DJI Merge Power and Smart Features to Give the Gift of Flight to All

If you’ve never experienced flying a drone then taking the first steps to selecting which drone to purchase and flying for the very first time may seem a little daunting.  There are several different manufacturers out there offering different types of drones for different uses. These uses include racing, video and photography or simply for the fun of flying and it’s important to select the drone that best matches your needs.

One of the world’s largest drone manufacturers, with seven out of every ten consumer drones in the sky, is DJI.  DJI have a range of drones in their line-up ranging from the easy-to-fly straight of the box Phantom range to the more prosumer interchangeable lens Inspire series and onto the professional Matrice series used for films and industrial inspections.

The latest addition to the Phantom series, the Phantom 4 Advanced Credit:DJI

The latest addition to the Inspire series, the Inspire 2 Credit: DJI

The latest addition to the Matrice series, the M210 Credit:DJI

DJI also shook up the market with the Mavic Pro, a drone that folds up to just the size of a small water bottle and weighs less than 750g.  You may think that in order to achieve a drone of this size some of the smart features included in other DJI drones needed to be discarded but this is not the case.  The DJI Mavic Pro not only includes the same intelligent features as other DJI drones but goes even further and enhances them. Its compact size hides a high degree of complexity that makes it one of DJI’s most sophisticated flying cameras ever.

“We merged power and smart features making it easy for everyone to fly and create beautiful images,” explained a DJI spokesperson.  “The toughest challenge for us was finding the sweet spots between form and function.”

With 24 high-performance computing cores, five vision sensors to help avoid bumps and scrapes, and a 4K camera stabilized by a 3-axis mechanical gimbal, the Mavic Pro helps to turn the sky into your very own canvas ready for you to create your own masterpiece easily and without worry.

The DJI Mavic Pro fits in the palm of your hand Credit: The Verge

The DJI Mavic Pro is the perfect example of what the DJI CEO Frank Wang strived for when first setting up the company just over ten years ago. His aim was to make it easy for anyone to pick-up a radio control and fly without the frustrations and difficulty associated with keeping radio controlled helicopters in the air.

They say that a picture tells a thousand words and thanks to DJI innovations simplifying flight and aerial imaging for all, there are an almost infinite number of words to be told.

 

 

 

 

 

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Where did you buy your DJI drone?

Our editor recently saw an interesting thread on DJI forum. Where did you buy your DJI drone? DJI.com, Amazon.com, B&H, or your local dealer?  If you bought the drone from places other than DJI website, what was the reason behind it? Customer service, price, accessibility?

It’s a good question as many people love DJI drones but don’t know where to buy.

We found the majority of them order direct from DJI.com according to their responses. The motivations behind are in the following.

• From DJI.com best price at the time.
• From DJI.com only for availability.
• If there was any issues I didn’t have any middle men to deal with!
• From DJI to take advantage of points, no tax, free shipping and automatic activation of Care Refresh.

Those orders from other places under these circumstances.

“I ordered from an amazon.com reseller on the day of the Mavic Pro announcement. I tied to purchase directly from DJI but the site was overloaded at the time and wouldn’t accept my order.”

“Simple, bought by a local dealer. It is because the Guarantuee period by a local dealer in Denmark is much longer and more comprehensive than that DJI can provide. Should the workshop choose and exchange My Mavic Pro to another and not repair the old, I am claim a Shiny new and not one that is gathered by other old spare parts.

Another thing is that I only have to send my Mavic to that traders of purchase and not to another country.”

“Amazon.com (sold by Amazon). There’s no sales tax where I live, so that wasn’t a consideration. I did like the fast shipping with no additional charge. I really just ordered from there because it’s easy.”

“I bought mine from Multicopter Warehouse which is a DJI authorized dealer here in Castle Rock, Colorado. They know there stuff & any issues I can call and get it resolved. I did, however, purchase the DJI Refresh from DJI…BEFORE I EVER FIRST turned it on.  No issues.”

“Amazon.com because they have real warranty and customer service. When I buy something from them, I now that if anything is wrong with the item, they will send me a new one or give me an instant refund no questions asked.”

