Hey Mr Monk, No comments since litchi has become available to my spark and my wife's mavic air. What a terrific tool !!! I like your manner teaching and would love to watch the entire series of litchi waypoints from you. The updated app was launched less than a month ago. Be the first, you are the best man for the job!!
Cool. Finally found a teacher who uses a slow, methodical approach to demonstrating Litchi concepts. This app demands such an approach; otherwise, I'd be better off just learning it all through experimentation myself, one concept at a time. Great job! I'm still trying to figure out why, sometimes, my aircraft rotates in full circles while flying a waypoint mission. The Litchi settings on my iPad Air include a "Rotations Direction" (options are "Managed" and "Manual") that I do not see in the online Mission Hub settings. It may have something to do with that. I'm subscribing!
The online Litchi Hub software doesn't include everything that is on the iPad. However, they have added some things that were missing in the beginning. The Rotations Direction is not one of them. If the Rotations Direction is set to Managed, the software will choose the direction of rotation for the smallest degree rotation to get to the next heading. If the Rotations Direction is set to Manual, you choose the direction to rotate. In cases where the next heading is only a few degrees different than the current heading, the aircraft may have to rotate almost a complete circle to get to the next heading, if you haven't chosen the rotation direction which will use the smallest number of degrees. For example, if the current heading is 5 degrees and the next waypoint needs a heading of 10 degrees and the rotation direction is Anticlockwise, the aircraft will rotate 355 degrees to get to the proper heading. With a direction of Clockwise, only 5 degrees rotation is needed. Hope this helps. Thank you for comments and questions and thank you for viewing and subscribing.
MontanaMonk - Yes, this helps. Thank you. Just thinking out loud here... So when I create a mission in the online Mission Hub (where there is not an option to control Rotation Direction) and then go to the field and download the mission to my iPad, the Rotations Direction setting in my iPad copy of the Litchi app is active and affects the mission that I downloaded. So I need to pay attention to the general settings both on Mission Hub and the Litchi app on my iPad. Right? It could be designed better but I am not complaining because it is a fantastical tool for the price!
Once the mission is on the iPad, you can make any changes necessary that weren't available on the Hub. You can then save again. You do have to be careful of the differences from the Hub and the local mission. Usually there aren't too many differences, but some might make big changes in the outcome, like Rotation.
Great video. I've been using Litchi for a few yrs but never really took the time to understand the fine points. I feel like I'll be much better with using it after watching your video!
Hi! I just downloaded the Litchi app today. Can't wait to test it with my Mavic Air. On my android Galaxy S7 edge the interface looks quite different, but I guess it's due to the different OS. Looking forward to test my first POI predefined track! Thanks for a GREAT tutorial!
At 11:37 the gimble angle didn't work because the Interpolate feature should atenuate difference between the previous and next waypoint. So, if W2 is 0 and W4 is 0, W3 will also be 0. It would work if you have different values, for example: 0 and 90. So, the W3 would be 45
Thank you for your observation of the interpolate failure. I looked at the problem again and it was actually my failure to set waypoints on both sides of W3 to Interpolate. Interpolate does work if only W2 and W3 are set to interpolate, but there would be no return to 0 after W3 and the angle would be at -90 for the remainder of the mission. Also, when interpolation does take place, it interpolates between pairs of waypoints, so -45 would be reached halfway between W2 and W3. At W3, -90 would be reached. Halfway to W4, -45 again, and at W4, 0. Interestingly, if only W3 and W4 are set to interpolate and an Action is added to W3 to change the Gimbal angle to -90, the gimbal returns to 0 at W4. Thank you much for your comments and thank you for viewing.
@@MontanaMonk I wasn't sure about what I said because I had no experience with Litchi. Actually, Litchi destroyed my Phantom 3 this week. I programmed 5 simple waypoints to take pictures. One of them was 8 meters distant from a wall. Reaching the waypoint, it was supposed to turn left and reach the second waypoint. But I guess Litchi had other plans, like making my drone fly straight to the wall at full speed, OUT of the programmed path.
there wasn't even a sign it was going to turn or slow down. For instance, imagine a square path. So, it flew straight like if there was an imaginary waypoint 20 meters ahead, expect there wasn't!
