So, you have just bought a drone with obstacle avoidance. Do you .........

[Yorkshire_Pud]

immediately try to emulate the you tubers flying along forest paths whilst tracking themselves moving at speed or do you test it first by, perhaps, slowly flying towards the like of a solid wall and then gradually make faster runs at trickier objects etc.?
Just curious.

EDIT. Since some people seem to question the wisdom of 'testing' I will add the following

I.e. do you experiment with OA so that you 'get a feel ' for its limitations before you use it in a real situation, or, do you use it with 'no feel' for its limitations.

 

[GFields]

Although all my drones are equipped with obstacle avoidance, I have not done either test.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Although all my drones are equipped with obstacle avoidance, I have not done either test.

Do you use OA, if so do you have complete faith in it?

Me? I have the M2P/Z and made slow runs at walls etc., it worked but that's as far as I got, I haven't used OA since then.

 

[GFields]

Do you use OA, if so do you have complete faith in it?

Me? I have the M2P/Z and made slow runs at walls etc., it worked but that's as far as I got, I haven't used OA since then.

Yes, I always have OA activated, but I have never just run an OV test. I have had times that I have been close to an object while doing a photo shoot and know it works. But I'm not going to push my luck by trying to fly any of my drones into a wall . Another thing, I have never used active track. I shoot mainly for commercial and residential real estate.

 

[DARKSeifer]

Follow me mode is basically the fastest way to crash your drone.

OA is useful in brake mode, but don't rely too much on it or you'll crash.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

The problem is not the Sensors as they work beatifully , however the moment you speed up just a little to quick, it s just a matter of time before the sensors fail you.

Knowing that the Processors are the weak link stops me an other seasoned pilots from really being able to utilize the follow me features.

We are not going to see any Fundamental big changes on any Drone until they get the Better , Faster Chips and until than its going to be very incremental changes as were seing now .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water

 

[mobilehomer]

I test OA slowly. As long as it's used correctly and within limits, it is great.

 

[mavic3usa]

I think it's like brakes on a car, you test it as you need to use it during your ordinary operation. You don't really have to aim for something and speed towards it and apply the brakes to see if they work. Only with a Skydio do you point it at the woods and hold the forward button down and never let up and *push* your way thru....I've done that.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I think it's like brakes on a car, you test it as you need to use it during your ordinary operation. You don't really have to aim for something and speed towards it and apply the brakes to see if they work. Only with a Skydio do you point it at the woods and hold the forward button down and never let up and *push* your way thru....I've done that.

You can test a car's brakes on the open road with no need to be near anything or aiming for anything but OA needs an obstacle to test it. And yes I have tested a car's brakes in such a manner. In fact, after a vehicle is 3 years old, an annual rolling road brake test is compulsory here. Google MOT.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

JUST FOR FUN !
Here is me before I created the Wet Suits and Rescue Jackets for the Drone testing out the Phantom 4 Sensors against the waves

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water an Test the Sensors. lol

 

[rickmurray1989]

Although all my drones are equipped with obstacle avoidance, I have not done either test.

Me, neither. I treat them as back up systems to my piloting skills. To me, they are like the GFIs built into bathroom electrical systems. Unlike many YouTubers, I am not going to throw a plugged in hair dryer into the tub just to see if they work...

 

[lensimages]

immediately try to emulate the you tubers flying along forest paths whilst tracking themselves moving at speed or do you test it first by, perhaps, slowly flying towards the like of a solid wall and then gradually make faster runs at trickier objects?
Just curious

No thank you , I have never tested any of my drones safety features excepting RTH. I am always very careful as to how and where I fly. I do not see the sense in seeing if my drone will take care of itself if I deliberately try to fly it into an object. Cheers Len

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

No thank you , I have never tested any of my drones safety features excepting RTH. I am always very careful as to how and where I fly. I do not see the sense in seeing if my drone will take care of itself if I deliberately try to fly it into an object. Cheers Len

So, does that mean you have never used OA?

