Autoflight Logic - Quick Orbit Guide

NorthcountySD · Sep 17, 2015

I'm pretty new to this app and flying. Is there a step by step guide or a link to one?

Maybe my questions are assumed. But when I go to a new area. Do I Calibrate the compass first and make sure I have over 6 satellites? Then close down the dji app. Open autopilot and hope for the best?

I have tried follow me and it seemed to work alright after a few tries with some erratic initial moves.

Guess I'm asking what is the preflight routine ? Can I change from say follow me to zip line during flight??

Thanks in advance!!

sdharris · Sep 17, 2015

NorthcountySD said:
Maybe my questions are assumed. But when I go to a new area. Do I Calibrate the compass first and make sure I have over 6 satellites? Then close down the dji app. Open autopilot and hope for the best?

The flight school / manual available on their site or in the app runs through a preflight checklist in section 7 which includes watching the Phantom 3s LEDs for a GPS lock. But I tend to load the DJI GO app first, wait for safe to fly and then close, before loading AFL. By doing so you can check for compass or any other warning.

GadgetGuy · Sep 17, 2015

Skylark said:
Link works perfectly, so guess the solution to my problem lies elsewhere. After having had to put up with months of waiting for the map feature in Lightroom to work again after 'upgrading' to Yosemite, I thought I had learned my lesson to rush in to get the latest. Perhaps I will learn one day...lol.

Not so fast. It wasn't working for me earlier, and I suspect they might have recoded the index.html page, as I did, in the interim. Since it is now working for me, I knew it would work for you. Let me see if I can find another one that iOS 9 broke, that is still broken, so you can see that it won't load the page properly, which may still be part of the problem.

sdharris · Sep 17, 2015

NorthcountySD said:
Can I change from say follow me to zip line during flight??

Yes as I mention in the second guide Auto flight Logic - Quick Zip Line Guide | DJI Phantom Forum you can switch between flight modes after you disengage the current mode while leaving the Phantom 3 hovering in place. Remember that some modes are full computer controlled and some are human controlled and they may require the flight mode switch to be moved in order to operate.

Its all covered in the flight school manual and they're doing a pretty decent job with the videos on their youtube channel now.

GadgetGuy · Sep 17, 2015

sdharris said:
The flight school / manual available on their site or in the app runs through a preflight checklist in section 7 which includes watching the Phantom 3s LEDs for a GPS lock. But I tend to load the DJI GO app first, wait for safe to fly and then close, before loading AFL. By doing so you can check for compass or any other warning.

Your loading of the DJI GO app first and then closing it, and opening Autopilot is also a recommended solution to another problem, so I recommend doing it all the time. It fixes something in the SDK that causes problems, if only the SDK in Autpilot is used.

NorthcountySD · Sep 17, 2015

Nice. I have read through the whole flight school manual. Guess I need to read each section a few times as they apply. I do like the YouTube video series. They do a great job I can't wait to see what comes next!

Thanks!!

sdharris · Sep 18, 2015

GadgetGuy said:
Your loading of the DJI GO app first and then closing it, and opening Autopilot is also a recommended solution to another problem, so I recommend doing it all the time. It fixes something in the SDK that causes problems, if only the SDK in Autpilot is used.

Fortunately not come across the problem, I tend to load a second battery and resume my flight with AFL from the ground. What is the SDK bug and what are the errors or symptoms that you would see?

GadgetGuy · Sep 19, 2015

sdharris said:
Fortunately not come across the problem, I tend to load a second battery and resume my flight with AFL from the ground. What is the SDK bug and what are the errors or symptoms that you would see?

It is included somewhere in the Flight School documentation. Essentially, the app becomes unresponsive, ask I recall, and starts dropping frames. Just best to launch DJI GO initially, and then exit and then launch Autopilot.

egoldy · Sep 29, 2015

For those that are looking for videos on how to use Autoflight Logic, please check out this playlist:

Autopilot Tutorials - YouTube

In addition to an overview video, there are detailed videos on Focus, Orbit, and the UI with a host of examples of how to use it.

Here's the Orbit Video:

Any feedback, please let me know.

Scott H · Nov 5, 2015

Great advice, egoldy. Lovin' the little tips like this to get the best flight experience.
Would it be possible to take off with DJI GO and change over to AutoPilot mid-flight? I'm a brand new (P3A) pilot and I really like the features of AutoPilot. I think DJI's GO app is just not quite there yet. Specifically, my ultimate goal is to get very proficient with programing autonomous flights so that I can concentrate on the camera. The GO App requires that you fly to your points before programming an autonomous flight. I believe AutoPilot allows the input of one's points such that you can immediately take off and fly the course without the necessity of a "dry run". Would that work? Do you (or anyone following this thread) have any other suggestions? Many thanks...

