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Why!! Phantom 4 sensors is just in the front?
2961 30 2016-3-4
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wild.asierfilms
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Flight distance : 606152 ft
Chile
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We have vision in the front with the camera but in the backside not!! Why sensors  is not in the back?? Thanks!
2016-3-4
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R&L Aerial
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Cost, personally I don't need them bacuase I mainly fly forwards
2016-3-4
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DJI-Amy
DJI team

Hong Kong
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It was a matter of necessity, drone pilots need to see the live view to navigate the aircraft, and most of the time they are flying forward. Also, when the pilot triggers auto RTH, the aircraft will turn around and fly to the pilot with the camera facing forward, hence installing obstacle-sensing in the front can deal with most ordinary flight scenarios.
2016-3-4
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Northofthe49th
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Canada
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No such thing as hind sight when you are flying...or at least one would rarely if ever live to tell about it, or suggest "in hind sight"...and for the reasons mentioned above...
2016-3-4
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BVI Pilot
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British Virgin Islands
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As a filmmaker who likes to fly backwards and fast for dramatic "pull back and reveal" shots, I would greatly appreciate rear facing obstacle avoidance.

Jim
2016-3-7
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Cessna172
Second Officer
United States
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Probably cost vs marketability.  What everyone else above said.    If it had rear sensors someone else would want left & right, if it had left & right, someone else would want a top and bottom sensor etc.....

“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time”
2016-3-7
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nigelw
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As above...cost.

Also, they now have another upgrade for next year's Phantom design, once you've tested this one for them.
2016-3-7
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citivas
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In a blog by a DJI-affiliated person linked elsewhere in the forum he wrote that sensors in the back and top "are coming" but that it takes a ton of processing power.  I don't think he meant coming soon, but the implication was DJI has every intention of adding additional sensors down-the-road but it probably requires even more or more powerful processors.  So whether they are waiting for that or have plans for more expensive models, eventually you will see them.
2016-3-7
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vu.q.le
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2016-3-7
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leanlinao
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Well if you use FPV you only go forwards lol
2016-3-7
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leanlinao
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Philippines
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You only go forwards when you use FPV which is the most fun part and having more sensors would increase power consumption and also increase weight. For me though i wouldnt need ant sensor unless im flying FPV in tight spaces
2016-3-7
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citivas
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Forward flying is the most common direction, but I would wonder if crashes are disproportionately non-forward flying: people trying to get that show of the camera backing-up, rising the phantom up without realizing you aren't clear of something, getting disoriented when you change the direction of the bird relative to you and push it the wrong way, etc.  People who fly their drones perfectly every time are not the market for sensors anyway -- they appeal to people who want the drone to help them avoid mistakes.  And in that context having them more than just forward-facing is very helpful.  It's only a matter of time.
2016-3-7
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QuadBart
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It does come down to cost.  The more expensive Typhoon "H" solves this by always having the Quad's "eyes" facing in the direction its going while rotating the camera to film/photo what you want. So like on a strafing type shot, the bird will rotate to the direction you flying while the camera stays fixed on the object...  Nice, but we're talking about an 1800 USD Quad.    Comes down to picking the best quad for your needs and financial situation..
2016-3-7
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citivas
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Flyin'Bryan Posted at 2016-3-7 10:05
I get the backing up shots... But seriously, how are you backing into things.. Aren't you anywhere ...

The web and this forum are full of good intentioned Phantom users that had sight of their drones but mis-judged distance, got too focused on the video on their screen for a moment, etc.  I get why you say no one should do it, but you can't pretend it doesn't happen all the time.

Again, people aren't perfect.  They make mistakes.  It's fine to dismiss them all as idiots but I suspect the primary appeal of this feature is to give people who don't trust themselves to consistently maintain your high standard of operating focus and discipline.  If you are completely confident, this feature isn't really targeted to you.
2016-3-7
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boxerman
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The reason the P4 does not have sensors in all six directions is because of clams.  Too many clams for the market to bear.


clams = $$
2016-3-8
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boxerman
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vu.q.le@outlook Posted at 2016-3-7 07:52
I'm not impressed with active tracking. It's not very accurate. Once the P4 loses the subject, it st ...

It actually works perfectly on my P4.  It never loses lock on the subject.
2016-3-8
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vu.q.le
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2016-3-8
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ghtracey
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vu.q.le@outlook Posted at 2016-3-7 05:52
I'm not impressed with active tracking. It's not very accurate. Once the P4 loses the subject, it st ...

The Yuneec tracking via the Wizard is the "Follow Me" mode that is still available in the Phantom 4 Smart Modes. The Yuneec has no mode comparable to Active Tracking. For instance, There is no way on the Yuneec to point it at a subject (not the pilot/controller) and have it follow them, much less to have it follow them while it orbits them in a smooth pan.

People should compare similar modes on these aircraft. The Phantom 4 does still have the old GPS based "Follow Me".
2016-3-8
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vu.q.le
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2016-3-8
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boxerman
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vu.q.le@outlook Posted at 2016-3-9 01:51
I'm going to need you to upload at least a youtube video showing this.

Ok.  But first, I'm going to need you to do something....
2016-3-8
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Geebax
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vu.q.le@outlook Posted at 2016-3-8 00:52
I'm not impressed with active tracking. It's not very accurate. Once the P4 loses the subject, it st ...