I have found Litchi to be pretty reliable. However, I expect some of the earlier drone GPS capabilities are not as good as the newer versions. Also, variations in terrain and structures can be a big factor. I ran a test on my GPS (Phantom 3 Advanced) to see variations in my back yard. I started the drone and set it on a retaining wall for a while and recorded the screen to see what the position variation was according to the GPS. During my test, the drone was completely stationary but the GPS indicated it had moved around an area that ranged perhaps 10-15 meters from its stationary point. I suspect some of the variation is because of the variation of the GPS satellite selection by the drone. Some might also be variation in the drone electronics due to temperature variations. When I plan routes, I'm careful not to plan anything too close to objects. Not only will the GPS be a factor in possible crashes, but the accuracy of the imaging of ground objects can be a factor. Since the images are not taken from directly above the objects, parallax can create a significant error between GPS position and the apparent position of a building or tree when planning a mission. Also, be certain that you have sufficient altitude for objects along the flight path. The drone doesn't account for the height of objects on the ground, so it's a good idea to verify heights before planning a flight over trees or buildings, keeping in mind that the GPS vertical accuracy is typically less than horizontal accuracy. Also account for changes in ground elevation, since a 10 meter object is only 10 meters above the take off point if the ground is level. If the ground on which the object is located is 10 meters above the take off point, the top of the object is now 20 meters above the take off point. Newer (and more expensive) drones have obstacle avoidance that helps reduce crashes, but even that may not be perfect. A friend has a Mavic 2 Pro and has still touched obstacles, but not to the point of damage. His Mavic can take off from a point and return to within a few centimeters of the same point most of the time. However, some things in the area can cause variations in the GPS accuracy such that the landing is a meter or more away from the take off point.
MontanaMonk - in your Curves04 mission, you stated the the gimbal -90 action failed to execute the interpolate command. I believe that is because interpolate will only work if there is an additional interpolate value on either the preceding waypoint, or the following way point, and they each need to be set at different values. This would make sense, because with only one interpolate action set, the action does not have anything to interpolate "from" or "to". I haven't tested this yet, but it works in my head. LOL Excellent video. Thank your your concise tutorial.
Your analysis is correct. Interpolation can't take place with only one waypoint set to interpolate. I would have had to change two waypoints to interpolate for the change to take place. It is interesting that even though there is a value for the gimbal angle at each waypoint, unless it is specifically set to interpolate, interpolation doesn't happen. Although it is theoretically possible, the software doesn't operate that way. It is mentioned in the Litchi manual, so I should have discussed it. Thank you for adding clarification and thank you for viewing.
Thank you. Interesting analysis. I would suggest another option. Mission Setting with Straight Lines and a Stay For action for a few seconds until the camera will reposition on a new POI.
Great video with thoughtfully explained concepts. Have there been any updates or added features to Litchi since the making of this video? I have a Dji Matrice 100 that I am going to start flying again so I'm trying bring myself and my drone up to date.
Most of the changes have been to accommodate the newer aircraft characteristics. The basic functionality is very similar to the first version I used. Litchi is a great piece of software. Thank you for comments and questions and thank you for viewing.
@@MontanaMonk I am actually looking at the Litchi Hub on my Mac at this moment considering autonomous flights around my property. I did not know until today that these flights could be setup on the hub and then loaded into the drone. Great stuff! Thank you for your very helpful videos. They helpto get us off to a good start.
Nice video. Confused about something. The last clip you did setting the gimbal angle to -90 didn't work but I don't recall you saying why it didn't work...
While the title of this video indicates the discussion is about smooth turns, I point out in the introductory text that there are some anomalies that come up with some settings for which you might expect smooth turns. Two anomalies are with using Mission Settings-Heading-Auto with either Focus POI or with Interpolate Gimbal angle. In Mission03, Auto was used with Focus POI and points of interest were set. While the gimbal angle changed, the aircraft didn't point to the POI. In Mission04, Auto was used, again, but no points of interest were entered. We changed the Gimbal angle for Waypoint 3 to -90 degrees. However, the anomaly was that the gimbal angle didn't respond to the angle setting when Auto was selected as the heading for the mission. I haven't found a discussion of these anomalies in the documentation for Litchi, so sometimes you need to verify how the aircraft is going to behave if you use "unusual" settings. The Auto setting for Mission Heading works fine if you just want the aircraft to point to the next waypoint as it flies the mission. However, adding points of interest or setting the gimbal angle manually may give some unexpected results. Using Custom for the Mission Heading setting is probably more predictable and I use it for most of my missions. Hope this clears it up a little. Sorry for any confusion. Sometimes what is going through my mind doesn't make it to the video. Thanks for questions and comments and thank you for viewing.
