Depth Perception

[rwilliam99]

As I've been doing more practice flying one thing I've noticed is I have trouble with my depth perception. An example would be landing - I come down and think the drone is lined up well to land on my landing pad (or landing area I've chosen), but when I get closer to the ground, I realize it is lined up wrong. Same thing when flying around the yard - I need to ascend to avoid an obstacle - It seems as though I think the drone is farther away than it really is.

Does anyone have any suggestions or input on how I can improve my depth perception? Does anyone else struggle with this same thing?

Thanks

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

None that I know of, I am satisfied I can judge sideways alignment at height but, as far as the eyes are concerned, the length of the sight-path is dependant on both height and distance, Pythagoras and all that. Thus there are infinite combinations of height and distance that would result in the same sight-path distance.

For height I go by the view on the screen, for distance from the home point when landing I correct it as seems needed as the drone descends, occasionally I point the camera straight down.

 

[MA2 317]

I point the camera straight down.

Me too.

 

[rwilliam99]

None that I know of, I am satisfied I can judge sideways alignment at height but, as far as the eyes are concerned, the length of the sight path is dependant on both height and distance, Pythagoras and all that. Thus there are infinite combinations of height and distance that would result in the same sight path distance.

For height I go by the view on the screen, for distance from the home point when landing I correct it as seems needed as the drone descends, occasionally I point the camera straight down.

When I'm not close, I've been using the camera to double check what I think I'm seeing. I was hoping someone would have some magic technique to help with it.

Since I'm aware of it, it isn't a huge issue, just something I need to be careful of. It is one of the benefits I've found of doing all my backyard practice flying. Some of it is boring, but a lot of it has been helpful. Helping to build muscle memory and just be more comfortable maneuvering in tight spaces, which is where I fly my drone the majority of the time.

 

[old man mavic]

@rwilliam99 Depth Perception ,are the wonderful world of flying ,not only drones ,but model aircraft ,and helicopters as well,and to some extent ,ground based RC as well, including boats
some people find it easy, some struggle ,and for some no matter how hard they try ,they just cant get the hang of it
its all down to how our eyes and brains perceive the world around us,
this has led to the adoption of sensors on our drones that lets us and the drone know it is close to an object,and then stopping the drone from flying into said object
not obstacle avoidance,but obstacle detection,there is a subtle difference
my old MPP has forwards facing obstacle detection which will prevent it hitting something in a limited arc in front of the drone and for the most part it works very well
where it doesn't work well is when the bright sun shine fools those sensors and prevents the drone from flying forwards until it is turned away from the sun
and as you have found even when the drone is quite close to you ,as in landing then it is still a struggle to get it on the landing pad ,the camera straight down trick is a good way of seeing where the drone is in relation to its landing pad
and also if it is windy always try to land with the drones camera facing away from you so if small adjustments have to be made, then it is easier because the drone will react to the stick inputs in a similar manner to the direction of the sticks

 

[rwilliam99]

@rwilliam99 Depth Perception ,are the wonderful world of flying ,not only drones ,but model aircraft ,and helicopters as well,and to some extent ,ground based RC as well, including boats
some people find it easy, some struggle ,and for some no matter how hard they try ,they just cant get the hang of it
its all down to how our eyes and brains perceive the world around us,
this has led to the adoption of sensors on our drones that lets us and the drone know it is close to an object,and then stopping the drone from flying into said object
not obstacle avoidance,but obstacle detection,there is a subtle difference
my old MPP has forwards facing obstacle detection which will prevent it hitting something in a limited arc in front of the drone and for the most part it works very well
where it doesn't work well is when the bright sun shine fools those sensors and prevents the drone from flying forwards until it is turned away from the sun
and as you have found even when the drone is quite close to you ,as in landing then it is still a struggle to get it on the landing pad ,the camera straight down trick is a good way of seeing where the drone is in relation to its landing pad
and also if it is windy always try to land with the drones camera facing away from you so if small adjustments have to be made, then it is easier because the drone will react to the stick inputs in a similar manner to the direction of the sticks

Thanks - I flew RC planes years ago (it has probably been more than 30 years since I flew) - I was a lot younger then and I don't recall having issues with depth perception, so I don't know if it is age or just now seeing the issue.

