CamStevens
lvl.4
United States
Offline
|
Caveat - Editorializing ahead.
My own opinion on this is that both parties are at fault. I have been deeply concerned for quite some time that between DJI's marketing and we as operators buying into the "idiot-proof autonomous flying" marketing hype, we are going to have our hobby legislated into oblivion, with people and property getting hurt along the way. I think DJI VASTLY overhypes the capabilities of the drone (although it is still an incredible piece of tech that I love), and provides too little details on how things work, what the likely failure modes are, and what the recovery methods are. We as operators too often fail to take our responsibility of operating our aircraft in a safe manner seriously enough.
Personally, I think of obstacle avoidance as a last line of defense to try and save the drone when I as a pilot have FAILED to properly control my aircraft. I NEVER want to rely on this capability to operate the craft safely on my behalf. In a similar fashion, I would NEVER use Active Track to track myself if I was not able to take IMMEDIATE control of the drone. So taking shots of me hiking (with the controller in my hand) I would be willing to try. But tracking me riding a motorcycle, NO WAY (once again, my own person opinion here).
And this is where I think DJI falls short and is negligent and short sighted to the possible future negative repercussions of their marketing message. Their implicit marketing message is "just take it out of the box and go fly!" Sure, there are explicit warnings, tutorials videos, a barely sufficient manual, this forum, etc., so DJI is covering itself here, and moreover, I'm willing to concede they are trying hard and have good intentions. But I would still love to see a more strongly worded "This drone is not a toy. Operating this drone safely is YOUR responsibility, and you should understand the aircraft thoroughly before attempting to fly" as a giant bold sticker on the drone, not fine print in the getting started guide that users will promptly throw out (just watch the unboxing videos for proof). The fact that there are multiple postings of "I can't turn the drone on" is sufficient evidence to DJI that people don't read the manual. Once again, not DJI's fault, but the more they can improve operator understand of the drone, the better things will be for our hobby long term.
With respect to Active Track specifically, I would prefer to see them call out this type of rule: "Active Track should only be used when the operator is able to readily take control of the aircraft." Even better would be for them to call out "Active Track should be avoided when the operator's hands are not free, such as when riding a bicycle or motorcycle."
The bottom line in my mind is that as operators, we can NEVER delegate the safe operation of our aircraft. That means we should always be prepared to take immediate control, and is also why I really want to see a manually selectable ATTI mode.
So I feel for this operator. He purchased the Mavic for a specific purpose. I just don't think it's suitable nor safe for that purpose.
|
|