Since the camera on the Inspire can have a different direction than the aircraft heading, you are probably correct that the behavior is an Inspire thing. That provides more flexibility with the Inspire, like dual controllers, one for pilot and one for camera operator.
Hands down I learn more from you than anyone when it comes to this Litchi app. Teaching is an art and you are an artist. I'm curious how you can incorporate a mouse without going to mission hub. Fewer tools there. Can you go into detail on your set-up?
Thank you for the comments. I'll try to work up a video showing how I do the Litchi productions. Should be fun for me and hopefully informative for you and other viewers. I thank you for the suggestion. I'll start on the video today and hopefully have it finished in a day or two. Thank you for viewing.
I managed to get a quick video done that provides most of the details of my Litchi video productions (as well as other videos). New video is: "Producing the Litchi Tutorial Videos" at: ruclips.net/video/0vkaDAPn8-0/видео.html Hope it is what you were looking for. Thanks for the suggestion.
Yes, when the recording is started, it will continue until it is stopped. Just be aware that if the mission is set to use Curved Turns for Path Mode, Actions at waypoints are disabled. Thank you for questions and thank you for viewing.
i was wondering if you knew anything about flying waypoint missions without internet access? if the mission is saved on device, can you run it from device alone?
Yes, you can fly waypoint missions without internet access. Just setup the mission on your device, zooming into the area you are flying. The area map will be cached so it will be available during the flight. Save the mission and go to your flight location. Load the mission when the aircraft is ready to fly and then start the mission. It will fly to completion. Just be sure your mission avoids obstacles, especially tall structures that you may not know the height of when planning the mission.
Waypoints are still active during curved turns. Actions like "Stay for", "Take Photo", "Start Recording", which are triggered at waypoints are disabled. That is why the developer put the note on the Waypoint Actions menu item: "(Disabled with Curved Turns)". At first, it doesn't seem to make sense. However, it is more understandable when you consider that triggering the Action requires that the position of the aircraft be at the waypoint location, and during Curved Turn flights, the aircraft never really gets to the waypoint location. This means that there would have to be some rather arbitrary choice about where to trigger the action related to the waypoint. Probably the most logical location would be when a line perpendicular to a tangent to the curve passes through the waypoint. (I believe this is also the point at which the aircraft path is nearest the next waypoint.) It seems that this could be calculated during mission creation and be indicated on the curve with some contrasting color. That decision would be left to the developer. Thank you for comments and questions and thank you for viewing.
then they should have made the curved push back till it flies over the way point.. I don't see how they could create such a good product on make such a silly mistake. just saying imo thanks for the great videos and help just the same
To get a smooth curved turn, the curve must be tangent to the two lines intersecting the waypoint. When you move the circle out (by decreasing the radius of the curve) so that it goes through the waypoint, it becomes the intersection of two straight lines. Rather than a curve, the curve becomes the waypoint. It wasn't a mistake by the developer, it is just the way the geometry requires it.
Another great video tutorial and excellent clear instructions. These are about the best tutorials I have seen. I tried to do a video myself about an area, and that's when I realised how hard it is to do without stuttering and errrrming. Yours are clear and precise so thank you again. Another thing I heard somewhere but struggling is zooming in and out? I believe I had to change some settings? But I have just been on holiday and was stood where there was no WIFI so couldn't look anything up. Can the video or photo be zoomed in and how? also, can it be added into the waypoints to zoom in on a POI?or manually only? Thank you again MONTANAMONK for this excellent video tutorial. Colin.
Great question on zooming! I haven't thought about that. Since the camera has no zoom capability, you need to use extra waypoints. You will need actions, so you can't use Curved Turns. The zoom process will need three waypoints that all have the same POI. At the waypoint you want to start zooming, call it SZ, add an action to Stay For 1 second, just to get a slight pause before zooming. The next waypoint will be the zoomed waypoint, call it Z and it will be directly toward the POI, in line with SZ and the POI, and will be about 1/2 the distance to the POI from SZ and will be at an altitude of 1/2 the difference between the POI altitude and the SZ altitude. For example, if the POI altitude is 10 feet and the SZ altitude is 80 feet, the difference is 70 feet, so the altitude of Z will be 35 feet. Add a Stay For 1 second (or more, if you want) to Z. To zoom out, add a finish zoom waypoint, call it FZ, right next to SZ and at the same altitude SZ, so, 80 feet in this example. Add an action to Stay for 1 second to finish the zoom. Then, continue your route. To make this more interesting, you could also increase the speed of the aircraft for the zoom by increasing the speed at SZ and returning to the Cruising speed at FZ. This should be fun! I'm planning another video on using variable speed during programmed missions. I'll try to incorporate zooming into it. Thanks for questions, they always stimulate my thinking and present new challenges.
