I thought a lot ... how can you provide absolute safety for the Spark in its fall? How to save the camera, gimbal, engines and propellers? And I came to the conclusion that the sphere will be the ideal figure for this task! It  should be light (material - plastic, carbon), do not interfere with the camera and propperels, the wind must pass through it without  noticeable interference! I've laid out one of the variant skeleton ... although it can be very different! With  such a frame, even if the Spark falls from a great height to the  ground, a tree or a human - in all cases it has many chances for safety  and survival! I suggest  engineers of DJI to think about the optimal version of such a sphere for the Spark ... and also to think about fixing for this!

And you can make it invisible for the camera?

S-e-ven Posted at 2017-12-20 08:13
And you can make it invisible for the camera?

Very good point! ;-)

S-e-ven Posted at 2017-12-20 08:13
And you can make it invisible for the camera?

Very easy!) If you remove the segments of the frame near the camera, then this will not break the overall design!

It will be necessary to remove only these red segments ... this will be enough! In addition, it may not be entirely a sphere, but a cocoon, in the shape of an Spark!

Like this!)

Interesting concept but to be honest I would not like to fly my Spark in a cage. The risk of crashes is not that high either if the flights are well prepared and carried out.

Wachtberger Posted at 2017-12-20 08:56
Interesting concept but to be honest I would not like to fly my Spark in a cage. The risk of crashes is not that high either if the flights are well prepared and carried out.

If this does not affect the flight performance, then why not? It will protect you (and even more so of other people, which is very important) from trouble!

I do accept that concept too !!

How would you compensate for the weight of it?

heliman Posted at 2017-12-20 09:17
How would you compensate for the weight of it?

It must be very light! 30-40 gramms, not more! Need to use lightweight materials, carbon, plastic! It is also possible to reduce the number of links in the frame, it is not necessary to do so much!

Like this!)

Kewl idea man! Would be great, but I think in practice, the cage would generate quite a bit of drag - not just for static air flight (where Spark would be much slower), but most importantly in winds at altitude. One of the hallmarks of the Spark is that its surface area is so small, it drastically reduces the extent to which wind can push it around. Add that cage, and that advantage would be lost as you'd be adding a large amount of surface area to the aircraft...I also expect that you'd have significant vibration issues as the prop wash rattled the cage beneath it.

However, I LOVE this idea for the more expensive/more powerful/pro-level drones like the Inspire series. The added weight wouldn't bother it as much - nor the added drag, and their owners would be more keen to sacrifice some flight performance to better protect their investments (especially after their warranties expire).

Please make a model and show it works!

Montfrooij Posted at 2017-12-20 12:12
Please make a model and show it works!

Unfortunately, I'm a musician, not an engineer!)) I think any engineer will be able to do this job much better than me, having thought over the skeleton, aerodynamics, ergonomics, materials and also fastening the sphere to the drone!

keymatrix Posted at 2017-12-20 10:34
Like this!) [view_image]

I think if this was a completely safe pastime a lot less people would be doing it. All air propulsion forces down surely it would keep pushing Aircraft to the ground and also impede air all around the spark.
But I like the drawing maybe NASA could get it to work.

Here is a micro quad (M70) using a protecting sphere. The spark is a lot heavier to protect.

keymatrix Posted at 2017-12-20 08:39
[view_image] It will be necessary to remove only these red segments ... this will be enough! In addition, it may not be entirely a sphere, but a cocoon, in the shape of an Spark!

We have ~ 135° up/down movement of the  camera which has a FOV of about 82°
How much will be left from you Spheres frontside, the main direction of movement, to protect the Spark?
Aside the weight and the wind drag which will both reduce flighttime and stability massivly?

keymatrix Posted at 2017-12-20 14:42
Unfortunately, I'm a musician, not an engineer!)) I think any engineer will be able to do this job much better than me, having thought over the skeleton, aerodynamics, ergonomics, materials and also fastening the sphere to the drone!

I think that explains a lot
;-)

keymatrix Posted at 2017-12-20 14:42
Unfortunately, I'm a musician, not an engineer!)) I think any engineer will be able to do this job much better than me, having thought over the skeleton, aerodynamics, ergonomics, materials and also fastening the sphere to the drone!

Who knows what hidden talent you have

S-e-ven Posted at 2017-12-20 19:57
I think that explains a lot
;-)

My profession does not prevent me from generating ideas ...)) Yes, maybe some of my ideas are unsuccessful and utopian ... but this should be checked in any case!)

Albert Einstein said:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge.  For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world."

So even if you don't know how to build it the idea is very cool and may generate more ideas.

OK ... Anybody have a 3D printer?  Or maybe the elements could be made hollow and when assembled they could be sealed and make it a protective AND floating sphere.  It would also make flying indoors much safer for the Spark AND the people nearby.  Or it could be like "training wheels" for a bike while you learn to fly then you take it off when your skills improve.  If it was used temporarily like "training wheels" then having a 100% clear view for the camera would not be so important.

Cool.

Here's another version ... this does not interfere with the camera!)

I fully agree with Mark S !!! Only those who are able to think broadly, not standard and without barriers break through in technologies ... And the engineer's job is to grind this idea and realize it into reality, considering physics, logic and aerodynamics!

By the way ... we also have an excellent basis for a cocoon - this is the protection of propellers!)

keymatrix Posted at 2017-12-21 07:16
Here's another version ... this does not interfere with the camera!)
[view_image]

Will that prevent this:

https://forum.dji.com/thread-124883-1-1.html

S-e-ven, If the Spark had lower and upper arcs of security, perhaps this would not happen!

keymatrix Posted at 2017-12-21 08:15
[view_image]

Very interesting concept.
With the right materials that are super light and flexible would certainly warrant testing..
If successful, I could see you on Shark Tank touting a whole line of these that would fit all of the popular drones.

Love the ideas and concept of it all! I must admit, i'm impressed with your 3D drawings of red lines on pictures of the spark.

Big Thanks for all!) I would like to draw the attention of DJI engineers, I think they will accomplish this task faster, wiser and more efficiently than I am!)

Bad idea for aerodynamics. It would be all over the place. Even a light weight material would cause issues with airflow in any wind speed. I can see where you are coming from though.