Where did you buy your DJI drone?Let us know in the comment.

Thank you for reading!

 

 

 

 

 

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Crashing Drone can be helpful

Most of the time, crashing a drone is both accidental and to the drone pilot, very upsetting. Sometimes, however, it can be helpful. Virginia Tech researchers have been smashing drones into crash heads in the name of science and safety. Crashing drones head-on and full speed at crash test dummies is allowing the researches to evaluate what risk drones pose when they hit the human body.

The testing so far has consisted of multiple aircraft of different sizes being flown at full speed into the head of a sitting crash dummy fitted with sensors to calculate impact damage. Although most drone accidents would come from overhead and thus be significantly less harmful to the victim, maximum possible damage is helpful to know. More testing will still be done by the VT team for a large data pool from which to develop conclusions.

The drones used were, from smallest to largest, a DJI Phantom 4 (3lbs), a DJI Inspire 1 (~6lbs), and a DJI S1000 (up to 24lbs). The Inspire actually survived the impact and was able to be flown afterwards, but the other two were heavily damaged. DJI has been one of the only commercial drone manufacturers that is building advanced safety technology into their aircraft. The Phantom 4 line introduced binocular cameras in front that allow the craft to automatically sense and avoid obstacles. The newer DJI Phantom 4 Pro is arguably the safest drone on shelves with its 5-way binocular obstacle sensing cameras.

Currently, drones are not allowed to be flow over people, a safety measure enforced by the FAA to ensure they are flown safely. Even professional filmmakers on closed sets are no longer allowed to fly over people after an amendment to the 333 exemption revoked the ability. Current FAA regulations are put in place to prevent damage by limiting airspace. However, these limits often frustrate hobbyists and commercial pilots alike.

Most drones available for purchase fall within weight limits to which the FAA’s regulations apply. Drones have long been placed in registration categories. Any drone under half a pound is not required to be registered, and any aircraft over 55 pounds needs special permitting. In a drone-risk classification, the FAA used this half-pound limit to categorize drones into risk levels – any drone above was in a different risk-class. In response, DJI released a white paper making a compelling case that drones up to 2.2 kilos (covering most of their consumer grade aircrafts) should be included in the low-risk weight class. The full paper download can be found here.

There are many parties involved in drone safety. Many pilots want drone airspace deregulated as much as possible to open up their flying capabilities. The FAA is designing stricter and stricter regulations to make the skies clear of hazards to people and other aircraft alike. 3^rd party institutions are conducting tests to determine what the risk is. Drone manufacturers, especially DJI, is working on creating technologies that make drones themselves as safe as possible so the FAA and other regulatory agencies need not feel pressured into making imposing rules. When these groups come together, drone tech and use will grow in the safest manner possible. We will likely see more testing like Virginia Tech’s study as growth continues.

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DJI Inspire 2 camera

( Video via DJI by Inspire 2 )

The Inspire 2 has a fixed, built-in camera that faces forward. It’s stabilized by a 2-axis gimbal, and its sole purpose is to provide a forward video feed to the pilot at all times. It is nestled in the front, in between the forward obstacle sensors. The camera that is actually used for video capture hangs underneath the body and is stabilized using a 3-axis gimbal.

The DJI Inspire 2 comes with a completely new generation of cameras, with both of them shooting at a resolution of 5.2K but featuring different sensor types.

The Zenmuse X4S is the standard camera attached to the drone.It uses the same 1-inch 20MP image sensor, 24mm f/2.8-11 lens, and mechanical shutter as the integrated camera used by the Phantom 4 Pro. Its fixed field of view covers about the same angle as a 24mm lens on a full-frame camera system.

The Zenmuse X5S is an optional add-on. It has a Micro Four Thirds sensor with 20.8 megapixels and a claimed dynamic range of 12.8 stops. The Zenmuse X5S supports 10 different lenses.