While my new drone has OA, I'm trying very hard not to rely on it, and use it more as a backup in case I screw up. But I'm trying really hard to become a better, more aware and knowledgeable pilot, hence these kinds of questions. I appreciate the insight.

 

[twickers14]

@rwilliam99 Depth Perception ,are the wonderful world of flying ,not only drones ,but model aircraft ,and helicopters as well,and to some extent ,ground based RC as well, including boats
some people find it easy, some struggle ,and for some no matter how hard they try ,they just cant get the hang of it
its all down to how our eyes and brains perceive the world around us,
this has led to the adoption of sensors on our drones that lets us and the drone know it is close to an object,and then stopping the drone from flying into said object
not obstacle avoidance,but obstacle detection,there is a subtle difference
my old MPP has forwards facing obstacle detection which will prevent it hitting something in a limited arc in front of the drone and for the most part it works very well
where it doesn't work well is when the bright sun shine fools those sensors and prevents the drone from flying forwards until it is turned away from the sun
and as you have found even when the drone is quite close to you ,as in landing then it is still a struggle to get it on the landing pad ,the camera straight down trick is a good way of seeing where the drone is in relation to its landing pad
and also if it is windy always try to land with the drones camera facing away from you so if small adjustments have to be made, then it is easier because the drone will react to the stick inputs in a similar manner to the direction of the sticks

Expressed like the pro you are! I have just had to buy a new landing pad as I left mine by mistake in the US and the thing is much smaller than I thought. Hey ho-gives me more practice on precise landings.

 

[Dave Maine]

I have the same problem. When I need to make a precise landing, I point the camera straight down, and use it to line up the center point of the landing pad.

 

[old man mavic]

at the end of the day ,it probably an age related thing ,everything slows down as we get older, and unfortunately lots of our brain cells die off never to be replaced ,
thats my excuse and i am sticking with it
but what we lack in speed ,we make up for in knowledge ,hopefully

 

[BetterBizWorks]

Are you wearing corrective lenses? If so Bifocals can change your depth perception. When landing point your camera down to line up. move your position diagonally to check your vision from a different angle. Add a visual observer to tricky flights.

Fly Safe!

 

[Dale D]

As I've been doing more practice flying one thing I've noticed is I have trouble with my depth perception. An example would be landing - I come down and think the drone is lined up well to land on my landing pad (or landing area I've chosen), but when I get closer to the ground, I realize it is lined up wrong. Same thing when flying around the yard - I need to ascend to avoid an obstacle - It seems as though I think the drone is farther away than it really is.

Does anyone have any suggestions or input on how I can improve my depth perception? Does anyone else struggle with this same thing?

Thanks

I am an ophthalmologist. Depth perception requires good binocular vision. If you have a slight misalignment of your eyes due to an ocular muscle imbalance it could cause this. I see many patients with a small esophoria or inward turning or a small exophoria or outward deviation of an eye than can cause difficult with depth perception
With esophoria (-inwared turning, convergence insufficiency) it worsens with age, and in fact, with exophoric (outward turning) it also worsens with age.
Get your eye muscle balance checked by an ophthalmologist.
Dale Davis MD

 

[Dbez1]

…when landing I correct it as seems needed as the drone descends, occasionally I point the camera straight down.

Agreed, If you make sure the crosshairs are turned on and the camera pointed straight down, it’ll land right where they converge on the screen.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I have the same problem. When I need to make a precise landing, I point the camera straight down, and use it to line up the center point of the landing pad.

This.

Keep in mind that the VLOS requirement does not prohibit use of the camera view.

