Demonstration of the Activetrack capabilities of the MA2 with a motorcycle

[Steve F]

Here is some footage that was shot exclusively using the automated capabilities of the drone without any other people assisting. The drones controller and phone is strapped to the tank bag of my motorcycle so that I could start, stop, and make any tweaks while riding. To ease with the controls and maintain use of the touch interface of my phone, I used my open fingered mountain bike gloves.

Some notes and lessons learned:
1. On a few occasions the drone would lose track and I would have to stop and manually bring it back in and restart the acquisition. This requires glancing down on a frequent basis while riding to verify the drone is still following you
2. I found it works best with ActiveTrack in "Parallel" follow mode.
3. For the drone to properly recognize you, it is important that you bring it in fairly closely when starting out, otherwise it might complain that Activetrack only recognizes people or motor vehicles. I think my riding jacket helped with the tracking due to some large reflective patches that the drone is able to more easily identify.
4. So far, I have had to keep the speed down below 20~25 mph in order for the drone to keep up.
5. The drone does a pretty good job in following the terrain of the hills, adjusting its altitude accordingly.
6. In some limited experiments riding briefly under/past a tree, as expected the drone will lose you. It can also get confused if you pass another vehicle, including one going in the opposite direction.
7. Keep in mind when the battery gets low enough, it will try to fly back to the original home point, which after riding could be miles away. So it is important to stop the tracking before it gets to that point, otherwise you will have to quickly stop the motorcycle and abort the automatic return to home and bring it back to you manually.

 

[Tony McDrone]

Thanks for posting. I’ll need to find a location as wide open as the one you have chosen. No trees or power lines for miles.

 

[StantonZ]

7. Keep in mind when the battery gets low enough, it will try to fly back to the original home point, which after riding could be miles away. So it is important to stop the tracking before it gets to that point, otherwise you will have to quickly stop the motorcycle and abort the automatic return to home and bring it back to you manually.

Isn't it possible to turn off/disable the RTH function in the app (at least temporarily)?
Like the footage...and the TRON soundtrack (I have the special edition of that thing with all the extra tracks)!

 

[Steve F]

Isn't it possible to turn off/disable the RTH function in the app (at least temporarily)?
Like the footage...and the TRON soundtrack (I have the special edition of that thing with all the extra tracks)!

I believe it is, assuming you remember to change the setting, and change it back when you are done. I tend to lose my signal during some of my more adventurous flying and appreciate the RTH function to save my bacon.

 

[Tony McDrone]

There isn’t a way to turn off the RTH function in the app. If your destination is predetermined you could update your homepoint upon arrival. If not, then you really need to monitor your battery level as you ride.

 

[ErikBrak]

There isn’t a way to turn off the RTH function in the app. If your destination is predetermined you could update your homepoint upon arrival. If not, then you really need to monitor your battery level as you ride.

Yes, in advanced security settings you can decide what the failsafe should do. Land, hover or RTH.

 

[Tony McDrone]

Yes, in advanced security settings you can decide what the failsafe should do. Land, hover or RTH.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that feature. I actually went into the app prior to posting, but clearly did not go deep enough.

Thank you for the correction. Particularly for those that use this forum to learn...as do I.

 

[DanMan32]

Oh yeah, I forgot about that feature. I actually went into the app prior to posting, but clearly did not go deep enough.

Thank you for the correction. Particularly for those that use this forum to learn...as do I.

Actually you were right, you can't "turn off" RTH. But what you really meant to address was failsafe, where one of its three possible actions was RTH.

 

[A.O.]

Here is some footage that was shot exclusively using the automated capabilities of the drone without any other people assisting. The drones controller and phone is strapped to the tank bag of my motorcycle so that I could start, stop, and make any tweaks while riding. To ease with the controls and maintain use of the touch interface of my phone, I used my open fingered mountain bike gloves.

