Drone In: February 03

Showing posts with label February 03. Show all posts

Friday, February 3, 2017

DJI GS PRO: THE NEW GROUND STATION THAT REVOLUTION YOUR WAY TO FLY

DJI has announced the release of GS PRO (also known as Ground Station Pro), the iPad app that allows you to control and schedule automatic flights for DJI drone.

Through a few simple touches on the screen, you can program complex and take pictures flights in points (waypoints) preset.

The Ground Station Pro is equipped with a new feature, the Virtual Fence, which gives greater security and ease of flight, as it allows you to lock the height and speed within a designated area. The Virtual Fence is very useful in scenarios where there are no-fly zone and can be of great help in the training of future pilots. Moreover, its size and shape are fully customizable. The Virtual Fence can be created both before and during the flight, using the position of the drone as a starting point.

But it does not end there. Other functionalities are 3D Map POI (soon) and 3D Map Area. We’ll analyze them in detail.

3D Map POI

3D Map POI

With this feature you can create maps of structures of a certain height. You must simply choose the subject and set a distance between it and the aircraft. The GS Pro will then provide the relevant parameters, including speed and time, to turn around the structure. The images can then be exported into the 3D reconstruction software to produce accurate 3D models of the entire building.

3D Map Area

The GS PRO automatically generates the best routes, after the user has set the flight area and the parameters of the room, and the drone will follow the assigned trajectory. Later, the images will be included in the 3D reconstruction software to generate 3D maps and the mission can be saved for later use.
3D Map Area

With the GS Pro you can adjust several parameters including: overlap, altitude, shooting angle, course angle and margins. You can also set up to 99 waypoints and adjust the speed, the pitch of the gimbal and the rotation of the drone (clockwise / anticlockwise).

Each waypoint can have up to 15 consecutive actions, including the rotation of the drone, the pitch of the gimbal, recording start / stop, capture photos and hover.
You can also set the actions End of Mission through the Return To Home, hover or landing.

Two flight modes are finally available: Inside Mode and Scan Mode. Inside mode with the drone will follow a trajectory generated automatically within the selected area and Scan Mode will be provided the fastest route to cover the designated area.

The Ground Station Pro is an excellent application that allow you to improve the performance of various sectors such as agriculture, security, search and rescue, electrical inspections and many others.

The GS PRO is compatible with the following DJI platforms : Phantom 4/ Pro , Phantom Standard 3 / 4K / Advanced / Professional, Mavic Pro, Inspire 2, Inspire 1, Matrix Pro 600, matrix 600, matrix 100, A3 / A3 Pro, N3.

Finally, it is compatible with all cameras of the series Phantom 3/4 and Zenmuse X3, X5, X5R, X4S, X5S and Z3.

The post DJI GS PRO: THE NEW GROUND STATION THAT REVOLUTION YOUR WAY TO FLY appeared first on Drone Inner.

Does Hover Camera Sacrifice Performance for Size?

Zero Zero’s new Hover Camera is a unique offering – a tiny, foldable camera with wings. You can easily control it with your smartphone or even let it follow you around as it automatically tracks and captures you on camera. But while the concept is appealing, questions remain: is the technology ready for being rolled out to the market? Which such constraints put on engineers and components due to size, it’s a challenge to create a high-performing product.

Let’s take a look at how the Hover Camera performs in real life, in three important aspects.

Stability

This tiny drone by necessity comes with tiny motors and propellers powered by a tiny battery. This leads is to wonder how it performs outdoors, in moderate to strong winds. As we found in our hands-on tests and as confirmed by Tested in their review, the Hover Camera has trouble even with the slightest bit of wind, and is easily pushed away from its path. Together with the fact that it uses Electronic Image Stabilization instead of a mechanical gimbal, the Hover Camera is just not stable enough for reliable image-making.

