Is this the drone for me?

[tanukipdx]

So I have been doing a lot of research looking for a drone that can autonomously follow me as I ride my motorbike in the woods and other trails. The trails are typically wide enough for cars, but they do go through trees and other obstacles. Speeds usually range from 10-25mph through the sections.

I can't seem to really find any videos where people have the drone flying 10-15ft off the ground through the woods etc.

I am thinking that there are no videos because there obstacle avoidance maybe isn't quite where it needs to be yet? As far as I can tell, this is the best drone for the size etc, but are people shooting like this? Am I just missing the videos? Is there something else I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance!

 

[james_mav]

I think you'll end up with a crashed drone if you attempt the above scenario. The only way to do what you're proposing is to have someone controlling the flying. I think the Inspire allows someone to fly the drone & another to shoot the video at the same time so the pilot only has to worry about running into obstacles.

The Mavic could follow you in an open field but the trees are going to cause the drone to lose its lock.

 

[nismoz]

Absolutely not the right drone my friend. I know the terrain that you are talking about. Those trails are very narrow and barely good for cars. Trees are everywhere. No drones are good for what you are looking for. If you have someone, who is very good at flying drones, to control the drone then that is possible. But even then, flying slow is preferable. 25mph is still very hard to navigate through those trails.

And you have to know that in woods, where there are lots of trees, GPS signal is unpredictable. All drones need GPS signal to keep position.

Unless you want to spend $1000+ for a video shoot, which is not even guaranteed a good video, then yes, get the drone. It's possible that the drone would crash within the first couple minutes. Good luck there.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Found this vid last night looking at the bag . . . check out the video here bottom of page 0:38 if this sort of flying then has to be manual.
DroneGuard BP 250: Backpack for Mavic Pro Drone plus laptop, tablet and drone accessories such as extra batteries, tools & transmitter. | Lowepro
Can pretty much guarantee the person shooting would have been parked up nearby and flying with goggles or line of sight, very short distance set up and controlled, not filmed on the move.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Yeah typical lying ad that allows people think their mav can actually attain that type of footage autonomously.

False advertising comes to mind straight away.

Certainly gives the wrong impression.
Importantly that's not a DJI production, but the Lowepro bag advert, but still it creates expectations far above what is possible. Yet.

 

[Cut.Aussie]

Certainly not at the speeds your talking about. Things to remember are that as you go around a corner the drone tends to take a shortcut which is a jot problem if there is a tree on the inside of a corner, to avoid that the drone need to be kept very close to you so it has better chance of staying over the track etc.

Here is my Mavic following me and the dog at low altitude using Active Track even under trees.

 

[tanukipdx]

Thank you guys for the responses. This is both a bummer and a sigh of relief. Eventually there will be something that can do this, and I will be excited to pick one up.

The sigh of relief is that I can save $1100

The more I was thinking about the shot, I think the best shot will be a pole mounted camera off the back of the bike. I could also set up swiveling tripods on corners here and there. The main shot most people like is just a helmet cam, but I would like to add a bit more to the shot. Maybe some drone footage here and there will still be added, but in the ways you see on other current vids.

Thanks again!

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

@tanukipdx DJI do have some really good filming / hand held gimbal accessories too, hey are pretty good at that side of other film options too.
Take a look via their website and links to Imaging Solutions, Osmo in particular.

 

[mpa]

is this drone for me?

Yes

 

[dewster]

You'll need to watch for branches. This sounds doable if the trail is wide enough for a car. Don't depend on obstacle avoidance. That's a last resort safety feature for operator error.

Also make sure the terrain is relatively level. No large hills.

I flew mine following me through the woods. The roads were wide enough not to worry about trees. I had it 165 feet to test how high it could track a ground object.

 

[tanukipdx]

You'll need to watch for branches. This sounds doable if the trail is wide enough for a car. Don't depend on obstacle avoidance. That's a last resort safety feature for operator error.

Also make sure the terrain is relatively level. No large hills.

I flew mine following me through the woods. The roads were wide enough not to worry about trees. I had it 165 feet to test how high it could track a ground object.

Do you have the video posted anywhere?