DJI Air 3 compatibility

[slup]

is there any software to do waypoint planning for DJI Air 3

Nothing that I know of... DJI haven't released the SDK so mainly impossible for 3:rd parties to support the Air 3. Neither have I seen anything computer based from DJI that can assist in doing missions...

 

[Mineslab]

OK thanks. I really need help in this

 

[wco81]

Now they're discounting Mini 3 Pro 20% off as well.

So that is definitely clearing inventories of Mini 3 Pro, since the Mini 4 Pro has been out for awhile.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

is there any software to do waypoint planning for DJI Air 3

Litchi's affordable and easy-to-use $25 package is not directly compatible with the Air 3, HOWEVER, there is a workaround solution that converts saved Litchi waypoint flight plans into the DJI Fly format that can be executed as autonomous waypoint flights for the Air 3 and Mavic 3 family of drones.

Litchi Waypoint Mission to DJI Fly Waypoint Mission Converter

Wes Barris

www.litchiutilities.com

The converter is available for free thanks to its creator Wes Barris. There are a few steps involved to complete that conversion process but it does allow a drone operator to easily convert existing Ltichi waypoint missions for use in DJI Fly without having to assign those waypoints from scratch within DJI Fly's waypoint feature.

 

[wco81]

How would you set the waypoints in Lichti if it can't control Air 3 in the first place?

Fly it on older drone to save the Lichti way points, convert them for the Air 3 and then fly them in the Air 3?

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

How would you set the waypoints in Lichti if it can't control Air 3 in the first place?

Fly it on older drone to save the Lichti way points, convert them for the Air 3 and then fly them in the Air 3?

The drone will be flown autonomously in DJI Fly and NOT in Litchi. Litchi only comes into the picture because its user interface is much easier and more intuitive than DJI FLY's native waypoint feature.

The beauty of using Litchi in this way is that the FREE Litchi Mission Hub can be used to create and cloud-save unlimited numbers of flight plans on your desktop or laptop without powering up the Air 3 controller or drone. Those saved flight plans can then be selectively converted to DJI FLY waypoint format on the mobile device used for flying, where the flight plans would be saved in DJI FLY's files, thanks to the FREE utility created by Wes Barris that I linked a couple of posts above.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

How would you set the waypoints in Lichti if it can't control Air 3 in the first place?

Fly it on older drone to save the Lichti way points, convert them for the Air 3 and then fly them in the Air 3?

At the feisty age of 124, your ability to safely operate a drone is testimony to your youthful reflexes, good wine, and good women, Wco81. Perhaps inspired by my observation trending here today, DJI might look you up to star in a TV ad campaign celebrating the broad appeal of their product line cutting across all generations.

The other possibility is of course that like me, you'd typed in the wrong number as your birthdate back when you joined this forum but then were subsequently unable to correct your chuckle-inducing error. The least likely scenario is that time travel occurred at some point in which case all bets are off. God bless The Known Universe.

 

[Droning on and on...]

How would you set the waypoints in Lichti if it can't control Air 3 in the first place?

The discussion of Litchi mission planning and conversion is an offline process. The waypoints are specified on a map using an internet browser, not by interactively flying to each waypoint and adding it to a mission being created this way. To use the Litchi Mission Hub on line, you will need to purchase Litchi, even if you can't use it with your Air 3.

If you want to create a waypoint mission on the Air 3 interactively, you can do this directly in Fly using the built-in feature. And really, it's not some obscure, difficult to understand interface or procedure. Click a button at the waypoint. That's it.

 

[wco81]

So pick coordinates on a map, as well as altitude, assume there aren’t obstacles?

 

[Droning on and on...]

So pick coordinates on a map, as well as altitude, assume there aren’t obstacles?

Nominally, yes.

However, you can view the mission in Google Earth and get a rough 3D idea of obstacles, sufficient if you're not trying to fly to close to them.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

The discussion of Litchi mission planning and conversion is an offline process. The waypoints are specified on a map using an internet browser, not by interactively flying to each waypoint and adding it to a mission being created this way. To use the Litchi Mission Hub on line, you will need to purchase Litchi, even if you can't use it with your Air 3.

If you want to create a waypoint mission on the Air 3 interactively, you can do this directly in Fly using the built-in feature. And really, it's not some obscure, difficult to understand interface or procedure. Click a button at the waypoint. That's it.

A minor point of correction is that the Litchi Mission Hub is free to use for the creation and saving of waypoint missions on a desktop or laptop, such that it is only when Litchi is to be used for flying a drone that the $25 Litchi app will need to be purchased for the mobile device that will be used for flying the drone.

For the purpose of creating and saving Litchi waypoint flight plans that will be converted to a format compatible with DJI Fly's waypoint feature, purchasing the Litchi app will not be necessary. I own a $25 paid license for an IOS copy of Litchi, and I use it exclusively for my small fleet of older DJI Go4 and DJI Go drones when they fly waypoint missions, which is the primary use to which those drones are deployed.

That said, it must be noted that since DJI has not released an 'unlocked" SDK for the Air 3 that would enable Litchi app subscribers to fly the Air 3 using Litchi alone (without DJI Fly), the next best thing is to use the Litchi-to-DJI Fly waypoint conversion utility generously offered for free thus far by its creator Wes Barris. This ingenious waypoint converter will ONLY work AFTER a compatible drone such as the Air 3 or Mavic 3 family has been linked to one's copy of DJI Fly.

Attempting to use the converter BEFORE any waypoint-capable drone has been linked to DJI Fly will not work as the DJI Fly waypoint icon will ONLY appear for the likes of the Mavic 3, Air 3, and other professional-level DJI drones, all of which are capable of completing waypoint missions even if signal connectivity to the RC controller is lost at any point during the flight.

 

[wco81]

Can the Lichti app even work on drones newer than the Air 2S?

I thought DJI stopped releasing the SDK.

Sales of the Lichti app must have fallen off a cliff a couple of years ago?

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Can the Lichti app even work on drones newer than the Air 2S?

I thought DJI stopped releasing the SDK.

Sales of the Lichti app must have fallen off a cliff a couple of years ago?

The Litchi developers personally respond to customer inquiries in their informative discussion forum which is also frequented by the creator of several time-saving Litchi utilities - Wes Barris. The only questions yet to be succinctly addressed by the regulars at the Litchi forum are those questions that are yet to be asked haha.

Litchi Forum

Forum to discuss the Litchi for DJI drones app

forum.flylitchi.com

With utter reliability, Litchi's FREE waypoint creation facility called the Litchi Mission Hub, auto-linked to the $25 copy of the Litchi app on my old iPad Mini, has enabled my modest fleet of older DJI drones to cover several thousand uneventful miles aloft flying autonomous waypoint missions that currently stretch out to well over 12 miles round-trip per single battery charge thanks to after-market extra-range batteries.

Litchi's one-time $25 single-platform license fee is far and away the most worthwhile drone-related purchase this DJI-Go and DJI-GO4 drone collector has ever made bar none, and no, I am not affiliated with the creators of Litchi. Apologies for this minor digression. Normal transmission is about to resume...

 

[Droning on and on...]

Can the Lichti app even work on drones newer than the Air 2S?

Yes, a Virtual Stick SDK for the Mini 3 Pro was released, and Litchi Pilot works with that model.

IMO, if you're a Litchi user, don't touch Litchi Pilot. You will stomp on your drone in frustration.

Upgrade yourself to a Mini 4 Pro with built-in autonomous waypoint feature.