Follow Me mode fly-aways

100' (30m) more and you'd have been in those branches. How fast were you travelling? Really?
The fastest I found on the flight log was 15 mph. Most of the time it was around 7 mph. I adjusted the flight path on the go to make sure I didn't hit the tree. It should have been above it, but didn't want to take a chance, since I was going by the monitor and not visual.
 
I totally agree. I would never use the DJI's or even Lichi's follow mode. I have used Autopilot FOLLOW mode with an Airspace object many times (actually 53 Follow missions) without any problems (iPhone 6 attached to a working Search Dog - probably one of the most challenging Follow applications I can think of especially because I don't want the quad to be too far away - 30' high and 50' distance with position absolute 180 degrees). Occasionally you see minor unexpected corrective movements due to variations/errors in the GPS positioning. However I found Autopilot to be extremely "smart" in recognizing unrealistic changes in both location and altitude. I have grown so comfortable with the Follow mode in Autopilot that I leave the RC unattended with the Quad following me for the whole K-9 search event (typically 15+ minutes covering 20+ acres of terrain).

I agree that the Autopilot version of "Follow" is light years ahead of DJI's version in terms of capability.

I've only just started using the Autopilot "Follow" feature, but so far I've successfully completed 2 "Follow" missions and 2 "Orbit" missions using a moving Airspace target - which is essentially a simultaneous "Follow" and "POI" mission which isn't even possible with the DJI app. The barometer in the iPhone 6 and later phones is able to communicate altitude reliably and this makes all the difference in the world for "Follow" mode if the subject is changing elevation even a little.

In "Orbit" mode, as I drove around, the drone circled me, keeping the camera focused on me AND keeping itself the same altitude above ME as I drove up and down hills producing a very nicely framed segment and keeping itself well above the power lines even as I drove uphill.

The DJI software's implementation of follow mode ignores that the subject is changing elevation and it maintains its altitude compared to the point from which it took off. So if you tell the Phantom to follow at 50' altitude and then drive up a 60' hill - the Phantom will happily fly itself into the ground because it is trying to maintain its 50' elevation from its starting location (at the bottom of the hill) and it is ignorant to your change in elevation. This behaviour might be safe to use on a lake - but anywhere on land is subject to (sometimes subtle) elevation changes which are going to affect the drones positioning. It will appear to get closer and further to the subject it is following based on the subjects change in elevation. What's actually happening is that the drone is staying at the same "absolute altitude" with respect to sea level and as the ground elevation rises, you are getting closer to the drone. (If you find a big enough hill, you're actually driving up to the level the drone has been at for the entire mission). With Autopilot, the drone sees that your altitude is changing and adjusts its own altitude to stays the requested distance above you at all times.

It's an important differentiation that I don't think DJI has explained very well - if at all. I'd be VERY careful about where I fly and what I follow if I were forced to use the DJI version of "Follow".
 

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