Mavic 3 RTH make me nervous

[Kiwibob]

So what happens when the Advanced RTH is on and something it can't sense, like a power line, is in its supposed clear air path?

Yes I would be worried about this scenario also as those thin lines are hard to pick up for any detection system.

 

[jelarv]

If I understand the OP's concern, I had just the opposite problem in that the drone ascended well above the RTH altitude despite there being no structures anywhere close to that height.

The RTH unexpectedly forced my Mavic 3 to go to my "max altitude" when pressing RTH rather than the "auto RTH altitude" which was a problem because it went 200 feet higher than I wanted and wouldn't allow me to descend which was necessary as I was flying directly into the wind (had I flown lower, I suspect I would have extended my battery life).
During this second flight of my Mavic 3, I became concerned I might not have enough power to fully return to home and so I pressed "RTH" with the thoughts the algorithm would do a better job conserving battery power than my manual flight. As background, I was flying at 365 feet and my Auto RTH altitude was set to 170 feet and "Max Altitude" was set to 387 feet. Much to my surprise (and disappointment), when pressing RTH, the Mavic 3 ascended to the maximum flight altitude of 387 feet rather than staying at the current 365 feet. I tried pulling down the left stick and it would not descend, but instead stayed at the maximum altitude, presumably in the strongest headwind possible. Eventually, I had to kill the RTH and take over manually to descend.

Also, the annoying green lens flair appeared as well, but that's a whole other concern.

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[Lasidora]

I watched a video last night of someone demonstrating x 5 advanced RTH scenarios, on the very last one the daylight was so low that obstacle avoidance was unavailable & RTH was old style i.e. ascend to RTH set height, fly that path without height changing until at home point & then land, so was thinking if you switched off OA & APAS then hit RTH would it revert to old style RTH instead of risky advanced RTH ( powerline/cable risks ).

 

[Meta4]

If I understand the OP's concern, I had just the opposite problem in that the drone ascended well above the RTH altitude despite there being no structures anywhere close to that height.

That's probably because you were pointing straight at a low, bright sun that the obstacle avoidance identified as an obstacle and was attempting to climb over.

Also, the annoying green lens flair appeared as well, but that's a whole other concern.

That's another unavoidable side effect of pointing the camera straight at the sun.

 

[Meta4]

I tried pulling down the left stick and it would not descend, but instead stayed at the maximum altitude, presumably in the strongest headwind possible. Eventually, I had to kill the RTH and take over manually to descend.

A strong headwind will slow the drone's forward progress, but it will never prevent descending.
Your flight data would confirm that the issue was caused by obstacle avoidance.

 

[zeusfl]

There are a lot of tweaks that DJI needs to do on the Mavic 3. That's normal.

 

[Jonathantuba]

I have not got my Mavic 3 yet, but will just carefully watch screen on RTH and would hit cancel if it looks dangerously close to flying into anything.

Having had my Air 2s fly into trees on three occasions I will not fully trust obstacle avoidance on the Mavic 3 until thoroughly tested

 

[zeusfl]

I have not got my Mavic 3 yet, but will just carefully watch screen on RTH and would hit cancel if it looks dangerously close to flying into anything.

Having had my Air 2s fly into trees on three occasions I will not fully trust obstacle avoidance on the Mavic 3 until thoroughly tested

Honestly, I have a lot of confidence now with the Advance RTH. I tested so many times successfully and the same with APAS 5. My only concern will be the power lines and I don't have anyone close where I live.

 

[Gerrit Rainmain]

I experienced the same thing,
and it's scary when you're lower than the treetops and the connection drops.

 

[jelarv]

If I understand the OP's concern, I had just the opposite problem in that the drone ascended well above the RTH altitude despite there being no structures anywhere close to that height.

The RTH unexpectedly forced my Mavic 3 to go to my "max altitude" when pressing RTH rather than the "auto RTH altitude" which was a problem because it went 200 feet higher than I wanted and wouldn't allow me to descend which was necessary as I was flying directly into the wind (had I flown lower, I suspect I would have extended my battery life).
During this second flight of my Mavic 3, I became concerned I might not have enough power to fully return to home and so I pressed "RTH" with the thoughts the algorithm would do a better job conserving battery power than my manual flight. As background, I was flying at 365 feet and my Auto RTH altitude was set to 170 feet and "Max Altitude" was set to 387 feet. Much to my surprise (and disappointment), when pressing RTH, the Mavic 3 ascended to the maximum flight altitude of 387 feet rather than staying at the current 365 feet. I tried pulling down the left stick and it would not descend, but instead stayed at the maximum altitude, presumably in the strongest headwind possible. Eventually, I had to kill the RTH and take over manually to descend.

Also, the annoying green lens flair appeared as well, but that's a whole other concern.

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This problem occurred again yesterday and it was cloudy which means the M3 ascending to the maximum flight height for RTH (not maximum RTH height) appears to be a problem on my unit or in the app. After pressing RTH it went up to 390 feet and wouldn't respond when I tried to pull the left stick down even though the RTH was set to 170 feet.

 

[BlairAir]

As folks have stated, a software switch to what DJI calls "Straight Line RTH" would be nice, hell it's nearly a requirement if you don't "trust the tech" -I generally "trust but verify" myself.

I have a huge tree, 2 actually, in front of my house, now bare branches (and 51 drones can confirm how APAS 5.0 handles or doesn't handle thin, bare branches. I often send my drones out over the park behind my house, but try to launch out past the tree, in case I get a Failsafe RTH and can't reconnect for some reason.

Advanced RTH tried to advance right through the tree, and who knows, it MAY have avoided it. I wasn't going to be DJI's Tester on that one.

Are folks aware of Power Saving RTH that is on Mavic Air 2 (and, I assume A2S)?


Power Saving RTH
(Return to Home and Land) Procedure:
During Straight Line RTH, if the distance is farther than 400 m and the altitude is more than 90 m higher than
the RTH altitude as well as more than 290 m higher than the home point, a prompt appears in DJI Fly asking
the user if they wish to enter Return to Home and Land in order to save power. After selecting Return to Home
and Land, the aircraft calculates the best angle (16.7° horizontally) and flies to the home point. When the aircraft
reaches 200 m above the home point or RTH altitude, it lands and the motors stop.
The aircraft exits from Return to Home and Land and enter Straight Line RTH in the following scenarios: 1.
if the pitch stick is pulled backward. 2. if the remote controller signal is lost. 3. if the Vision Systems become
unavailable.



All these discussions on ARTH reminded me of it, though it wasn't as controversial, nor as "advanced" as what Mavic 3 is doing. I have never been prompted for it in the 8 months I've had the MA2, then again the conditions that trigger it are specific and not typical
(Aircraft farther than 400, altitude more than 90 m higher than RTH altitude +290 m higher than the home point.) There's also no discussion of OA, though it likely uses what it normally would.

Pro Tip. When in Advanced RTH, Hover your thumb... right over the pause button.

 

[filipkir]

Can anyone please try this with his Mavic 3 - Disable the obstacle avoidance and see if the Mavic 3 would be forced to use the old RTH method.