DroneLink for MM changes everything

[KiloMeater]

I continue tests with planned missions

I found the path with waypoints function to be excellent ... you can draw a nice curved path with focus fixed on a point of interest
It is also nice to have a straight line with the camera facing at a different angle compared to the flight vector... this worked well for me
360 photo mode worked also well, I need to stitch them and see what will come out ;-)

lets go now to the not so good news

-where is the flight log? if I want to check the log after flight, how can I achieve that ...?
UPDATE--> so there is integration with AirData after all... I managed to connect it
some data seem to be passed on to AirData but not all the usual details you get from DJI app

-the orbit video footage was not as good as I expected.... it seems to me that the drone is actually following a polygon path rather than a perfect circle and this is why in the video you dont have the smoothness needed but small increments ...
here is a video that demonstrates this (ignore color and video settings, its a test video)

perhaps if I further decrease the speed the result would be better... or maybe if the radius is further increased (I tried tight circles with 15 m radius)

 

[RogerDH]

I continue tests with planned missions

I found the path with waypoints function to be excellent ... you can draw a nice curved path with focus fixed on a point of interest
It is also nice to have a straight line with the camera facing at a different angle compared to the flight vector... this worked well for me
360 photo mode worked also well, I need to stitch them and see what will come out ;-)

lets go now to the not so good news

-where is the flight log? if I want to check the log after flight, how can I achieve that ...?
UPDATE--> so there is integration with AirData after all... I managed to connect it
some data seem to be passed on to AirData but not all the usual details you get from DJI app

-the orbit video footage was not as good as I expected.... it seems to me that the drone is actually following a polygon path rather than a perfect circle and this is why in the video you dont have the smoothness needed but small increments ...
here is a video that demonstrates this (ignore color and video settings, its a test video)

perhaps if I further decrease the speed the result would be better... or maybe if the radius is further increased (I tried tight circles with 15 m radius)

It sort of looks to me like the gimbal is doing that, rather than an irregular path, so yeah, maybe a bigger radius will work better. It looks like it may be too windy here today for me to do any testing.

 

[LifesShort]

I continue tests with planned missions

I found the path with waypoints function to be excellent ... you can draw a nice curved path with focus fixed on a point of interest
It is also nice to have a straight line with the camera facing at a different angle compared to the flight vector... this worked well for me
360 photo mode worked also well, I need to stitch them and see what will come out ;-)

lets go now to the not so good news

-where is the flight log? if I want to check the log after flight, how can I achieve that ...?
UPDATE--> so there is integration with AirData after all... I managed to connect it
some data seem to be passed on to AirData but not all the usual details you get from DJI app

-the orbit video footage was not as good as I expected.... it seems to me that the drone is actually following a polygon path rather than a perfect circle and this is why in the video you dont have the smoothness needed but small increments ...
here is a video that demonstrates this (ignore color and video settings, its a test video)

perhaps if I further decrease the speed the result would be better... or maybe if the radius is further increased (I tried tight circles with 15 m radius)

What is your POI? All I see is grass and dirt with very little contrast. I wonder if it would have done better if you were actually circling an object like a tree, building, etc.

 

[RogerDH]

What is your POI? All I see is grass and dirt with very little contrast. I wonder if it would have done better if you were actually circling an object like a tree, building, etc.

It doesn't use visual tracking; it's circling a GPS point.

 

[douglas_in_philly]

The version that supports the Mini is not yet on the store sites -- you have to download it from dronelink.com. When you go to the Get Started page, click on the three-bar menu icon and the dropdown will show Native Apps. When you click that, it'll pop up links to the App Store and Play, but when you click one of those it will tell you to download and install directly from their site instead.

When I did as you described (click on 3 bars on "Get Started" page, then click on "Native Apps," then click on "App Store" button/link, it doesn't say anything about installing directly from the DroneLink site. It takes me to a page that displays this at the top:





In the iOS App Store, the available version is 1.6.2. which is the same version that's shown on the web page from which I took the above screenshot. Is that not the version I want?

Thanks!

Doug

 

[douglas_in_philly]

I also just want to add that today is the first time I've heard of DroneLink (or maybe I saw its name and glossed over it). I got my Mavic Mini last December, and have absolutely loved it. Probably the two main features that I wish it had are:

"Follow Me" mode

and

Planned/Waypoint Flights

It would appear that DroneLink addresses that second one.

I'm totally excited about this!!!!!!

