Litchi Questions

[AlR]

Hi Everyone,

I wonder if a Litchi user would mind answering a few basic question for me before I purchase the app?

I) if you setup litchi to fly a waypoint route - does it still automatically avoid objects? If so with what behaviour?

Ii) I live in an area with lots of hills and tree covered mountains - is the app aware of the contour lines on inclines or do you have to guess this manually?

Iii) can you assume control at any point on a waypoint route?

Many thanks!

AlR


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[GerdS]

I don't use waypoints yet but you can regain control at every time of an automated flight by just switching to Sports mode.

 

[AlR]

I don't use waypoints yet but you can regain control at every time of an automated flight by just switching to Sports mode.

Ahh that make sense many thanks GerdS


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[Logger]

I don't use waypoints yet but you can regain control at every time of an automated flight by just switching to Sports mode.

Incorrect, not at every time, see below..

I) if you setup litchi to fly a waypoint route - does it still automatically avoid objects? If so with what behaviour?
I am not sure because I have not tested it. I assume it will stop and try to fly over the obstacle up to max alt. I do not trust it & it has been known in both DJIGo and Ltchi to get fooled by turning into bright sunlight. So I have disabled this feature in Litchi. Instead I rely on accurate altitude programming.

Ii) I live in an area with lots of hills and tree covered mountains - is the app aware of the contour lines on inclines or do you have to guess this manually?
No it is not aware. You must program it to fly over obstacles by using careful planning.

Iii) can you assume control at any point on a waypoint route?
You can resume control by toggling to and from Sports mode ONLY when there is a connection between the RC and aircraft. It is not uncommon with Litchi to fly autonomously beyond signal range. During these periods it is not possible to abort the mission and assume control.

 

[AlR]

Incorrect, not at every time, see below..

I) if you setup litchi to fly a waypoint route - does it still automatically avoid objects? If so with what behaviour?
I am not sure because I have not tested it. I assume it will stop and try to fly over the obstacle up to max alt. I do not trust it & it has been known in both DJIGo and Ltchi to get fooled by turning into bright sunlight. So I have disabled this feature in Litchi. Instead I rely on accurate altitude programming.

Ii) I live in an area with lots of hills and tree covered mountains - is the app aware of the contour lines on inclines or do you have to guess this manually?
No it is not aware. You must program it to fly over obstacles by using careful planning.

Iii) can you assume control at any point on a waypoint route?
You can resume control by toggling to and from Sports mode ONLY when there is a connection between the RC and aircraft. It is not uncommon with Litchi to fly autonomously beyond signal range. During these periods it is not possible to abort the mission and assume control.

Dear Logger,

Thank you for the comprehensive response - that really helps.

Ok - it sounds like I'd better find some accurate mapping software for my area before I use Litchi autonomously...

Many thanks,

AlR


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[dmanisgnarly]

I read yesterday where litchi caused a mavic to crash because one of the points were erased but the elevation did not update.. do some searching on here and you should find the post. The mavic sensors are not all they're chalked up to be..fly with caution and be ready to take over at any time!

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[spiderpig]

So I use litchi with both my P3S and Mavic and can answer some questions here. I'm not sure about the avoidance since I never put my Mavic or P3S in any danger. My rule is I try to fly 50 feet minimum above the highest point. So I usually pre-plan my flights using mission hub and set the altitude at 200 feet. When I get to the flight area, I do a scouting mission and check the heights of the tallest trees or any other objects. I then re-adjust the mission height to at least be 50 feet higher.

Now, and this is where the mission hub comes in nicely - elevation can change between waypoints. So if you want to have your drone fly 200 feet AGL at all times, you need to factor in elevation changes. On the Litchi mission hub when you look at your waypoints, it'll tell you the MSL elevation and the relation to the first waypoint you took off. So if waypoint 2 is 45 feet above MSL above the first way point, I set the altitidue at 245 so I can maintain 200 feet above the ground. I think this is where Litchi mission hub really shines. As a side note, and I haven't tested it out...but there is an app called FPV Camera (FPV Camera) that does automatically update for elevation.

When flying an automated mission I always am ready to take over if needed. So on the Mavic I have my finger on the sports switch. Now it has been mentioned that you need an RC connection for this to work - and this is true. But please keep in mind that in the USA at least, you always need to maintain visual line of sight. So in theory you should always have RC connection. Because you never know and it's better to be safe then sorry, always set your RTH height to 50 feet above the highest point, so you ensure it won't run into anything.

