I'm unhappy with the design of the DJI remote controller:
Buttons are too far apart. It's hard to reach all the buttons while at the same time flying the aircraft.
Being a left-handed person, I'm pressing the wrong buttons again and again. This is particularly true for the recording start/stop button.
I'm running the remote controller in Mode 3, so at least the sticks perform as required by me.
It's utterly hard for me to remember which way to dial the horizontal gimbal pitch wheel in order to have the gimbal turn vertically.
So, I'd like to propose the following hardware improvements for the next generation of DJI remote controllers:
Make all buttons user assignable, so left-handed persons may assign RTH and Power on/off to their corresponding counterparts.
Replace the pitch gimbal wheel by a track ball with ability to be down-pressed and have all of its movements be user-assignable.
This would greatly improve usability, for the following reasons:
Using a track ball, we would have two value dimensions that can be assigned: vertical and horizontal.
A 'clickable' tackball adds two more Boolean actions that can be assigned ('click' and 'hold')
So, two value and two Boolean commands could be executed in one place.
Make all kinds of value commands assignable to the track ball movements, e.g.
gimbal pitch
gimbal yaw
yaw inertia
aircraft bearing/heading
aircraft side movement
Make all kinds of Boolean commands assignable to track ball presses, e.g.
Return to home
Start/stop recording
Recording mode
The corresponding Settings screen in DJI Fly app might look like this:
Suggested track ball settings
Here's a simulation of how the track ball could be implemented in a future DJI remote controller:
I would think a track ball would be a nightmare to use, FAR too easy to give the wrong command.
What do you mean by "Yaw inertia" and "bearing" ?
If, by "bearing", you mean the drone's heading, what would you do with the joystick movement that currently controls it, two easily, simultaneous used input devices commanding the same action would be a bad idea ..... or would you propose prioritising one 'device' over the other?
Why do you think so? It's all done with your index finger. It's not different from using a computer mouse.
Yes, 'bearing' is meant to be a synonym for 'heading'. English is not my native tongue. Please pardon my mistake.
It's a different task to control heading velocity (stick) and absolute heading position (track ball): You move the ball right, the drone will turn right to the same amount. You stop moving the track ball, the drone will keep its heading. It's more natural this way. And you can control the gimbal pitch at the same time. So, recording a film will be very natural.
'Yaw inertia' is the smoothness of change in heading when tilting the stick. It's just an example. My proposal is to be able to assign any value/Boolean command to the track ball. Any command the individual user may find appropriate for his/her personal needs.
My2Cents Posted at 3-15 07:39
Why do you think so? It's all done with your index finger. It's not different from using a computer mouse.
Yes, 'bearing' is meant to be a synonym for 'heading'. English is not my native tongue. Please pardon my mistake.
Your English is fine.
I have only used a track ball mouse once or twice, if at all. But whenever I uses a track pad on a laptop, especially my MacBook, I have difficulty highlighting a single line of text, primarily because I use multiple small 'sweeps' of the track pad. I suspect such "small sweeps" would be necessary with the track ball you propose. When 'sweeping' the track pad my finger/s tend to drift into 2d motion rather than 1d motion.
I suspect this would be the case with your proposal. I.e. there would be a tendency to move the finger up or down whilst intending to move your finger horizontally and or visa versa, probably even more so if the intended motion is up/down.
Sean-bumble-bee Posted at 3-15 08:04
I have only used a track ball mouse once or twice, if at all. But whenever I uses a track pad on a laptop, especially my MacBook, I have difficulty highlighting a single line of text, primarily because I use multiple small 'sweeps' of the track pad. I suspect such "small sweeps" would be necessary with the track ball you propose. When 'sweeping' the track pad my finger/s tend to drift into 2d motion rather than 1d motion.
Ah, I see … Yes, this may be the case.
I know some applications and touch screen drivers that prevent scrolling in lateral direction accidentally once they recognize a significant scrolling either horizontal or vertical. I cannot find the technical term for this type of constraint at the moment*, but DJI developers might add an additional Boolean (true/false) option to ignore inadvertent lateral movement and only accept either horizontal or vertical movement at the same time.
have you tried pitching your ideas to other drone manufacturers who might be open to such suggestions? deal with a large company like dji who likely has extensive market research to justify their design may not be so easy.
The Saint Posted at 3-15 09:00
have you tried pitching your ideas to other drone manufacturers who might be open to such suggestions? deal with a large company like dji who likely has extensive market research to justify their design may not be so easy.
Interesting question.
Yes, you are right, this may be the right way to go. I'm addressing my improvement suggestion to DJI just because I own one of theirs'.
I'm looking at it the American, the start-up way: better is the enemy of good.
I've been working for blue-chips many times. They may be stale, fixed … yet, great companies are still open for improvement. Not all the time. But sometimes. Perhaps this is DJI's moment now.
PS: I doubt DJI spent a great deal on product usability market research. The horizontal gimbal wheel, for example, proves they didn't. To my experience, no large company spends a great deal on product usability market research.
Yes, you are right, this may be the right way to go. I'm addressing my improvement suggestion to DJI just because I own one of theirs'.
i also believe a lot of these features are old relics and were mostly thought of years ago. i agree they probably havent spent much time and money lately so it's probably time to start thinking out of the box. i hope the american drone makers will step up and take the challenge (like we accomplished in other areas that have seen dominance elsewhere) otherwise our overseas friends will likely milk the cow as long as they can.
Hi there. Thank you for reaching out. I will take this as a suggestion of yours and will forward it to our designated team for attention. After the evaluation of the engineers, significant suggestions or requests will be implemented via the firmware update, app update, etc. For any updates, please stay tuned to the latest news on our DJI official website at www.dji.com. Thank you for your valued support.
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