Thanks Montamonk and I bow to your knowledge. I have just got back off holiday so now I can give it my undivided attention as I am home with my computer now. As I mentioned, I had heard that you need to change your resolution (or something like that to zoom by pinching the screen with your thumb and finger, but couldn't remember) and then you use the pinching the screen (on the ipad) like you do, to zoom in and out when using the ipad, but I wasn't sure if I could for instance, watch it flying somewhere I had set, then when it had arrived, doing the pinch zoom in and out with my fingers? Your reply above looks very interesting as it is all automatic so can be left to do it all itself. Thank you again.
If you test my method, try to run first at a slow speed, especially if you plan to get very close to the subject. You want to be able to stop if the aircraft gets closer than expected to something. GPS and the maps are good, but perspective and accuracy may not be good enough if you are very near the subject.
man you know litchi well. now i was thinking of a way to get live feed from a far away drone. you got any suggestions or ways before i make a fool out of myself telling you mine? lol
Live feed will depend a lot on the drone hardware. Some of the newer drones will provide live feed from a mile away with proper conditions. However, in most cases, flying that far away from your location might be illegal, depending on the country. Some older drones might be retrofitted with additional transmission capabilities to provide more distant feeds, but with more weight and less flight time. Most electrically powered drones have less than 20 minutes of power for the round trip. Miscalculating the time for the round trip happens a lot, because of flight speed and wind conditions. Losing power anywhere except right over your head could be catastrophic, especially over water. I plan shorter missions to keep line-of-sight and then edit video to link them together.
i have a 3 so it's got some weight and you've covered my concerns. I'm just playing around seeing what these things are capable of. litchi looks fun. wondering if i could develop it for some uses. strap an extra battery to it etc. i'm working on getting ground terrain imported cause i'm not sure how litchi handles hills in hub. i guess this is as good a place for us to talk about this as any. ? lol
Yes, you can use POI and Interpolate on different waypoints, Just tap on the waypoint to set to Interpolate and set the POI for that waypoint to None. You can adjust the gimbal angle and heading to anything you want. Thank you for questions and comments and thank you for viewing.
I thought that you could not use POI and Interpolate on the same mission using different waypoints, glad to know that you can. If you create Different POI setting on the mission and you use Interpolate on the waypoints instead of POI , how can you let the gimbal know to which POI settings to look if they are set to none? Is it by changing the Pitch?
For the waypoints which you want to use Interpolate, just set the heading an the gimbal angle to what ever you want. Sometimes I just use a POI to get a Heading and Gimbal Angle set for a waypoint and then set it to Interpolate and then set POI to none. If changes are made in this order, the Heading and Gimbal Angle for the POI are retained and the waypoint is left in Interpolate mode. You can then fine-tune the heading and angle, if you want them changed. Always verify that what you expect is really what happens. Sometimes there are some subtle interactions that may not come out as expected. Once you establish a procedure, it will usually be repeatable. Always move to another waypoint and back to be sure your changes are retained. Sometimes edits don't change until you look at other waypoints and return to the edited waypoint.
Hi again, another great teaching session. thanks. by the way which drone do you use in these videos and which in the field. Just got an Inspire 2. Would be great if you did some videos with Inspire if you have either one. p.s.: you method of teaching almost makes me think you were either a professor or an engineer.. or both.
I use a Phantom 3 Advanced for all the videos. Wish I could afford more. I taught Math, Biology, Chemistry and Physics in high school for eight years. Returned to the university for computer science degree and did industrial and database programming until retirement. Still do a little programming for my photography projects using Arduino boards.
Great videos, Curved turns 02 is so buttery smooth
Hey Mr Monk,
No comments since litchi has become available to my spark and my wife's mavic air.
What a terrific tool !!!
I like your manner teaching and would love to watch the entire series of litchi waypoints from you.
The updated app was launched less than a month ago. Be the first, you are the best man for the job!!
Thanks for your feedback!!! Interpolate mission needs to upgrade for sure...!!!
Cool. Finally found a teacher who uses a slow, methodical approach to demonstrating Litchi concepts. This app demands such an approach; otherwise, I'd be better off just learning it all through experimentation myself, one concept at a time. Great job!