 

[AlR]

So I use litchi with both my P3S and Mavic and can answer some questions here. I'm not sure about the avoidance since I never put my Mavic or P3S in any danger. My rule is I try to fly 50 feet minimum above the highest point. So I usually pre-plan my flights using mission hub and set the altitude at 200 feet. When I get to the flight area, I do a scouting mission and check the heights of the tallest trees or any other objects. I then re-adjust the mission height to at least be 50 feet higher.

Now, and this is where the mission hub comes in nicely - elevation can change between waypoints. So if you want to have your drone fly 200 feet AGL at all times, you need to factor in elevation changes. On the Litchi mission hub when you look at your waypoints, it'll tell you the MSL elevation and the relation to the first waypoint you took off. So if waypoint 2 is 45 feet above MSL above the first way point, I set the altitidue at 245 so I can maintain 200 feet above the ground. I think this is where Litchi mission hub really shines. As a side note, and I haven't tested it out...but there is an app called FPV Camera (FPV Camera) that does automatically update for elevation.

When flying an automated mission I always am ready to take over if needed. So on the Mavic I have my finger on the sports switch. Now it has been mentioned that you need an RC connection for this to work - and this is true. But please keep in mind that in the USA at least, you always need to maintain visual line of sight. So in theory you should always have RC connection. Because you never know and it's better to be safe then sorry, always set your RTH height to 50 feet above the highest point, so you ensure it won't run into anything.

Thanks Spiderpig,

There's no such restrictions on line of sight at present in my country - but I like to think common sense is universal

The reason I brought up obstacle avoidance was more for non-static objects - perhaps a boat on the water or similar.

I'll give FPV camera a whirl!

Thanks,

AlR


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[WolfgangStiller]

I have tested OA with waypont mode and it does work but......you really have to understand what it does. When you fly a waypoint mission the Mavic will be pointed at what ever point of interest (POI) you tell it. This means the sensors may often not be pointed in the direction of flight which means it can fly right into something because the OA sensors are pointed in the wrong direction to detect the obstacle.

 

[AlR]

I have tested OA with waypont mode and it does work but......you really have to understand what it does. When you fly a waypoint mission the Mavic will be pointed at what ever point of interest (POI) you tell it. This means the sensors may often not be pointed in the direction of flight which means it can fly right into something because the OA sensors are pointed in the wrong direction to detect the obstacle.

Ahh ok - so you don't have control of the orientation of the MP when you use Litchi?

The MP is my first drone which I've had since November and I have to say I'm addicted although slightly worried I've never crashed.. looking at some of the posts it seems like there's an element of inevitability!!

Thank you Wolfgang!


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[WolfgangStiller]

Ahh ok - so you don't have control of the orientation of the MP when you use Litchi?

The MP is my first drone which I've had since November and I have to say I'm addicted although slightly worried I've never crashed.. looking at some of the posts it seems like there's an element of inevitability!!

Thank you Wolfgang!


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Sure., you have control but unlike the Inspire the camera on the Litchi faces forward only so if you are filming a POI, the Mavic may very likely not be facing in it's direction of motion. If the Mavic is your first drone, I'd do something like get a cheap Syma X5 or Hubsan 107c ($19 on Ebay!) and practice your stick skills on that. The Mavic is MUCH easier to fly than the small drones, but you really don't want to crash that. I have never crashed my Mavic but have crashed my other drones 100s of times.

 

[Logger]

Ahh ok - so you don't have control of the orientation of the MP when you use Litchi?

You Choose. Normally you would set Litchi to "Focus on POI" which actually means point aircraft & camera at POI. However you van set it to "Manual" where you don have control of the orientation along the route. Need to be in signal range for this obviously.

I am still having annoying issues with the Android Litchi app crashing a few seconds after signal loss on WPT missions. The Mavic completes the mission fine. But I lose the on screen route progress after restarting the app & it does not instill confidence. Be good when they fix it. The secret is to sit on you hands and let if finish the route. Pretty sure the IOS app is not effected by this.

I also had Litchi WPT mission do a mid route low battery RTH today. Worked perfectly fine with no input from me.

 

[finalfantasyfans]

I have tested OA with waypont mode and it does work but......you really have to understand what it does. When you fly a waypoint mission the Mavic will be pointed at what ever point of interest (POI) you tell it. This means the sensors may often not be pointed in the direction of flight which means it can fly right into something because the OA sensors are pointed in the wrong direction to detect the obstacle.

