kleake1
lvl.3
Flight distance : 1361040 ft
United States
Offline
|
Sailor P3, maybe I didn't state it clearly enough that I think its a great start and that I am very happy to have the follow me mode. My comments and suggestions are just that,,,, suggestions to make it work a little smoother and better. The way it is, it will work perfectly in some scenarios, but others will be too jumpy. Let me explain each scenario a little better that you mentioned and why I feel the way I do.
First, the P3 is capable of 35mph give or take, but never did it exceed 22mph in follow me mode. Why the limitation? And I didn't see in any documentation that it would be limited there, but I am sure I haven't read all of the documentation that has been released. When I tested, there really wasn't much at all. I don't expect it to follow me too well when doing u-turns, but actually it did that MUCH better than I expected it to. The issue was the jerky motion as it got back on track behind me. Similar to how it started out at the very beginning. Clearly you can see where that motion would be an issue right? Again, the follow was good, the jerky motion is not so good.
Overshooting: I had completely outran the phantom, then stopped and sat for about 20-30 seconds allowing the P3 to catch up to me. It did not slow as it approached, instead hit the brakes when it passed my location, then went back and forth until it settled in. Sure, if I was below 22mph and it was right on my tail it probably would have stopped much smoother, but I didn't try that scenario since I was then out of batteries. An issue? Not much really, but a suggestion that as the P3 approaches it's target, that it starts slowing it's forward motion more smoothly. In fact, if it did this it would likely smooth the jerky motion of the first issue as well. The loss of GPS signal didn't happen until the end of my video, and that caused the other issue which was more than likely the iPad fault, not the P3, so I don't blame it.
Lastly, I didn't "complain" about the hover on a weak battery,,, however, wouldn't it make more sense to continue to follow allowing the pilot to decide where to land? At least until your critical low level? Here is my reasoning. I still had 25% battery, and it stopped following me. Yes I was paying attention, but lets say I know its supposed to be following so I'm focusing on whatever else I am doing (driving a boat in this instance) and I check on the quad every 30 seconds or so. By the time I realize it's not there, I have to regain control, determine where it is and where I am and fly it back to me (in 30 seconds it could be out of site). The part that makes this bad is that when it stops, it sets the home point to the location of the quad so you can't just press "return to home" and get it back. It's going to hover and then auto land where ever it is,,, and you may not know exactly where that is unless you are pretty quick at reading your map quickly. A better scenario is to set the home location to where the controller is so that I can at least hit the home button and get it to return. Finally, I am not saying the method DJI chose is bad, but I can see many scenarios where it would end in a crash landing or similar,,,,,, where continuing to follow and/or setting the final "home" location to where the controller is (at least until the critical battery level) would be MUCH safer as it will be closer to the pilot at that point and being able to use the "return to home" button could save you.
And I agree completely with your statement about the P3 being a fantastic machine! I know I love mine and have really enjoyed flying it. So just to be clear,,,,,, there are no complaints from me,,,, only suggestions to fine tune an already great platform. |
|