I have seen lots of tracking test videos on Youtube but most are in conditions where the MA2 has a constant clear view to the subject being tracked. I am wanting to track a person moving at about 15-20 MPH with the MA2 about 30 feet in the air and the subject occasionally passing beneath a thick canopy (for up to 1.5 seconds at a time). Seeing as how the drone would lose sight of the subject momentarily, I am concerned tracking won't be super effective in these conditions. Can I expect tracking to anticipate where the subject will reappear on the other side of the trees? Has anyone tested something like this? Thanks for any insight.

I saw this but the person is walking at a slow pace. I am not sure how much speed is a factor.



*Update: I went ahead and bought one. I'll test this all this weekend.

Also saw this one, so performance can go either way if the subject changes direction while out of view:

*Accidental duplicate post

It would help to have some contrasting colors for the drone to lock on to, a bright shirt or different color backpack/camelback.

You want a Skydio and a beacon.

Oracle Miata Posted at 6-17 07:34
You want a Skydio and a beacon.

Yes, I do- for the tracking and OA but no telling when those will ship again, so I'm grabbing the MA2 so I can start shooting this weekend.

MisterFrag Posted at 6-17 06:49
It would help to have some contrasting colors for the drone to lock on to, a bright shirt or different color backpack/camelback.

Great advice! I was thinking the same thing.

Here was a test of Active Track 2.0 and it went pretty well, so I assume version 3 is even better.

Like above, the Skydio and the gps pod.
That WILL do what you want.

Flycaster Posted at 6-17 10:31
Like above, the Skydio and the gps pod.
That WILL do what you want.

Right but that is not in production at this time (shutdown due to COVID-19), and once they start building them again the waiting list will be long so I am looking for the best solution for right now.

Hi. Thank you for reaching out to DJI Forum. The DJI Mavic Air 2 is equipped with ActiveTrack 3.0. When tracking a human:
[Altitude]
1. The user successfully enables ActiveTrack mode when their relative height to the aircraft is less than 10 meters, and then pushes the throttle stick upward. When the relative height between the aircraft and the target reaches 10 meters, the DJI Fly app will prompt “Max flight altitude reached. Aircraft unable to continue ascending”.
2. When the relative height between the user and the aircraft is over 10 meters, if the user enables ActiveTrack, the DJI Fly app will prompt “Aircraft altitude too high. Adjust altitude and switch to ActiveTrack”.
[Horizontal Distance]
1. The relative distance between the user and the aircraft is less than 15 meters, the user successfully enables ActiveTrack mode, and then keeps pushing the pitch stick. When the relative distance between the user and the aircraft is then over 15 meters, the DJI Fly app will prompt “Target too far”.
2. When the relative distance between the user and the aircraft is over 15 meters, if the user enables ActiveTrack, the DJI Fly app will prompt “Target too far. Adjust distance and switch to ActiveTrack”.
[Minimum Flight Altitude]
If the user does not disable FocusTrack mode and pulls down the throttle stick, when the aircraft is at a height of 0.5 meters from the ground, the DJI Fly app will prompt “Min flight altitude reached. Aircraft unable to continue descending”. If the user keeps on pulling down the throttle stick at this moment, the aircraft will exit FocusTrack mode and descend. (But if the user disables FocusTrack first, the app will prompt the user to descend the aircraft to the minimum flight height when the user pulls down the throttle stick.)

Thank you.

Moni Johnson Posted at 6-17 17:13
Right but that is not in production at this time (shutdown due to COVID-19), and once they start building them again the waiting list will be long so I am looking for the best solution for right now.

eBay?  It’ll cost ya though, but I adore mine and it will do exactly what you want as opposed to possibly getting the air to do it.  If you in less then tight quarters and your not worried about obstacles the Parrot Anafi also has a better active track then DJI.  

Moni Johnson Posted at 6-17 17:13
Right but that is not in production at this time (shutdown due to COVID-19), and once they start building them again the waiting list will be long so I am looking for the best solution for right now.

Good luck.

