PH4 Pro RTH - obstacles above

[spazmonaut]

Hello, really sorry if this has been asked already but I couldn't find the answer. I've been worried about what would happen if the PH4P went into RTH mode whilst under an obstacle, like a tree, for example, and attempted to initiate a climb to 30M.

Given that there are no sensors on the top of the unit, I'm fearing that there would be a significant risk of collision if an obstacle above the unit was lower than the defined RTH altitude.

Clearly this is not something I am comfortable testing without knowing what will happen, so would anyone be able to help out please? - I'm super new to droning so I still have that extremely excited, yet overly anxious, approach when taking her out.

Thanks!

 

[msinger]

what would happen if the PH4P went into RTH mode whilst under an obstacle, like a tree, for example, and attempted to initiate a climb to 30M.

It would crash into the obstacle.

If you know you're going to be flying under obstacles, then you could do the following to make sure this does not happen:

1) Set the "Remote Controller Signal Lost" setting to "Hover".

2) Disable the "Smart Return-to-Home" setting.

 

[spazmonaut]

It would crash into the obstacle.

If you know you're going to be flying under obstacles, then you could do the following to make sure this does not happen:

1) Set the "Remote Controller Signal Lost" setting to "Hover".
2) Disable the "Smart Return-to-Home" setting.

Wow, thank you so much for that quick response! And also the workaround! So extremely helpful! Thank you!

 

[thefrisbee995]

It would crash into the obstacle.

If you know you're going to be flying under obstacles, then you could do the following to make sure this does not happen:

1) Set the "Remote Controller Signal Lost" setting to "Hover".

View attachment 82536


2) Disable the "Smart Return-to-Home" setting.

View attachment 82537

Is there a way of getting the drone to take the same route back as the one it originally took before it initiated RTH?

 

[Meta4]

Clearly this is not something I am comfortable testing without knowing what will happen, so would anyone be able to help out please? - I'm super new to droning so I still have that extremely excited, yet overly anxious, approach when taking her out.

It's a good idea to go out to a big open area, well away from trees and buildings etc and experiment with the RTH function to get a feel for the way it works, how you can initiate it and how to cancel and resume control.
The day you need RTH or the day it first happens is not the best time to learn how it works.

Is there a way of getting the drone to take the same route back as the one it originally took before it initiated RTH?

That is the default action in loss of signal situations.

 

[thefrisbee995]

It's a good idea to go out to a big open area, well away from trees and buildings etc and experiment with the RTH function to get a feel for the way it works, how you can initiate it and how to cancel and resume control.
The day you need RTH or the day it first happens is not the best time to learn how it works.

That is the default action in loss of signal situations.

Thanks! This is active when "smart" RTH is off, correct?

 

[DanMan32]

There's been lots of debate what 'smart RTH' is, particularly in context of that setting. The manual (at least the P3 one) is ambiguous with its terms.
Most likely smart RTH is prompting to go home when battery conditions and distance warrant nearing a point of no return.

 

[msinger]

Is there a way of getting the drone to take the same route back as the one it originally took before it initiated RTH?

If the remote controller signal is lost and Failsafe RTH is activated, the Phantom will retrace the original flight path for about 30-60 seconds to see if the remote controller signal can be reestablished. If it cannot, it'll RTH (per the usual) and return home. When I tested this feature, I found it does not retrace the exact flight path. It's close though.

 

[msinger]

There's been lots of debate what 'smart RTH' is, particularly in context of that setting.

The "Smart Return-to-Home" feature (in my screenshot above) makes the Phantom auto return home (if not cancelled within 10 seconds in DJI GO) when it calculates there is only enough battery remaining to make it back to the home point safely.

"Smart RTH" is what is initiated when you manually activate RTH from the RTH button on the front of the remote controller or from the icon on the left side of DJI GO.