Who/How/Why -- do you trust non-DJI automation apps? (Litchi, DroneLink, DroneDeploy, etc...)

[modbuilder]

FWIW - I've flown Litchi waypoint missions for 2+ years on Mavic Pro and P4P with no problems. Wouldn't fly any other app for waypoints. Love it

 

[dronepilotbob]

My one and only crash since 2014 was using mavic air with litchi app. I haven’t used it since. I have tried Dronelink and DroneDeploy without any issues after the fact.

To be fair I’m 99% confident that the air had a compass error and it was pilot error since I should have waited for more satellites to lock in (regardless of HOME being locked) and I should have checked my true north. I’m blaming this one on myself and not litchis fault. Regardless, superstition has me staying away from it.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I use DJI Pilot I've tried Dronelink, but have never gotten it to work correctly.

 

[Edward Knight]

As a fairly new Mavic Air pilot I've been primarily using the DJI Go app for basic flying. When I needed to look for waypoint flying I found Litchi.

Now there is DroneLink that just came out as well. DroneLink looks really good and offers a lot more than Litchi BUT and this is a big BUT.. how do you put your trust in an automation app to not fly away with your drone or crash it?

If you're using the DJI app and it crashes your drone and the logs show it did I'm sure DJI will replace your drone. What happens if these third party apps do the same thing? How much do they stand behind their products?

How as a drone pilot do you yourself trust an app or do y'all have money to burn in replacing drones? Every time I fly a mission with Litchi I cross my fingers it comes back.

Curious because I've been seeing DroneLink out there and went to their web site. Like I said lots of great features. When I went to get the app though it's not available on Google Play yet because of an issue and you have to download the APK directly. It's version 1.01!!!! As a non-Part 107 pilot I can't afford to have my drone disappear into the wild blue yonder.

At what point do you take the plunge and at what point do you simply not trust the company producing the app?

I use Litchi pretty much exclusively and never have a problem except by my own doing. Litchi is solid. There are some cosmetic changes in the device display I would like to see though.

 

[nafisgal]

It's all a matter of common sense .... Until the warranty of your drone does not expire ... Do not try any application that DJI does not recognize ..

 

[HawkEye76]

I am using Litchi, dronelink and several Mapping apps. I do not see a risk in using those apps. As long as you keep an eye on the flight and are ready with the pause or Sports mode button to stop auto flight at any time if needed.

Worth mentioning is also the new EU rules that probably will allow for an extended VLOS as long as you are using preprogrammed flight. The thought behind that is that the pilot can then scan the sky more easily for traffic. This is from my memory after reading some standard operations proposals some weeks ago. Needs to be verified!

 

[bonmot]

And, Google Maps being in error.
Case in point, my "experience" trying to get a reveal at Frenchmans Mountain overlooking Las Vegas.
I was to fly over a crest at a 45° to the right of flying straight for the reveal.
I programmed the flight at 150ft AGL
That would mean it would be 150ft over the crest.
I made sure this was correct with Virtual Litchi Mission several times.
verified "above ground was selected for each WP

The actual results were "Smashing"

What happened is I got a reading at the crest of 3660ft above sea level when I got up there to recover.
Google maps thought it was 3,805 Above sea level including the 150ft AGL.
Meaning it was flying at 3655ft above sea level to try to clear the crest.

They don’t give obstacle avoidance warning during the mission?

 

[pmshop]

They don’t give obstacle avoidance warning during the mission?

I was "flying sideways"
Like 45° to the right towards the reveal so it got "sideswiped"
Actual footage:

first angle adjustment at 10 sec is flying straight to the start, then the second angle adjustment at 14 sec is the angle to the right of straight ahead.

 

[bonmot]

I was "flying sideways"
Like 45° to the right towards the reveal so it got "sideswiped"
Actual footage:

first angle adjustment at 10 sec is flying straight to the start, then the second angle adjustment at 14 sec is the angle to the right of straight ahead.

A good feature they can add is “site visit” before the mission. Basically an always “head forward” submission to make sure the path is clear.

 

[pmshop]

A good feature they can add is “site visit” before the mission. Basically an always “head forward” submission to make sure the path is clear.

That is what you can do in Virtual Litchi Mission.
I would have cleared it if Google topo were correct.
1st 1/4 is the planned mission.
The rest is what I had to climb - the mission pointed straight forward
The saddle at the top is where I hit yet the flight path says I would clear it

 

[bonmot]

That is what you can do in Virtual Litchi Mission.
I would have cleared it if Google topo were correct.
1st 1/4 is the planned mission.
The rest is what I had to climb - the mission pointed straight forward
The saddle at the top is where I hit yet the flight path says I would clear it

i didn’t mean “virtually “. A real site run before the real mission which may have saved your drone . Because in the site run your drone will face forward.