Oracle Miata Posted at 6-22 06:08
eBay?  It’ll cost ya though, but I adore mine and it will do exactly what you want as opposed to possibly getting the air to do it.  If you in less then tight quarters and your not worried about obstacles the Parrot Anafi also has a better active track then DJI.

Yes, I have seen them on ebay for 3 times retail. Yikes! I might be willing to pay DOUBLE retail but not ready to fork over 3 times the price, you know?

DJI Paladin Posted at 6-22 03:45
Hi. Thank you for reaching out to DJI Forum. The DJI Mavic Air 2 is equipped with ActiveTrack 3.0. When tracking a human:
[Altitude]
1. The user successfully enables ActiveTrack mode when their relative height to the aircraft is less than 10 meters, and then pushes the throttle stick upward. When the relative height between the aircraft and the target reaches 10 meters, the DJI Fly app will prompt “Max flight altitude reached. Aircraft unable to continue ascending”.

Thank you. I was able to test mine this weekend.

Very nice to see!

Moni Johnson Posted at 6-22 06:22
Thank you. I was able to test mine this weekend.

You are more than welcome. If you have further concerns or inquiry regarding DJI, please feel free to post it here at DJI Forum, we are here to help. Thank you for your valued support.

This video of mine has a few examples of what you were asking about, some succesfully regained track, sometimes not.

Moni Johnson Posted at 6-22 06:19
Yes, I have seen them on ebay for 3 times retail. Yikes! I might be willing to pay DOUBLE retail but not ready to fork over 3 times the price, you know?

3 times the price? OMG - that reminds me when the first Mavic Pro was released in late 2016 - people were paying £3000 for it second hand against a £999 price tag new. People always want what they can't have

Joe Foreman Posted at 6-23 22:37
https://youtu.be/N2AMN8SGyPsThis video of mine has a few examples of what you were asking about, some succesfully regained track, sometimes not.

Thanks, Joe. This is a great example. Longboarding is exactly what we're using Active Tracking for. I can say that the MA2 has impressed me so far through the tests I have run. I do not believe it can keep up with obstacle avoidance on though (due to our riders often moving at 30+ MPH), so we have done mainly tracking from higher altitudes. Of course, when the riders pass beneath trees at the same time as changing direction, the MA2 has no way of predicting where they will come out, and we haven't had much success with re-acquiring the targets (likely because individual people are just too small for the MA2 to easily locate from the heights we're flying).  I am no waiting for the Mavic Pro 3 to arrive (to see what it offers) or for the Skydio 2 (with the beacon) to become available again. I was told by Skydio yesterday that production should resume by next week. Fingers crossed.

A J Posted at 6-23 22:41
3 times the price? OMG - that reminds me when the first Mavic Pro was released in late 2016 - people were paying £3000 for it second hand against a £999 price tag new. People always want what they can't have

Yes! Crazy, huh? I mean, I have a demand but it's not THAT strong. SMH

Wait six months and save yourself a couple of grand!

A J Posted at 6-24 07:31
Wait six months and save yourself a couple of grand!

Most definitely. By the time Skydio could fill my order the weather will be too cold to shoot what I want (and a new DJI drone that does what I want may be out too).

Skydio 2 order reservations are back open now. I'm in the 5th wave though so it will be October at the soonest that I receive my order. Might be before the Mavic Pro 3 arrives though, so I'm good with that.

Moni Johnson Posted at 6-25 11:37
Skydio 2 order reservations are back open now. I'm in the 5th wave though so it will be October at the soonest that I receive my order. Might be before the Mavic Pro 3 arrives though, so I'm good with that.

I do hope you get your Skydio.  The most recent firmware update has made this thing even more of a tracking beast.  It's just not comparable to any other drone that has a tracking feature.  And the scary thing is, its got enough horsepower under the hood to get even better.  

Oracle Miata Posted at 6-29 11:24
I do hope you get your Skydio.  The most recent firmware update has made this thing even more of a tracking beast.  It's just not comparable to any other drone that has a tracking feature.  And the scary thing is, its got enough horsepower under the hood to get even better.

Most definitely keeping my fingers crossed!