Waypoint Issue Revealed

[sbunting]

Not long ago I created a Waypoint Mission by the recommended method, by flying the route and setting up the waypoints. I did so and flew the mission with no issues. I wasn't happy with the last waypoint, so I used the "on the ground' waypoint planner and a map to simply move the waypoint about 100 feet with a simple drag and drop. I saved it and flew it. When the last waypoint was reached, the drone went for the ground quickly. I was able to regain manual control when it was a foot or so from the ground and fly it back manually. I posted this strange behavior on a post in which the OP had described a similar unexpected drop in altitude. I posted it to page 5 of this post at: Waypoint mission problem We had some discussion and we ended up with waiting for DJI to respond to the logs I sent them. @Meta4 @GadgetGuy

Well DJI finally replied and suggested that the last waypoint's altitude may have been lowered, but that was only a guess. In short, they couldn't explain it and again asked if I could try to repeat the waypoint mission and get it to repeat that behavior. I tried and couldn't get a repeat performance, but in doing so I noticed a recurring problem, that of unintended waypoints being created while adjusting the controls of a waypoint. At first I thought it a programming bug, i.e. every time I modified a waypoint, a new waypoint was created. I saw the same issue in a YouTube video posted by Marcus of Idaho Quadcopters and so I started carefully watching what I was doing. Sure enough, the culprit reared its ugly head. DJI has placed the Waypoint Planning Menu such that there is a tiny strip of the map exposed just below the slider control. It is difficult not to use the slider without also touching that strip of map. When you do, another waypoint is appended to the last waypoint in your mission. Depending on your layout and zoom, most if not all of the new waypoint will be under the menu where you can't see it. Again, depending on your zoom level, that new waypoint could be a long way away and on the side of a mountain. If you have a lot of waypoints and aren't aware of this issue, your waypoint mission can have an unintended destination. I've submitted this to DJI and the issue is a simple fix, that of moving the menu to the bottom so this little strip of map is not exposed to the user's finger when adjusting the slider. Now, if they recognize the issue and fix it remains to be seen. I'm optimistic...





Meanwhile, I have switched to using a touch screen stylus pen for working with waypoints and many other DJI Fly app settings. It works better than fingers for the most part and avoids issues when the screen real estate is 'tight'. It's hard to see through your finger! Once you recognize the issue, it's easy to avoid and easy to fix, but more importantly to be aware and check for added waypoints.

I captured the screen video when this issue was occurring and was going to send that to DJI, but figured without an explanation, the message may not resonate properly, so played around with FCPX and wrapped some other media sources around the clip to better explain the situation. I was going to do a voice over, but my better half was napping at the time, so I played around with text-to-voice a bit. Mac does it for free, but the result is functional, but not pleasing. So I tried an AI service that uses a natural voice. It sounded pretty good, so I put that audio track on it. It's located here

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if the attached screenshot isn't enough to explain. Not my best work, but gets the message across. ;->

Does this rogue waypoint explain what happened to my flight? I'm not convinced it does. The added waypoint would be at the same height of the last waypoint and guaranteed my last waypoint was not at zero feet. And DJI's suggestion that the last waypoint height was lowered doesn't really cut it. The waypoint would have to have been set at zero, and, yes, you can actually set it to zero. Why would you do that and why would DJI allow that? A waypoint with a height of zero feet? Really? Sounds like a programmed crash. AND, obstacle avoidance should have stopped that action, or not? In my case OA didn't seem to be acting and there were zero warning messages. So that still remains a mystery to me.

So at least the rogue waypoint issue has a cause and can be avoided and hopefully fixed. Meanwhile, just be careful when using the controls to create and adjust waypoints.

 

[mavic3usa]

Looks good, sounds reasonable. I've known other waypoint mission programs to have similar problems where you can inadvertently touch the screen and create a waypoint. From what i remember, I try to leave the screen in the POI setting so it simply drops a pin instead of affecting the route. So I don't know when it happened but I've seen orphan POIs....I think this was on the Autel. I think you have to allow "0" so when you live in the mountains and you take off from high above, you can use the negative altitudes or even "0" if appropriate when you start heading down into the canyon, etc.

 

[GFields]

Thanks for sharing! That could cause a dreadful crash.

