Range is not an issue with the GoPro Karma

GoPro is a camera company that made a drone. The Karma drone is first an accessory for GoPro cameras.

TechCrunch reviewed, on paper, the GoPro Karma looks like it’s going to compete with the DJI Mavic drone. They’re both packable drones with limited feature sets, designed with portability in mind. In reality, the Karma’s main competitor is the DJI Phantom.

But we think the Karma’s competitor is not the Phantom 3 or 4 but it is the Mavic Pro. Portability is what the Karma was developed for and it falls short when compared to the Mavic although it does have a much better camera with the Black. The Karma will be the go to for those deep in the GoPro ecosystem and for GoPro’s first shot at a drone it’s a home run, but let’s not minimize the impact of the Mavic, it is the standard everyone will now try to emulate.

It’s clear that the product bundle itself is one of the main differences between the GoPro Karma and its DJI rival. GoPro shares a single camera between both the drone and its gimbal grip, and wants you to buy it separately. You’ll need to supply a Hero4 Black or Silver, or the new Hero5 Session or Hero5 Black camera for use with your drone, bolstering GoPro’s camera sales in the process unless you already own one. But the drone ships with its gimbal grip as a free accessory, and realistically speaking, many target customers likely already own one or more GoPro cameras anyway.

Range is not an issue with the GoPro Karma. Its maximum flight distance is 3,000m, which in most cases is far enough for the pilot to lose sight of the drone, breaking one of the key FAA rules of piloting a drone of keeping the drone in visible range. However, many other drones available around the Karma’s price now have a range of 5,000 meters or farther.

The DJI Mavic has a claimed a maximum flying distance of 8 miles (13km). OcuSync long-range-transmission technology is capable of relaying a signal up to 4.3 miles line-of-sight while supporting 720p HD video (1080p HD transmission in short-range mode). Every time you fly, OcuSync scans a range of available frequencies to find and use the one with the least interference to give you more reliability and control, OcuSync transfers vital statistics of the Mavic to you in real time, and can also be used to download photos and videos at up to 40 Mbps while flying. It can be controlled using the DJI Go app over shorter ranges. If you to want to fly further the you can add a tiny remote controller which increases the range to a claimed 7km. The remote can link to a mobile device and view a live feed from the copter in 1080P.

On the whole, the GoPro Karma is a great drone. Think of it as a flying GoPro mount, though, instead of an autonomous aerial vehicle. It lacks collision detection and follow-me abilities — the latest features found on most drones in the Karma’s price point. And that’s a shame, too, as both are excellent additions to drone technology. Think of the Karma as one of the best drones from 2014, and maybe, for GoPro’s core audience, that’s fine.

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DJI Drone technology used on search and rescue

During a search and rescue operation time is of essence. The difference between finding and rescuing a missing person alive or death can be as short as minutes. Therefore, new technologies are constantly being tested to make search and rescue operations be more effective and efficient.

The use of aircraft for search and rescue is not a new concept; the first civil use of a helicopter during a SAR operation dates back to November of 1945. However, over time the use of helicopters has dramatically changed to include not only a pilot, but also a local expert of the terrain (especially in Mountain Search and Rescue) and additional personnel. This has contributed to increased cost and also increased risk. Furthermore, not every search and rescue team has fast access to a helicopter and the weather conditions are not always favorable for the deployment of a manned aircraft.

In 2016 DJI, the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial and consumer drone, has put focus on learning about the challenges of search and rescue operations and is actively trying to find solutions to these challenges. The goal is to integrating these solutions into DJI’s aerial technologies. Drone will not replace the use of a manned aircrafts, but it will become a very effective tool for not only urban search and rescue, but also for maritime and mountain search and rescue missions.

To satisfy the immediate needs of any search and rescue operations, an aerial platform must be easy to transport, be deployable within minutes, be intuitive to operate, provide valuable information, be weather resistant and cost effective. There are additional needs to make this technology even more useful and an integrated part, such as secure live video stream capabilities back to an incident command center and to the ground team. Furthermore, autonomous flight functionality and software assisting the surveying of the search area.

Early results from the DJI and EENA (European Emergency Number Association) partnership to test DJI platforms at four pilot test sites in Europe, indicate that search and rescue personnel can benefit from aerial technology in several ways. The proper use of the technology has lead in test scenarios to a reduction in time to locate a missing person by 60-80%. Furthermore, the aerial view and live data provides valuable information to the ground teams and enables them to stay out of dangerous areas during the search and rescue missions.

The majority of DJI’s platforms are open for the SDK, the Software Development Kit and it allows third party developers to code apps for specific purposes. These apps assist the operator in a variety of functions and are a perfect platform to create solutions for the needs of search and rescue scenarios. As part of the DJI and EENA Partnerships, a search and rescue app is being developed by one of the pilot test sites. This app will provide a variety of valuable functionality to the operator and increase the efficiency of the aerial platform.

 

 

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