Would like to see this in the Mavic Pro v2

[Britishbigfoot]

Check this tech out:

Apologies if you've seen it already.

I can think of zillions of applications for this.

Full article here: Harrier-like Tilt Thrust in Multirotor Aircraft

Found via reddit.com/r/drones

 

[AlanTheBeast]

I doubt that we'll see such very soon from DJI but such is the natural way to go especially for improved range and endurance. Possibly ducted fans as well. Some movement on this in the racing community already.

The ability to orient in odd ways could improve camera pointing as well.

 

[RobbertPatrison]

Thrust-vectoring It looks cool, but once the novelty wears off I do wonder what useful property gets better as a result of that... So, not for me in a Mavic Pro v2.
Tilting the motors adds mechanical complication and weight while not improving any flying characteristics. If we want to look sideways we can just turn the gimbal..

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Thrust-vectoring It looks cool, but once the novelty wears off I do wonder what useful property gets better as a result of that... So, not for me in a Mavic Pro v2.
Tilting the motors adds mechanical complication and weight while not improving any flying characteristics. If we want to look sideways we can just turn the gimbal..

If you look at the nose down attitude of the MP in forward flight you would notice that the fuselage presents a very large area to the airflow. A lot of drag. Not only a lot of drag but it would push the drone down and more power is required to overcome that as well

The drag function is D=1/2 r c V^2 where r is the air density and c is the coefficient of drag for a given body pitch angle.

The current MP sees the value of c go up as a function of V.

If the rotors would tilt to provide forward thrust then the body pitch could be 0, presenting the least body drag at all times in forward flight so c (above) would remain constant. So less power would be needed for a given speed and/or max speed could be dramatically higher. With today's actuators it would be a modest additional cost and no reliability penalty for a well designed system. And no "down push".

Note that racing drones are going to tilt because it allows for a lower drag profile thus higher speed or smaller batteries at a given speed.

This would allow for unusual photography - upside down under arches, bridges, etc - as well.

 

[Kilrah]

No.

That's tech that will have its use for a few specific pro applications, but an all-around machine will only lose performance in common scenarios so you won't find it on a widespread consumer product.

 

[Britishbigfoot]

No matter what form a gimmick takes, it's still a gimmick.

I'm talking about drones in general here, not just a hypothetical Mavic v2. Even if we can see the performance boosts (top speed, improved aerodynamic profiles) we'll see other associated benefits: perhaps hyper accurate payload delivery, capitalising on the use of RTK (and future versions of) high precision GPS. This could be good for long term revisit surveys - spotting subsidence in buildings, shift in dunes, etc.

I quite like it because it opens up the possibilities for more obscure uses.

Imagine an articulated version of the M600, taking a Red Epic from hanging to on top in one shot. Hollywood will dribble all over this feature alone!

 

[RobbertPatrison]

If you look at the nose down attitude of the MP in forward flight you would notice that the fuselage presents a very large area to the airflow. A lot of drag. Not only a lot of drag but it would push the drone down and more power is required to overcome that as well

The drag function is D=1/2 r c V^2 where r is the air density and c is the coefficient of drag for a given body pitch angle.

The current MP sees the value of c go up as a function of V.

If the rotors would tilt to provide forward thrust then the body pitch could be 0, presenting the least body drag at all times in forward flight so c (above) would remain constant. So less power would be needed for a given speed and/or max speed could be dramatically higher. With today's actuators it would be a modest additional cost and no reliability penalty for a well designed system. And no "down push".

Note that racing drones are going to tilt because it allows for a lower drag profile thus higher speed or smaller batteries at a given speed.

This would allow for unusual photography - upside down under arches, bridges, etc - as well.

That is a good point. Tilt-rotors can help get a lower-drag orientation, and result in more efficient flight. I suspect that for such high-speed applications adding wings makes sense as well, a but like the Osprey, or the drone that Amazon showed off two years ago. The advantage is likely only relevant for truly high-speed or long-distance operations, things that are a bit at odds with the FAA drone regulations.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Mavic 2 should have(in my opinion)

360* obstacle sensors plus upward sensors

Slightly larger battery

Receiver for ads-b? So it can "see" nearby manned aircraft.

They will likely include a better camera with better 4K processing.