DJI Mavic Active Track useless for skiing :/

newschoolskier · Jan 2, 2017

Used my nearly brand new iPhone 7 so it should work with barometric pressure... The thing with 15m GPS accuracy is that on my second try on the map the relative movement was clearly visible but the Mavic didn't move an inch...

I didn't move the stick at all. I went backcountry to the flat area you see in the video because i was scared that uncontrollable things happen...but I still had to do an emergency stop as you see in the last seconds of the video!

appyarry · Jan 2, 2017

I was looking forward to taking the Mavic (if it ever turns up) to Kitz in Feb, I did a bit of research and read that Austria has the strictest rules on Drones and you can only fly if you have an Austrian Pilots licence.
Or did I misunderstand the rules? I really want to take it but on the flip side having waited and still waiting I don't want it taken away again straight away!

SteveCA · Jan 2, 2017

newschoolskier said:
Mattman that's because we don't have much snow at the moment here in Austria but more is on the way

That's true! Maybe the next Karma will be a game-changer, then GoPro would be interesting again

Im pretty sure that DJI will solve this problem long before GoPro figures it out lol...

newschoolskier · Jan 2, 2017

FlashGJ said:
Just reread your post and realized that you stated that you got the message "GPS only 15m accuracy", so your device must not have barometric pressure. I don't think 15m accuracy is good enough, unless you can fly the Mavic high enough to keep it out of danger.

appyarry said:
I was looking forward to taking the Mavic (if it ever turns up) to Kitz in Feb, I did a bit of research and read that Austria has the strictest rules on Drones and you can only fly if you have an Austrian Pilots licence.
Or did I misunderstand the rules? I really want to take it but on the flip side having waited and still waiting I don't want it taken away again straight away!

Yes that's unfortunately true. You need a permission from the ATC "Austro Control" since 2014. It costs about 300 € but you don't need a pilot licence. With the Mavic you just get the permission for areas without buildings, people... since it doesn't have double safety features.

appyarry · Jan 2, 2017

okay, so it is possible then, I go a couple of times a year so it could be worth the 300!!! is it something that can be applied for online?
Sorry for the questions but you seem to know what your talking about!

newschoolskier · Jan 2, 2017

appyarry said:
okay, so it is possible then, I go a couple of times a year so it could be worth the 300!!! is it something that can be applied for online?
Sorry for the questions but you seem to know what your talking about!

Will tell you everything via PM it's easier

appyarry · Jan 2, 2017

newschoolskier said:
Will tell you everything via PM it's easier

thanks

FlashGJ · Jan 2, 2017

newschoolskier said:
Used my nearly brand new iPhone 7 so it should work with barometric pressure... The thing with 15m GPS accuracy is that on my second try on the map the relative movement was clearly visible but the Mavic didn't move an inch...

I didn't move the stick at all. I went backcountry to the flat area you see in the video because i was scared that uncontrollable things happen...but I still had to do an emergency stop as you see in the last seconds of the video!

iPhone 7 does have barometric pressure so something else must be going on to cause the erratic behavior. I hope you figure it out because I really want to be able to use, and trust this feature also. My weather will not allow me to test it for the next week but once it clears up, I will be doing further testing and post my findings and experiences as soon as I get the chance. Hopefully you will also continue to share your findings, if you're not too afraid to try it again.

newschoolskier · Jan 3, 2017

My experiences with AUTOPILOT today:

Tracking on an open environment worked better because of 5m GPS accuracy, but still the Mavic passed by when suddenly stopping and returned very delayed (like an elastic rubber band).

One success: I eventually figured out that the Camera tilt can be controlled with the option "Focus Strategy - Joystick" mode, because it was totally wrong in "Focus Strategy - Subject" mode (as seen in the video below).

Another problem in comparison to DJI Active Track is that the angle of the camera ("Bearing") was fixed to one direction, I haven't figured out yet how to change it, that the Mavic follows your moving direction dynamically (yes, I tried the option "Use Device Heading").

FlashGJ · Jan 3, 2017

newschoolskier said:
My experiences with AUTOPILOT today:

Tracking on an open environment worked better because of 5m GPS accuracy, but still the Mavic passed by when suddenly stopping and returned very delayed (like an elastic rubber band).

One success: I eventually figured out that the Camera tilt can be controlled with the option "Focus Strategy - Joystick" mode, because it was totally wrong in "Focus Strategy - Subject" mode (as seen in the video below).

Another problem in comparison to DJI Active Track is that the angle of the camera ("Bearing") was fixed to one direction, I haven't figured out yet how to change it, that the Mavic follows your moving direction dynamically (yes, I tried the option "Use Device Heading").

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At least better than your first experience. From your video it looks like you had Bearing set on Course-Behind and Focus Strategy set to Subject-Leader, is that correct? With those settings it should be adjusting the gimbal to keep focus on the controller (Leader), not sure why it didn't..... It will have difficulty following when making abrupt changes in direction, especially when following at a fairly close distance. But DJI Active Track will also loose you when making abrupt changes in direction and leaving the screen. In fact, if Active Track looses you, it will not find you again unless you happen to reenter into the screen shot, at least Autopilot will turn and find you again on its own since it doesn't relies on visual contact.