 

[WanderLost]

Not long ago I created a Waypoint Mission by the recommended method, by flying the route and setting up the waypoints. I did so and flew the mission with no issues. I wasn't happy with the last waypoint, so I used the "on the ground' waypoint planner and a map to simply move the waypoint about 100 feet with a simple drag and drop. I saved it and flew it. When the last waypoint was reached, the drone went for the ground quickly. I was able to regain manual control when it was a foot or so from the ground and fly it back manually. I posted this strange behavior on a post in which the OP had described a similar unexpected drop in altitude. I posted it to page 5 of this post at: Waypoint mission problem We had some discussion and we ended up with waiting for DJI to respond to the logs I sent them. @Meta4 @GadgetGuy

Well DJI finally replied and suggested that the last waypoint's altitude may have been lowered, but that was only a guess. In short, they couldn't explain it and again asked if I could try to repeat the waypoint mission and get it to repeat that behavior. I tried and couldn't get a repeat performance, but in doing so I noticed a recurring problem, that of unintended waypoints being created while adjusting the controls of a waypoint. At first I thought it a programming bug, i.e. every time I modified a waypoint, a new waypoint was created. I saw the same issue in a YouTube video posted by Marcus of Idaho Quadcopters and so I started carefully watching what I was doing. Sure enough, the culprit reared its ugly head. DJI has placed the Waypoint Planning Menu such that there is a tiny strip of the map exposed just below the slider control. It is difficult not to use the slider without also touching that strip of map. When you do, another waypoint is appended to the last waypoint in your mission. Depending on your layout and zoom, most if not all of the new waypoint will be under the menu where you can't see it. Again, depending on your zoom level, that new waypoint could be a long way away and on the side of a mountain. If you have a lot of waypoints and aren't aware of this issue, your waypoint mission can have an unintended destination. I've submitted this to DJI and the issue is a simple fix, that of moving the menu to the bottom so this little strip of map is not exposed to the user's finger when adjusting the slider. Now, if they recognize the issue and fix it remains to be seen. I'm optimistic...

View attachment 166181

View attachment 166182

Meanwhile, I have switched to using a touch screen stylus pen for working with waypoints and many other DJI Fly app settings. It works better than fingers for the most part and avoids issues when the screen real estate is 'tight'. It's hard to see through your finger! Once you recognize the issue, it's easy to avoid and easy to fix, but more importantly to be aware and check for added waypoints.

I captured the screen video when this issue was occurring and was going to send that to DJI, but figured without an explanation, it the message may not resonate properly, so played around with FCPX and wrapped some other media sources around the clip to better explain the situation. I was going to do a voice over, but my better half was napping at the time, so I played around with text-to-voice a bit. Mac does it for free, but the result is functional, but not pleasing. So I tried an AI service that uses a natural voice. It sounded pretty good, so I put that audio track on it. It's located here

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

if the attached screenshot isn't enough to explain. Not my best work, but gets the message across. ;->

Does this rogue waypoint explain what happened to my flight? I'm not convinced it does. The added waypoint would be at the same height of the last waypoint and guaranteed my last waypoint was not at zero feet. And DJI's suggestion that the last waypoint height was lowered doesn't really cut it. The waypoint would have to have been set at zero, and, yes, you can actually set it to zero. Why would you do that and why would DJI allow that? A waypoint with a height of zero feet? Really? Sounds like a programmed crash. AND, obstacle avoidance should have stopped that action, or not? In my case OA didn't seem to be acting and there were zero warning messages. So that still remains a mystery to me.

So at least the rogue waypoint issue has a cause and can be avoided and hopefully fixed. Meanwhile, just be careful when using the controls to create and adjust waypoints.

Being able to set a waypoint at zero or even below makes sense if you're flying from a ridge or hill into a valley or quarry for example. I'll admit I find it unnerving to "fly" at -50 to -150'. I was photographing a small pedestrian bridge the other day and shot most of the video at -30'.

 

[sbunting]

Looks good, sounds reasonable. I've known other waypoint mission programs to have similar problems where you can inadvertently touch the screen and create a waypoint. From what i remember, I try to leave the screen in the POI setting so it simply drops a pin instead of affecting the route. So I don't know when it happened but I've seen orphan POIs....I think this was on the Autel. I think you have to allow "0" so when you live in the mountains and you take off from high above, you can use the negative altitudes or even "0" if appropriate when you start heading down into the canyon, etc.

When you live at a few feet above sea level and most of the Delmarva peninsula is flatter than a pancake, everything is uphill from here and zero is wet! My apologies to my friends in the mountains. So, yes, zero is relative to takeoff point and most certainly taking off from high and flying to the canyon below requires negative number. Hard to think that way when you are at the bottom.

 

[REStewart]

I have had some of the same problems but found out it was (in my case) truly "fat finger disease". I'm a big guy with big hands and fingers and have problems getting the right selection on these small screens. When I bought a cheap stylus to create and do the modifications all the issues were gone.

