Collision Avoidance

[Trackman1]

Looks good in the ads.

Only time will tell how it really works.

 

[hionbusa]

As mentioned previously , the power lines are more of my concern but also what if you are trying to get a close shot of your subject ??? Will it run away and miss the shot ? This is my kind of usage on a p3A .

 

[Oso]

Did I not see some mention that the obstacle avoidance feature does not work in sport mode?

I may be misunderstanding, but I think they said in the wrap up of the video below that the collision system is off when you are in sport mode and only works when in the normal mode.
Normal flight mode is actually slower than the P3 so the collision system and active tracking can work.
Again, I'm not certain but just trying to piece together info from assorted places.

Tested - Hands-On with DJI's Phantom 4

 

[T Dunkin]

To me it seems like instead of having sonar cameras in front they would be on the rear and sides of the bird. When you are looking at your tablet you are seeing where the P4 is heading to. It's when you fly backwards or sideways and the main drone camera is facing your subject you end up flying into a tree or a wall behind you or on the side of you out of view of the main FPV camera.

 

[Tony Cowan]

To me it seems like instead of having sonar cameras in front they would be on the rear and sides of the bird. When you are looking at your tablet you are seeing where the P4 is heading to. It's when you fly backwards or sideways and the main drone camera is facing your subject you end up flying into a tree or a wall behind you or on the side of you out of view of the main FPV camera.

I think for h price they are offering. This is about as much as the could put on it without dipping into the inspire territory. It's not bad. Seeing how a couple weeks ago the pro was about the same price.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[CaptainDrone798]

Collision avoidance in RTH is where this technology will be well suited for. It appears that in return to home mode if the drone encounters an object it hovers than attempts to go over it, I don't believe it has the technology to turn and try and go around the object when in RTH. Which makes me than say.... what if the object in front of the drone is a hill that exceeds the RTH max height or flight limit. Does the drone then just hover in place until the battery gets low, then lands?

 

[Stewkur]

Collision avoidance in RTH is where this technology will be well suited for. It appears that in return to home mode if the drone encounters an object it hovers than attempts to go over it, I don't believe it has the technology to turn and try and go around the object when in RTH. Which makes me than say.... what if the object in front of the drone is a hill that exceeds the RTH max height or flight limit. Does the drone then just hover in place until the battery gets low, then lands?

That's a good question. Even if it does only hover and then land though, due to not being able to go up and over the hill/mountain/obstruction, its better than running into it at 30 miles an hour. If it hovers upon reaching such an obstruction it may give you time to restablish a connection, which would be nice!

 

[fastsmiles]

Limited collision avoidance might back fire by providing a false sense of security to new pilots. Kind of like the radar detector I used to have, the one that lead to getting more speeding tickets than I ever got without one.

 

[fly_it]

I may be misunderstanding, but I think they said in the wrap up of the video below that the collision system is off when you are in sport mode and only works when in the normal mode.
Normal flight mode is actually slower than the P3 so the collision system and active tracking can work.
Again, I'm not certain but just trying to piece together info from assorted places.

That's correct-- the obstacle avoidance isn't active in the high speed sport flight mode.

 

[fly_it]

As mentioned previously , the power lines are more of my concern but also what if you are trying to get a close shot of your subject ??? Will it run away and miss the shot ? This is my kind of usage on a p3A .

Yeah, power lines were my first thought too, because that's what I'm more paranoid of than anything. I'll be very impressed if it reliably dodges those as well.

 

[mirrorimage]

Nothing can replace good Situation Awareness of your flying environment. Not depending on Obstacle Avoidance at all. Yes, it is a great tool, but like any tool, it has limitations. Stay away from trees and any kind of power line just like you normally would regardless of what your flying. Yet, we will all see posts in the near future about P4 pilots crashing into something and then looking to blame DJI or others. Some may be valid if to many pilots are all experiencing the same thing and end up crashing. Just use your head and common sense and remember that nothing man can build is Fool Proof.

There will come a day where sensors will be able to respond faster, quicker and smarter than a human. We're not there yet. The sensors are getting really great reviews from the tech blogs that played with them hands on. They were shocked how well it performed. Considering the technology they are using (stereoscopic 3D image like kinetec sensor) it should be good.

Also the Phantom 4 has better braking. You can't run obstacle avoidance at 45mph, it works with the top speed of the normal mode which is still incredibly fast. These features were very impressive in non-dji drones I've used that companies here in San Francisco were building. If it's anything like these, it will be amazing.

The future is full of bright automation and computers that can keep us safe. Hopefully it will be even better than autopilot in commercial aircraft one day in the future (Phantom 8)

 

[TheloniousMac]

Until these things are released and tested by better people than "tested" then the full limitations of the collision avoidance won't be known.
The Typhoon H supposedly works up to 12 mph but that won't be tested/confirmed for a few months
I've read an unconfirmed snippet that the Phantom 4 only works up to 10 mph, realistically the same speed/limitations as the Typhoon H
In normal GPS mode the CO is active but presumably only effective at lower speeds
Personally I'd like to see 2 Phantom 4's moving towards each other then meet, then ascend into the sky forever together (lol)

 

[nazojin]

If P4 is flying above 100 meter and has to descend to pre-set 88 meter height to return home due to lost signal, and while descending there happens to be an obstacle in the way, will the sonar and camera at the bottom of the craft enable the craft to abort the descend? And if yes, what will the craft do then to return to home? I already know the answer if it is no.

 

[Stealthmatt]

If P4 is flying above 100 meter and has to descend to pre-set 88 meter height to return home due to lost signal, and while descending there happens to be an obstacle in the way, will the sonar and camera at the bottom of the craft enable the craft to abort the descend? And if yes, what will the craft do then to return to home? I already know the answer if it is no.

return to home will not descend until it is back at home. if you are higher than return to home setting, it will come back at that height.

 

[Jussaguy]

Someone will definitely be testing that (just like they test dropping an iPhone or destroy something).
Considering the Typhoon H will only have collision avoidance up to 12mph I'll be waiting to see what the tolerances are.

That's only true without the RealSense module. The RealSense module is no joke. It will be the best avoidance on the market (for a minute) when it is released this summer.