I'm still trying to figure out why, sometimes, my aircraft rotates in full circles while flying a waypoint mission. The Litchi settings on my iPad Air include a "Rotations Direction" (options are "Managed" and "Manual") that I do not see in the online Mission Hub settings. It may have something to do with that. I'm subscribing!
The online Litchi Hub software doesn't include everything that is on the iPad. However, they have added some things that were missing in the beginning. The Rotations Direction is not one of them. If the Rotations Direction is set to Managed, the software will choose the direction of rotation for the smallest degree rotation to get to the next heading. If the Rotations Direction is set to Manual, you choose the direction to rotate. In cases where the next heading is only a few degrees different than the current heading, the aircraft may have to rotate almost a complete circle to get to the next heading, if you haven't chosen the rotation direction which will use the smallest number of degrees. For example, if the current heading is 5 degrees and the next waypoint needs a heading of 10 degrees and the rotation direction is Anticlockwise, the aircraft will rotate 355 degrees to get to the proper heading. With a direction of Clockwise, only 5 degrees rotation is needed.
Hope this helps. Thank you for comments and questions and thank you for viewing and subscribing.
MontanaMonk - Yes, this helps. Thank you. Just thinking out loud here... So when I create a mission in the online Mission Hub (where there is not an option to control Rotation Direction) and then go to the field and download the mission to my iPad, the Rotations Direction setting in my iPad copy of the Litchi app is active and affects the mission that I downloaded. So I need to pay attention to the general settings both on Mission Hub and the Litchi app on my iPad. Right? It could be designed better but I am not complaining because it is a fantastical tool for the price!
Once the mission is on the iPad, you can make any changes necessary that weren't available on the Hub. You can then save again. You do have to be careful of the differences from the Hub and the local mission. Usually there aren't too many differences, but some might make big changes in the outcome, like Rotation.
Great video. I've been using Litchi for a few yrs but never really took the time to understand the fine points. I feel like I'll be much better with using it after watching your video!
Thank you for explaining something that had me confused. I didn't understand why the actions didn't work when using curved paths. Now I do. Thanks!
Hi! I just downloaded the Litchi app today. Can't wait to test it with my Mavic Air. On my android Galaxy S7 edge the interface looks quite different, but I guess it's due to the different OS. Looking forward to test my first POI predefined track! Thanks for a GREAT tutorial!
I like how this could have been a simple answer video but you went pretty deep, also your example shots are gorgeous movements. Well done!
At 11:37 the gimble angle didn't work because the Interpolate feature should atenuate difference between the previous and next waypoint. So, if W2 is 0 and W4 is 0, W3 will also be 0. It would work if you have different values, for example: 0 and 90. So, the W3 would be 45
Thank you for your observation of the interpolate failure. I looked at the problem again and it was actually my failure to set waypoints on both sides of W3 to Interpolate. Interpolate does work if only W2 and W3 are set to interpolate, but there would be no return to 0 after W3 and the angle would be at -90 for the remainder of the mission. Also, when interpolation does take place, it interpolates between pairs of waypoints, so -45 would be reached halfway between W2 and W3. At W3, -90 would be reached. Halfway to W4, -45 again, and at W4, 0. Interestingly, if only W3 and W4 are set to interpolate and an Action is added to W3 to change the Gimbal angle to -90, the gimbal returns to 0 at W4.
Thank you much for your comments and thank you for viewing.
@@MontanaMonk I wasn't sure about what I said because I had no experience with Litchi. Actually, Litchi destroyed my Phantom 3 this week. I programmed 5 simple waypoints to take pictures. One of them was 8 meters distant from a wall. Reaching the waypoint, it was supposed to turn left and reach the second waypoint. But I guess Litchi had other plans, like making my drone fly straight to the wall at full speed, OUT of the programmed path.
there wasn't even a sign it was going to turn or slow down. For instance, imagine a square path. So, it flew straight like if there was an imaginary waypoint 20 meters ahead, expect there wasn't!