 

[Rockowe]

From My Experience - The Drone will set an Altitude from Above the Takeoff Point.
All Waypoints are measured from the Altitude at TakeOff.

NOTE: Its Most probable that you may have taken off at a Lower altitude - Hence the Entire Waypoint mission would be flown Relative to that - including your Last waypoint

Thats My Experience !

 

[sbunting]

From My Experience - The Drone will set an Altitude from Above the Takeoff Point.
All Waypoints are measured from the Altitude at TakeOff.

NOTE: Its Most probable that you may have taken off at a Lower altitude - Hence the Entire Waypoint mission would be flown Relative to that - including your Last waypoint

Thats My Experience !

My take-off point was about 6 feet above sea level. I live on the edge of the wetlands, flatter than a smashed flapjack. Same takeoff spot every time. The elevation of the last waypoint was about 3 feet above sea-level, at most a 3 or 4 foot differential, at most. So what you described can be an issue, but not in this case.

 

[jephoto]

I’ve not done any waypoint missions yet with my M3. But my question is when each waypoint is created, doesn’t that show on the waypoint control panel? When your intended End or last waypoint is “number 4” wouldn’t the extra unintended waypoint show up as “number 5” and visible for you to see and delete?

But using the stylus pen, I think is the best solution for now that makes sense

 

[mavic3usa]

I’ve not done any waypoint missions yet with my M3. But my question is when each waypoint is created, doesn’t that show on the waypoint control panel? When your intended End or last waypoint is “number 4” wouldn’t the extra unintended waypoint show up as “number 5” and visible for you to see and delete?

But using the stylus pen, I think is the best solution for now that makes sense

Sometimes it gets very busy and the end point number is not so obvious especially if you have 36 waypoints and you inadvertently create a 37. Depends on where the rogue waypoint is dropped amongst a cluster of waypoints, a cluttered area is hard to discern especially when you hadn't recently created that mission.

 

[sbunting]

Sometimes it gets very busy and the end point number is not so obvious especially if you have 36 waypoints and you inadvertently create a 37. Depends on where the rogue waypoint is dropped amongst a cluster of waypoints, a cluttered area is hard to discern especially when you hadn't recently created that mission.

Precisely stated, and, especially, if you are unaware that this issue exists.
"I’ve not done any waypoint missions yet with my M3" Give it a try, by all means, and you'll see first hand how close the control slider is to the tiny strip of map. When you touch that tiny bit of map, the waypoint is created on the tiny little strip and most if not all of the waypoint will be under the menu.

Being aware that a problem exists and what causes it is the first step in managing that problem. Now we all know, we can take extra care. It's one of the reasons this forum exists.

I made DJI aware that this tiny strip of map serves no purpose and is a problem. No one is going to deliberately want to create a waypoint in that tiny little bit of map, but you can surely create one inadvertently. The fix is move the menu to the bottom of the screen. Very simple fix.

 

[axident]

Not long ago I created a Waypoint Mission by the recommended method, by flying the route and setting up the waypoints. I did so and flew the mission with no issues. I wasn't happy with the last waypoint, so I used the "on the ground' waypoint planner and a map to simply move the waypoint about 100 feet with a simple drag and drop. I saved it and flew it. When the last waypoint was reached, the drone went for the ground quickly. I was able to regain manual control when it was a foot or so from the ground and fly it back manually. I posted this strange behavior on a post in which the OP had described a similar unexpected drop in altitude. I posted it to page 5 of this post at: Waypoint mission problem We had some discussion and we ended up with waiting for DJI to respond to the logs I sent them. @Meta4 @GadgetGuy

Well DJI finally replied and suggested that the last waypoint's altitude may have been lowered, but that was only a guess. In short, they couldn't explain it and again asked if I could try to repeat the waypoint mission and get it to repeat that behavior. I tried and couldn't get a repeat performance, but in doing so I noticed a recurring problem, that of unintended waypoints being created while adjusting the controls of a waypoint. At first I thought it a programming bug, i.e. every time I modified a waypoint, a new waypoint was created. I saw the same issue in a YouTube video posted by Marcus of Idaho Quadcopters and so I started carefully watching what I was doing. Sure enough, the culprit reared its ugly head. DJI has placed the Waypoint Planning Menu such that there is a tiny strip of the map exposed just below the slider control. It is difficult not to use the slider without also touching that strip of map. When you do, another waypoint is appended to the last waypoint in your mission. Depending on your layout and zoom, most if not all of the new waypoint will be under the menu where you can't see it. Again, depending on your zoom level, that new waypoint could be a long way away and on the side of a mountain. If you have a lot of waypoints and aren't aware of this issue, your waypoint mission can have an unintended destination. I've submitted this to DJI and the issue is a simple fix, that of moving the menu to the bottom so this little strip of map is not exposed to the user's finger when adjusting the slider. Now, if they recognize the issue and fix it remains to be seen. I'm optimistic...

