Mini 3 Pro obstacle avoidance - not!

[Wal Manyon]

G'day all, I am a novice drone pilot and I have joined this forum through the process of having to recently purchase a replacement Mini 3 pro after experiencing first hand the 'apparent limitations' of tri-directional obstacle avoidance. Having the obstacle avoidance function set to 'brake' and while ascending and travelling in a reverse direction the drone got tangled in the upper branches of a very tall tree. Un-recoverable unless I long lined in under a helicopter to retrieve it
DJI identified through data analysis that 'the aircraft crashed with obstacles when was flying left-rear direction and ascending. According to the analysis, the incident was caused by improper operation.'
I questioned this conclusion and was told that the avoidance system only works if the drone is flying directly forwards, backwards or downwards. Really?? It was going backwards, just at an upward angle. I am interested in the thoughts of those on this forum who are far wiser and experienced in this area on the DJI response. It just doesn't sound right to me.
Cheers

 

[msinger]

I questioned this conclusion and was told that the avoidance system only works if the drone is flying directly forwards, backwards or downwards.

If you accidentally piloted the drone into an obstacle, or if the obstacle avoidance features failed to prevent a collision, responsibility for the crash still falls on you. DJI would likely only cover such an incident if you had DJI Care Refresh.

I am interested in the thoughts of those on this forum who are far wiser and experienced in this area on the DJI response

Which part of their response are you asking us to comment on?

 

[rwilliam99]

As someone who has crashed not one, but two DJI drones, I can say I've learned a lot, and am still learning. And one thing is that you should NEVER, EVER rely on obstacle avoidance to keep you out of trouble. It is good, but it certainly has its limitations, especially on the the mini 3 (the mini 4 is better but still has its limitations).

I would agree with DJI that it was pilot error. (improper operation). I would take it as a learning experience and try and learn more to keep it from happening again. That is my .02 for what its worth.

 

[RodPad]

Welcome to the forum!

These members are #1

I can think of 10 members, that know this stuff good.
@msinger is in that list.

You answer there questions, you will get good answers.

Rod ..

 

[Wal Manyon]

If you accidentally piloted the drone into an obstacle, or if the obstacle avoidance features failed to prevent a collision, responsibility for the crash still falls on you. DJI would likely only cover such an incident if you had DJI Care Refresh.



Which part of their response are you asking us to comment on?

Ok, thanks. Care refresh had expired so no joy there

 

[Wal Manyon]

Welcome to the forum!

These members are #1

I can think of 10 members, that know this stuff good.
@msinger is in that list.

You answer there questions, you will get good answers.

Rod ..

Thanks

 

[Wal Manyon]

If you accidentally piloted the drone into an obstacle, or if the obstacle avoidance features failed to prevent a collision, responsibility for the crash still falls on you. DJI would likely only cover such an incident if you had DJI Care Refresh.



Which part of their response are you asking us to comment on?

The improper operation conclusion

 

[msinger]

The improper operation conclusion

If what you stated above is accurate, then I agree with DJI's assessment. You were the pilot responsible for the drone. The responsibility would have also fallen on you even if the drone was flying an automated flightpath (like waypoints).

 

[Bad Santa]

As much as I feel your pain, the Mini 4 has improved obstacle avoidance.
Why is that comment important? Because it acknowledges that the Mini 3 had some limitations.
One of the known limitations to its obstacle avoidance was going backwards and up at the same time.
The Mini 3 never boasted 360/360 obstacle avoidance.

Since you already have the controller and batteries, just buy a replacement mini 4.
Maybe make a friend with a bigger drone and see if they can fetch it out of the tree it landed in.
FWIW, I had to pay someone a LOT of money to fetch mine out of the tree it landed in.

 

[samysys]

Hi, @Wal Manyon . Welcome.

In the Mini3 pro manual, it stated the spec for its OA system:




So, it does have blind spot.

If you are interested, you can send the flight log here and the good experience member in here can further help to determine if the drone was indeed flying heading in the OA blind Spot.

Yet, OA system has some limitation, and below are not exhaustive

• Single color, no pattern object: visual OA works like human eye. If a large object (e.g. a big wall) is in same Color, it cannot operate effecitvely
• Darkness:same reason, when it can’t see, it can’t work
• Object is too tiny: ditto
• When drone is travelling fast: OA has range limit, if drone is flying fast, it may not have enough time to brake before hitting the object.

 

[hansenn]

always remember that trees are dicks
They are unpredictable and have a will of their own.

Stay away from trees no matter how good your obstacle detection system is.

I have a mavic 3 classic with all around sensors. But every time I get near branches it gets very nervous. then sometimes it is better to turn off the obstacle detection and fly 100% on sight.

 

[Felix le Chat]

G'day all, I am a novice drone pilot and I have joined this forum through the process of having to recently purchase a replacement Mini 3 pro after experiencing first hand the 'apparent limitations' of tri-directional obstacle avoidance. Having the obstacle avoidance function set to 'brake' and while ascending and travelling in a reverse direction the drone got tangled in the upper branches of a very tall tree. Un-recoverable unless I long lined in under a helicopter to retrieve it
DJI identified through data analysis that 'the aircraft crashed with obstacles when was flying left-rear direction and ascending. According to the analysis, the incident was caused by improper operation.'
I questioned this conclusion and was told that the avoidance system only works if the drone is flying directly forwards, backwards or downwards. Really?? It was going backwards, just at an upward angle. I am interested in the thoughts of those on this forum who are far wiser and experienced in this area on the DJI response. It just doesn't sound right to me.
Cheers

Obstacle avoidance is a great idea and DJI flavour is probably the best, but it is still a tech that is let down by the same things that guarantee the Google car won't be driving around on the school run anytime soon. The human wiggling the control sticks and a dynamic environment.

Those of us who have had years of experience dealing with O/A evolution from simple beginnings to current state don't expect too much of it, constant eyes-on, caution and slow control will reduce the fail rate: but regardless of what brand new all-singing, all-dancing model gets released... pretty soon there will be a YouTube video of some Muppet feeding the tree/bush/shrub monster another grey snack.

 

[RodPad]

always remember that trees are dicks
They are unpredictable and have a will of their own.

Stay away from trees no matter how good your obstacle detection system is.

I have a mavic 3 classic with all around sensors. But every time I get near branches it gets very nervous. then sometimes it is better to turn off the obstacle detection and fly 100% on sight.

Some of my posts to the new remote control bird flyers.
Stay Away From Mavic Magnets ()

My Signature on the Phantom Forum.
"Phantoms just don't fall out of the sky, the RTH is set to china. (Rod)"

Rod ..