Are Goggles a good idea for indoor flight with Mavic 2 Pro?

[Jay_Sneeze]

Flying in a large building with large halls and staircases. Will the Googles help with smoothness of control (as a result of seeing more) or will it detract from the experience? I will have a VO to help.

 

[vindibona1]

IN MY OPINON (Which should be in giant cursive like the DOI), with extremely limited experience with goggles and a M2P I think a lot depends on a lot. It should be noted that I've just been playing around with VR goggles, but other than resolution and other available data via Litchi, the experience shouldn't be that much different. When I fly indoors, It is usually in smaller spaces in a home with a Mini 2 for practice for slow speed and precision. The Mini 2 isn't the best drone for that because the stick inputs can be a little unruly combined with latency. The M2P is better suited for precision with its tripod mode.

Asking if goggles will help smoothness I think is dependent on a few things but I would have to guess in terms of pure smoothness, not directly, but perhaps indirectly. With the limited time I've spend with my M2 and VR goggles where they really change my perspective is with spacial awarness. In other words, a better indication that I'll be flying through spaces rather than crashing into objects. I haven't yet got up the nerve to turn the sensors off, which can be a problem in a tight space- but they obviously should be turned off. But will that cause the M2 to go into the "Atti mode" which can be like driving on sheet ice with 40mph gusts pushing you around? I don't know, but I had my M2 go into Atti outdoors a few weeks ago and it was a little scary keeping control and getting it back home safely. On my Mini 2 I have prop guards which I would definitely get, and will get for my M2 should I need to fly indoors.

When I said "it depends", what I've found when flying my Mini 2 in hallways (I hope I use the right term) it's "prop wash" gets deflected off the walls or floors or objects and makes it veer off line a bit. I think with the tripod mode the Mavic 2 would be much easier to control in such circumstances. I was flying indoors today and was filming a good sized bathroom with a fairly large tub/jaccuzi and the prop wash from the tub pushed my Mini 2 in a manner that required some agile sticksmanship. But entirely smooth it wasn't. Perhaps the M2 would fare better? Without prop guards I haven't dared to fly my M2 indoors yet.

Getting back to the goggle thing, the question might be, instead of making things smoother, will they help or hinder your operation. If the drone is just moving forward and doesn't need any lateral adjustment I think they can be helpful. If you have to move the drone sideways you might need to visually inspect how it's lining up which would require popping the goggles up. Not so difficult but inconvenient because you lose the screen view. So while they could be a help on one hand, they could be a hinderance OTOH.

Again I'm only using $20 VR goggles in Litchi's FPV mode so I'm sure $400-$600 DJI goggles will be better in many ways, So nothing I've said here is definitive and only the perspective of someone just starting to use goggles myself (when appropriate).

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Unless your going to be out of the sight of the drone , you will be fine without googles,

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain and Land on Water.

 

[Camino Ken]

I believe the smoothest flight comes from the setup you are the most comfortable. Flying with goggles is quite a different experience than watching the drone or the display. Smoothness comes from familiarity and experience with the controls so if you have a lot of practice with the goggles they might give you the best results.

 

[Thomas B]

Personally wouldn’t use the goggles indors regardless of size of the building

 

[vindibona1]

Personally wouldn’t use the goggles indors regardless of size of the building

Because???

 

[Thomas B]

Because???

Need for situational awareness in ATTI mode

 

[vindibona1]

Need for situational awareness in ATTI mode

Oh yeah... Atti mode will get you in close quarters. I've been practicing indoors with my Mini 2 and trying to fly pure screen. Prop guards are essential. I've not dared try flying indoors with the M2- except I suspect the tripod mode will make recoveries from prop wash and Atti mode more precise.

 

[Jay_Sneeze]

Will be flying in a large hall with high ceilings, and rotunda-like areas. Also will have a spotter. Think like a museum, but not a museum. Does that change your answers?

 

[vindibona1]

Based on your last post and having had a little more experience flying with VR goggles (not expensive DJI goggles) since my last post I want to take a second bite at the apple and try replying further.

One of the things that gives me confidence in flying my Mini 2 indoors are prop guards. I have just ordered prop guards for the Mavic 2 which should arrive (edit: arrived) later today. I'll want to see how they change handling characteristics. The main concern as I think everyone realizes is bumping into stuff with bare propellers. Prop guars change your drone from a weed whacker to more of a bumper car. If you bump into something gently you'll softly careen off with footage partially stabilized by the gimbal. The TRIPOD MODE if the M2 is awesome as it won't fly any faster than 2.5mph preventing jerkiness.

After having flown a few missions with goggles and getting things set up as I like, they do provide a different perspective. I think they also have helped train me better with spacial awareness. Obviously if you're flying sideways, being inside the goggles hinders you from seeing what you're flying your drone into. A spotter would probably be essential. But if you're mainly flying drone forward camera forward I think the goggles offer a bit better perspective than even if looking at the phone's screen with the same image. I can't explain why.

I *just* received the prop guards for the M2 and put them on. There are basically two choices, joined (front to back legs) and unjoined. I bought the "unjoined" ones that attach independently. They weigh 3.3 oz for the set (95gms). Prop guards $10 . The joined ones (photo illustration below)) weigh double at 6-7 oz and prices *start* at $20 and go to $30 for the identical set with different brand name. No set available that I found protected the props from above. They add 1.5 inches on either side, making the width about 20" (50.8cm). For spacial perspective, below find a photo of the M2 with guards inside of a 36" (91.4cm). Not a lot of extra room. Only 8" extra space per side if trying to keep it centered. With the PG's I'm ready to test the Tripod mode in tight areas. The sensors will definitely need to be turned off. I hope to test fly with the props guards today. From having flown my Mini 2 indoors with prop guards they definitely give me some extra confidence and allow me to fly indoors less stressed.

 

[Kilrah]

I always use the goggles for outdoor shoots but in the indoor ones I've been there's too much stuff around not to have the ability to quicky swap between FPV and outside view, interesting shots are often close to things, in corners etc and you can't exactly back up against a wall in FPV... and phone as a screen hasn't been an issue to get smooth movements.

+1 on prop guards, and watch the ceiling as if you get too close you get sucked onto it.