View attachment 166181

View attachment 166182

Meanwhile, I have switched to using a touch screen stylus pen for working with waypoints and many other DJI Fly app settings. It works better than fingers for the most part and avoids issues when the screen real estate is 'tight'. It's hard to see through your finger! Once you recognize the issue, it's easy to avoid and easy to fix, but more importantly to be aware and check for added waypoints.

I captured the screen video when this issue was occurring and was going to send that to DJI, but figured without an explanation, the message may not resonate properly, so played around with FCPX and wrapped some other media sources around the clip to better explain the situation. I was going to do a voice over, but my better half was napping at the time, so I played around with text-to-voice a bit. Mac does it for free, but the result is functional, but not pleasing. So I tried an AI service that uses a natural voice. It sounded pretty good, so I put that audio track on it. It's located here

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

if the attached screenshot isn't enough to explain. Not my best work, but gets the message across. ;->

Does this rogue waypoint explain what happened to my flight? I'm not convinced it does. The added waypoint would be at the same height of the last waypoint and guaranteed my last waypoint was not at zero feet. And DJI's suggestion that the last waypoint height was lowered doesn't really cut it. The waypoint would have to have been set at zero, and, yes, you can actually set it to zero. Why would you do that and why would DJI allow that? A waypoint with a height of zero feet? Really? Sounds like a programmed crash. AND, obstacle avoidance should have stopped that action, or not? In my case OA didn't seem to be acting and there were zero warning messages. So that still remains a mystery to me.

So at least the rogue waypoint issue has a cause and can be avoided and hopefully fixed. Meanwhile, just be careful when using the controls to create and adjust waypoints.

I agree that the way point menu is pain in the proverbial, the menu is close to the bottom of the map with a slight gap to the map.... This causes endless extra way-point creation. It appears it may simple for DJI to move menu to very bottom of map to prevent this. Is it possible to insert a way-point? I am a CASA ReOC operator M3Cine and I hope that DJI will continue to improve the way-point software as the AC is brilliant. Regards Will

 

[Droning on and on...]

It appears it may simple for DJI to move menu to very bottom of map to prevent this.

In fact, since this is android, some enterprising Android developer could fix this without access to the code as it's nearly 100% likely the parameters of that dialog are kept in the resource file, not the set by Java code. There are other potential obstacles (encrypted apk, obfuscation, etc.) but it's possibly patched without DJI until they get around to an official release.

And as far as the fix in DJI's official app, fixing this is very likely completely trivial, changing one word in the parent alignment attribute for that container widget to "bottom". Or zeroing the padding.

Regardless, almost certain no coding is involved.

 

[DougMcC]

A Litchi mission planned and test flown in Google Earth on a large computer screen would be a great thing. The Mavic 2 Pro does ALL that very well. DJI has chosen to not allow this feature-sadly.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

A Litchi mission planned and test flown in Google Earth on a large computer screen would be a great thing. The Mavic 2 Pro does ALL that very well. DJI has chosen to not allow this feature-sadly.

As prices on the Mavic 3 gradually drop to within my affordable range, the idea of adding a Mavic 3 to my DJI drone fleet is starting to merit consideration. Following this discussion topic and realizing that the DJI flight plan creation facility available for the Mavic 3 requires the entry of waypoints using a fiddly little dedicated touch screen on which inadvertent waypoint creation is a recurrent user complaint, I decided to continue my patient miser's vigil until such time as DJI makes available an SDK for the Mavic 3 that will enable Litchi to develop their superlative waypoint planner, the Litchi Mission Hub, for the Mavic 3.

In the meantime, I just snagged a second Mavic 2 Pro, which will shortly be followed by another of those Ali Express jumbo batteries that increase flight time by ten minutes for my longer autonomous missions. When I begin to see used Mavic 3 prices for the drone alone dropping down to between $600 and $700, I may get a Mavic 3 despite my displeasure with the DJI waypoint planner, but until then my Mavic 1 Pro, Mavic Pro Platinum, and my pair of Mavic 2 Pros will continue prowling the friendly skies out here in the sticks.