So I don't normally discuss new software before it's ready and this is really in the early stages of proof-of-concept but it's SOOOO cool to see this working I couldn't help myself!

I hope you don't mind me talking about it!


Follow-me, as I define it is a flight ability of the Phantom to maintain camera angle on you (the pilot) and follow at a distance (either defined implicitly by when you start the mode or explicitly through configuration).  Just the suggestion of this to a few pilots I've talked to makes them excited.

Well, I'm here to report some program I've made in implementing Follow-me in the Ultimate Flight app that many of you have either downloaded or have been following.

I have a rudimentary implementation of follow-me working in a proof-of-concept app.  The 1st test was a simple one; take off, rise to an altitude and maintain camera point on the pilot.  As I move around the Phantom it tracks bearing and it WORKS!

Now, curtailing my excitement to seeing this work for the 1st time I must say that this is a likely a few weeks out; rainy weather has set in making live testing a challenge but initial tests are very encouraging and I couldn't help but to gloat a little bit that I might actually be able to get this working.

Thanks for letting me share some excitement!

Ken

wow, pretty nice man.  you certainly are adding value to this community.  now if i could just get my tablet and start benefiting from it rather than just drooling around here...

Awesome! Keep pushing forward. Now how can we make this work on the P2 non vision as well?

My Hanger
Phantom 2 w/H3-3D gimbal & GoPro Hero3+, 600mw 5.8vtx w/VAS BB Ultra, iOSDMini, Large Skids
Phantom 2 w/600tvl, 600mw 5.8vtx w/VAS BB Ultra, V2ESC's, MultiStar 2212 Motors, iOSD Mini, Custom Wood Skids &Paint
Lumenier QAV250 Carbon on 4S, Cobra 2204/1960Motors, KISS 18a ESC's, Aero Guard, CF Camera Mount, CC3D, FrSkyD4R-II, Mobius
Blackout Fearless Mini H Quad on 4S, Fearless 6mm Arms, Cobra 2204/1960Motors, KISS 18a ESC's, NAZE32, FrSkyD4R-II, Mobius (building)
Hubsan X4 Stock mini racer, Hubsan X4107D Non FPV(now) racer project, Taranis X9D w/external Antenna & 2200mah lipo, Dominator V2's w/goggle mod
Check Out My http://www.youtube.com/humboldt710 Channel

gnixon2015 Posted at 2015-2-9 12:59
wow, pretty nice man.  you certainly are adding value to this community.  now if i could just get my ...

Isn't your new table due to arrive this week?

Hopefully good weather holds for you!

Humboldt710 Posted at 2015-2-9 12:59
Awesome! Keep pushing forward. Now how can we make this work on the P2 non vision as well?

My Hange ...

you need to figure out how to get Wi-Fi control working in that P2 and then your set

i lost the auction on ebay....twice.  still trying sigh

kenargo Posted at 2015-2-9 13:10
you need to figure out how to get Wi-Fi control working in that P2 and then your set

How difficult would it be to modify to work on 5.8 ghz that the DJI AVL58 uses?

michael.haws.ya Posted at 2015-2-10 09:50
How difficult would it be to modify to work on 5.8 ghz that the DJI AVL58 uses?

I would guess that you would need to gut the internals and replace the 2 transceivers.  Basically, turn it into a Vision.

I'm not sure how much work that would take though.

Ken,
Your work and dedication to offer this APP and it's confined evolution for us is truly an incredible feat.
DJI should compensate you for adding so much value to their customer base!!
It really isn't unrealistic for them to dump development capital into your coffers. The pace of your added features & communications to us should be a model for DJI

Can't wait to see what you offer with Ground Station added!

steadystickrick Posted at 2015-2-10 10:41
Ken,
Your work and dedication to offer this APP and it's confined evolution for us is truly an incre ...

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

steadystickrick Posted at 2015-2-10 10:41
Ken,
Your work and dedication to offer this APP and it's confined evolution for us is truly an incre ...