Some notes and lessons learned:
1. On a few occasions the drone would lose track and I would have to stop and manually bring it back in and restart the acquisition. This requires glancing down on a frequent basis while riding to verify the drone is still following you
2. I found it works best with ActiveTrack in "Parallel" follow mode.
3. For the drone to properly recognize you, it is important that you bring it in fairly closely when starting out, otherwise it might complain that Activetrack only recognizes people or motor vehicles. I think my riding jacket helped with the tracking due to some large reflective patches that the drone is able to more easily identify.
4. So far, I have had to keep the speed down below 20~25 mph in order for the drone to keep up.
5. The drone does a pretty good job in following the terrain of the hills, adjusting its altitude accordingly.
6. In some limited experiments riding briefly under/past a tree, as expected the drone will lose you. It can also get confused if you pass another vehicle, including one going in the opposite direction.
7. Keep in mind when the battery gets low enough, it will try to fly back to the original home point, which after riding could be miles away. So it is important to stop the tracking before it gets to that point, otherwise you will have to quickly stop the motorcycle and abort the automatic return to home and bring it back to you manually.

Very nice! Where I am I'm never too far from any trees so I have not tried any of the "auto fly" options.. someday I will.
I enjoyed the video and what is possible.

 

[MavicAir2Hal]

Here is some footage that was shot exclusively using the automated capabilities of the drone without any other people assisting. The drones controller and phone is strapped to the tank bag of my motorcycle so that I could start, stop, and make any tweaks while riding. To ease with the controls and maintain use of the touch interface of my phone, I used my open fingered mountain bike gloves.

Some notes and lessons learned:
1. On a few occasions the drone would lose track and I would have to stop and manually bring it back in and restart the acquisition. This requires glancing down on a frequent basis while riding to verify the drone is still following you
2. I found it works best with ActiveTrack in "Parallel" follow mode.
3. For the drone to properly recognize you, it is important that you bring it in fairly closely when starting out, otherwise it might complain that Activetrack only recognizes people or motor vehicles. I think my riding jacket helped with the tracking due to some large reflective patches that the drone is able to more easily identify.
4. So far, I have had to keep the speed down below 20~25 mph in order for the drone to keep up.
5. The drone does a pretty good job in following the terrain of the hills, adjusting its altitude accordingly.
6. In some limited experiments riding briefly under/past a tree, as expected the drone will lose you. It can also get confused if you pass another vehicle, including one going in the opposite direction.
7. Keep in mind when the battery gets low enough, it will try to fly back to the original home point, which after riding could be miles away. So it is important to stop the tracking before it gets to that point, otherwise you will have to quickly stop the motorcycle and abort the automatic return to home and bring it back to you manually.

Thats pretty cool on the tracking. Was wondering if you had filters on the drone as maybe it was a bit dark to recognize you on Active Track. Also you can reset the RTH point so that you can fly longer and the drone doesn't think it has a long way to get back where you originally started.

 

[Steve F]

Thats pretty cool on the tracking. Was wondering if you had filters on the drone as maybe it was a bit dark to recognize you on Active Track. Also you can reset the RTH point so that you can fly longer and the drone doesn't think it has a long way to get back where you originally started.

Thanks. I was using a PGYTech polarizer. I have used the home point reset function before, but it is not so practical to do while riding at the same time, so you have to stop the bike to make that change, and then proceed on. But it certainly is a better option if you want to continue on with your video work without the drone complaining that it needs to return home now.

 

[MavicAir2Hal]

Exactly and I hate it when my drone complains! She has made me walk for miles recovering her when I cancel the RTH. Paying me back I guess! Thankful for the find my drone feature.

 

[kendrex]

Isn't there also an option to have the drone return to the remote controller's current location?

 

[Hafa adai flyer]

this is really cool! Thanks for posting! The music was nice too....nice wide open feel to it.

 

[MOC168]

Very nice! Thanks for posting this. That soundtrack and scenery made that ride look SO important! Haha good job

 

[DanMan32]

Isn't there also an option to have the drone return to the remote controller's current location?

Yes, you can reset the HP to the remote location, as long as the app sees the phone's GPS.

 

[Steve F]

Very nice! Thanks for posting this. That soundtrack and scenery made that ride look SO important! Haha good job

Thanks. I figure it will make a good ending for one of my future adventure motorcycle videos (Motorcycle Corner - Stephen Fischer Photography).

 

[7869hodgy]

Here is my first experience of Active Track. Mixed results....

 

[Gealousy]

Here is my first experience of Active Track. Mixed results....

Dang how'd it fair after the multiple BANGs??