Flight time

There’s no way around the fact that a tiny drone can only fit a tiny battery. The Hover Camera has a real-world flight time of about 7 minutes while filming, meaning that you have to carefully plan every shot so as not to run out of batteries. This means that while small, Zero Zero’s drone takes a lot of effort to use even though the product is supposed to be effortless.
hover camera passport flying

Camera

The Hover Camera also packs a tiny camera sensor that performs on par with 2-3 year old smart phones, much below what an iPhone 7 or Samsung S7 can do. Because of the small sensor, both low light and bright light photography suffers as the dynamic range is simply too small. Night time photos are noisy and dark, while sunny photos exhibit blown out highlights and little detail.

The vision recognition feature also suffers in low-light conditions for the same reason.

Conclusion: Toy-like performance

Because of the compromises made in engineering the Hover Camera and the current state of technology, this flying camera really only performs as expected under ideal conditions. Any time it is moved outside of the lab, it becomes more like a toy than a product with a $600 price tag.

( Source )

The post Does Hover Camera Sacrifice Performance for Size? appeared first on Drone Inner.

First hand on review on Yuneec Typhoon H pro

Yuneec Typhoon H pro features 6 rotors, 360-degree gimbal camera. The Yuneec Typhoon H Pro uses the amazing power of Intel RealSense Technology to avoid obstacles and keep you in the shot. It’s a very outstanding design and most of customer think it’s powerful and practicable.

The key innovative feature of the Yuneec Typhoon H pro is the collision avoidance technology based on the ‘RealSense’ solution from Intel. It combines laser infra-red and ultra-sonic sensor technologies to detect and avoid even moving obstacles which might cross the flight path of the Yuneec Typhoon H pro. The Yuneec Typhoon H pro will take evasive manoeuvres as needed autonomously. It works in congested areas offering a carefree follow me function like it has never been seen before.

The RealSense technology by Intel offers several smart functions integrated into the system including CYCLE, Point of interest (POI), Curve Cable Cam (CCC), JOURNEY and Front Ultrasound Sensor function. These functions add to the other proven safety features from Yuneec like Geo-fencing, Dynamic Return home, Low Battery Return Home and No Fly Zones.

But the RealSense on Yuneec Typhoon H pro effective distance of 5 meters, and infrared light structure “outdoors” is almost failure, can only rely on infrared light detection sensors continue to work, indicating that the module itself is not designed for outdoor, so the effect can be imagined that in low quantity. Not only that, but also lead to drone flight performance down. Limit the greater speed and responsiveness. Otherwise, the effective distance of 5 meters buffer is not only not an effective auxiliary tool, but also as a tasteless.

Furthermore, Yuneec Typhoon H pro do rely on GPS positioning. GPS error and flight performance is low let the “obstacle avoidance flight” and “tracking shot” These two features are a mess, Because the effect is really not good, obstacle avoidance flight will be with the lost, targeted shooting deviation, tracking shot is not smooth.

Another problem is the battery of Yuneec Typhoon H pro. It’s not as good as same as the advertisement. In my new Yuneec Typhoon H pro drone 2-minutes into flight, My Yuneec Typhoon H pro had a complete power failure at 40 meters, at a full charge. It fell like a rock and was totaled on a gentle grassy hill side. The flight log shows all was well then nothing from the time of the failure. After the crash the battery still says it has a near full charge. Yuneec sent me a RMA label. It’s been 7 days and I have not heard from Yuneec yet as what they are going to do for me. On calling they acknowledged they received my busted-up drone.

All I want to say that it’s not worth for my waiting to this new Yuneec Typhoon H pro before .

The post First hand on review on Yuneec Typhoon H pro appeared first on Drone Inner.

GoPro Karma vs Mavic Pro: Portable drone at war

DJI and GoPro has unveiled a foldable and ultra-portable personal camera drone,the DJI Mavic Pro and GoPro Karma .With some many people are not sure which one to go with,we’ve decided to do a comparison.

We already did a similar comparison of the two drones right here on droneinner, but if you’re a more visual type of person, you might benefit from this helpful infographic put together.

We break down all the basic specs, camera specs, flight details, remote control features, and even the difference between the included cases. Everything is here, down to the different pricing and packages available to you.

Check out the infographic below.

dji mavic vs gopro karma comparison

dji-mavic-vs-gopro-karma-comparison_05

Both of them are convenient while the Mavic Pro with its significantly smaller form factor. Mavic Pro has a more raw flying power than the Karma while you have the Karma with its remobable gimbal.