^this.  also, this.  and please do not forget, yes, this.  

gnixon2015 Posted at 2015-2-10 12:26
^this.  also, this.  and please do not forget, yes, this.

Gave you found an Android tablet yet?

kenargo Posted at 2015-2-10 15:11
Gave you found an Android tablet yet?

im in my fourth auction that ends in a few hours.  im sure ill get outbid.  by this weekend i may just buy a new one to save the headache...sigh.
{:2_33:}

Amazing work Ken!  

Forgive my ignorance, but what type of recognition is it using?  Is it a Groundpoint?  Or can you actually use/pick a target?  

Your work, and the speed at which you accomplish it is nothing short of astounding!

SavannahQuad Posted at 2015-2-10 22:12
Amazing work Ken!  

Forgive my ignorance, but what type of recognition is it using?  Is it a Ground ...

There are 2 features that you may be merging into one.

1) Follow-me: this is where the Phantom hovers and moves when you move, maintaining a bearing on the pilot's location and relative distance.  OK, technically, it is maintaining bearing and distance on the cell/tablet.

2) Point of Interest: this is where the Phantom will fly around a selected object, maintaining bearing on the object.

Follow-me is all about flight control and uses the GPS location of the phone/tables to control flight input.

Think of POI as being a special type of waypoint where you define a path around something (circular or irregular) and the Phantom rotates in order to maintain camera point to the selected object.

Make sense?

kenargo Posted at 2015-2-11 01:53
There are 2 features that you may be merging into one.

1) Follow-me: this is where the Phantom ho ...

Yessir, it absolutely does.  I don't know why, but I was thinking around image recognition software (very intense) instead of the location of the phone/tablet.  /self facepalm LOL

SavannahQuad Posted at 2015-2-11 04:20
Yessir, it absolutely does.  I don't know why, but I was thinking around image recognition softwar ...

That is an option; I have some work in the area of creating a recognition histogram but that's much applicable to line of flight (aka, fly to some object) than follow-me but it would be much more intensive to use histograms to calculate identity, not impossible but I think the method I'm using might me less CPU intensive and reliable.

kenargo Posted at 2015-2-11 07:22
That is an option; I have some work in the area of creating a recognition histogram but that's muc ...

For sure, I was really heading towards follow object (moving) like a skier, bird, etc.  rather than follow me.

Super impressive what you're doing Ken.   

Hi Ken!
New here, I had my vision since December and I already looking to upgrade, I hesitate between the V2+ and the yuneec Q500 mainly because of the Follow Me feature on the Q500.
But if I can have the follow me feature with the Vision+ I will go with DJI and your application. However looking at the different release I don't see the Follow Me features being added. Is the Follow me features already implemented in version 1.10? if not do you have a time frame?
Thanks for the great works!

ahebert.qubicaa Posted at 2015-2-13 06:24
Hi Ken!
New here, I had my vision since December and I already looking to upgrade, I hesitate betwee ...

It is hard to say when but...

If all goes well and weather is good for testing I should have something within the next couple of week.  I *might* release to beta the 1st parts so people can see what it does.  The 1st part follow you in a circle; basically, hover in-place and tracks the pilot.  Movement is coming along.

This is a guess, no commitment so please don't make plans in this schedule; life has a way of throwing a curve-ball when you least expect it.

Ken
Are you going to release this as an app or will we need some sort of hardware?
Can't wait for you to get it done.

kenargo Posted at 2015-2-13 07:27
It is hard to say when but...

If all goes well and weather is good for testing I should have some ...

THanks Ken!
no problem with the schedule, as long i know it's being working on i'm fine with that.

Ken,

You need this for the iPhone and iPad users as well.....Please!!!!!

ahebert.qubicaa Posted at 2015-2-13 08:01
THanks Ken!
no problem with the schedule, as long i know it's being working on i'm fine with that. ...

It is being worked on but pleas don't schedule the party until I get it working

jarednelson1.gm Posted at 2015-2-13 09:39
Ken,

You need this for the iPhone and iPad users as well.....Please!!!!!

Yes, it has been strongly suggested.