NorthcountySD · Nov 7, 2015

Well I felt pretty comfortable with the Autoflight logic app and thought I would put the orbit mode to the test...

My intention was to take the P3P up to the top of a mountain bike hill I ride, get my quad in the air, switch over to the Autoflight app from the DJI go app (just to make sure I have GPS, homepoint set etc...) then put the Autoflight orbit mode going as low as I can to me with a pretty tight orbit.

In theory I pictured it speeding up to keep up with me as it got in front of me and circling around as I was mountain biking down my path. In theory I figured it could fly fast enough to make big ovals rather then circles when I'm standing still...

Well the theory will remain just that.... in reality, as I was riding down the hill with my RC and iPhone 6S in my backpack it just went along side of me till I went the opposite direction down switchbacks and seemed to sit and think for a few seconds till it attempted to catch up to me and repeated the same process. Not at all what I expected.

I don't know if it can't process the information fast enough to change direction or if I'm just asking way to much of the technology. For those that know more about how it processes information is what I want to do even possible?

I must say it sure is alot to think about getting it all ready and then trusting it as I focus on the ground and the path in front of me. No people around, no residential concerns, not even any trees. I could always hear the buzz so I knew it wasn't too far off. I will keep trying and I gotta admit it sure is fun learning!

Tallyrver · Dec 30, 2015

The sun came out finally came out in Tallahassee...,a little too much . I have a ND filter for next time.
I did a quick test of the orbit mode in Autopilot . Can't wait to test the beta version this weekend and try waypoints.

JoeyJoe · Dec 30, 2015

Tallyrver said:
The sun came out finally came out in Tallahassee...,a little too much . I have a ND filter for next time.
I did a quick test of the orbit mode in Autopilot . Can't wait to test the beta version this weekend and try waypoints.

Very cool video. A bit too close to that tree for my comfort though!

GadgetGuy · Dec 31, 2015

Tallyrver said:
The sun came out finally came out in Tallahassee...,a little too much . I have a ND filter for next time.
I did a quick test of the orbit mode in Autopilot . Can't wait to test the beta version this weekend and try waypoints.

An ND filter isn't designed to lower the exposure. It's designed to slow the shutter speed to 1/twice your frame rate, while maintaining the exact same exposure value. Your video is overexposed. Use the autoexposure mode instead, and make sure you are at 0 EV as a starting point, and adjust from there, as needed. Then use an ND filter, to slow the shutter speed to 1/twice the frame rate, only if you want a cinematic look that blurs the individual frames of the video. Personally, I take stills out of my 4K video, and I want the individual frames to be as sharp as possible, so I prefer the faster shutter speeds without any ND filters.

MoOriginal · Dec 31, 2015

autoflightlogic said:
Great stuff, thanks!

Black Box and Focus Mode are Human Flight Control Modes, which means that Autopilot does not send any flight commands (including auto-takeoff) to the aircraft. It is left to you (the human) to do it all.

Just in my case I wish this could be called something more like how you describe the modes work

astronyu · Jan 3, 2016

Just curious, does the follow me mode has something similar to Litchi's magic leash? Liking the zip mode especially and about to make purchase.

Hangar · Jan 3, 2016

astronyu said:
Just curious, does the follow me mode has something similar to Litchi's magic leash? Liking the zip mode especially and about to make purchase.

You mean a free companion app that the target device can install? Not right now but we may do something like that in the future.

astronyu · Jan 4, 2016

autoflightlogic said:
You mean a free companion app that the target device can install? Not right now but we may do something like that in the future.

Yes, something like that. So, instead if of following or focusing on a RC or POI, it would be a great addition to follow a paired device. And yes, I've bought the app just out of curiousity.

jorgeszabo · Jan 4, 2016

astronyu said:
Yes, something like that. So, instead if of following or focusing on a RC or POI, it would be a great addition to follow a paired device. And yes, I've bought the app just out of curiousity.

If I understand the use case correctly, what you are looking to achieve is supported via an Airspace in the Autopilot software. This mode allows you to track a separate iPhone as the focus point. See the flight school details here: Flight School - Autoflight Logic

astronyu · Jan 4, 2016

jorgeszabo said:
If I understand the use case correctly, what you are looking to achieve is supported via an Airspace in the Autopilot software. This mode allows you to track a separate iPhone as the focus point. See the flight school details here: Flight School - Autoflight Logic

Yes, Airspace is somewhat similar only that the feature through wifi or cellular network are still absent.
"Autopilot currently supports Peer-to-Peer Airspaces with limited connection distance. Network Airspaces utilizing infrastructure wifi and cellular data are planned for a future release"

P2V+ range is lesser than P3 or I1 which their range is further.