In the future, there will be a DJI Osmo handheld device that these cameras will be compatible with, to be used on the ground. The Zenmuse X5S, is available for videographers who require the flexibility of interchangeable lenses. The Micro Four Thirds format camera features a 20MP sensor and supports a total of 10 lenses, including some compact zoom options. Going with that configuration, which DJI has dubbed the Inspire 2 Combo, ups the price to $6,198, although there is a $5,999 promotional price that’s valid through the end of 2016. The Combo bundle also includes licenses for CinemaDNG and Apple ProRes.

Still images are supported in Raw DNG forma with either camera. Both pack about 20MP of resolution; it’s just the physical sensor size that differs. The X4S can be set to ISO 100 through 12800, while the X5S can be pushed further, to ISO 25600, a plus for video and imaging in very challenging light.

There is no question about it, the DJI Inspire 2 is an impressive drone and a testament to the irritatingly fast pace at which DJI is advancing drone technology way beyond the competition.

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DJI introduced its Agriculture Drone technology in Europe at SIMA Paris

DJI unveiled on Sunday 28 February the MG-1S at the SIMA in Paris. SIMA is one of the most important B2B agriculture machinery trade show in the World and is visited by international farmers and business men from the agriculture industry, eager to buy the best technology and machines helping them to improve their efficiency. Costs, time and the environment are important for the agriculture industry and DJI can clearly help addressing these issues.

Introducing the new DJI MG1-S spray drone.

The DJI MG1-S is an improvement of the DJI MG1, launched in 2015. The MG1-S is a sprayer carrying 10 liters of liquide and able to treat 1 ha in 10 minutes.

With the MG 1S, the evolution focuses on the processor, stability in flight and distribution of pumps. Three radars are placed instead of just one before. Spraying can thus vary depending on the speed of the apparatus. It will use two or four nozzles. The eight octcopter arms have a cooling system.

Designed for point and precision applications, it can not be used in France because the spreading of pesticides has become prohibited. But DJI decided to come to SIMA to show the future of possible to its audience (232.000 vistors attended the Show this year), this offer because this regulation could evolve. SIMA has an international audience (25% of its visitors) and other countries allow this practice, especially in Asia.

Marketing the DJI Smarter Farming Package

The DJI Smarter Farming package is an end to end solution for precision agriculture.

This package allows farmers to get a better understanding and crop analysis management thanks to DJI’s aerial mapping technology and the use of PrecisionHawk software solution.

The DJI Matrice 100 (and the brand new DJI Matrice 200) is equipped for aerial imagery with a large number of applications aimed to the agriculture industry. Equipped with a foldable structure and a 35-minute autonomy, the camera can embarks a thermal camera and map the crops while flying over it.

The M200 carries an ADS-B receiver informing it of the surrounding air traffic. It also integrates FightHub software to share real-time information via a cloud. With these launches, DJI confirms its willingness to invest in professional activities, including those in the agricultural sector.

The DJI booth was represented by DJI’s agriculture team from Shenzhen who made the trip to Paris and the local PR representative from the DJI European office. For this last activity, in addition to R & D, DJI seeks to rely on local levers to develop the exploitation of the data, or even develop these services itself.

 

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What Enterprise Drone had to do with the Mobile World Congress?

Barcelona once again hosted February’s annual Mobile World Congress, a show the organiser’s claim to be the world’s biggest and best mobile industry event comprising of a massive exhibition, an award-winning conference and outstanding networking opportunities. However, among the regular announcements of the latest handsets from the likes of Samsung, HTC, and HUAWEI; superfast 5G networks from mobile phone operators; and keynote speeches from the industry’s leading executives, there was a new player in town. This new player wasn’t an expected guest or in the form factor of a mobile phone but a series of enterprise drone from the world’s leading manufacturer of unmanned aerial technology, DJI. You may ask what exactly a remote controlled flying device has to do with the ‘world’s biggest and best mobile industry event’ but the answer is relatively straight forward and can be found in the device’s application.

DJI’s first fully sealed IP43[1] classified M200 series drones, basically meaning that their enclosure provides protection against objects up to 1mm thick and spraying water, are perfect for cell tower inspections combining DJI’s expertise in both drone-making as well as imaging. The M200 drones are portable with a folding body that’s easy to set up and stow away. It’s also loaded with sensors facing down, up, and forward to help it avoid obstacles but you can add even more sensors to its payload for additional capabilities like thermal imaging.