Whats the ETA on the follow me mode?

Any chance you might bring this App to IOS? I'm extremely interested unfortunately I'm an Apple fan boy and don't have any android devices.

rdc44444@hotmai Posted at 2015-3-10 04:51
Any chance you might bring this App to IOS? I'm extremely interested unfortunately I'm an Apple fan  ...

It isn't likely.  I have no Apple equipment to develop with so the cost just to get started would be fairly high.

The future could change, it has a funny way of doing that but for now, sorry, no.

kenargo Posted at 2015-3-10 04:56
It isn't likely.  I have no Apple equipment to develop with so the cost just to get started would  ...

Good news for the apple users, I am working on a product that adds follow me capability on iOS devices as well. I just started a blog and will start updating it in the coming weeks with test videos and progress on the app. You can follow the progress at www.followmephantom.com (no updates yet, but I'll get something up this weekend). @kenargo, that's exciting that you are taking care of the android end. I have been developing iOS full time for 5 years and have no intention to build an android version. I'm using primarily gps, but I'm also experimenting with shape detection and determining the distance to the subject based on the focal length to the object, I'll update my blog with how that goes.  Glad there is this community around the Phantom. I think it's the platform and community that will help keep Phantom moving forward and stay on top.

johnrechd Posted at 2015-3-11 03:52
Good news for the apple users, I am working on a product that adds follow me capability on iOS dev ...

Welcome; I'm finding that the challenge is in the math.  Device location is VERY inaccurate!

Hi Guys,
Has anyone tried this on Phantom 2 non vision? I just want to know it will work with Bluetooth module as it doest have wifi connection before I spend on Bluetooth Module.  

kenargo Posted at 2015-3-11 08:28
Welcome; I'm finding that the challenge is in the math.  Device location is VERY inaccurate!

But it is inaccurate in both/all devices, so it should cancel out to some degree. Another word, in case of GPS two inaccurate reading are close to each other. The follow me does not need an absolute accuracy, the relative positions are more important even if they not precise as long as the offset is in sync.

the most important feature to be addes is in RC section or apps has to be a channel scanner so the users will change channel to avoid interference. even your rc reciever/transmitter protected with encrypted password but bombarded with same channel or close to the ISP tower interference will be the huge problem. in basic standard radio communication this is the best practice take note that.

kenargo Posted at 2015-3-11 08:28
Welcome; I'm finding that the challenge is in the math.  Device location is VERY inaccurate!

Yes, there's definitely some assumptions that the code has to make. I'm having to add in quite a bit of heuristics code based on other information.  Also, for programming on android devices your accuracy will vary quite a lot depending on which device you use. Some only triangulate from cell towers while others have actual GPS capability. I know on iPhone you can pair with an external gps device and the location services will return the information from the bluetooth device instead of internal gps. Android probably has similar peripherals. I'm also going to experiment with iBeacons - this way I can at least estimate a true distance and make a better decision on where to point.

johnrechd Posted at 2015-3-11 12:09
Yes, there's definitely some assumptions that the code has to make. I'm having to add in quite a b ...

Yes, they are both off, likely equally but you need to take accuracy into movement or you could and up with a very jerky Phantom in flight.

A follow me video from one of the pilots using the app.  He took a stroll around the neighborhood

gnixon2015 Posted at 2015-2-10 20:10
im in my fourth auction that ends in a few hours.  im sure ill get outbid.  by this weekend i may j ...

newegg or tigerdirect , both have great prices and selection and top notch vendors

for me this is the most important feature to include on dji development

myron@iwantlemo Posted at 2015-3-22 11:52
for me this is the most important feature to include on dji development https://www.youtube.com/watc ...

Interesting, it looks like there is something attached to the Drone?  At 1st I thought it was camera based but then they show it flying sideways so I don't think it's camera based.

Do you know any specifics about this?

kenargo Posted at 2015-3-22 11:58
Interesting, it looks like there is something attached to the Drone?  At 1st I thought it was came ...

i think there is a sensor like a sonar device lol