Autonomous Flight

[Etdronehome]

I'm interested in how others define this term and what the future might look like for us.

Coming from my early quad flights of manually "flying" the drone at all times these "new" features amaze me.

My interpretation of this term is when a drone accomplishes some "maneuver" without the PIC having to do anything other than initiate, end, adjust or intervene.

The simplest maneuver that comes to mind is hover - the aircraft is airborne and the PIC lets go of the sticks (or however they are actively controlling the drone) and in simple terms the aircraft stays right where it stopped. I take it for granted now but it's still pretty amazing when you think about it.

Some of the other examples I would list are:

Auto take off and land
Precision landing
RTH
Pre-programmed flight paths
Automatic video/photo shots (Dronie etc.)
Obstacle Avoidance
Active Track (DJI's term - other manufactures do similar "maneuvers")
POI flight (DJI's term - other manufactures do similar "maneuvers")
Spotlight flight (DJI's term - other manufactures do similar "maneuvers")

Looking at the current offerings such as Skydio's X2 with 3D mapping (imagine a bridge inspector with little drone flight time being able to determine if bolts are corroded to the point of failure). I mention Skydio but DJI, Autel etc could all do this if they chose to.

I'm not sure what the future holds but I'm sure I will continue to be amazed.

Happy 2022 to all.

 

[norsehabanero]

i use litchi for a weekly project inspection flys the same route each week it is great

 

[Etdronehome]

i use litchi for a weekly project inspection flys the same route each week it is great

I’m not familiar with litchi but I assume this would provide photos from identical positions so you could do something like a Timelapse to measure progress.
Like I said - amazing

 

[vindibona1]

Litchi is amazing. Not only does it have autonomous flight, but can do VR as well if you have a compatible drone. Here is what is compatible today plus the link to their website.

Litchi is compatible with: Mavic Mini 1, Mavic Air 2, Mavic 2 (Zoom/Pro), Mavic (Air/Pro), Phantom 4 (Standard/Advanced/Pro/ProV2), Phantom 3 (Standard/4K/Advanced/Professional), Inspire 1 (X3/Z3/Pro/RAW), Inspire 2 and Spark. Litchi is *not* yet compatible with: Mini 2, Mini SE, Air 2S, Mavic 3. We will add support for these drones as soon as DJI adds support for them in the DJI SDK.

Litchi Website Help link

 

[Etdronehome]

I’m not sure if I’m highjacking my own thread but I just found this:

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The absolute opposite of autonomous flight!

 

[Don Testme]

I’m not sure if I’m highjacking my own thread but I just found this:

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The absolute opposite of autonomous flight!

That is insane speed. Wow! The drone flies more like a plane. It flies at almost a 90 degree angle. Looks like a plane with 4 props.

 

[Etdronehome]

It didn’t auto land!

Gotta be out of your mind to hand catch that thing!

 

[Defens]

It didn’t auto land!

Gotta be out of your mind to hand catch that thing!

Looks like a flying food processor!

 

[dan.utinske]

I’m not familiar with litchi but I assume this would provide photos from identical positions so you could do something like a Timelapse to measure progress.
Like I said - amazing

Litchi is sweet software package that you can do route planning prior to loading into your drone. I launch the app after taking off and climbing to @ 30's for precision RTH. The route has way-points and points of interest that I determine ahead of time when I establish the route. I'm limited to VLOS unfortunately but Litchi is capable of so much more. Once launched I track the drone using binoculars to maintain VLOS until it gets within easy visual range. I never cease at how accurate the track is and amazed that once I hit "go" everything happens from that point on without control input from me unless I want to interrupt the "mission"! It is a hoot..

 

[Etdronehome]

Litchi is sweet software package that you can do route planning prior to loading into your drone. I launch the app after taking off and climbing to @ 30's for precision RTH. The route has way-points and points of interest that I determine ahead of time when I establish the route. I'm limited to VLOS unfortunately but Litchi is capable of so much more. Once launched I track the drone using binoculars to maintain VLOS until it gets within easy visual range. I never cease at how accurate the track is and amazed that once I hit "go" everything happens from that point on without control input from me unless I want to interrupt the "mission"! It is a hoot..

Yes that certainly fits my definition of autonomous flight.

Take something that might be tedious and/or challenging to fly manually with repeatable precision and turn it into a “hoot”.

 

[Zbip57]

I'm interested in how others define this term and what the future might look like for us. [Autonomous Flight]

In Canada it is defined in section 900.01 of the regulations as:

"autonomous means, in respect of a remotely piloted aircraft system, that the system is not designed to allow pilot intervention in the management of a flight."

And section 901.32 forbids autonomous flight as:

"901.32 No pilot shall operate an autonomous remotely piloted aircraft system or any other remotely piloted aircraft system for which they are unable to take immediate control of the aircraft."

