Cable Cam Questions

[Jason Boucher]

Hello,

I may be way off my rocker on this one but I'm attempting to do something and am not sure what to call it. I believe its called Cable Cam, but not sure.

Here is what I want to do. I have some races coming up shortly that involve racers going down a closed road, I will be flying over this road, at a safe distance from the racers, and from any crowed (not looking for a safety speech here)

What I want to do is set up way points down this road or a pre planned flight path, and then use the right stick of the controller to control the speed of the inspire down this pre planned flight path. Therefore the drone is always following the same path each time, and i control its speed / direction down this path.

I know this can be done with way point mode and set the speed between each point, but that won't work as each racer goes a different speed, so I need to constantly adjust the speed of the drone, and at times totally stop it. So if i can set up a pre planned flight path, and then control the drone manually down this path it would be great.

Can anyone provide me any insight on how this could be done, and maybe a walk through.


Thank You.

 

[Shawn Esplin]

I'm not sure if this is available in DJI's software, but it is available in Autopilot and maybe Litchi. I just saw it in an Autopilot video yesterday though, and you can set a max speed and move through the path in either direction at any speed up to the max you set.

Just make sure it's in..."Joystick mode" I believe they called it because there are other ways to fly a waypoint mission.

 

[Jason Boucher]

I'm not sure if this is available in DJI's software, but it is available in Autopilot and maybe Litchi. I just saw it in an Autopilot video yesterday though, and you can set a max speed and move through the path in either direction at any speed up to the max you set.

Just make sure it's in..."Joystick mode" I believe they called it because there are other ways to fly a waypoint mission.

The Joystick mode is exactly what i was looking for. Thank you!

 

[deltalimatango]

I could be wrong but doesn't the Profile mode provide the same functionality? Again, I could be wrong.

 

[Ascender]

The Joystick mode is exactly what i was looking for. Thank you!

Shawn's exactly right about the Autopilot function. Using Waypoints and Joystick Mission Type, you can build a specific flight path and then control the drone's movement along that path using the joystick. The stick input then lets you adjust forward or backwards movement, and even a hover can be accomplished.

I would also recommend setting the Focus type to Joystick to freely control the camera and gimbal with the other stick, unless you know exactly where you'll want to focus on racers.

A different approach is simply building a straight route with Zipline. It would only be two end points, so less complex, but the speed between points A and B (allows for forward and backwards movements too) can be adjusted on the fly in the app during flight to speed up or slow down the drone.

I'm building some video tutorials on how to use apps like Autopilot to execute specific flight plans and shots for various use cases. Will be posting them here in the very near future!

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

Just remember to double check your firmware version and make sure the features you are using on a 3rd party app are still ok to use (some features do not function properly with some newer firmware).

Also there are some DJI app features that are a little more basic (and maybe not enough flexibility for what you need). Tapfly for example will fly a fixed heading (that can be modified with your yaw stick in flight) while adding a speed slider on the app screen. If you tap above the horizon it will fly the heading while ascending, if you tap below the horizon it will fly the heading while descending.

Anyway - if the 3rd party apps are what you need just double check them to make sure you are safe to use all the features.

Michael
www.FloridaDroneSupply.com

 

[dkotinsky]

Litchi should do it. Waypoints still were supposedbly

 

[Shawn Esplin]

Just remember to double check your firmware version and make sure the features you are using on a 3rd party app are still ok to use (some features do not function properly with some newer firmware).

Good point, although they say the relevant bugs have been fixed in the latest firmware, so people who are up to date should be good. If not, it is important to check the firmware version and make sure it's safe.