I can hardly wait for better weather so that I can continue testing. When I do, hopefully I can add to your findings and see if in fact it can be used for skiing and biking.

Thanks for posting your results!!

newschoolskier · Jan 3, 2017

FlashGJ said:
At least better than your first experience. From your video it looks like you had Bearing set on Course-Behind and Focus Strategy set to Subject-Leader, is that correct? With those settings it should be adjusting the gimbal to keep focus on the controller (Leader), not sure why it didn't..... It will have difficulty following when making abrupt changes in direction, especially when following at a fairly close distance. But DJI Active Track will also loose you when making abrupt changes in direction and leaving the screen. In fact, if Active Track looses you, it will not find you again unless you happen to reenter into the screen shot, at least Autopilot will turn and find you again on its own since it doesn't relies on visual contact.

I can hardly wait for better weather so that I can continue testing. When I do, hopefully I can add to your findings and see if in fact it can be used for skiing and biking.

Thanks for posting your results!!

Yes exactly, when I tried the Subject-Leader setting the gimbal was pointing to much downwards, so I wasn't in focus. I haven't found an option to adjust this (just distance, height...)
Yeah you're right optical tracking is pretty useless for skiing because of the risk of losing you...
Looking forward for your results as well! And be careful, always ready for disengage Autopilot! I nearly had a crash with DJI Active Track and a tree on the side of my path, the Pause button is helpful

Grey Wolf · Jan 7, 2017

newschoolskier said:
I'm sad... today I was trying to use the active track feature a couple of times for skiing. There a 2 big issues with the most recent firmware:

1.) It loses the subject=skier very often

2.) It can't descent while using active track, it just tries to follow the subject horizontally which doesn't work of course if you're skiing downhills.

I hope there will be a solution using tracking together with all downhill sports in future firmware updates!

Happy new year!

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Use the app FPV Camera. It has an incline feature which compensates for hills.
I'm just amazed at the number of folks on these forums who know nothing about this app and only talk about Autopilot and Litchi.
FPV Canera folks have to market their app better!

telecam · Jan 7, 2017

Is FPV Camera a better choice than Autopilot?

MontanaMavic · Jan 7, 2017

pbasinger said:
Yeah, Active track leaves a lot to be desired. It will change altitude with the subject, but it is really slow to react and has pretty limited uses in action sports stuff.

I believe you have to keep it within 50 meters in order for it to flow the terrain and stay with you. That sucks, I know. I hope DJI pulls their head out of their azz and fix their software.

FlashGJ · Jan 7, 2017

Grey Wolf said:
Use the app FPV Camera. It has an incline feature which compensates for hills.
I'm just amazed at the number of folks on these forums who know nothing about this app and only talk about Autopilot and Litchi.
FPV Canera folks have to market their app better!

I don't see that FPV camera has a follow mode. Am I missing something?

BlueSkies · Jan 9, 2017

newschoolskier said:
I'm sad... today I was trying to use the active track feature a couple of times for skiing. There a 2 big issues with the most recent firmware:

1.) It loses the subject=skier very often

2.) It can't descent while using active track, it just tries to follow the subject horizontally which doesn't work of course if you're skiing downhills.

I hope there will be a solution using tracking together with all downhill sports in future firmware updates!

Happy new year!

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Great video and test. Thanks for letting us know. I was going to try it in 2 weeks.

FlashGJ · Jan 18, 2017

newschoolskier said:
Yes exactly, when I tried the Subject-Leader setting the gimbal was pointing to much downwards, so I wasn't in focus. I haven't found an option to adjust this (just distance, height...)
Yeah you're right optical tracking is pretty useless for skiing because of the risk of losing you...
Looking forward for your results as well! And be careful, always ready for disengage Autopilot! I nearly had a crash with DJI Active Track and a tree on the side of my path, the Pause button is helpful

Finally had a chance to play with Autopilot's Follow mode. I too had very mixed results. With it set to focus on the controller and follow in "front", the MP would swing around like it couldn't figure out exactly where the controller was. It does seem to be an issue with a poor GPS signal on my iPhone 7. Even though the MP had 18 gps and a strong signal, I had a message saying the iPhone had a weak gps signal. Not sure why the MP had a strong signal but my phone didn't.

I am going to try and reset my phone and recalibrate the compass before I use Autopilot the next time to see if I get better results. So my experience was very similar to yours.

PeterMartin · Mar 29, 2017

Hi everyone, I recently purchased the Mavic to take skiing in a few months. I'm still getting my head around all the functions and learning to fly. I just realised reading the forums that it will not descend downhill (decrease altitude) in track mode. Very annoying!! Is there a way to contact DJI to find out if this function can be added via an update? I tried contacting them via the online chat but it was pretty hopeless and I really didn't get a satisfactory answer.

Grey Wolf · Mar 29, 2017

You could always try skiing uphill instead!
Active track might work then.

Ridermarra · Mar 31, 2017

Hi everybody,

I have filmed skiing this last weekend with mixed autopilot follow and active track. The results are pretty good and you can check them in the video:
The parts with single skier/snowboarder have been filmed with active track, the part with 4 skiers going togheter has been done with autopilot following me the front skier. I do not know why at some point it lost me but the footage is neat. I'll do another test the coming weekend.

Ciao