If the new Karma remains the old version then which one is for you?

The post GoPro Karma vs Mavic Pro: Portable drone at war appeared first on Drone Inner.

Yuneec Breeze is good if you understand what you’re getting

I received my Yuneec Breeze 4K half a month ago and I have flown it every opportunity this wet and windy Kentucky winter has provided. I think the Breeze drone is a very solid product if you understand what it is made for and the limitations of the device. Like Yuneec’s tagline for the product, this is “Your Flying Camera” rather than a competitor to the DJI Phantom, 3DR Solo, or other entry to mid-level drones.

WHAT YOU GET: It comes with the Yuneec Breeze, a nice hard box (no handle though!), two batteries, a charger, a USB cable to transfer footage, extra props, and prop guards.

WHAT IT DOES: It’s a highly portable, stable, and easy to fly drone for recording 1080p footage and taking pretty nice still photographs. It’s meant to stay firmly within line of sight, which is a good idea for this drone’s target market. I’ve had mine 300′ feet away and nearly 200′ foot up using my iPhone 7 as the controller, and it flew perfectly fine. The batteries have been lasting me around 12-14 minutes per charge, and charge in about 40-45 minutes. Aside from the manual pilot mode, it has autopilot modes like Orbit (taking 360° video or photos of a point of interest), Journey (flies away from a POI to a pre-determined distance, then returns while taking video roundtrip), a couple of Follow Me modes (following a POI from a fixed point or the classic following behind the POI), and the ability to fly in first person view with an available headset and controller.

That being said, I’ve read a lot of comments on Amazon and on other discussion forums that one of the software updates for the drone dramatically affects the reliability of the Wi-Fi, so as of 1/17/17, I would not recommend upgrading the firmware until Yuneec has published and tested a corrective update.

WHAT IT”S NOT: The Yuneec Breeze is not going to fly miles away or exceed the FAA’s 400′ ceiling for UAS. It’s not going to take dramatic 4K footage for your next movie. It is capable of recording 4K video, but it is not mechanically stabilized, so you must run it through a filter during post processing to avoid pretty severe jitter. It’s not a speed demon because it prioritizes stability and ease of use. Think of this more like a floating cameraperson rather than full-fledged drone.

THE FINAL VERDICT: I can see why a lot of folks are disappointed. Had I updated mine and have the crappy Wi-Fi issues currently affecting many owners, I’d be upset as well. However, mine has been pretty much flawless with the out-of-the box firmware. I also knew before purchase that this wasn’t a drone that flies miles away. I’d be disappointed if I thought this was a direct competitor for a Phantom 3 Standard. It has pretty aggressive geo-fencing to help the pilot stay firmly in control. The Yuneec Breeze is a beginner drone for me, and over time as I become a more skillful pilot and video editor, the limitations will likely frustrate me. It will be time to upgrade. Until then, I’m enjoying the Yuneec Breeze and looking forward to spring weather!

The review comes from a buyer on Amazon.

The post Yuneec Breeze is good if you understand what you’re getting appeared first on Drone Inner.

The 2016 SkyPixel Photo of the Year went to “?”

This year’s 2016 Annual DJI SkyPixel Photo Contest had an incredible judging panel sift through over 27,000 stunning photo entries submitted from 131 countries to decide his photo and other category winners from over 27,000 entries submitted from 131 countries.

The 2016 DJI SkyPixel Photo of the Year went to “Fishermen close the net,” a photograph by Ge Zheng shot in Fujian Province in China, in which reflections, colors and the unique aerial perspective create a startling composition from netting, poles and water. SkyPixel’s blue-ribbon judging panel selected his photo and other category winners from over 27,000 entries submitted from 131 countries.

For his winning entry, Zheng will recieve a DJI Inspire 2, a DJI Mavic Pro, Epson Moverio BT-300 smart glasses, Epson SureColor P400 Wide Format Photo Printer and an Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan (1-year membership).

Check out TOP3 winners of DJI SkyPixel 2016 Photo Contest in other categories:

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