I have found Litchi to be pretty reliable. However, I expect some of the earlier drone GPS capabilities are not as good as the newer versions. Also, variations in terrain and structures can be a big factor. I ran a test on my GPS (Phantom 3 Advanced) to see variations in my back yard. I started the drone and set it on a retaining wall for a while and recorded the screen to see what the position variation was according to the GPS. During my test, the drone was completely stationary but the GPS indicated it had moved around an area that ranged perhaps 10-15 meters from its stationary point. I suspect some of the variation is because of the variation of the GPS satellite selection by the drone. Some might also be variation in the drone electronics due to temperature variations. When I plan routes, I'm careful not to plan anything too close to objects. Not only will the GPS be a factor in possible crashes, but the accuracy of the imaging of ground objects can be a factor. Since the images are not taken from directly above the objects, parallax can create a significant error between GPS position and the apparent position of a building or tree when planning a mission. Also, be certain that you have sufficient altitude for objects along the flight path. The drone doesn't account for the height of objects on the ground, so it's a good idea to verify heights before planning a flight over trees or buildings, keeping in mind that the GPS vertical accuracy is typically less than horizontal accuracy. Also account for changes in ground elevation, since a 10 meter object is only 10 meters above the take off point if the ground is level. If the ground on which the object is located is 10 meters above the take off point, the top of the object is now 20 meters above the take off point. Newer (and more expensive) drones have obstacle avoidance that helps reduce crashes, but even that may not be perfect. A friend has a Mavic 2 Pro and has still touched obstacles, but not to the point of damage. His Mavic can take off from a point and return to within a few centimeters of the same point most of the time. However, some things in the area can cause variations in the GPS accuracy such that the landing is a meter or more away from the take off point.
MontanaMonk - in your Curves04 mission, you stated the the gimbal -90 action failed to execute the interpolate command. I believe that is because interpolate will only work if there is an additional interpolate value on either the preceding waypoint, or the following way point, and they each need to be set at different values. This would make sense, because with only one interpolate action set, the action does not have anything to interpolate "from" or "to". I haven't tested this yet, but it works in my head. LOL Excellent video. Thank your your concise tutorial.
Your analysis is correct. Interpolation can't take place with only one waypoint set to interpolate. I would have had to change two waypoints to interpolate for the change to take place. It is interesting that even though there is a value for the gimbal angle at each waypoint, unless it is specifically set to interpolate, interpolation doesn't happen. Although it is theoretically possible, the software doesn't operate that way. It is mentioned in the Litchi manual, so I should have discussed it.
Thank you for adding clarification and thank you for viewing.
Thank you. Interesting analysis. I would suggest another option. Mission Setting with Straight Lines and a Stay For action for a few seconds until the camera will reposition on a new POI.
Thank your for the comment and suggestion and thank you for viewing.
best litchi tutorial video.. thank you for sharing, regards from Malaysia 🇲🇾👍
Great helpful videos, thanks.
Great video with thoughtfully explained concepts. Have there been any updates or added features to Litchi since the making of this video? I have a Dji Matrice 100 that I am going to start flying again so I'm trying bring myself and my drone up to date.
Most of the changes have been to accommodate the newer aircraft characteristics. The basic functionality is very similar to the first version I used. Litchi is a great piece of software. Thank you for comments and questions and thank you for viewing.
@@MontanaMonk I am actually looking at the Litchi Hub on my Mac at this moment considering autonomous flights around my property. I did not know until today that these flights could be setup on the hub and then loaded into the drone. Great stuff! Thank you for your very helpful videos. They helpto get us off to a good start.
Nice video. Confused about something. The last clip you did setting the gimbal angle to -90 didn't work but I don't recall you saying why it didn't work...
While the title of this video indicates the discussion is about smooth turns, I point out in the introductory text that there are some anomalies that come up with some settings for which you might expect smooth turns. Two anomalies are with using Mission Settings-Heading-Auto with either Focus POI or with Interpolate Gimbal angle. In Mission03, Auto was used with Focus POI and points of interest were set. While the gimbal angle changed, the aircraft didn't point to the POI. In Mission04, Auto was used, again, but no points of interest were entered. We changed the Gimbal angle for Waypoint 3 to -90 degrees. However, the anomaly was that the gimbal angle didn't respond to the angle setting when Auto was selected as the heading for the mission. I haven't found a discussion of these anomalies in the documentation for Litchi, so sometimes you need to verify how the aircraft is going to behave if you use "unusual" settings. The Auto setting for Mission Heading works fine if you just want the aircraft to point to the next waypoint as it flies the mission. However, adding points of interest or setting the gimbal angle manually may give some unexpected results. Using Custom for the Mission Heading setting is probably more predictable and I use it for most of my missions.
Hope this clears it up a little. Sorry for any confusion. Sometimes what is going through my mind doesn't make it to the video. Thanks for questions and comments and thank you for viewing.