For OP:
For the first flight, set the heading of each waypoint to next waypoint. This will make sure the OA avoid any obstacle. After successful flying the mission, you can add POI in the mission and repeat the mission.

 

[dlopezjurado]

Hello and thanks for all the information you are sharing.
I´m pretty new to this world of drones...
I would like to ask...all these positive things you are saying about the capabilities, accuracy, and stability with Litchi...is...totally different to what other people here and many other forums are saying about the same application! Crashes, flyaways, and many more complications...

My questions are:
1.-Nobody here has experienced nothing like that?

I´m really really interested in that app, but I was scared of using it as I read all those comments...

Now I´m reading yours and...I don´t know what to do?

2.-Could you give more details? Kind of missions... the number of points...total distance...iOS or Android versions, etc?...it would be very helpful...

Thanks!

P.S.: the other testimonies are...terrible! and have evidence! WARNING! - Mavic Pro with Litchi

 

[Mike_in_Letcombe]

For OP:
For the first flight, set the heading of each waypoint to next waypoint. This will make sure the OA avoid any obstacle. After successful flying the mission, you can add POI in the mission and repeat the mission.

This is a good idea and one I haven't thought of. I spend hours checking my elevations, this would confirm them in minutes. Be rather fun flying 'forward' all the time, I use POIs everywhere normally, to get smooth sweeping shots.


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[Mike_in_Letcombe]

Hello and thanks for all the information you are sharing.
I´m pretty new to this world of drones...
I would like to ask...all these positive things you are saying about the capabilities, accuracy, and stability with Litchi...is...totally different to what other people here and many other forums are saying about the same application! Crashes, flyaways, and many more complications...

My questions are:
1.-Nobody here has experienced nothing like that?

I´m really really interested in that app, but I was scared of using it as I read all those comments...

Now I´m reading yours and...I don´t know what to do?

2.-Could you give more details? Kind of missions... the number of points...total distance...iOS or Android versions, etc?...it would be very helpful...

Thanks!

P.S.: the other testimonies are...terrible! and have evidence! WARNING! - Mavic Pro with Litchi

I have found it to act perfectly. But then I'm on IOS - DJI GO crashed terribly with Android and I never dared use Litchi. But on IOS, it behaves impeccably. Yes, I know, it works fine for some Android users but not in my experience.

Biggest WP flight was 7,000 metres, about 20 WayPoints and 10 POIs. Worked as I planned.


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[Logger]

Hello and thanks for all the information you are sharing.
I´m pretty new to this world of drones...
I would like to ask...all these positive things you are saying about the capabilities, accuracy, and stability with Litchi...is...totally different to what other people here and many other forums are saying about the same application! Crashes, flyaways, and many more complications...<snip>

P.S.: the other testimonies are...terrible! and have evidence! WARNING! - Mavic Pro with Litchi

What evidence? That thread is from quite some time ago, when the Mavic had different firmware and truth be known the issue was nothing to do with Litchi.
If you are dubious about Litchi, just don't use it.

 

[spiderpig]

Hello and thanks for all the information you are sharing.
I´m pretty new to this world of drones...
I would like to ask...all these positive things you are saying about the capabilities, accuracy, and stability with Litchi...is...totally different to what other people here and many other forums are saying about the same application! Crashes, flyaways, and many more complications...

My questions are:
1.-Nobody here has experienced nothing like that?

I´m really really interested in that app, but I was scared of using it as I read all those comments...

Now I´m reading yours and...I don´t know what to do?

2.-Could you give more details? Kind of missions... the number of points...total distance...iOS or Android versions, etc?...it would be very helpful...

Thanks!

P.S.: the other testimonies are...terrible! and have evidence! WARNING! - Mavic Pro with Litchi

1) Used correctly, Litchi would not cause any flyaway or crashes. But remember that Litchi is an automated system, same as using active track or POI. If you have your Mavic do a POI and it crashes into a tree - it's because the pilot didn't set the right height - not Litchi of DJI Go apps fault.
2) I've used Litchi for many missions and I love it. I first got it to supplement the ability of my P3S drone. With the Mavic I've used it less, but still use it for missions, panoramic, VR, and screen recording.

