Waypoints - yet another rant thread.

[lee82gx]

For those keeping their fingers and or toes crossed, you may want to uncross them for now.

Mavic Mini SDK has just confirmed no waypoints for the Mavic Mini, which was something a lot of folks were hoping for....

Personally my heart sank, but that;s the way it is. I hope I'm proven wrong in few months.....

 

[dawgpilot]

I still have hope that the SDK for the Mavic Air 2 will support waypoints. (the SDK for the original Mavic Air did).

It's possible DJI left that out for the Mavic Mini since it's at the bottom of their product lineup.

 

[svenmarbles]

I don’t claim to be a programmer type for any of this stuff, but I will make an observation...

I was actually under the assumption that when the SDK released, it would be for the Mini and Air 2 at the same time. Thinking, both are Fly app drones and that there would be a common programming “ecosystem”, therefore they would be mirrored for SDK support. Obviously this proved not to be true..

With that being said, I no longer have any reason to believe that anything having to do with what they are able to do with the Mini is any indication at all as to what they’re likely to be able to do in the Air 2.

They’re different.. If they weren’t there would have been 14 extra mouse clicks to simultaneously launch the Air 2 SDK along side the Mini one.

We’ll see what happens.

If waypoints isn’t achievable for the Air 2 it’s going to be a major blow... I’ve basically purchased this drone on faith that the functionality would eventually come. I’ll need to find another solution if they can’t make it happen..

 

[lee82gx]

Q3 is the release date for mavic air 2 sdk. We have about 2 more months to go. Dont get me wrong I'm just like you guys. One thing to note is that Mavic air 1 was announced pre launch with Waypoints, it was only removed at the last minute at the DJI go4 application level. So for sure it was developed with waypoints in mind.

However, Mavic Air 2 has not even been remotely hinted to have Waypoints (except for the "Waypoint" in time lapse which is actually a misnomer). So the chances are slim if we go by way of Mavic mini......

I have actually asked both DJI sdk developers AND DJI forum admins. Both did not confirm.

 

[svenmarbles]

I once read in the DJI support forum that the developers at DJI “didn’t think there was enough interest in waypoints functionality” and is why you’re not seeing it in the later drones.

I really have no idea how their R&D came to that conclusion. All I see everywhere is everyone screaming for it...

 

[GadgetGuy]

If waypoints isn’t achievable for the Air 2 it’s going to be a major blow... I’ve basically purchased this drone on faith that the functionality would eventually come. I’ll need to find another solution if they can’t make it happen..

Never a good idea to buy a newly released DJI drone, hoping an unadvertised feature will be added later. Even some of the advertised features never make it to fruition, and others that do, often don't work the way one would expect. Far better to buy a mature DJI drone that already offers all features you need and want. No disappointments that way.

 

[lee82gx]

I once read in the DJI support forum that the developers at DJI “didn’t think there was enough interest in waypoints functionality” and is why you’re not seeing it in the later drones.

I really have no idea how their R&D came to that conclusion. All I see everywhere is everyone screaming for it...

Dji RND is legendary for their listening ability. As legendary as Apple Computer. So far that I know not 1 major feature has been added to mavic air 1, pro 1 and now mavic air 2 from a software or hardware perspective due to customer request. Maybe 1 : ipad support on fly app. Even if waypoints is added, we'd have to spend coin on litchi. (BTW its a great app well worth the money)

 

[KelvinFPV]

Anybody wanna buy my MA2? I guess I assumed it would have waypoints due to the lowest level drone prior to the mini (spark) had them. I just thought that was part of the game for smart self flying drones. I'll just stick with my home builds.

 

[dawgpilot]

Anybody wanna buy my MA2? I guess I assumed it would have waypoints due to the lowest level drone prior to the mini (spark) had them. I just thought that was part of the game for smart self flying drones. I'll just stick with my home builds.

The Spark didn't have waypoints unless you used a 3rd party app (such as Litchi). Since DJI isn't releasing the SDK for the Mavic Air 2 until September, we'll have to wait until then to see if the Mavic Air 2 gains that ability.

 

[lee82gx]

Dronedeploy has confirmed to enable waypoints for mavic mini by controlling its flight through virtual control sticks, that is the mission is not uploaded to the drone but controlled via app and RF connection. If there is connection lost it will RTH. I guess this is still not too bad, if MA2 has this as an alternative.

 

[svenmarbles]

Dronedeploy has confirmed to enable waypoints for mavic mini by controlling its flight through virtual control sticks, that is the mission is not uploaded to the drone but controlled via app and RF connection. If there is connection lost it will RTH. I guess this is still not too bad, if MA2 has this as an alternative.

This doesn’t work for me.

 

[dawgpilot]

This doesn’t work for me.

There's no SDK yet for the Mavic Air 2, so 3rd party apps won't work with it yet at all until DJI releases it.

 

[lee82gx]

I need to revise my statement about dronedeploy supporting waypoints via the virtual sticks. Its actually dronelink app. Over in the Mavic Mini sub-forum someone has already tested it and it appears to work to some extent.