Just thinking why the a/c heading was along the path despite the POI in auto. Maybe designed for the Inspire 2?
Since the camera on the Inspire can have a different direction than the aircraft heading, you are probably correct that the behavior is an Inspire thing. That provides more flexibility with the Inspire, like dual controllers, one for pilot and one for camera operator.
Hands down I learn more from you than anyone when it comes to this Litchi app. Teaching is an art and you are an artist. I'm curious how you can incorporate a mouse without going to mission hub. Fewer tools there. Can you go into detail on your set-up?
Thank you for the comments. I'll try to work up a video showing how I do the Litchi productions. Should be fun for me and hopefully informative for you and other viewers. I thank you for the suggestion. I'll start on the video today and hopefully have it finished in a day or two.
Thank you for viewing.
I managed to get a quick video done that provides most of the details of my Litchi video productions (as well as other videos). New video is: "Producing the Litchi Tutorial Videos" at: ruclips.net/video/0vkaDAPn8-0/видео.html
Hope it is what you were looking for. Thanks for the suggestion.
If recording start is set at a given waypoint, does it continue recording until a stop recording command is set or until the end of mission? Thanks
Yes, when the recording is started, it will continue until it is stopped. Just be aware that if the mission is set to use Curved Turns for Path Mode, Actions at waypoints are disabled. Thank you for questions and thank you for viewing.
Thanks for info, your videos are very informative and well done.
i was wondering if you knew anything about flying waypoint missions without internet access? if the mission is saved on device, can you run it from device alone?
Yes, you can fly waypoint missions without internet access. Just setup the mission on your device, zooming into the area you are flying. The area map will be cached so it will be available during the flight. Save the mission and go to your flight location. Load the mission when the aircraft is ready to fly and then start the mission. It will fly to completion. Just be sure your mission avoids obstacles, especially tall structures that you may not know the height of when planning the mission.
are you sure the waypoints aren't active when using curved turns? that doesn't make sense to me and doesn't see it would to litchi developers
Waypoints are still active during curved turns. Actions like "Stay for", "Take Photo", "Start Recording", which are triggered at waypoints are disabled. That is why the developer put the note on the Waypoint Actions menu item: "(Disabled with Curved Turns)". At first, it doesn't seem to make sense. However, it is more understandable when you consider that triggering the Action requires that the position of the aircraft be at the waypoint location, and during Curved Turn flights, the aircraft never really gets to the waypoint location. This means that there would have to be some rather arbitrary choice about where to trigger the action related to the waypoint. Probably the most logical location would be when a line perpendicular to a tangent to the curve passes through the waypoint. (I believe this is also the point at which the aircraft path is nearest the next waypoint.) It seems that this could be calculated during mission creation and be indicated on the curve with some contrasting color. That decision would be left to the developer.
Thank you for comments and questions and thank you for viewing.
then they should have made the curved push back till it flies over the way point.. I don't see how they could create such a good product on make such a silly mistake. just saying imo
thanks for the great videos and help just the same
To get a smooth curved turn, the curve must be tangent to the two lines intersecting the waypoint. When you move the circle out (by decreasing the radius of the curve) so that it goes through the waypoint, it becomes the intersection of two straight lines. Rather than a curve, the curve becomes the waypoint. It wasn't a mistake by the developer, it is just the way the geometry requires it.
when you pull the curve the way point should obviously come with it, imo. no rocket science it's just drone science
Another great video tutorial and excellent clear instructions. These are about the best tutorials I have seen. I tried to do a video myself about an area, and that's when I realised how hard it is to do without stuttering and errrrming. Yours are clear and precise so thank you again. Another thing I heard somewhere but struggling is zooming in and out? I believe I had to change some settings? But I have just been on holiday and was stood where there was no WIFI so couldn't look anything up. Can the video or photo be zoomed in and how? also, can it be added into the waypoints to zoom in on a POI?or manually only? Thank you again MONTANAMONK for this excellent video tutorial. Colin.
