DJI to restrict non-compliant drones at next software update

[Kilrah]

Why is DJI allowed to effectively use tactics that could be construed as anti-competitive (artificially reducing battery safety margins to give better flight times against competitors on specs to publicize themselves to market, but then push out firmware updates to cap the battery usable levels after the fact, in the name of safety and the banner of security, without updating the true effectively flight time to reflect the change, etc)

They probably aren't allowed - but until someone sues them to prove it they will do whatever they want like everybody else. When do you open that lawsuit?

 

[adiru]

They probably aren't allowed - but until someone sues them to prove it they will do whatever they want like everybody else. When do you open that lawsuit?

Technically I bought mine second hand, "as is" off Craigslist. during the height of the frenzy and paid $1500 for the base unit. I don't have a grounds for a cause of action against DJI.

 

[Ziggy01]

Just spotted this post on sUAS News - to be timed with launch of the Spark....

Link to article.....
DJI to restrict non-compliant drones at next software update - sUAS News - The Business of Drones

Frankly, if it prevents idiots from flying these things in highly populated urban locations or in any number of stupid places I've seen posted here and elsewhere and allows stricter control over those that operate these things dangerously, I'm for it.

It's a shame that a minority of morons makes this kind of "parental control" necessary.

 

[Robbyg]

I agree with Aduru. I cannot remember when I have ever seen a consumer device handicapped post sale by a forced update.

DJI is following in the traditional footsteps of companies who's egos get so big that they eventually destroy the company.

My next prediction is mass hacking of the firmware. DJI just created a multi million dollar hacking industry by doing this. I suspect at the end of the day most pilots will be loading on cracked firmware and all kinds of basterized Apps.

 

[Lapeer20m]

It will be fun to watch.

My prediction is that dji is not a forward enough thinking corporation to have built this into earlier versions of the software and this is only in the latest version, or latest 2 versions.

 

[Kilrah]

I cannot remember when I have ever seen a consumer device handicapped post sale by a forced update.

Every DJI aircraft of the past 2.5 years?
As I said, nobody has taken any action against it, so no reason they would change.

There's that saying that evil only wins when the good guys don't do anything, perfect example here. DJI are in a position where they can literally do anything they want. Not saying it's good, just that this won't change until someone challenges them and hurts them badly enough for them to reconsider. But the way they do business makes it so hard that it's almost pointless, and the only way of action that's left is not to buy their stuff. But their stuff still being the best by far even after that, it won't happen either.

 

[MavicKhan]

If what is coming is what I think I understand it is, they might probably lose at least this customer, in what pertains to repeated business.

I love imaging in general, photography in particular.

I couldn't care less about the RC-flying vector of drones and I waited for 3 to 4 years for the market (DJI) to come up with a drone that met my requirements:

1. Affordable
2. Good video capabilities
3. Compact enough to be carried in my photography backpack.

Now, in the mentioned backpack there's only that much space and the Mavic has now been included at the expense of some additional photography items for my last 2 trips, the first a "proof of concept" test run for this "photography equipment+Mavic" configuration and the second, last March, for the first "operational" sortie - a sortie that was like a dream come true (...in spite of a crash that was totally my fault )

What is now been proposed to me - if I understand it correctly - is to configure my backpack for future trips, leave photography gear behind that might be necessary to accommodate the Mavic and, once on location in any foreign country, play "Geo Roulette" to see if the Mavic can even get off the ground.

If I understood this correctly, their controlling stance over what can and can't be done with their drones, might even lead to someone planning a trip to, say, Sweden only to find out that nothing happens when "record" is pressed because all aerial filming has been deemed illegal in that country and the software, after checking with the GPS position, activates a "no record" sub-routine.

If things go that way, I might say I had a good 4-months run with this amazing hobby but unfortunately, as DJI drifts closer and closer to Apples' philosophy of "we tell you what to do with what you gave us your money for", I might be forced to give it up and just focus on stills.

MK

(...I would also question the whole legality of taking steps that objectively curtail the operational scope of a device after it has been sold...Will DJI offer me a full refund if I come to the conclusion that the device no longer meets the original requirements i bought it for at the time of the sale?...)

 

[Kilrah]

because all aerial filming has been deemed illegal in that country

Well if that is the case you'd have found it doring your prep, and not taken the Mavic anyway

If they add additional restrictions you'll certainly be able to look them up online first anyway.

 

[Xblog]

What is the potentials risk and disadvantages for users ?

 

[Montana]

I'll just start up my Typhoon H. Giddyup.

 

[Grey Wolf]

I wonder how this will affect people with SFOC's or 107's etc.
Will this restrict legal operators who fly for money who do get permission to fly within say 50 feet of a building?
Or will commercial operators be forced to fly under the recreational rules only?
Recreational rules in Canada are a joke and if this is the case, then bye bye flying a drone for money!

 

[mark_t]

Recreational rules in Canada are a joke and if this is the case, then bye bye flying a drone for money!

DJI have already said they are not implementing the current Canadian rules in this update.

Seems to be a lot of over-reaction to this so far based on pretty much nothing...

As far as I can see, based on what has been released about this so far, the only people who should be worried are those who have been blocking GPS reception to prevent the aircraft knowing where it is flying and applying appropriate restrictions.

