Unable to cancel Obstacle Avoidance

bdark · Dec 23, 2021

bdark

New Member

JoinedDec 23, 2021Messages1Reactions0Age66LocationRogers, AR

Hello All! Just wanted to ask if anyone else has had a problem turning off the obstacle avoidance option, in order to accommodate a hand launch/landing. I have been unable to do it by switching to sport mode, or by selecting “off” in the safety menu. It worked a couple days ago, but tried unsuccessfully several times today. I also reinstalled the latest firmware, but that didn’t help either. Anyone else having the same issue? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Etdronehome · Dec 24, 2021

bdark said:
bdark
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JoinedDec 23, 2021Messages1Reactions0Age66LocationRogers, AR

37 minutes ago

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#1

Hello All! Just wanted to ask if anyone else has had a problem turning off the obstacle avoidance option, in order to accommodate a hand launch/landing. I have been unable to do it by switching to sport mode, or by selecting “off” in the safety menu. It worked a couple days ago, but tried unsuccessfully several times today. I also reinstalled the latest firmware, but that didn’t help either. Anyone else having the same issue? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

What do the rear status LED show when you think you have OA turned off?

I haven’t tested it but I assume you don’t have to turn OA off anyway. Just bring drone down close, hover, put your hand out and directly underneath it, start straight down descent again and catch drone.

bdark · Dec 24, 2021

Etdronehome said:
What do the rear status LED show when you think you have OA turned off?

I haven’t tested it but I assume you don’t have to turn OA off anyway. Just bring drone down close, hover, put your hand out and directly underneath it, start straight down descent again and catch drone.

Etdronehome said:
What do the rear status LED show when you think you have OA turned off?

I haven’t tested it but I assume you don’t have to turn OA off anyway. Just bring drone down close, hover, put your hand out and directly underneath it, start straight down descent again and catch drone.

View attachment 140646

Thanks for your reply, Etdronehome. As far as I know, the OA system does need to be disabled, or the aircraft will move up when it senses my hand. I did try catching it as it was trying to ascend, but then it tried even harder (like REALLY hard) to ascend and pitched to the side a bit - creating a really uncomfortable situation. The motors did finally stop as I continued to push the stick forward (I prefer forward for down and back for up).

The status indicator lights blink green in "Normal" mode, as well as in "Sport" mode, only faster in Sport mode. According to the chart, they should be blinking yellow? Upon further reading in the user manual, I could not find any instructions on how to disable the downward sensor. According to the footnotes on p.14 of the manual, the forward, reverse, lateral, and upward vision systems are disabled in Sport mode. Evidently, that does not include the downward cameras or infrared sensor. Switching to Sport mode worked just fine earlier this week, just as it did for the pilot shown at the 6:00 mark in this YouTube video: . My M3 hovered as I tried to descend and was no where near as erratic as the one shown in the video.

I’ve contacted DJI technical support and will share any information when they respond.

Etdronehome · Dec 26, 2021

@bdark

The reason I asked about the led status was to confirm the OA was/is functional while flying. From my interpretation the blinking green indicates it’s OK not if it’s on or not.

The downward sensors (vision and infrared) I believe have something to do with hovering stability and certainly with landing so they might not turn off when you turn the OA off. The flight speed “potential” in Sport mode outstrips the current capability of the drone to calculate and avoid anything so the app announces OA is off all the time in Sport. This is also the reason the drone might run into a “moving” object (like a car) Something to consider while its in focus track mode actively following.

Here is a video of someone hand catching the M3 (INDOORS

!!!)

Notice the drone moves away from his hand a bit before the actual catch and when he launches comes down away from the ceiling, implying OA is ON.

Don Testme · Dec 26, 2021

I use sport mode to land my Mav3 in my hand also. But it isn't perfect. It is often unpredictable. Many times when I put my hand under the drone, even in sport mode, the drone flies up and away from my hand even when the stick is fully depressed for landing. Sometimes I have to fiddle with the timing of putting my hand under the drone and the movement of the stick to land. But, I am usually able to catch it after a few attempts.

Etdronehome · Dec 26, 2021

So did a little hand catching launching today and the procedure I found to be the least “hazardous”

and most repeatable is this.

Does not matter which flight mode you are in Cine, Normal or Sport.

Set OA to Brake.

Position drone so it is downwind and sideways to me.

Hover the drone at shoulder height and let it stabilize there for a few seconds.

Reach out slowly and grasp the drone from underneath.

Use stick descend until rotors stop. NOTE push button and hold to land would likely work but I didn’t test that.

Inverse of that to launch other than use the Take Off press and hold function. Wait till rotors fully spin up and let go.

Very repeatable and the drone does NOT move at all. I believe what happens is the OA kicks in and BRAKES - the drone is already hovering so it doesn’t move until you move the stick, the drone can’t move because your holding it in place.

