Point of interest query

[up_north]

Hi all

Still getting to grips with my Air...

With regards points of interest, from what I’ve seen on YouTube etc, the process seems to be - navigate to POI and point camera down to centre your POI. But am I right in thinking that the drone doesn’t use any camera image when actually circling the POI - it just uses co-ordinates and the camera is just to help the operator? So following on from that, on the on screen guide for POI, it suggests left stick forward and back is throttle up/throttle down - does this actually mean height increase/decrease. And finally for now, presumably to actually keep the POI image centred while circling, it’s a case of manipulating the camera angle which will need to be adjusted every time a change is made to any input? So many questions ?

Thanks.

Ian

 

[brett8883]

Hi all

Still getting to grips with my Air...

With regards points of interest, from what I’ve seen on YouTube etc, the process seems to be - navigate to POI and point camera down to centre your POI. But am I right in thinking that the drone doesn’t use any camera image when actually circling the POI - it just uses co-ordinates and the camera is just to help the operator? So following on from that, on the on screen guide for POI, it suggests left stick forward and back is throttle up/throttle down - does this actually mean height increase/decrease. And finally for now, presumably to actually keep the POI image centred while circling, it’s a case of manipulating the camera angle which will need to be adjusted every time a change is made to any input? So many questions ?

Thanks.

Ian

That’s a great question. For POI you fly the drone to the GPS position you want to be the center of your POI circle . You hit the button letting DJI GO 4 know that you want to record this position as the center point. At this point the drone records the GPS Lat/Long position.

Then you fly from that point out to where you want to start the flight from. This will be the initial circumference of your poi circle. When you start the poi flight the drone enters what’s called “Intelligent Orientation Control” mode or IOC. In IOC mode the forward, backwards, left, and right, directions are relative to something other than the aircraft’s heading.

IOC is also what controls course lock so its a little easier to understand with course lock. With course lock it you push the elevator(right stick up and down) forward the drone will always fly in direct course lock was set to even if the drone is pointed another direction. Here’s a good illustration of course lock.


Now with poi instead of course lock being set to an absolute direction POI lock is set to a bearing angle relative to the original POI that was recorded. So pushing forward on the right stick will always make the drone fly toward the recorded POI and pushing right or left will always make the drone fly in a circle around the poi because again the relative orientation of the controls are always facing the poi point even if the drone is facing another direction.

And yes to your question more directly your height can be adjusted manually with the sticks as well. Up is always up down is always down.

There is also an option to lock the drone so that it is always facing the poi point or you can switch to free mode and can turn freely to look in another direction but the aircraft will continue to fly around in the circle you have set.

Note that poi can only be set for a stationary point because it uses the gps location and not the vision sensor.

Where the Mavic really earns its keep however is when you set orbit mode in active track. I have it follow my boat going 30-35mph and it will keep the boat dead center the whole time while while flying in a circle around it. It’s pretty incredible actually.

 

[Dakarenduro]

I dont think tthe Air has 'orbit' as an option in active track. I think it only has Trace, Profile, Spotlight.

Or am I missing it in a menu? Would be a cool feature.

 

[up_north]

Thanks for your detailed reply brett - very helpful. I think Dakarenduro is right that the Air doesn’t have orbit mode.

 

[LenSavage]

Flying with the Litchi app instead of GO4, the gimbal / camera tilt will also stay on directly on the POI as shown in this waypoints mission.
Notice the controller is at my side - its all automated:

 

[Richlizard]

I am definitely looking into purchasing Litchi but heard so many bad beat stories about it going wrong. Is it more stable these days?

Going back to the original question, if it is GPS related, does this mean POI won't work on a moving object? What would be the best alternative to filming all round a moving object. Say a dog running or more extreme, a hot air balloon rising?

 

[Dakarenduro]

A moving object would be better served with Active Track.

 

[Richlizard]

A moving object would be better served with Active Track.

Ok thanks

 

[Wendy205]

Just be mindful of the problems that others have encountered using Active Track where the drone has 'attacked' the objects/people that it's following. Check out the forum if you haven't already seen the threads on this issue. It has made me a bit anxious about using Active Track.