Aerial inspection at the Telefonica cell tower in Barcelona CREDIT DJI

The drones are also ideal for other tasks such as:

Critical Infrastructure Inspections – such as work near power lines and bridges where inspectors are put at risk from falling from a height or suffering an electric shock. When coupled with a device such as DJI’s Zenmuse Z30 with a 30x optical zoom, inspection work can be done safely from a distance.  The M200 can identify millimeter-sized faults in buildings, roads and bridges in real time, making those operations more safe, efficient and effective.

Image taken with Z30 at x1 CREDIT DJI

Image taken with Z30 at x30 CREDIT DJI

Energy Facility Inspections – maintenance planning can be both costly and time-consuming. The M200 series, especially the M210 RTK with exceptional stability, can be used to capture unparalleled detail of vertical infrastructures, such as wind turbines and offshore oil rigs.

Construction Site Mapping – surveying and mapping often need to be conducted regardless of weather conditions and other external factors. The M200 is a rugged platform designed to handle tough conditions. The M200 gives construction site managers an efficient tool to review progress and workflow, ensuring more efficient use of resources.

Public Safety – when time is of the essence and weather conditions turn foul, first responders require a versatile and reliable aerial platform. Carrying visual and/or thermal sensors, the M200 provides situational awareness of potentially dangerous situations such as fires, searches and natural disasters. Incident commanders can use data collected by the M200 to make smarter and better decisions, protecting life and property while minimising the safety risk to rescue personnel.

“Drones have quickly become a standard part of the enterprise toolkit and industrial users have come to rely on DJI technology to efficiently collect aerial data,” said Paul Guo, Director Enterprise Solutions at DJI. “With the M200 series, DJI introduces a holistic solution designed specifically for these users. We are revolutionizing professional workflows by making it possible to use advanced sensors in various combinations to make sophisticated tasks such as bridge inspections, land surveying and search-and-rescue missions, easier, safer and more reliable than ever before.”

Keep an eye out for one of these devices being used near you in the not too distant future.

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In which case do you hand launch/catch the DJI Mavic Pro?

Many people are curious how many people are hand launching and catching with the DJI Mavic Pro. Below are the cases from DJI Mavic Pro forums.

# “I was hesitant to hand launch and catch but since I fly from mountain locations where this is the only option, I have now done this many times with no issue. I do not have time to fiddle with settings like disabling OA or VPS. I just catch the Mavic Pro from the front (camera side). It’s easy to grab a good firm hold there with no chance of slipping and you can avoid the bottom sensors. If it does try to lift off, that’s not a problem either, it’s easy to hang on. ”

# “Generally no hand launches; when the terrain makes it necessary I use one of those foldable landing pads. The only exception is when I (occasionally) find myself in a (rebar-heavy) concrete jungle that my compass doesn’t like: then I’ll hand launch. And personally haven’t yet found a reason to hand catch, but I understand that some people (e.g., in boats) have a reason to or just prefer it.”

# “I almost strictly hand launch and hand catch. Too much snow right now and since I travel light, I don’t carry any kind of pad. I find it super easy and I do not turn off anything. I have added a removable neck strap to the controller to make it easier to use with one hand while launching and landing.”

# “I do both hand launch and hand catch and I literally have never tried landing my DJI Mavic Pro on ground. I find my fingers are impossible to touch the props if you catch it from the belly (just like everyone else does)”

# “I hand launch and catch whenever I need to. These days, snow would simply not let me take-off and land normally from the ground. I tried several things, but what works best for me is to make sure the DJI Mavic Pro hovers steadily on my right-hand side, 1 foot above my head. I set the automatic landing with two hands on the RC, then I hold the RC with my left hand only and raise my right hand in the air just underneath the quad. The Mavic Pro starts going down and stops when it reaches my hand and feels what it thinks is the ground.