I was a little surprised when this process worked in Sport as OA is supposedly “OFF” but maybe the downward sensors are still on??? Hard to say but it was as consistent in Sport as the other two modes.

bdark · Dec 27, 2021

Etdronehome said:
So did a little hand catching launching today and the procedure I found to be the least “hazardous” and most repeatable is this.

Does not matter which flight mode you are in Cine, Normal or Sport.

Set OA to Brake.

Position drone so it is downwind and sideways to me.

Hover the drone at shoulder height and let it stabilize there for a few seconds.

Reach out slowly and grasp the drone from underneath.

Use stick descend until rotors stop. NOTE push button and hold to land would likely work but I didn’t test that.

Inverse of that to launch other than use the Take Off press and hold function. Wait till rotors fully spin up and let go.

Very repeatable and the drone does NOT move at all. I believe what happens is the OA kicks in and BRAKES - the drone is already hovering so it doesn’t move until you move the stick, the drone can’t move because your holding it in place.

I was a little surprised when this process worked in Sport as OA is supposedly “OFF” but maybe the downward sensors are still on??? Hard to say but it was as consistent in Sport as the other two modes.

Thanks for sharing that. I tried hand catching again and had pretty much the same results - flight mode doesn't seem to matter. However, placing my open hand directly underneath the IR sensors and leaving it there until the M3 thinks my hand is a suitable landing surface was the key. If I try to "sneak up" on it with my hand from the side, it will ascend every time. Once it was convinced that my hand was okay, it's just a matter of keeping the stick pushed until it descends into my hand.

Thanks so much guys, for "reaching out" to help clarify this.

Etdronehome · Dec 27, 2021

bdark said:
Thanks for sharing that. I tried hand catching again and had pretty much the same results - flight mode doesn't seem to matter. However, placing my open hand directly underneath the IR sensors and leaving it there until the M3 thinks my hand is a suitable landing surface was the key. If I try to "sneak up" on it with my hand from the side, it will ascend every time. Once it was convinced that my hand was okay, it's just a matter of keeping the stick pushed until it descends into my hand.

Thanks so much guys, for "reaching out" to help clarify this.

Happy to hear you have found a way that works for you!

Not sure how your hand is only detected by the IR sensors as one of the video sensors is very close to it??

Did you have OA in Brake?

bdark · Dec 29, 2021

Etdronehome said:
Happy to hear you have found a way that works for you!

Not sure how your hand is only detected by the IR sensors as one of the video sensors is very close to it??

Did you have OA in Brake?

View attachment 140796

I tried again with OA set to Brake, but that didn't make any difference. According to the user manual, only the forward, backward, lateral, and upward cameras are disabled when OA is turned off in Sport mode. It doesn't seen to matter which flight mode is selected, it still flies up a foot or so when it detects my hand underneath. I suspect the IR sensor and bottom cameras work together when landing, with the IR sensor perhaps having priority??? I don't think the palm of my hand is large enough to cover the entire area sensed by the two cameras and IR sensor. Letting it see my hand for a few seconds convinces it that it's okay to land is my guess. How it determines that is a mystery to me.

Etdronehome · Dec 29, 2021

bdark said:
I tried again with OA set to Brake, but that didn't make any difference. According to the user manual, only the forward, backward, lateral, and upward cameras are disabled when OA is turned off in Sport mode. It doesn't seen to matter which flight mode is selected, it still flies up a foot or so when it detects my hand underneath. I suspect the IR sensor and bottom cameras work together when landing, with the IR sensor perhaps having priority??? I don't think the palm of my hand is large enough to cover the entire area sensed by the two cameras and IR sensor. Letting it see my hand for a few seconds convinces it that it's okay to land is my guess. How it determines that is a mystery to me.

I’m 5’ 7” So shoulder height would be about 5’ off the deck. When I’m reaching out my hand is not coming UP from the bottom but in from the side. Mine doesn’t move at all. Doesn’t matter I guess as long as it’s repeatable.

Happy landings

cmparks89 · Jan 3, 2022

The fact that they removed the ability to turn off “landing protection” which is the downward vision sensor really bothers me. I really liked landing my previous drones manually because it felt more like flying a real aircraft. I really hope they get an app that is more like DJI GO 4 or seriously overhaul and add more options they removed to DJI Fly. Or better yet make the Mavic 3 compatible with GO 4. This is really a sore spot for me.

mrprawn · Mar 12, 2022

It's an issue. Can't land on a boat with them on. And the fact that a lot of people's m3 has faulty oa firmware/hardware from the sensors that we cannot turn off is a big problem and a safety issue. I've had the oa turned off over water and the m3 got confused and almost put itself in a vortex. If I didn't let go of the sticks and let the unit level out it would be gone down.