 

[RogerDH]

When I did as you described (click on 3 bars on "Get Started" page, then click on "Native Apps," then click on "App Store" button/link, it doesn't say anything about installing directly from the DroneLink site. It takes me to a page that displays this at the top:

View attachment 109359



In the iOS App Store, the available version is 1.6.2. which is the same version that's shown on the web page from which I took the above screenshot. Is that not the version I want?

Thanks!

Doug

Sorry, don't know -- Android here, and it just downloaded the installable app. Maybe check their forum.

 

[KiloMeater]

It doesn't use visual tracking; it's circling a GPS point.

Exactly, it's a random orbit I selected via the DroneLink. As it's GPS driven, there does not have to be a subject.

I did a big curved path with a POI serving as focus point, that was somewhat smoother

 

[RogerDH]

Exactly, it's a random orbit I selected via the DroneLink. As it's GPS driven, there does not have to be a subject.

I did a big curved path with a POI serving as focus point, that was somewhat smoother

Well, I've seen sample videos of it running on other DJI drones that looked pretty smooth, so hopefully it's a correctable problem.

 

[KiloMeater]

I hope so too
For the time being it does not allow for channel selection , so maybe I had strong interference nearby... but unless there is soon a way to select a less crowded channel how can one test...

 

[reh4686]

I just competed successfully my first mission using DroneLink on Android
A simple A to B travel followed by a tight orbit of 1.5m radius
The mission was designed on my desktop PC

For me now sky is the limit

We're you using the Mavic Mini?

 

[KiloMeater]

Yes, i am using a MM

 

[MavicPilotGermany]

Very nice, is the mission stored on the drone or you need a good connection link to the remote controller? I`m thinking about buying the app for my mini too =)

 

[RogerDH]

Very nice, is the mission stored on the drone or you need a good connection link to the remote controller? I`m thinking about buying the app for my mini too =)

It is not stored on the Mini, which is why the Litchi implementation won't work. If you lose connection, it will do whatever default action you have set: RTH, hover, or land. But IMO, having a drone continue a mission after it's lost connection is a bad idea, not to mention illegal. You need to monitor the flight and be ready to abort.

 

[MavicPilotGermany]

Thanks for your answer. I buy dronelink later and try it

It is not stored on the Mini, which is why the Litchi implementation won't work. If you lose connection, it will do whatever default action you have set: RTH, hover, or land. But IMO, having a drone continue a mission after it's lost connection is a bad idea, not to mention illegal. You need to monitor the flight and be ready to abort.

 

[KiloMeater]

I have extensively tested DroneLink with my MM since yesterday
As of today I am not that excited as yesterday as I now see clearly Limitations of this model

The app is sending constantly commands to the drone, you can tell that by the sound it does when it moves as it is a high frequency pinging even when flying straight line steadily instead of a steady humming .
In straight Lines you will not notice anything besides maybe the sound
But when curved paths are followed things get tricky
It can not really follow a perfect circle but given a slow angular speed and a big enough radius it is close enough.
Having said that I tried a very slow big orbit (5 km/sec for a 30-40 m radius orbit). The results are ok, but not the silky smooth quality you get from the DJI quickshot .
Same in any curved path , when the curvature increases you can expect jerkiness .

I would very much like to be proven wrong and Someone to indicate some better settings but I now believe this is the limitation of DroneLink and it can not be done better when the commands are constantly being send .
I do not regret getting the app it still has a lot of use. Especially when it comes to photos the aforementioned limitation is irrelevant and you can get all the benefits

 

[RogerDH]

I have extensively tested DroneLink with my MM since yesterday
As of today I am not that excited as yesterday as I now see clearly Limitations of this model
...

What device are you using?.

 

[KiloMeater]

I am using a Samsung S8+

Good point , the mobile processing power should also be factored in . I had not considered my phone as not powerful enough for this function but I would be interested to see results from any newer top line mobile devices.

I have an iPhone 11 available but unfortunately I have purchased the app once for android platform already and I can not transfer it.

 

[RogerDH]

I am using a Samsung S8+

Good point , the mobile processing power should also be factored in . I had not considered my phone as not powerful enough for this function but I would be interested to see results from any newer top line mobile devices.

Ouch, that's what I'm using too -- haven't had any real incentive to upgrade. It looks like I'll be able to do some testing tomorrow.

 

[KiloMeater]

Let us know if you can tell any difference in the sound when flying around with the app
Definitely record an orbit focusing on video smoothness and let us know your assessment of it