I am looking to be able to set up a waypoint mission to follow a bicycle on the road.
I know exactly where the bicycle will be going, and I can set up the waypoints in advance.

But what I can't predict ahead of time is how fast the bicycle will be traveling.

So what I want is a drone that can stick to the path I set up, but be able to manually set the speed so that I can keep up with the bicycle.

Is this possible on the Mavic 3 using waypoints?

Or is there any other drone that can do this better?

Thanks!

Hi, paulspurrier. Thank you for reaching out. We will consult this inquiry with our related team for confirmation. We will update you the soonest time possible. Thank you, and have a nice day.

Have you considered active track for this? Otherwise if you can’t guess how fast the bike is going, how do you think the drone will know on a mission?  Optionally use your phone and communicate with the bike rider while you are flying.  I record a friend riding his bike and we use Sena helmets to communicate so he knows what I’m doing and I know what he’s doing and can coordinate better shots.

dronethemoment Posted at 1-25 04:46
Have you considered active track for this? Otherwise if you can’t guess how fast the bike is going, how do you think the drone will know on a mission?  Optionally use your phone and communicate with the bike rider while you are flying.  I record a friend riding his bike and we use Sena helmets to communicate so he knows what I’m doing and I know what he’s doing and can coordinate better shots.

Very often when shooting film, one will use a dolly on a track.
Of course there are times when a steadicam or a gimbal is the right tool.
But there's still a role for the precision of a dolly and track.
It enables the camera to move on a precise, defined path.
It's the job of the dolly grip to push the dolly in time with the speed of the actors' movements.

It strikes me that it would be great to use a drone in the same way:

to set a path, but adjust the speed to keep up with the actors' movements.

I know that it's possible to set a path using waypoints.

But is it possible to adjust the speed manually - i.e. for the operator effectively to act like the dolly grip?

Hi there. To give you an update, we just received a confirmation from our related team. Manually setting the speed during a Waypoint mission is possible. After pre-setting the speed, you may still push the forward and backward stick to increase or decrease the speed during flight. We hope this helps. Thank you, and have a nice day.

DJI Tony Posted at 1-25 21:42
Hi there. To give you an update, we just received a confirmation from our related team. Manually setting the speed during a Waypoint mission is possible. After pre-setting the speed, you may still push the forward and backward stick to increase or decrease the speed during flight. We hope this helps. Thank you, and have a nice day.

Thanks.
That's a perfect answer.

paulspurrier Posted at 1-25 21:42
Thanks.
That's a perfect answer.

You are most welcome. Happy flying!

DJI Tony Posted at 2023-1-25 21:42
Hi there. To give you an update, we just received a confirmation from our related team. Manually setting the speed during a Waypoint mission is possible. After pre-setting the speed, you may still push the forward and backward stick to increase or decrease the speed during flight. We hope this helps. Thank you, and have a nice day.

Is there a way to adjust the sensitivity of the sticks when doing this? I've been trying it and it seems as though the slightest pull back on the stick brings the drone to almost a complete stop.  Thanks for your help!

paulspurrier Posted at 2023-1-25 19:04
Very often when shooting film, one will use a dolly on a track.
Of course there are times when a steadicam or a gimbal is the right tool.
But there's still a role for the precision of a dolly and track.

There is also a global speed setting for each waypoint mission that you can change. I'll fly the first time really slow manually to make sure I get the shot I want while adding points with C1 . Then I save the flight and go back and turn the speed up so I don't have to wait for 10 minutes each time I use that mission.

fans778bdf5a Posted at 3-20 09:18
Is there a way to adjust the sensitivity of the sticks when doing this? I've been trying it and it seems as though the slightest pull back on the stick brings the drone to almost a complete stop.  Thanks for your help!

Hello there. Thank you for contacting us. You can adjust settings such as the maximum horizontal speed, maximum ascent and descent speeds, maximum angular velocity, yaw smoothness, brake sensitivity, expo, and the gimbal's maximum tilt control speed and tilt smoothness by going to Gain and Expo Tuning. This lets you fine-tune the drone and the gimbal in different flight modes.  To access this feature, tap on the three dots (...) at the upper right-hand side of the image transmission and go to "Controls". From there, you can select "Gain and Expo Tuning". Have a nice day.