I only have any meaningful distance perception within ten feet or so absent some other reference like trees/grass/bushes/road.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I am an ophthalmologist. Depth perception requires g

Do our eyes turn inwards as we focus our attention on an object that is moving closer to us or are they always meant to point in parallel etc. etc..

 

[Octavio]

As I've been doing more practice flying one thing I've noticed is I have trouble with my depth perception. An example would be landing - I come down and think the drone is lined up well to land on my landing pad (or landing area I've chosen), but when I get closer to the ground, I realize it is lined up wrong. Same thing when flying around the yard - I need to ascend to avoid an obstacle - It seems as though I think the drone is farther away than it really is.

Does anyone have any suggestions or input on how I can improve my depth perception? Does anyone else struggle with this same thing?

Thanks

Yes! I have the same problem. I always use the crosshairs to see the direction I am going or pointing to.
So, when landing vertically, I point the camera 90 degrees downward with the crosshairs on the target. That works for me.

 

[rwilliam99]

I am an ophthalmologist. Depth perception requires good binocular vision. If you have a slight misalignment of your eyes due to an ocular muscle imbalance it could cause this. I see many patients with a small esophoria or inward turning or a small exophoria or outward deviation of an eye than can cause difficult with depth perception
With esophoria (-inwared turning, convergence insufficiency) it worsens with age, and in fact, with exophoric (outward turning) it also worsens with age.
Get your eye muscle balance checked by an ophthalmologist.
Dale Davis MD

I get my eyes checked every year by an ophthalmologist and I do have early onset cataracts so maybe that is part of it. I think I'm going to be getting surgery in the next year or so.

Thanks for the input. I wondered if that might have something to do with it.

Getting old isn't for sissies!

 

[Dale D]

Do our eyes turn inwards as we focus our attention on an object that is moving closer to us or are they always meant to point in parallel etc. etc..

The short answer is YES.

There is a normal relationship between distance viewing where the line of sight of each eye is PARALLEL, and where the eyes are turned inwards for a near object such as a book or our finger tip (convergence). . This relationship is called accommodative convergence. Our need for focusing (accommodation) increases with near objects. If we have weak inward pulling eyes muscles (medial rectus muscles) we have a weak accommodation. People with difficulty or inability to converge on a near object have when we term, "accommodative insufficiency."

Normally, as we converge on a near object (e.g.: shift from distance to near, our eyes turn inwards and the lens of the eye changes shape from disc-like to a more rounded shape in order to bring the focus on to the retina. This "accommodation" or ability of the lens to change shape, weakens with with age (presbyopia- reading glasses, etc). The lens become even more inelastic with cataract formation.

When I trained to be an ophthalmologist, there were 12 recognized sub-specialties, one which was called oculomotor diseases. These doctors specialize in treating eye deviations such as crossed eyes or outward turning eyes, or weakened eye muscles due to neurological diseases such and a stroke.

So your lack of depth perception may very well be due to a small eye muscle weakness and many of these cases can be treated medically such as eye glasses, or glasses with prisms.

See your ophthalmologist (in Great Britain we are called oculists). Do not confuse this term with optometrist (eye glasses doctors) .

Dale Davis, M.D.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

The short answer is YES.

Cheers,

 

[hiflyer201]

Can’t you just adjust the drone position when you get close to the pad?
I guess that’s why I prefer hand landing.

 

[KJC Imaging]

As I've been doing more practice flying one thing I've noticed is I have trouble with my depth perception. An example would be landing - I come down and think the drone is lined up well to land on my landing pad (or landing area I've chosen), but when I get closer to the ground, I realize it is lined up wrong. Same thing when flying around the yard - I need to ascend to avoid an obstacle - It seems as though I think the drone is farther away than it really is.

Does anyone have any suggestions or input on how I can improve my depth perception? Does anyone else struggle with this same thing?

Thanks

Here’s a suggestion, this is how one-eyed people manage to get depth perception, and it can improve depth perception for anyone: move your head left and right to generate parallax between your drone and its background. You’ll get a much better idea where it is in relation to its surroundings.