I'm not sure how well a 'charge-back' or a court case would go if the basis is a complaint that DJI are preventing a flight which would be unlawful in the first place...

Remember, if they go too far in their restrictions they kill their own future sales...

 

[ryo]

I agree with Aduru. I cannot remember when I have ever seen a consumer device handicapped post sale by a forced update.

DJI is following in the traditional footsteps of companies who's egos get so big that they eventually destroy the company.

My next prediction is mass hacking of the firmware. DJI just created a multi million dollar hacking industry by doing this. I suspect at the end of the day most pilots will be loading on cracked firmware and all kinds of basterized Apps.

Why mass hacking if you can just avoid using go4? A few weeks ago i was into a NFZ (not aware of till i took off and forced landing): just for curiosity i tried Litchi and the MP took off like a charm. So if really the MP gets seriously limited by new FW and app, i guess the easiest way is to stop upgrades, both quad and app, or just use Litchi. BTW, i am on .0400 and not planning to upgrade anymore and turned off auto updates on my iphone.

 

[dewster]

I guess I'll be going back to building my own drones again. I think the NO FLY ZONE feature is enough on the restrictions. China is probably getting photo bombed by tourist use of drones and they're not having it.

 

[Mavic Ray]

Like I said before, I refused to use the GO4 App for the longest time but eventually it was saying I couldn't fly unless I updated it. I'm sure they'll force you to use the latest app version which in turn will force you to use the latest firmware. Only way to avoid this is to use a smartphone or tablet that never connects to the Internet but how practical is that especially if you like to use the maps.

 

[Jackle]

I was looking at GEO map on DJI's fly safe site DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography. I live in NYC and there are still a lot places on that map that seem ok with DJI to fly drones. Will this update take into account state and local laws or just be based on the geo maps they provide? I would love to still be able to fly on private property and indoors.

 

[Stuart Wood]

Essentially, in a few days, DJI Go and DJI Go 4 apps will have new versions. After upgrading to these new versions, users will have to re-activate via at least a login method to their DJI account. At such time, DJI will mark the location of the user, probably via combination of GPS, IP address, credit card info on file, or some other method, and the user will be subject to strict(er) enforcement based on the region of the world that they live in. The GEO will no longer be only "optional" and will make it so that in busy cities, many folks will not be able to fly at all, and have to drive out to the "country". In some countries were drone flying is not allowed, the mavic might not even fly at all. If the user chooses not to consent to this re-registration, the Mavic will be severely limited, including but maynot not limited to things like only being able to fly max altitude of 98feet above the ground, only being able to fly approciatelmy 150 feet from the remote control, and many other registrations like perhaps speed cap and including confirmed NO LIVE feed back to control etc...

So therefore, effectively, they are essentially forcing all users to upgrade. It is likely that once upon upgrade to this new firmware and new app, users via re-registration will be presented and asked to accept a new Terms of Service, etc while might have legal language that says there will be no more downgrading allowed to previous firmware/apps...

This paves the path of the slippery slope to potentially once DJI has the majority of the customers on effective "lock down" that in the future it might technically allow DJI to do things like remotely send a "kill signal" to a drone to permanently disable it from flying, if someone has reported that drone user to DJI etc, or DJI catches that drone user uploading a flight on youtube that was "against the rules" , regular always online during flight so that it can be tracked in real time and sent to law enforcement and FAA and CAA and whatnot, and many other things such as allowing DJI to continue to degrade the performance of the Mavic (for example now only 84% of a full charge battery is actually "usable" as opposed to 90% when it was first sold on earlier firmware, later this number could get to like 70% or even 60% etc) and perhaps also enforce an open ended NFZ where everyone can request airspace above their home or building to be a NFZ, esssentially in the future "allowed flying areas" will be like the ever shrinking "designated smoking areas" or "free speech zones" of today.

This will be interesting from a contract law perspective (anyone actually read DJI's full T's and C's?) for those who purchased their equipment under a different premise. Not sure you can effectively entice someone to purchase a product under one set of expectations and then arbitrarily change those (limit) expectations without offering some compensation if the use is subsequently limited, unless it is spelled out at the time purchase.

 

[mark_t]

People seem to be reading a lot more into this that is apparent from the DJI statements so far.

All DJI have said is that they want to make sure that geographically you are where you say you are.

They have not announced any changes to the databases, no extensions, no additional restrictions etc.

As long as you are not trying to block the aircraft from knowing where it is, there should be no difference to where you can fly before or after this update...

 

[Kilrah]

All DJI have said is that they want to make sure that geographically you are where you say you are.

But there is no point in that since it already knows where it is. No we don't know what it will lead to in practice, but they wouldn't need to change anything if it was not to enforce things that weren't enforced before.

Why does it want my account location? To hardcode my country's limitations somwhere? But isn't that already the case? Then what happens when I travel?

 

[domination]

Ahhh, the trials and tribulations of falling in love with a product that is born out of a Communist country... where rules/laws, "fairness" and basic rights are controlled by a minority. There was a time a-la 1980's when the US would NOT do business/trade with a Communist country period. Perhaps it's time for a US company to step up and take the reigns in the Quad world? Perhaps this the brainchild of a diabolical Chinese company to gather as much data about the locations and details of users lives, details of landscapes and other key data to be used for some other purpose? Or are we blowing this all out of proportion?