Weird thing and crash with active track

arjandevries · May 8, 2018

Hi,

I was doing an active track with my Mavic in the hills of the EIfel in Germany.
The drone crashed.
Here is the video, scroll to the last 20 seconds to see the crash.
Watch the whole minute to see whats happening.
The Mavic lost altitude and I do not know why.
Does anyone have an explanation?

Just_nick · May 8, 2018

We need to see the log, but I'm thinking that where the active track started and where it crashed had an altitude differential, which the drone is not smart enough to know, so it continued forward as though it was still above the ground. That, and obstacle avoidance during active track probably wasn't active.

arjandevries · May 8, 2018

When I am in the dji go app I can see the log files.
I can export to CSV
It says:
csv file locates at DJI go/documents
and than the name.
Where is this map DJI Go/documents located??

colinfowler · May 8, 2018

if the road was going uphill the mavic will not.
so it has not lost altitude, it stayed at its tracking altitude

Lake_Flyer · May 8, 2018

arjandevries said:
Does anyone have an explanation?

The explanation is simple. You used active track.
Sounds tongue in cheeky I know. Please don't be offended.
But I test flew active track quite actively (pun) in a controlled way to see if it was any good. I decided never to use it in any situation at all.
to me active track proved to be a gimmick, a game, a me too feature DJI needed to build in because they wanted the extra market of sports people who nowadays demand to be able to share clips of themselves while doing their thing.

colinfowler · May 8, 2018

Lake_Flyer said:
people who nowadays demand to be able to share clips of themselves while doing their thing

agree.
active track is affective for keeping the subject centre frame as you pilot the mavic. not to jump on a bike and hope its going to keep itself out of trouble.

arjandevries · May 8, 2018

colinfowler said:
agree.
active track is affective for keeping the subject centre frame as you pilot the mavic. not to jump on a bike and hope its going to keep itself out of trouble.

Not to be offensive but I watched several video's where it does a good job..

colinfowler · May 8, 2018

arjandevries said:
Not to be offensive but I watched several video's where it does a good job..

yes it does, but not with elevation change.
I have had good results using it filming my daughter on a horse, but on flat ground.

Lake_Flyer · May 8, 2018

arjandevries said:
Not to be offensive but I watched several video's where it does a good job..

Sure. But I've also seen a lot of videos where it doesn't and crash for no apparent reason.

It is NOT SAFE.
Not even when you have you fingers on the control. It can suddenly accelerate and fly straight into the subject, in this case you, while controlling your motor bike instead of your drone. It could also suddenly decide to track something else, like another bike or a car. How anyone can decide that it is safe enough to have completely uncontrolled drone following a motor bike on a MOUNTAIN road, well, any road, is beyond my comprehension.

But that's what DJI wants the selfie generation to believe. I can't really blame people for actually believing the fancy marketing clips.

Lake_Flyer · May 8, 2018

Lake_Flyer said:
But that's what DJI wants the selfie generation to believe

That's not meant to belittle or ridicule the young. But it is what it is. It is one big marketing mechanism that took the SM by storm, thanks to GoPro and the smartphone hype. And it's getting to become a problem. Even socially. If you don't share a cool action selfie you're very alone amongst all your facebook 'friends'. Sad, really. It's here to stay I'm afraid. Many people buy a drone purely for this.

RayOZ · May 8, 2018

Can you upload the flight log, to see if altitude had changed? Was OA off?
I thought the active track was for those on dirt bikes and skateboards, in a closed circuit. It records home point on take off, if you take it for a few km ride, part way through it’s going to turn around and head home. It was a risky attempt.
For every successful YouTube video, how many failed ones didn’t get uploaded?

colinfowler · May 8, 2018

altitude will not have changed, the road was going uphill.
bottom OA could not help with the steep bank underneath.

RoadieMunky · May 8, 2018

I recently tested smart capture over the weekend, and that followed me running up and down a hill, changed altitude and everything. Don't know if it will work for a motorbike though.

okw · May 8, 2018

Yep. I've had it follow a subject up a hill, but it was at close distance and only about 10 feet off the ground. I started testing it by walking up an incline. Then moved to following my Jeep up a hill in an open area. And finally driving on a trail through the woods with lots of tree cover. On occasion it wouldn't gain altitude, but most tests works fine. I just kept the controller close at hand.

roadkill443 · May 8, 2018

I went through the eifel park over the weekend as part of a motorcycle trip, also with my mavic. Unfortunate about the crash but great area

arjandevries · May 9, 2018

RayOZ said:
Can you upload the flight log, to see if altitude had changed? Was OA off?
I thought the active track was for those on dirt bikes and skateboards, in a closed circuit. It records home point on take off, if you take it for a few km ride, part way through it’s going to turn around and head home. It was a risky attempt.
For every successful YouTube video, how many failed ones didn’t get uploaded?

I would like to uplod the logfile but...
I can find it is dji go app.
I can export the csv file
It says:
csv file locates at DJI go/documents
and than the name.
Where is this map DJI Go/documents located??

#3

RayOZ · May 9, 2018

arjandevries said:
I would like to uplod the logfile but...
I can find it is dji go app.
I can export the csv file
It says:
csv file locates at DJI go/documents
and than the name.
Where is this map DJI Go/documents located??

#3