The other thing I do as often is just lowering the quad manually with my left hand on the RC, while my right hand is grabbing the quad. Usually there is a second or two where the drone tries to escape due to the sensors but it does not resist for long. You just have to stay full throttle down until props stop. The worst that can happen if you miss your shot and don’t have a good grip is the quad lifting off by a couple of feet. You just have to start again with a firmer grip.

I find both techniques safe enough for this kind of conditions (snow, water, rocks on the ground), but I’d rather take-off and land from a flat and clean surface when I can.”

# “I have hand launched and caught a couple of times – when there is no suitable site for auto takeoff. I turn the Mavic Pro facing away from me so it doesn’t detect any objects. Then put my hand up under it quickly and grab, then throttle down quickly. It struggles briefly, but then is ok. Launching is no problem. I set the controller on auto takeoff – hold the Mavic with other hand (facing away from me), and hit the take off button. Sometimes I have my wife hit the button. It just lifts out of my hand and stays there until I’m ready with the controls.”

It seems that most of the pilots launched/caught the DJI Mavic Pro manually if necessary in some special conditions like landing/catching from the snow,water, rocks, jungle and boat etc..

The video below may show this technique and offer some good tips for Mavic Pro hand launching or catching.

( Video via Tech We Want )

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Drone’s Save Lives – The PR Boost Drones Need

When drone first started to become stable and reliable, industries across the spectrum brainstormed as to how to incorporate this new technology and reap its benefits. From the shipping industry, to the filmmaking industry, to the agricultural industry, drones are slowly becoming major workhorses in a number of industries. It’s exciting to finally see the exponentially increasing use of drone in the public safety sector. The faster drones are put into use; the more lives are potentially saved.With every positive use case reported on by news outlets, public safety departments get more leverage to acquire these technologies.

What accounts for this increase in drone use for public safety is the ability of drones to fly with an array of different types of cameras including infrared, multispectral, and telephoto capable. Platforms like the DJI Inspire or Matrice 100 allow pilots to swap out cameras in seconds. With custom made apps used to control the drones autonomously, user oversight is mitigated. With autonomous flight paths, one of these aircrafts can fly in a grid to cover every inch of land so no hiker is lost to the wilderness.

One such example of drones being put to the test is in Western Canada where seven skiers and snowboarders were rescued after getting stranded. Hummingbird, a drone company specializing in SAR (search and rescue) drones, teamed up with Kamloops Search and Rescue to deploy a DJI Matrice 100 fitted with a thermal camera. After only a few hours the glowing hikers were spotted on the thermal camera. “The Matrices are our favorite and the most effective for what we do because they provide a platform for us to develop on and build out functionality beyond the primary basic use case,” said Robert Atwood, CEO of Hummingbird.

(screenshot of Kamloops SAR’s XT video)

Because of the public’s skeptical position about drone use, public institutions are hesitant to incorporate drones into their arsenal of safety tools. To speed up deliberation, companies like Drone Pilot Inc. have developed programs to provide the tools and training necessary to ease safety, budget, and logistical concerns. They focus on crime scenes and SAR training and use a wide number of multirotors of all shapes and sizes the large and powerful DJI S1000 to the portable and quick-to-deploy DJI Mavic.

As more use cases develop and more success stories are published, public safety institutions will incorporate drones more rapidly and more lives will be saved. Public opinion in favor of drone use by public or federal institutions has been slow to come, but the general perception of drone use may soon be overwhelmingly positive.

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3 Extreme Tests to Inspire 2 under -20℃

Not a drone, no matter big or small, can take off in the winder of Harbin without any insulating measure.

Every so called monster on the market becomes weak in low temperature environment:
You must push the control sticks gently, in case the drone falls due to a sudden voltage dip.
Flying with fear, before you hear the warnings to return to home after a few seconds flight…

Until the birth of Inspire 2, who claims its batteries can be self-heated and deal with temperature as low as -20℃.

So we buy one, bring it to the north of China and see whether the Inspire 2 performs just as how DJI claims.

Here are the results.

