the drone flies out into the (obviously) restricted airspace? As soon as it locks on the satellites, it will try to do something to avoid the situation. What is that something it will do?
Thank you in advance for either answering these questions or directing me to some document that does so.

Gabor
 
Last edited:
Hello,

I understand that the Mavic can be flown inside relatively safely. It can even return to "home", even though there is no GPS signal inside, because it recognizes the optical features of "home". I have several questions related to this.

  1. What if the "home" location is not within one contiguous space? For example it's in a house with multiple rooms on multiple floors?
  2. What if "home" is in one contiguous inside space (to make the example simpler), but the window is open and I fly the drone out of the window? Is it still able to come back "home"? If yes, how? Even if it remembers where "home" is (even though there is no GPS reception there), it cannot descend through the roof.
  3. What if "home" is an an airport hangar? Whether it's legal or not to fly inside the hangar, technically it's doable. What if the hangar door is open and the drone flies out into the (obviously) restricted airspace? As soon as it locks on the satellites, it will try to do something to avoid the situation. What is that something it will do?
Thank you in advance for either answering these questions or directing me to some document that does so.

Gabor

To answer your questions, yes, yes and yes. It can also fetch a coffee from Starbucks if it happens to pass it by.
 
  • Like
Reactions: edoginasia
I'm going to say no. From what I have seen the AC takes a series of images just after launch to assist in a precision landing. It doesn't constantly record images of what it is flying over so in the absence of GPS will have no way of getting back.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alex Baxter
Yeah I think this idea of the Mavic taking multiple images of the home point upon take off to fly back to is a "supplemental" or secondary assistance and not a primary means of determining the home point for the Mavic.
I mean what if I place a large green placemat with purple stripes on the ground and fly off from that as my home point. Then I pull the placemat and roll it up and throw it out an open window. Do you think if one flew the Mavic back to the point where the placemat "was" that it will just sniff around and hunt for the placemat without landing?

Remember its named Mavic and not "Magic". I think that phrase will be what I close all my topic replies with moving forward. Feel free to use it as well. :)
 
If Return To Home is activated, the Mavic will ascend to a preset height and take the quickest line of flight home. It will then orient itself to its original take-off angle as it descends. It will fine tune it's position using the bottom cameras as it gets close to the ground.
 
If Return To Home is activated, the Mavic will ascend to a preset height and take the quickest line of flight home. It will then orient itself to its original take-off angle as it descends. It will fine tune it's position using the bottom cameras as it gets close to the ground.
You have assumed GPS lock, not much assistance to the OP with the assumption that the AC is operating in an environment where GPS is not available.
 
Home Point is established by GPS when you turn your aircraft on.........No GPS means you don't have a Home Point to return to, so all the OP's questions are based on a false assumption.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tommyb888
Thanks for all the replies! I see quite a bit more clearly now, but some questions still remain.
  1. This seems to be a clear NO. It cannot be done by this drone.
  2. This also seems to be a clear NO in terms of returning home to the point where the flight was initiated. But does it then return to the point where the satellite were locked on? And since that happened while in flight, does it return to that altitude and then drops on the ground (or water...)?
  3. So far I think this question did not get answered at all. Can anyone please help?
Thanks again,

Gabor
 
In normal circumstances, the Home Point is established by GPS at your launch point. Once the drone is in the air, you have the option of resetting the HP via the GO app to either the drone's current position, or the position of your controller -(provided the phone you're using is GPS enabled).
I can't say for certain, but I imagine that if the drone acquired satellites after launch. it would set its current position as the HP. You would then have the option to reset HP to your controller.
Regarding your query about restricted airspace...you will land immediately.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,358
Members
104,936
Latest member
hirehackers