Great question on zooming! I haven't thought about that. Since the camera has no zoom capability, you need to use extra waypoints. You will need actions, so you can't use Curved Turns. The zoom process will need three waypoints that all have the same POI. At the waypoint you want to start zooming, call it SZ, add an action to Stay For 1 second, just to get a slight pause before zooming. The next waypoint will be the zoomed waypoint, call it Z and it will be directly toward the POI, in line with SZ and the POI, and will be about 1/2 the distance to the POI from SZ and will be at an altitude of 1/2 the difference between the POI altitude and the SZ altitude. For example, if the POI altitude is 10 feet and the SZ altitude is 80 feet, the difference is 70 feet, so the altitude of Z will be 35 feet. Add a Stay For 1 second (or more, if you want) to Z. To zoom out, add a finish zoom waypoint, call it FZ, right next to SZ and at the same altitude SZ, so, 80 feet in this example. Add an action to Stay for 1 second to finish the zoom. Then, continue your route. To make this more interesting, you could also increase the speed of the aircraft for the zoom by increasing the speed at SZ and returning to the Cruising speed at FZ. This should be fun!
I'm planning another video on using variable speed during programmed missions. I'll try to incorporate zooming into it. Thanks for questions, they always stimulate my thinking and present new challenges.
Thanks Montamonk and I bow to your knowledge. I have just got back off holiday so now I can give it my undivided attention as I am home with my computer now. As I mentioned, I had heard that you need to change your resolution (or something like that to zoom by pinching the screen with your thumb and finger, but couldn't remember) and then you use the pinching the screen (on the ipad) like you do, to zoom in and out when using the ipad, but I wasn't sure if I could for instance, watch it flying somewhere I had set, then when it had arrived, doing the pinch zoom in and out with my fingers? Your reply above looks very interesting as it is all automatic so can be left to do it all itself. Thank you again.
If you test my method, try to run first at a slow speed, especially if you plan to get very close to the subject. You want to be able to stop if the aircraft gets closer than expected to something. GPS and the maps are good, but perspective and accuracy may not be good enough if you are very near the subject.
man you know litchi well. now i was thinking of a way to get live feed from a far away drone. you got any suggestions or ways before i make a fool out of myself telling you mine? lol
Live feed will depend a lot on the drone hardware. Some of the newer drones will provide live feed from a mile away with proper conditions. However, in most cases, flying that far away from your location might be illegal, depending on the country. Some older drones might be retrofitted with additional transmission capabilities to provide more distant feeds, but with more weight and less flight time. Most electrically powered drones have less than 20 minutes of power for the round trip. Miscalculating the time for the round trip happens a lot, because of flight speed and wind conditions. Losing power anywhere except right over your head could be catastrophic, especially over water. I plan shorter missions to keep line-of-sight and then edit video to link them together.
i have a 3 so it's got some weight and you've covered my concerns. I'm just playing around seeing what these things are capable of. litchi looks fun. wondering if i could develop it for some uses. strap an extra battery to it etc. i'm working on getting ground terrain imported cause i'm not sure how litchi handles hills in hub. i guess this is as good a place for us to talk about this as any. ? lol
On the same Mission can you use POI and Interpolate on different waypoints?
Yes, you can use POI and Interpolate on different waypoints, Just tap on the waypoint to set to Interpolate and set the POI for that waypoint to None. You can adjust the gimbal angle and heading to anything you want.
Thank you for questions and comments and thank you for viewing.
I thought that you could not use POI and Interpolate on the same mission using different waypoints, glad to know that you can. If you create Different POI setting on the mission and you use Interpolate on the waypoints instead of POI , how can you let the gimbal know to which POI settings to look if they are set to none? Is it by changing the Pitch?
For the waypoints which you want to use Interpolate, just set the heading an the gimbal angle to what ever you want. Sometimes I just use a POI to get a Heading and Gimbal Angle set for a waypoint and then set it to Interpolate and then set POI to none. If changes are made in this order, the Heading and Gimbal Angle for the POI are retained and the waypoint is left in Interpolate mode. You can then fine-tune the heading and angle, if you want them changed.
Always verify that what you expect is really what happens. Sometimes there are some subtle interactions that may not come out as expected. Once you establish a procedure, it will usually be repeatable. Always move to another waypoint and back to be sure your changes are retained. Sometimes edits don't change until you look at other waypoints and return to the edited waypoint.
Nice.Thks
Hi again, another great teaching session. thanks. by the way which drone do you use in these videos and which in the field. Just got an Inspire 2. Would be great if you did some videos with Inspire if you have either one.
p.s.: you method of teaching almost makes me think you were either a professor or an engineer.. or both.
I use a Phantom 3 Advanced for all the videos. Wish I could afford more. I taught Math, Biology, Chemistry and Physics in high school for eight years. Returned to the university for computer science degree and did industrial and database programming until retirement. Still do a little programming for my photography projects using Arduino boards.