Performance test at ultralow temperature

In -20℃，hot water turns to ice immediately when spilt into the air

Battery Performance 

Before carrying out the test, there is a question needs to be answered:

Can Inspire 2 take off in -20℃ without protection?

Just so you know:

In -20℃，an iPad dies in 5 minutes after turning on, and hands will stick with the Inspire 2 controller.

So what happens when putting a fully-charged battery into Inspire 2 without any insulating measures, in -18℃ environment?

The recorded video clip has been speeded up

Screenshot of DJI GO app during test
When the temperature was -18℃, Inspire 2 Intelligence Flight Batteries automatically heated to 13-14℃.

The self-heating function is triggered at -18℃ （the yellow numbers on the right side of the screenshot means batteries are heating）,till battery cells’ temperature rises to 13-14℃. The heating process continues after take-off to keep the batteries at 14℃.

Our test showed that Inspire 2 can fly for 15-17min without being incubated before flight. The result has even better than Inspire 1’s 12min record at room temperature, without any accident like power failure.

Comment:

At the moment, even if some drones manage to take off in low temperature, most of them last no longer than several minutes, meaningless for aerial photography. But Inspire 2 successfully launched without any precaution and managed to fly with longer time and higher safety, making low temperature aerophotography a feasible thing, saving lots of troubles. It’s really a big surprise.

Maneuverability

Since Inspire 2 can perform normally in low temperature, it’s time to test its maneuverability.

How fast can Inspire 2 fly at -20℃？

High-speed flight is difficult for drones in such a condition, because if you push the control sticks too hard, battery voltage might dip and cause danger to the drone. But excellent maneuverability is not only about acceleration and max speed, but also includes braking performance. What’s more, a good drone need to fly with great stability, without visible shakes.

To meet the above standards, we operated Inspire 2 to go up at top speed, fly close to the ground, slam the brakes in front of obstacles, hover in winds and one thing few drones can do—dive at full speed.

1. Full-speed Ascending

Original images without any post-processing
Inspire 2 responded fast with huge propulsion at the moment of accelerating

Full ascending process, at D-Log, without post processing

DJI GO showed the flight speed rocketed to 40.8km/h at the moment of acceleration, with vertical flight speed up to 5.8m/s. The footage not only shows the great propulsion, but also the extraordinary stability of Inspire 2.

2. Low-altitude Flight

Original images without any post-processing
Inspire 2 kept the same altitude when flying forward at high speed.

Full process, at D-Log, without post processing
Inspire 2 reached 90km/h easily.

When flying 1.5m above the ground, Inspire 2 accelerated to 85km/h within 6 seconds, and once reached 90km/h during the whole flight.

3. Manually Brake during Full-speed Flight

Original images without any post-processing
Inspire 2 stopped stably in front of obstacles.

Full brake process, at D-Log, without post processing

Drones need to brake fast to ensure safety. The image above recorded by Inspire 2 is smooth and stable, showing a fast and stable brake done by the aircraft.

4. Hover in Winds

Hovering in strong winds is a good way to test a drone’s maneuverability and stability. But in the weather where snow are blew away brook-like by strong winds, what Inspire 2’s performance will be?

Original images without any post-processing
Look how stably Inspire 2 hovered in strong winds.

To make things harder, we let Inspire 2 rotate above the same spot.

Original images without any post-processing
Rotating in strong winds, Inspire 2 caused a small displacement.

5. Diving at Full Speed

The last-but-not-least test to show a drone’s comprehensive performance: full-speed diving. The first thing we want to find out is whether Inspire 2 can achieve max speed horizontally and vertically at the same time, and the second is how fast it brakes after accelerating. This is a very dangerous action, and few drones dare to try it.

Due to limited propulsion, when Inspire 1 is diving, its vertical speed increase, but horizontal speed keeps unchanged or even decreasing. And because Inspire 1 cannot successfully brake during high speed flight. It’s seldom used in shooting diving footages.

Now take a look at Inspire 2’s performance.