Automated flights, such as pre-programmed Litchi missions, are allowed so long as you are able to monitor the safe conduct of the flight and can cancel the mission to resume manual control whenever needed. But Litchi missions beyond the range of your control signal would not normally be permitted. You would likely require a full SFOC with extensive documentation demonstrating such a flight could be conducted safely.

I raised this question somewhere in another thread. Automated flight conditions, like auto-takeoff and RTH, are always allowed as long as you are able to intervene if something goes wrong. But an automated RTH automatically becomes an autonomous flight upon loss of control signal where you are unable to intervene, therefor not legal.

That makes sense though. If you turn off your controller to force a RTH, you can always turn it back on to resume control. It's not immediate though, as it takes a few seconds to reconnect. But if you've flown your drone too far out of sight behind a hillside or behind a tall apartment building, thereby losing control signal, that's negligent pilot error.

 

[Etdronehome]

@Zbip57

How about combining Merriam-Webster definitions of Autonomous AND Flight

Autonomous:
existing or acting separately from other things or people

Flight:
a selection of alcoholic drinks (such as wines, beers, or whiskeys) for tasting as a group

Sounds like me when I can’t go out and fly my drone due to bad weather!!

Just kidding of course.

Thank you for posting that. I didn’t realize Canadian law had reached that level of definition.

 

[dan.utinske]

In Canada it is defined in section 900.01 of the regulations as:

"autonomous means, in respect of a remotely piloted aircraft system, that the system is not designed to allow pilot intervention in the management of a flight."

And section 901.32 forbids autonomous flight as:

"901.32 No pilot shall operate an autonomous remotely piloted aircraft system or any other remotely piloted aircraft system for which they are unable to take immediate control of the aircraft."

Automated flights, such as pre-programmed Litchi missions, are allowed so long as you are able to monitor the safe conduct of the flight and can cancel the mission to resume manual control whenever needed. But Litchi missions beyond the range of your control signal would not normally be permitted. You would likely require a full SFOC with extensive documentation demonstrating such a flight could be conducted safely.

I raised this question somewhere in another thread. Automated flight conditions, like auto-takeoff and RTH, are always allowed as long as you are able to intervene if something goes wrong. But an automated RTH automatically becomes an autonomous flight upon loss of control signal where you are unable to intervene, therefor not legal.

That makes sense though. If you turn off your controller to force a RTH, you can always turn it back on to resume control. It's not immediate though, as it takes a few seconds to reconnect. But if you've flown your drone too far out of sight behind a hillside or behind a tall apartment building, thereby losing control signal, that's negligent pilot error.

Litchi you can interrupt the autonomous flight, necessary for any number of reasons. The flight uninterrupted is autonomous otherwise.

 

[Denkem]

In Canada it is defined in section 900.01 of the regulations as:

"autonomous means, in respect of a remotely piloted aircraft system, that the system is not designed to allow pilot intervention in the management of a flight."

And section 901.32 forbids autonomous flight as:

"901.32 No pilot shall operate an autonomous remotely piloted aircraft system or any other remotely piloted aircraft system for which they are unable to take immediate control of the aircraft."

Automated flights, such as pre-programmed Litchi missions, are allowed so long as you are able to monitor the safe conduct of the flight and can cancel the mission to resume manual control whenever needed. But Litchi missions beyond the range of your control signal would not normally be permitted. You would likely require a full SFOC with extensive documentation demonstrating such a flight could be conducted safely.

I raised this question somewhere in another thread. Automated flight conditions, like auto-takeoff and RTH, are always allowed as long as you are able to intervene if something goes wrong. But an automated RTH automatically becomes an autonomous flight upon loss of control signal where you are unable to intervene, therefor not legal.

That makes sense though. If you turn off your controller to force a RTH, you can always turn it back on to resume control. It's not immediate though, as it takes a few seconds to reconnect. But if you've flown your drone too far out of sight behind a hillside or behind a tall apartment building, thereby losing control signal, that's negligent pilot error.

All auto flight software I’ve used has the basic ability to intervene. Loss of control would suggest you’re flying BLOS.

 

[Zbip57]

All auto flight software I’ve used has the basic ability to intervene. Loss of control would suggest you’re flying BLOS.

Exactly.

As long as you have the capable to immediately intervene in the automated portion of the flight, then it's not considered "autonomous" by the Canadian definition. Any sort of hands-off auto-pilot mechanism is okay, as long as you can always over-ride it to take back control.

It's only considered "autonomous" if you have no capability to interrupt the flight.

You program the mission, push go, and then for whatever reason, you can't stop it once it's sent on its way. That's what our regulation defines as autonomous.

 

[norsehabanero]

I’m not familiar with litchi but I assume this would provide photos from identical positions so you could do something like a Timelapse to measure progress.
Like I said - amazing

yes