 

[Dave Maine]

I too have flown many Litchi missions without problems. The error with Google maps is scary though. In generating animations with Google Earth I have encountered altitude errors when crossing the division line of 2 of the strips Google uses to map the terrain. In these instances, the errors were around 30 feet, judging from the impact on the animation. There is always going to be some error in the ground altitude as reported by Google as well as any other mapping program. The question is how much. Perhaps someone with more geospatial knowledge can tell us what a safe margin would be.

The same type of question come up with the accuracy of GPS or GLONAS positioning for waypoints. The GPS specified accuracy is within +- 16 feet 95 % of the time. Laying out a route tighter than that means a greater than 5% change the drone will hit an object on either side of that waypoint if it is high enough.

 

[pmshop]

The same type of question come up with the accuracy of GPS or GLONAS positioning for waypoints. The GPS specified accuracy is within +- 16 feet 95 % of the time. Laying out a route tighter than that means a greater than 5% change the drone will hit an object on either side of that waypoint if it is high enough.

So far as what I have seen, the Spark has been right on the money.
The Mavic Air, not so much...

Planned route here was to follow the road it started on, go around the town square and continue on as it did as seen:

Some reason it started to veer off at the first 3 waypoints and continued to veer off.
Because it corrected itself as it did, there was a weird gimbal action and the visual jerk when complete.

Here is a side by side mission, same flight plan for both - Spark on the left:

See the Spark execute perfectly around Cross Mountain but the Mavic Air swings way out around the back side.

 

[bonmot]

So far as what I have seen, the Spark has been right on the money.
The Mavic Air, not so much...

Planned route here was to follow the road it started on, go around the town square and continue on as it did as seen:

Some reason it started to veer off at the first 3 waypoints and continued to veer off.
Because it corrected itself as it did, there was a weird gimbal action and the visual jerk when complete.

Here is a side by side mission, same flight plan for both - Spark on the left:

See the Spark execute perfectly around Cross Mountain but the Mavic Air swings way out around the back side.

Are you saying Mavic Air’s GPS is a little off?

 

[pmshop]

Are you saying Mavic Air’s GPS is a little off?

Not off with the GPS, there are reports of Litchi calculations not 100% with Mavic Air
I had 2 Sparks and 2 Mavic Air - Sparks were consistent as well as the fault with the Mavic Air being consistent

 

[Dave Maine]

Understanding how the application works in detail, and careful experience. The software always does what is programmed to do. The DJI api also is fixed, allowing only certain action sequences. These are the same actions that 3rd parties call.

The next things to consider are the error margins for the input data. GPS has one set of probabilistic errors which will be different each time you fly due to satellite drone geometry. Google earth has errors based on the individual surface strips used in making up the composite surface

Litchi uses both of these sources to calculate its instructions to the drone. Errors in the data input will cause slightly incorrect instructions out of Litchi.

Litchi also has 2 quite different modes for dealing with waypoints. The first is what navigators refer to as shoelace mode, where each leg of the flight represents a straight line between the 2 waypoints. The 2nd mode is interpreted, where it calculates a flight path which is optimized around a path between multiple waypoints to provide a smoother flight. This rarely gets to any single waypoint but flies a graceful curving path through the sequential waypoint field. Either choice also incorporates the data input errors.

I have flown many Litchi flights with P3 4K, MA, and P4adv with no calculated errors. I have seen several errors where cross track errors occur probably due to GPS imprecision, never greater than 10-15 feet.

 

[bonmot]

Not off with the GPS, there are reports of Litchi calculations not 100% with Mavic Air
I had 2 Sparks and 2 Mavic Air - Sparks were consistent as well as the fault with the Mavic Air being consistent

Consistency is a plus!

 

[BubbaDan]

As a fairly new Mavic Air pilot I've been primarily using the DJI Go app for basic flying. When I needed to look for waypoint flying I found Litchi.

Now there is DroneLink that just came out as well. DroneLink looks really good and offers a lot more than Litchi BUT and this is a big BUT.. how do you put your trust in an automation app to not fly away with your drone or crash it?

If you're using the DJI app and it crashes your drone and the logs show it did I'm sure DJI will replace your drone. What happens if these third party apps do the same thing? How much do they stand behind their products?

How as a drone pilot do you yourself trust an app or do y'all have money to burn in replacing drones? Every time I fly a mission with Litchi I cross my fingers it comes back.

Curious because I've been seeing DroneLink out there and went to their web site. Like I said lots of great features. When I went to get the app though it's not available on Google Play yet because of an issue and you have to download the APK directly. It's version 1.01!!!! As a non-Part 107 pilot I can't afford to have my drone disappear into the wild blue yonder.

At what point do you take the plunge and at what point do you simply not trust the company producing the app?

I agree 100%. "How do I trust other apps?" I don't, not at all. However, I DO trust STATE FARM. I bought an insurance policy for my Mavic Pro. It's $60 dollars, US, per year. Total coverage, $1,700

So if Litchi looses my drone, I'll end up with a new one! Kind of makes me hope it happens. however, in 2 years, flying at least weekly, still no Litchie Glitchie.

 

[dronelink]

Hope this article gives you some confidence.

 

[lowellton]

All i can say is it takes two to tango ?️?