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- Aug 10, 2017
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I thought I'd post a situation that happened to me a few weeks ago in case someone else has had the same issue out there. I'm completely disappointed in the new firmware and how it has been programmed to handle Authorization Zone situations.
The first flight was great. Hours after purchasing it from a local Best Buy I flew it around for 15 minutes and tested the functions, adjusted some settings to my liking and prepped for a job I had the next day. I was supposed to inspect a rooftop on a warehouse for a solar company. I looked at my sectional charts and the warehouse was relatively close to an airport but not an issue for the job. According to the DJI maps I was close to an authorization zone but in a warning zone and I had flown this spot before with the P4 original without issue.
I went to the location and turned on the P4 advanced. Brand new, tested, ready to fly. I calibrated everything prior at the original flight and made sure the RTH location was set correctly on the map. I got the green ready to fly signal and lifted the drone. So as not to annoy the bystanders I initially lifted the drone to about 200ft while I planned my route. My spotter was about 300 feet away on the other corner of the building.
As soon as I lifted off and was sending the drone to the 200ft mark a message popped up. It took over most of my screen and seemed to lock me out. It said something about sending the drone to its "home location" while I authorized my flight. Again I never had this message with the P4 original and I was already aware that I was not in an authorization zone. Either way, the new firmware/software said I was and sent me this message. The drone, however, started heading NW, away from me. I became 100% distracted by the "authorization zone" processes as it seemed, at the time, to have completely locked me out until authorization was granted. I was trying to race the system as fast as I could, waiting for the text message with the auth code to arrive. I finally got a code and typed it in but by that time the aircraft had disconnected. Since it went over a nearby forest there was no way to chase it.
I sent the flight logs to DJI about 3 weeks ago and have not had any official response yet.
I uploaded the TXT flight log to the online tool and everything in the beginning of the flight checks out fine. On the way up to 200ft it started getting GPS position no match errors, and then Compass errors. Then it automatically switched to ATTI mode. I am not a pro at deciphering these logs so I won't try.
I attached my flight log if anyone wants to analyze.
My thoughts here are...
1) The system should not allow you to lift the UAV if it is later going to deny them the ability to fly once in the air.
2) The software should never lock someone out of controlling their drone for obvious safety reasons. The drone can warn a pilot that they are out of bounds but should not lock them. This is because the drone software may not have the correct information as to where it is, but a person always knows. And perhaps there was no lock in this situation, but the way the Auth Zone was presented made it seem as such. Maybe there's a better way to prompt on the screen during flight so that pilots like me that are new to the new firmware don't get as confused as to the order of operations.
3) Most importantly, if the software knows that there are GPS or Compass issues, do not send the drone to its home location, cancel that action immediately, even if the Geo fencing software thinks the drone is inside an authorization zone. My flight log shows it was flying away from me at about 14 mph. I lost full connection a little over a minute into the flight. It probably took me about a minute to deal with the pop-up authorization messages and wait for the text message. What if I was in an area with no cell service?
UPDATE :::: (After discussion with the forum, the UAV may have never accepted the RTH command that the screen said it was sending out due to the Auth Zone. If the UAV went into ATTI mode before the Auth Zone message then that would make sense that the RTH command was blocked which is desired behavior. The NW 14mph drift therefore would have been ATTI mode drift).
The first flight was great. Hours after purchasing it from a local Best Buy I flew it around for 15 minutes and tested the functions, adjusted some settings to my liking and prepped for a job I had the next day. I was supposed to inspect a rooftop on a warehouse for a solar company. I looked at my sectional charts and the warehouse was relatively close to an airport but not an issue for the job. According to the DJI maps I was close to an authorization zone but in a warning zone and I had flown this spot before with the P4 original without issue.
I went to the location and turned on the P4 advanced. Brand new, tested, ready to fly. I calibrated everything prior at the original flight and made sure the RTH location was set correctly on the map. I got the green ready to fly signal and lifted the drone. So as not to annoy the bystanders I initially lifted the drone to about 200ft while I planned my route. My spotter was about 300 feet away on the other corner of the building.
As soon as I lifted off and was sending the drone to the 200ft mark a message popped up. It took over most of my screen and seemed to lock me out. It said something about sending the drone to its "home location" while I authorized my flight. Again I never had this message with the P4 original and I was already aware that I was not in an authorization zone. Either way, the new firmware/software said I was and sent me this message. The drone, however, started heading NW, away from me. I became 100% distracted by the "authorization zone" processes as it seemed, at the time, to have completely locked me out until authorization was granted. I was trying to race the system as fast as I could, waiting for the text message with the auth code to arrive. I finally got a code and typed it in but by that time the aircraft had disconnected. Since it went over a nearby forest there was no way to chase it.
I sent the flight logs to DJI about 3 weeks ago and have not had any official response yet.
I uploaded the TXT flight log to the online tool and everything in the beginning of the flight checks out fine. On the way up to 200ft it started getting GPS position no match errors, and then Compass errors. Then it automatically switched to ATTI mode. I am not a pro at deciphering these logs so I won't try.
I attached my flight log if anyone wants to analyze.
My thoughts here are...
1) The system should not allow you to lift the UAV if it is later going to deny them the ability to fly once in the air.
2) The software should never lock someone out of controlling their drone for obvious safety reasons. The drone can warn a pilot that they are out of bounds but should not lock them. This is because the drone software may not have the correct information as to where it is, but a person always knows. And perhaps there was no lock in this situation, but the way the Auth Zone was presented made it seem as such. Maybe there's a better way to prompt on the screen during flight so that pilots like me that are new to the new firmware don't get as confused as to the order of operations.
3) Most importantly, if the software knows that there are GPS or Compass issues, do not send the drone to its home location, cancel that action immediately, even if the Geo fencing software thinks the drone is inside an authorization zone. My flight log shows it was flying away from me at about 14 mph. I lost full connection a little over a minute into the flight. It probably took me about a minute to deal with the pop-up authorization messages and wait for the text message. What if I was in an area with no cell service?
UPDATE :::: (After discussion with the forum, the UAV may have never accepted the RTH command that the screen said it was sending out due to the Auth Zone. If the UAV went into ATTI mode before the Auth Zone message then that would make sense that the RTH command was blocked which is desired behavior. The NW 14mph drift therefore would have been ATTI mode drift).
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