Original images without any post-processing

Original images without any post-processing

Full driving process, at D-Log, without post processing
Horizontal and vertical speed achieved the highest at the same time, and braked fast to ensure flight safety

When Inspire 2 is diving, its downward speed and horizontal speed are both increasing throughout the process. Horizontal speed keeps at about 90km/h (highest at 94.4km/h); vertical speed is about 9.0m/s (highest at 9.1m/s)

Both reached the official claim of 94km/h and 9.0m/s.

More importantly, Inspire 2 can brake fast and stably even at its highest speed, meaning its maneuverability is indeed greatly improved.

Full driving process, at D-Log, without post processing

Once again Inspire 2 shows its great maneuverability by keeping horizontal speed at 90.5km/h and descending speed at 8.9m/s. Except a temporary jello effect appeared, might be caused by the liquid in damping balls was frozen in such a low temperature, weakening the damping effect.

Last we found a small bug, which is, Inspire 2 took 7 seconds to lift its landing gears, longer than 4 seconds in room temperature. The reason is the lubricating oil used to lubricate screws frozen due to low temperature, and increased friction.

Original images without any post-processing

Comment：
1. The fact that one can push control sticks however he wants in -20℃ not only shows Inspire 2’s maneuverability, but more surprisingly, its resilience against low temperature.
2. There is no doubt a great improvement on Inspire 2’s acceleration and max flight speed, with higher stability and safety. “It feels great,” quoted one of our pilots.
3. Some small bugs did exist, but they didn’t affect the requirement of professional aerial photography in low temperature. Now professionals can use it to shoot faster and more visually impacted footages.

Spotlight Pro

How precise can Inspire 2 be in Terms of Image Recognition and Composition?

After going through the challenge of maneuverability in low temperature, let’s find out how its image processing system performs in the same situation.
The new Spotlight Pro in Inspire 2 mainly relies on VI technology and algorism, let’s see how they works in snowy weather.

First we tracked a static object.

Inspire 2 moves stably from the front of the house to its side. Though the house looks tiny on screen, Inspire 2 always recognizes it and keeps it at the same place.

Next we tracked a target that was difficult to recognize.

Despite the target horse barely moves, its color is highly similar to the background, plus there are so many horses just like the one itself, it’s difficult for Inspire 2 to recognize.

Let’s see if Inspire 2 will make a mistake.

Original images

Original images

You can see when Inspire 2 comes close to the target slowly, it becomes bigger, and the shape also changes largely. And a telegraph pole appears in the video, failed to interfere Inspire 2’s constant focus on the same horse, though the position of the horse in the screen changes slightly.

Now let’s track a fast moving object.

When shooting a fast moving object, it’s recommended to use one of the two modes: Composition Mode. It’s particularly useful when you don’t have the time to frame your target. In Composition Mode, select the subject and the tracking position. When the subject enters the preset tracking position, press C2 button on the controller to begin tracking.

A car is approaching at about 50km/h.

Inspire 2 managed to keep on tracking, despite the high speed and small size of the car.

Inspire 2 accelerated from 60km/h to 70km/h. Even though it kept changing directions, the target was still at the center of the screen.

During the tracking process, Inspire 2 came across some obstacles, including telegraph poles, but it still kept on tracking.

The car changed its direction, and its movement was not predictable. But Inspire 2’s VI function still worked well to lock on the target

Comment：
1. The recognition precision of Spotlight Pro is very high, capable of tracking static as well as fast moving objects, even on a background that is almost the same with the target.
2. Successfully keeps locking on target with obstacles in its way.
3. Stability of composition still needs to be improved. Target has small displacement on screen, so gimbal control is still necessary in professional shooting.

Verdict

Good points:
Unprecedented low temperature performance

Faster acceleration and flight speed, higher stability and reliability
Strong maneuverability in low temperature
High precision in recognizing objects in Spotlight mode
High photosensitive property, with enough ISO to take night shots.

Weak points:
Longer time to lift and extend the landing gears in low temperature
Performance of hydraumatic damping balls are weakened in low temperature
Composition in Spotlight mode needs to be more stable

All in all, Inspire 2 is undoubtedly a monster for professional aerial photography in low temperature.

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