Autopilot vs. Litchi

roblevine · Feb 21, 2018

So I've been using Litchi for more than a year...but it's been having problems lately. Anyone using Autopilot? Can anyone compare it to Litchi?

Blacksails · Feb 21, 2018

I've never used Litchi, but what I can tell you is that Autopilot has worked continuously, without a hitch, on both my Inspire 1 Raw and Mavic for a long time.
I believe (going off of other people experiences) that there is a much steeper learning curve with Autopilot, however, as I said I haven't had any experience with litchi.

Advexure · Feb 21, 2018

We can also speak very highly of Autopilot. We have used it a ton. Hangar continues to enhance the offering and are doing a great job. Happy to help provide specific insight on particular flight modes you are primarily looking to use.

roblevine · Feb 21, 2018

Advexure said:
We can also speak very highly of Autopilot. We have used it a ton. Hangar continues to enhance the offering and are doing a great job. Happy to help provide specific insight on particular flight modes you are primarily looking to use.

Thanks. Mostly interested in Waypoint missions.

Advexure · Feb 21, 2018

roblevine said:
Thanks. Mostly interested in Waypoint missions.

Waypoint mode is definitely one of AutoPilot’s strongest suits. You can keep missions as simple as they need to be or dive into more complexity with the advanced customization. I do not think it will disappoint. Unfortunately I can’t provide a whole lot of direct comparison with Litchi and it’s always been AutoPilot that we’ve used in certain occasions around here for about 3 years.

roblevine · Feb 21, 2018

Advexure said:
Waypoint mode is definitely one of AutoPilot’s strongest suits. You can keep missions as simple as they need to be or dive into more complexity with the advanced customization. I do not think it will disappoint. Unfortunately I can’t provide a whole lot of direct comparison with Litchi and it’s always been AutoPilot that we’ve used in certain occasions around here for about 3 years.

Unless I'm missing something, Litchi has a big drawback for the Inspire: You can't aim the camera separately from the drone. What I really like to do is record a mission by flying and setting waypoints, then run it.

Brian Nolan · Feb 21, 2018

Would Autopilot run on an Inspire 1 v 2.0? I see it as a huge design flaw that you have a camera that can rotate 360 but only if you've got 4 hands.

roblevine · Feb 21, 2018

roblevine said:
Unless I'm missing something, Litchi has a big drawback for the Inspire: You can't aim the camera separately from the drone.

Brian Nolan said:
Would Autopilot run on an Inspire 1 v 2.0? I see it as a huge design flaw that you have a camera that can rotate 360 but only if you've got 4 hands.

Appears so Autopilot - Hangar

Advexure · Feb 21, 2018

roblevine said:
Unless I'm missing something, Litchi has a big drawback for the Inspire: You can't aim the camera separately from the drone. What I really like to do is record a mission by flying and setting waypoints, then run it.

Yes with AutoPilot you can set your camera triggers along the flight path which will control your camera operation. The "interpolation" feature is your friend when using camera triggers which helps to achieve smooth, swift, fluid gimbal movement as the aircraft travels along the flight patch with camera triggers moving from one trigger to the next.

Brian Nolan said:
Would Autopilot run on an Inspire 1 v 2.0? I see it as a huge design flaw that you have a camera that can rotate 360 but only if you've got 4 hands.

Yes, no problem with I1 V2.0. We've run it a fair amount on AutoPilot using the X5.

Oyibo VFX · Feb 22, 2018

Using Autopilot from the moment I've got my drones. Inspire 2, Spark and a number of Mavic's. Nothing beats Autopilot. I bought Litchi and Autopilot at the same day but not have 1 hour with Litchi. It just doesn't work for me

roblevine · Feb 22, 2018

Oyibo VFX said:
Using Autopilot from the moment I've got my drones. Inspire 2, Spark and a number of Mavic's. Nothing beats Autopilot. I bought Litchi and Autopilot at the same day but not have 1 hour with Litchi. It just doesn't work for me

Thanks for replies. Wondering what kind of pad you use with Autopilot?

Advexure · Feb 22, 2018

We run it on the smaller iPad Pro as well as iPad Air 2. Really wish Hangar would develop an Android version that could be used on CrystalSkys.

roblevine · Feb 22, 2018

Advexure said:
We run it on the smaller iPad Pro as well as iPad Air 2. Really wish Hangar would develop an Android version that could be used on CrystalSkys.

What do you think of the iPad Mini 4? According to Autopilot site it has GPS and barometer. I have an iPad Mini 2 that works ok for now.

Advexure · Feb 22, 2018

roblevine said:
What do you think of the iPad Mini 4? According to Autopilot site it has GPS and barometer. I have an iPad Mini 2 that works ok for now.

Don’t have any direct insight on the Mini 4 running AutoPilot but know many users that use it for GO4 as well as XT Pro. Downsides are brightness and battery life. iPad Mini 2 I would think is on the fence...have heard frustrations running the Mini 2 with GO4. Processing power is maxed which leads to pretty limited battery operation time and potential overheating depending on your ambient temp.

roblevine · Feb 22, 2018

Advexure said:
Don’t have any direct insight on the Mini 4 running AutoPilot but know many users that use it for GO4 as well as XT Pro. Downsides are brightness and battery life. iPad Mini 2 I would think is on the fence...have heard frustrations running the Mini 2 with GO4. Processing power is maxed which leads to pretty limited battery operation time and potential overheating depending on your ambient temp.

Wow thanks for your expertise. Yes I'm having some issues with the Mini 2

If you don't mind - what about the current iPad like this: iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular 32GB - Silver