"I have not seen the base Yuneec Typhoon H obstacle avoidance in action yet so we don't know how it performs but the typhoon H with Intel RealSense looks significantly better than the P4."


Puzzling, how? The only shot around of the Typhoon H shows it has a pair of 3D cameras facing the front, just the same as the P4, none on the sides or back. And there are no specs whatsoever published by Intel, or a price for the optional feature. Nor is tyhere any footage demonstrating their system in action.

I know you are a Yuneec Fanboy, but really, 'Significantly better' ?
2016-3-8
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ghtracey
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vu.q.le@outlook Posted at 2016-3-8 13:00
Oh please.....DJI's GPS based tracking is requiring you to lug the controller with you which is st ...

Not being a fanboy, I was saying that the GPS based Follow Me still exists. Personally I wouldn't use either the candy bar sized one or the controller while I was on a dirt bike because I think its unsafe to have a drone flying around without your hands on the controller to take over in an emergency. I'll limit my Follow Me use to being a passenger thanks.

As well, like I said, Active Tracking is more intended to follow another person/thing, not the pilot. You still can't do that with a Yuneec, I don't care how cute the controller is. You can't select a moving subject and have the drone follow it while you do do smooth orbits or open/close the follow distance. Again, two totally different flying functions.
2016-3-9
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vu.q.le
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2016-3-9
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vu.q.le
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2016-3-9
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AG0N-Gary
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citivas Posted at 2016-3-7 07:38
In a blog by a DJI-affiliated person linked elsewhere in the forum he wrote that sensors in the back ...

Thank you.  I was about to post cost and processing power.  But DJI has stated the main reason for the current offering is so that RTH is safer.  If they are coming with more (as mentioned above), it will probably be in the P5 or P6...or even later.  More bucks, more beta testers (owners of P4) to smooth things out.  Anyone who doesn't believe we are all beta testers for features is fooling themselves.
2016-3-9
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AG0N-Gary
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For now, only basing on what I can see on youtube, the P4's active tracking is not perfect for all situations.

Wow.  I don't remember anyone saying it was perfect for all situations!  Nothing like that exists, or will exist.  As someone else said, this feature is not primarily designed to follow YOU the pilot, it is to follow your subject, maybe even a paying subject.  You are still responsible for the flight of your aircraft, no matter what you're using it for.  You're not going to be riding the whoops and controlling your aircraft responsibly.
2016-3-9
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Wolfiesden
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Flyin'Bryan Posted at 2016-3-4 23:32
same reason there aren't pilots and Windows in the tail of an airplane there bud.

Except that airplanes only fly forward.  Quads fly in all directions equally well.

If you are in front of your subject flying backwards (which is needed because there is not a 360 gimbal) then having some sort of obstical detection behind the drone is of value.
2016-3-9
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Geebax
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Australia
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Wolfiesden Posted at 2016-3-10 09:22
Except that airplanes only fly forward.  Quads fly in all directions equally well.

If you are in  ...

It might be of value, but if you want to cover the full 360 degrees of movement, you need a number of cameras to do the job, you cant even do it with just four systems, you probably need 5. And that is 5 pairs of cameras, 10 in total, plus 5 completes vision processing systems to process the information received. The cost, weight and power consumption of those 5 systems is going to make it an impractical proposition at this time.

Perhaps in a year or two the cost will be lower, the weight less and the power consumption lower, but at present it is not really doable.

2016-3-9
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grangerfx
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United States
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I am pretty blown away by how much DJI has managed to do in this generation. Every additional camera adds cost, weight, power and additional CPUs (or faster ones). At some point there will be cameras in all possible directions or it will have even more advanced 3D sensing technology. For now though I don't see anything on the market that can touch the P4 for features and price.
2016-3-9
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quanthonytrang
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Geebax Posted at 2016-3-10 09:31
It might be of value, but if you want to cover the full 360 degrees of movement, you need a number ...

I think DJI is holding back and just teasing us.
Why would you release your best stuff on your consumer range and have the Inspire guys feel like they've been duped.

Anyways...
You can setup a camera to see a lot wider by adjusting its viewing angle. New 360 spherical cameras (Gear 360/Key Mission/Sp360/Fly360) uses 1 lens to capture 360x90 degrees (2xlens for 360x180). If you mounted 1 pair of stereoscopic in the front and 1 pair in the rear (4 in total), it should work. Maybe the Inspire 2 guys will have this..

I guess the hardest part is the processing power required vs weight. I guess we'll have to wait till the big guns like Nvidia, Intel and AMD to step in.
2016-3-9
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Geebax
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Australia
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quanthonytrang Posted at 2016-3-10 10:50
I think DJI is holding back and just teasing us.
Why would you release your best stuff on your con ...

You are probably right, they are using the Matrice 100 as a test bed, then trying it out in the consumer world on the P4 first.

Very wide angle cameras do not work well in obstacle avoidance, all the wide angle does is severely reduce the distance from the aircraft that the obstacle is detected. Even a 90 degree FOV is too wide to work well.

As for NVidia, Intel and AMD, hmm. Firstly NVidia are so flaky with their graphics gear I would not trust anything they did. Intel are working on the one for the Yuneec, and AMD, well they will make a chip no doubt, but the truth is with modern FPGAs, it is not hard for anyone to come up with their own system.

My bet is that DJI will be there before any of them because they already have a wealth of experience in this area and are probably ahead of the pack.
2016-3-9
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