Looking at the link you gave I can clearly see the issue in the first paragraph - " The mission was a 37,500' non-stop @ 30 mph & the Mavic was out of RC contact for most of the mission." Without any other data, this line indicates the the pilot was clearly using Litchi to do something beyond the means of the Mavic. If the Mavic was not able to fly in the area with the DJI Go app - then you can't expect it to fly with the Litchi app.

So here's what I do when I create missions:
1) Make sure it's within RC range at all times. I've had a couple missions that lost video signal for a second or two, but never allowed it to go beyond RC range. RC range depends on location so keep that in mind. IF you are flying a mission and start noticing you are going in and out of RC range, don't let it continue - put the Mavic in sports mode and RTH.
2) Make sure mission length and time allows for wiggle room. I created a quick mission in Litchi Mission Hub for a 37500 feet at 30 mph and noted the time - 19 minutes. In perfect conditions this might be possible - but I would never fly it. The reason is your expecting it to fly at 30 mph at all times, something that might not be possible. Every time you have a turn in a Litchi mission, the drone slows down to execute the turn. Not only that - you need to factor for wind. If your flying against the wind you'll never get the same speed as flying with he tail wind. Check out a video I made an overplayed the speed info for a mission with 20 mph to see how different the speeds are:

You'll notice on the way out there, it barely kept at 20 mph. Also keep in mind that the higher you go, the crazier the wind can get. Also in some instances, I've seen wind blow the Mavic off course, in which case it stops for a second to regain itself, and then goes back to the last mission point and goes from there...this again could add to the time..

Give that the longest flight I've done on my Mavic is 22 minutes. Having a 19 minute Litchi flight is scary to me. The max time I would have one was maybe 15 minutes if I know I had clear line of sight the whole time, and I would monitor it and take over at the first sign or problems.
3) Always be prepared to take control. Most airliners these days can fly themselves from point A to point B just fine. The pilots are really on there in case of emergency. With Litchi you have to treat it the same way, it's an autopilot for you and if you don't watch it and take control when you need to - your at fault. The easiest way to grab control is switching to sports mode which automatically ends the missions and gives you full control again (assuming you have been a good boy and stayed in RC range). Even with DJI Go, there has been plenty of times when using an intelligent flight mode where I have taken over and flew it out of danger (mostly trees).

At this point, I'm thinking i need to make Litchi series on my youtube channel to help people out. They are misusing it and then blaming it when it does what you told it to.

Btw, my most complicate mission had 25 points, 8 POI, and lasted 14 minutes.

 

[dlopezjurado]

I have found it to act perfectly. But then I'm on IOS - DJI GO crashed terribly with Android and I never dared use Litchi. But on IOS, it behaves impeccably. Yes, I know, it works fine for some Android users but not in my experience.

Biggest WP flight was 7,000 metres, about 20 WayPoints and 10 POIs. Worked as I planned.


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Hi Mike_in_Letcombe

Really appreciate your answer and the details! Same user...both iOS and Android...two different results... Interesting. And as you said, that doesn´t mean that cannot work perfectly under Android...but I think is interesting to know.

Thanks for the information about the biggest WP! REALLY BIG!

One question, please....these WP you are running...City area? or countryside? and more important even; as a WP is an "autonomous" mode, do you loose RC signal and the bird return with no problem? or you never loose RC signal? Please, tell me your experience about these 2 issues, please.

Thanks in advance!

 

[dlopezjurado]

What evidence? That thread is from quite some time ago, when the Mavic had different firmware and truth be known the issue was nothing to do with Litchi.
If you are dubious about Litchi, just don't use it.

Hi Logger and thanks for your answer.
But, please, when someone inexperienced as I am, has doubts, the best answer usually is not "don´t use it".

I understand I´m new and have tons of doubts and lack of confidence, especially because I don´t want to loose or damage my Mavic...things that probably most of you are not aware of because you are much more experienced...but I still need to ask basic questions to make my own opinion..and I understand that maybe someone could find my questions quite boring.

I want to use it! Litchi is amazing and it has all what a drone´s pilot would like to have! It is just that I still have a lot of things to learn, and I want to learn it, without crashing...

Is because of that, some information as other members are showing, could be valuable for me. Just to see if never fails under a specific OS, or if the key is the range.....or the speed...things like that.

So, sharing that information if you want to is much more useful than just saying if I have doubts, don use it.

I´m sure you understand

Thanks in advance