i do most of my flying over water. Filming surfing, kitesurfing and boating etc. never had an issue. The inspire manual says that the optical flow does not work over water. What happens? Will it cause any issues? Will altitude stability still be better than my phantom and 550 due to sonar? Some of the inspire examples are over water. I like to fly really close to water upto 700m away to get good surf footage so good altitude stability is important.

P.s. Some of my footage from a year ago with my 550 and gopro.

Check out this video, shot with the Inspire 1.  Low over the water the whole time.



The flow sensor package was mainly added to aid indoor flying when GPS is not available.  It will still work outside, but only up to a certain height (can't remember how high, but it's not very high).  I believe the water absorbs most of the untrasonic waves, and the water may confuse the stereoscopic cameras because they rely on fixed patterns on the ground/floor.  With water, the patterns are always changing on their own, so it can't be accurate.  As long as you have a good GPS signal, it shouldn't matter.

Nice vid, btw.

We are working on that.
However the function will not be a full-time function.  

David@trewern.c Posted at 2014-11-22 15:22
P.s. Some of my footage from a year ago with my 550 and gopro. https://vimeo.com/85204242

Great footage David.  Well done.

ETDroneHome Posted at 2014-11-22 17:11
Check out this video, shot with the Inspire 1.  Low over the water the whole time.

https://www.yout ...

I've seen this footage several times now.  Great work.  Can't wait to get mine!

I agree with ETdronehome - the GPS will still work like you have before. Although it makes an interesting point about how the 2 inputs (GPS and the ground sensors) work together and what the inspire relies on first. Does GPS trump all? Do the sensors only kick in at low height and if they do will the drone trust the sensor more than the GPS? i.e if over moving water at low altitude will the drone suddenly start trying to follow the water to keep position? (rather than using GPS)

Good question.  I'm inclined to believe that the GPS trumps the flow sensors.  For outdoor, I think the flow sensors help most with stationary hovering (up to a certain height) and auto-landing.  Unless you are hovering in place low over the water, I don't think the flow sensors would interfere, but please take all this with a grain of salt, cause it is just my best guess.

David@trewern.c Posted at 2014-11-22 15:22
P.s. Some of my footage from a year ago with my 550 and gopro. https://vimeo.com/85204242

Cool surf video, where is that located ?