What more do you need from a recreation drone?

[Bad Santa]

The thing that kept me from buying a high end drone, for so long, was the fear of crashing, the fear of flying off, fear of wind and the fear of not bringing it back to land due to directional confusion.

So, with my Mini 4 Pro, it seems to have overcome those fears.
• Obstacle avoidance
• RTH on lost signal (plus amazing signal distance)
• Strong enough to handle 20mph winds
• RTH at a push of a button

Adding in benefits of a remarkably stable camera
Stop on joystick release
GPS hover
Auto landing
Great battery life, all things considered
And so much more

The question is, what more can you add to a drone to make it better?
Improvements can be made via software.
Eventually there might be a better battery technology to extend flight time
But I don't see much room for improvement.

I could see a possible build program for flight planning (might already exist) where someone could program an entire flight, like they do with drone light shows, that is easy to use but that's not necessarily a drone improvement.

What more do we need?

 

[GFields]

Exactly!

 

[MARK (LI)]

You have waypoints in the mini4pro

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It is a lot easier to do than it looks like in the video and results in smooth cinematic video... here is one I did in my neighborhood

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[Bad Santa]

You have waypoints in the mini4pro

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It is a lot easier to do than it looks like in the video and results in smooth cinematic video... here is one I did in my neighborhood

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Yes, and that's nice but they're just waypoints.
Imagine a 3d map where you could program a flight line and bend the line to all different directions and altitudes. And then have rotation points you could add for camera angles. Even possibilities of zoom, speed of flight, etc.

There's a lot of room for an improvement in automatic controls (with operator override, of course) that could be made.

 

[MARK (LI)]

I think the only feature missing from your list is the 3d map

 

[Erk1024]

What more do we need?

You might give the Avata-2 a try. It's a lot more FUN to fly. Camera drones are great for taking photos and video, but with the Avata2 it's like you're flying an x-wing fighter. And it's more durable, so you can take a few more risks with it. And this style of drone can take a different style of video. You can get that "diving down waterfalls" thrilling footage. It's a different and complementary experience. All I'm saying is that if you're looking to get maximal enjoyment out of drones, it's worth trying the Avata2 and/or FPV drones.

That being said, if I want to take a photo of something, the Avata2 is quite bad at that.

These guys are having a blast (skip to 9:46 in the video)

 

[mavic3usa]

Looking forward to full integration with the 6G mobile network and all the benefits that will come with that.

 

[Bad Santa]

Looking forward to full integration with the 6G mobile network and all the benefits that will come with that.

OT
I heard 6G causes windmill cancer

 

[Cafguy]

What more do we need?

Only one thing really. A module that would allow me to use any controller I want.

 

[kentdavidge]

The two fundamental things I need in a drone are

- long flight time
- strong signal

Back when getting my private pilot license, I was trained to fly/land an aircraft relying only on visual sight (no computers). Of course a drone is a different bird but I don't need RTH and obstacle avoidance... specially because I rarely fly to a site that I have not previously "inspected" (as we do with aircraft), so no surprises along the way.

 

[Bad Santa]

The two fundamental things I need in a drone are

- long flight time
- strong signal

Back when getting my private pilot license, I was trained to fly/land an aircraft relying only on visual sight (no computers). Of course a drone is a different bird but I don't need RTH and obstacle avoidance... specially because I rarely fly to a site that I have not previously "inspected" (as we do with aircraft), so no surprises along the way

I have only flown visual in an actual plane but I've flown instrument only simulators.
Both have merits.

I would have been far more into remote control toys if it weren't for the visual swapping on the controls. You know, when it's coming at you, you have to switch your mind. I can't do it. So, Obstacle avoidance is big for me. So is RTH as it bypasses my unswitchable brain when needed.

If flying a plane to a new airport, most people won't drive there first to do a visual inspection.

 

[mavic3usa]

The two fundamental things I need in a drone are

- long flight time
- strong signal

Back when getting my private pilot license, I was trained to fly/land an aircraft relying only on visual sight (no computers). Of course a drone is a different bird but I don't need RTH and obstacle avoidance... specially because I rarely fly to a site that I have not previously "inspected" (as we do with aircraft), so no surprises along the way.

For a drone, I would argue the current RTH isn't good enough. It needs to be better and there are more improvements on the way. You are already starting to see them whether it's a drone that can retrace it's path for some or all of it's return flight path or a drone that known when to pick an alternate landing site should the situation evolve. I know where I am flying as well but when happens when there is a malfunction and you "permanent" lose the signal connection to your drone? What if you drop your remote into a lake? Are we sure our drone will come home? I like the settings Hover, Land, or Home but we need AI RTH where the drone is smart enough to figure what is the best way to get the drone home. And it will be based on a combination of things from weather/wind to terrain to battery life to current signal strength and others plus a bunch of new AI-related factors like emergency situation or homepoint-in-motion. "Real AI" will fundamentally change the recreational drone hobby.

 

[msinger]

What more do we need?

Just when you think nothing else could be added, DJI goes and adds LiDAR to the Air 3S. I'm sure they'll continue to innovate and implement new features we didn't think we needed.