DJI announcing Flysafe-AirSense (ADS-B) What do you guys think?

[Gizmo]

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For those of you that don't know what ADS-B is let me save you some time:

"Automatic dependent surveillance—broadcast (ADS–B) is a surveillance technology in which an aircraft determines its position via satellite navigation and periodically broadcasts it, enabling it to be tracked. The information can be received by air traffic control ground stations as a replacement for secondary surveillance radar, as no interrogation signal is needed from the ground. It can also be received by other aircraft to provide situational awareness and allow self-separation.

ADS–B is "automatic" in that it requires no pilot or external input. It is "dependent" in that it depends on data from the aircraft's navigation system." Wikipedia

We still don't know the details, but if this lets ATC or an aircraft pilot know that I'm near, or even better if this lets me know that an aircraft (specially those pesky sightseeing helicopters or Cessnas) is approaching me at a similar altitude so that I can GTFO of there quickly is a win-win for everyone.

 

[spamgnome]

This is the right direction! The "issue" is that not all aircraft are or will be ADS-B equipped, so pilots on both sides still need to be vigilant. I'd like to see, in the future, a requirement for drones to have ADS-B out.

 

[Gizmo]

Well the video description does state that, whatever this is, will become standard on all DJI drones above 250g

 

[Former Member]

I think its just a Gizmo.

 

[runeOfRune]

Good luck with that, given how it's not mandatory in my country and hasn't seen any news coverage since 2015. So, pointless battery waster since most manned aircraft you would encounter on VLOS altitudes (pretty much anything from before 2010 or below 6 tonnes) don't have it.

I guess it would be useful for avoiding other DJI drones. ? because FPV racers and cheap toys definitely won't have that.

 

[brett8883]

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For those of you that don't know what ADS-B is let me save you some time:

"Automatic dependent surveillance—broadcast (ADS–B) is a surveillance technology in which an aircraft determines its position via satellite navigation and periodically broadcasts it, enabling it to be tracked. The information can be received by air traffic control ground stations as a replacement for secondary surveillance radar, as no interrogation signal is needed from the ground. It can also be received by other aircraft to provide situational awareness and allow self-separation.

ADS–B is "automatic" in that it requires no pilot or external input. It is "dependent" in that it depends on data from the aircraft's navigation system." Wikipedia

We still don't know the details, but if this lets ATC or an aircraft pilot know that I'm near, or even better if this lets me know that an aircraft (specially those pesky sightseeing helicopters or Cessnas) is approaching me at a similar altitude so that I can GTFO of there quickly is a win-win for everyone.

Air Sense is only a receiver so it will tell you of other aircraft in the area but won’t broadcast to the other planes. It’s very good idea but has been pointed out manned manned aircraft don't have this technology yet(why not?) so until that happens can’t feel too safe yet.

 

[Deleted member 91193]

I am not sure I understand, are there new updates to Airsense? Is it coming to non-enterprise drones?

 

[runeOfRune]

The video description says

DJI AirSense will become standard on all DJI drones above 250 grams.

So ?‍ I guess?

 

[Deleted member 91193]

Interesting .. I was told that in the future Airsense would be an option with a subscription to the service .

 

[brett8883]

Interesting .. I was told that in the future Airsense would be an option with a subscription to the service .

Well could still be the case

 

[Deleted member 91193]

I guess they are just expanding the availability , Airsense has been around for some time now.

 

[Ron49]

You can view manned aircraft that currently have ADS-B using an app called FlightRadar24. It's pretty cool to play around with. If you watch your sky and compare to the app you'll see that many small private aircraft will come into your view without showing up on the app - I think they're not required to have ADS-B Out in the US until 1/1/2020, and even then some airspace will be exempt from the requirement.

 

[Gizmo]

Yes that's what I've been using on my preflight checklist (check flightradar24 for nearby aircraft and their vectors), but would be nice to have it in-app in some way. I didn't know Airsense was old, I'm hoping it received some overhaul, or else what's the point of the video?

 

[gnirtS]

While ADS-B is useful its not currently as useful as people would expect or hope.
A lot of the traffic that is most likely to interract with drones (helicopters, light aircraft, military etc) do not send ADS-B position reports so wont be shown.
Yes the US is phasing in making it mandatory but (i) this is going to take many more years and (ii) isnt applicable to the big open world outside that.
So you'll see SOME traffic on airsense but you cant guarantee there is no conflicting traffic around that doesn;t send it.

I final word of caution for those relying on fr24 and other services, there are huge opt-out lists for those sites where any individual, company or organisation can ask to NOT have their aircraft or fleet included in the tracking so the picture you see is far from complete for 2 reasons - not everything sends ADS-B and those that do, might have opted out.
Airsense at least is hardware based so actually picking up the signals live (you can build your own for $30 and a Raspberry Pi for example) so it does at least get around the opt-out lists of internet tracking sites.

So its helpful yes but not as useful as you might think currently.

 

[dougputt]

That's awesome.. Should help collision avoidance, once all aircraft are ADS-B equipped. Except for homebuilts and ultralights.... Oh... And birds.. ?

 

[Visulante]

Good move forward and takes another risk out of flying.

 

[Loganpilot]

Will it be on the first Mavic Pro too?

 

[dawgpilot]

While ADS-B is useful its not currently as useful as people would expect or hope.
A lot of the traffic that is most likely to interract with drones (helicopters, light aircraft, military etc) do not send ADS-B position reports so wont be shown.
Yes the US is phasing in making it mandatory but (i) this is going to take many more years and (ii) isnt applicable to the big open world outside that.
So you'll see SOME traffic on airsense but you cant guarantee there is no conflicting traffic around that doesn;t send it.

ADS-B out becomes mandatory in the USA effective Jan 1, 2020, so "AirSense" might be pretty useful to have after that date.

 

[gnirtS]

ADS-B out becomes mandatory in the USA effective Jan 1, 2020, so "AirSense" might be pretty useful to have after that date.

Mandatory except for all the exceptions and delays so wont be anywhere near fully deployed.
That also means nothing for the other 95% of the planet that doesn't have it mandatory and is unlikely to do so for potentially decades.

Currently its a system that can tell you for certain if there is conflicting traffic but cannot tell you for certain that there is not. But its a hell of a lot better than relying on fr24 and others with their huge opt-out lists.

An ADS-B receiver is trivial to build anyway.

 

[Slade]

I hope it comes in a FW for the Mavic Pro.