For me, if this is made available for Mavic Air 2, I'll settle for it. I don't mind having a strong connection all the time, as my primary purpose will likely be photogrammetry and mapping, whereby I will likely be on site.

Another reply from DJI staff, perhaps telling us politely to forget about waypoints:

Are Waypoint missions exposed with SDK support of Mavic Mini?

I have read in various forums that some developers or users are hoping that the Mobile SDK will expose Waypoint Mission functionality for the Mavic Mini through some of their favorite 3rd Party Apps because that functionality is not available in the DJI Fly app. However, this is not an SDK or...

forum.dji.com

 

[GadgetGuy]

I need to revise my statement about dronedeploy supporting waypoints via the virtual sticks. Its actually dronelink app. Over in the Mavic Mini sub-forum someone has already tested it and it appears to work to some extent.

For me, if this is made available for Mavic Air 2, I'll settle for it. I don't mind having a strong connection all the time, as my primary purpose will likely be photogrammetry and mapping, whereby I will likely be on site.

Another reply from DJI staff, perhaps telling us politely to forget about waypoints:

Are Waypoint missions exposed with SDK support of Mavic Mini?

I have read in various forums that some developers or users are hoping that the Mobile SDK will expose Waypoint Mission functionality for the Mavic Mini through some of their favorite 3rd Party Apps because that functionality is not available in the DJI Fly app. However, this is not an SDK or...

forum.dji.com

I wouldn’t place ANY credence upon ANY response from a DJI employee on their forum. They are essentially bots, providing automated replies. They have no personal knowledge nor understanding of which they speak! The eventual SDK will likely provide creation of waypoints by all third party developers, should they decide to support the MA2, and there is no reason to assume otherwise. It may be a while, though!

 

[Fadly]

I think DJI want to reserve the waypoints support for their prosumer and professional lineup. I mean, if they give too much functionalities in their lower end drones, who's gonna buy the expensive one.

 

[lee82gx]

I think DJI want to reserve the waypoints support for their prosumer and professional lineup. I mean, if they give too much functionalities in their lower end drones, who's gonna buy the expensive one.

that's absolute bull dung, IMO. Mavic air 1, which was launched at the same price has this. If DJI thinks like this, then Mavic Air 3 will have even less features. The one thing they need to be aware is that at this price, other competitors will be able to offer it because it is a simple software feature.

 

[Ben Anderson]

However, Mavic Air 2 has not even been remotely hinted to have Waypoints (except for the "Waypoint" in time lapse which is actually a misnomer). So the chances are slim if we go by way of Mavic mini......

I don't have a Mini but my understanding is that it does not have the hyperlapse function of the MA2. Although the method of setting the waypoints is different, the Hyperlapse>Waypoint mode does have the functionality that is needed for setting up a waypoint route. Because of this, I doubt the Mini was designed to have waypoints, and thus it would not appear in the SDK.

My feeling is that the MA2 has waypoint capability, but when it was released it had not yet been implemented in the UI. For example, the recent 1.1.6 DJI Fly update adds gimbal control for the MA2 but not for the Mini. This control capability was already in the MA2, but the UI programming hadn't been completed yet.

At the very least it seems the MA2 SDK will have to expose the controls for the Hyperlapse>Waypoint mode. A third party developer should be able to use those controls to set up a waypoint route. Of course, we can hope that DJI will go ahead and provide that functionality before the SDK is released in ~September.

I sometimes feel that although the MA2 hardware is well-designed, that the firmware and DJI Fly are a work in progress. Maybe rushed a bit because of the recent lawsuit and growing anti-China sentiment regarding security? At any rate, DJI did produce a capable drone that seems to be quite popular.

 

[lee82gx]

I don't have a Mini but my understanding is that it does not have the hyperlapse function of the MA2. Although the method of setting the waypoints is different, the Hyperlapse>Waypoint mode does have the functionality that is needed for setting up a waypoint route. Because of this, I doubt the Mini was designed to have waypoints, and thus it would not appear in the SDK.

My feeling is that the MA2 has waypoint capability, but when it was released it had not yet been implemented in the UI. For example, the recent 1.1.6 DJI Fly update adds gimbal control for the MA2 but not for the Mini. This control capability was already in the MA2, but the UI programming hadn't been completed yet.

At the very least it seems the MA2 SDK will have to expose the controls for the Hyperlapse>Waypoint mode. A third party developer should be able to use those controls to set up a waypoint route. Of course, we can hope that DJI will go ahead and provide that functionality before the SDK is released in ~September.

I sometimes feel that although the MA2 hardware is well-designed, that the firmware and DJI Fly are a work in progress. Maybe rushed a bit because of the recent lawsuit and growing anti-China sentiment regarding security? At any rate, DJI did produce a capable drone that seems to be quite popular.

Agree on all points, except your example with mini gimbal. It was already available for mini a long time ago.

 

[Ben Anderson]

Agree on all points, except your example with mini gimbal. It was already available for mini a long time ago.

Thanks. I don't have a Mini so did not know that. I have now watched a video demonstrating that feature. I see it only has pitch control. Do you know if the Mini got yaw control when using DJI Fly 1.1.6?