 

[LoudThunder]

do you test it first by, perhaps, slowly flying towards the like of a solid wall and then gradually make faster runs at trickier objects?
Just curious

Remember what they wrote about "Curiosity and the Cat…" ( L L . . . )

I do not have a Drone with OA, but I have seen numerous Blooper Videos on YouTube of OA enable drones flying into branches because they were not thick enough. I have seen them fly into walls because there was no discernable patterns or shapes on the wall (as in a single color/flat wall) and it does not work well in low light conditions…

Read about it here and there are other posting you might want to google before you fly faster and faster towards an object before the drone cannot respond quick enough…

Obstacle Avoidance in DJI Drones (Explained for Beginners)

Many risks come with flying drones, and obstacles are one of those major sources of risk. This is because drones are naturally fragile and lightweight, thus making them prone to damage caused by impacts. This might lead to repairs that were unbudgeted for. Some of the obstacles can take you by...

www.droneblog.com

Fly Safe…

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Me, neither. I treat them as back up systems to my piloting skills. To me, they are like the GFIs built into bathroom electrical systems. Unlike many YouTubers, I am not going to throw a plugged in hair dryer into the tub just to see if they work...

Ahh I shouldn't mention my experiments with ....... then.
LOL

 

[mavic3usa]

No thank you , I have never tested any of my drones safety features excepting RTH. I am always very careful as to how and where I fly. I do not see the sense in seeing if my drone will take care of itself if I deliberately try to fly it into an object. Cheers Len

I think RTH might be a little bit different. Often RTH kicks in without you manually triggering it or out of your control (such as with a disconnect). Since there are user settings which have an impact on RTH, it's important you not only select the proper pre-settings based on your environment but also you know exactly how your drone will react and perform when RTH is activated.

Since I believe an emergency crisis is not the time to master the RTH process, I feel it is important to test it for yourself and see for yourself in reality beforehand. And since it is quite easy to reproduce all RTH processes such as low battery RTH, manual RTH button, RTH on disconnect, RTH when close to take off point, etc there's really no excuse not to spend some time getting familiar with it. It's either that or pucker/panic when it happens.

 

[Felix le Chat]

immediately try to emulate the you tubers flying along forest paths whilst tracking themselves moving at speed or do you test it first by, perhaps, slowly flying towards the like of a solid wall and then gradually make faster runs at trickier objects?
Just curious

Yeah. Tested OA with the brick wall trick and APAS with my parked Jeep Renegade. Both slowly. Forward sensors triggered fine at about 10mph, was satisfied with that and didn't push my luck further, APAS worked.... up to a point. Still wouldn't trust either at speed

 

[rjwmorrell]

You can test a car's brakes on the open road with no need to be near anything or aiming for anything but OA needs an obstacle to test it. And yes I have tested a car's brakes in such a manner. In fact, after a vehicle is 3 years old, an annual rolling road brake test is compulsory here. Google MOT.

I have driven a car that has automatic braking to avoid collisions. I do not test it by driving at a wall full speed to see if it stops in time. That's stupid.

Same with my drone. I do not test APAS/OA by flying it like an idiot to see what it will stop for and what it won't.

I fly with due care and caution, and if it gets too close to an object and stops or avoids it, great.

Worse, my Air 2S doesn't have side OA, which would be more helpful for most autonomous shooting modes. But that just means I must fly it more carefully.

OA is not for testing. It's in case you completely bullocksed things up and got too close to something, then it MAY help avoid a costly collision.

 

[shb]

I would not test OA because of cost and hassle of repairs. It has worked many times for me but none of them were intentional.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I do not test it by driving at a wall full speed to see if it stops in time. That's stupid.

Did I suggest initially flying the drone at a wall or obstacle at full speed?
No, I did not, I said
"do you test it first by, perhaps, slowly flying towards the like of a solid wall and then gradually make faster runs at trickier objects?"

As you are not the only person to question the wisdom of 'testing' I will add etc. to the above passage and the following to the opening post.

I.e. do you experiment with OA so that you 'get a feel ' for its limitations before you use it in a real situation, or, do you use it with 'no feel' for its limitations.