Beacon vs. App Set Options

[Trailryder42]

When you go thru the app and set all your preferred parameters for video capture settings, flight speeds, return to home, height and lost connection behaviors, which, if any, of those behaviors carry over to when you're just using the beacon?

 

[dmac1]

I am pretty sure they all do, but thats a good question!

I know for sure camera settings don't change. My belief is that all these are 'set' on S2, the app simply facilitates making the setting.

Lets look at home point. What if you set home point (via app) then next flight you are somewhere else (maybe no app, or maybe with app). Does S2 retain the home point setting from previous flight? It might seem that it shouldn't, but I bet it does. The purpose of home point is for if comms are lost...if comms are lost, what the app has for a setting won't matter, so it MUST be a setting in S2.

These things hafta be durable settings in S2...and thus, if you are setting a home point, I think it should be reset first thing, every flight. Thats how my Mav was for sure.

FWIW, I don't want a home point set for beacon follow-me flights.

 

[Trailryder42]

I am pretty sure they all do, but thats a good question!

I know for sure camera settings don't change. My belief is that all these are 'set' on S2, the app simply facilitates making the setting.

Lets look at home point. What if you set home point (via app) then next flight you are somewhere else (maybe no app, or maybe with app). Does S2 retain the home point setting from previous flight? It might seem that it shouldn't, but I bet it does. The purpose of home point is for if comms are lost...if comms are lost, what the app has for a setting won't matter, so it MUST be a setting in S2.

These things hafta be durable settings in S2...and thus, if you are setting a home point, I think it should be reset first thing, every flight. Thats how my Mav was for sure.

FWIW, I don't want a home point set for beacon follow-me flights.

Thanks. It seems to me, like how you say, the app is the interface to program those settings in the drone hardware itself and shouldn't need the app open and being flown by the app/controller to execute them.

 

[ETdronehome]

I haven’t tested this so just adding my theory to the discussion.

I am virtually positive that camera settings stay the way they are set. I started flying at the default 4K 30 and found the files too big for what I wanted so I switched to the lowest settings which I think is HD 30. This setting has not changed between flights no matter what combo of controller, beacon or app. The reason I say almost sure is I can’t recall if I have flown the vehicle with just the beacon - usual practice is vehicle to beacon to app.

I think all the other settings stay set as well as Skydio allows flying with just a beacon and you can’t change anything with just it. If for example you set a height ceiling at 250ft for a safety reason and the beacon alone allowed you to exceed that limit it would be potentially dangerous and expose Skydio to legal action.

The only thing that I think gets reset during the initial “calibration” dance the drone does at startup is “launch point” and the “home point”. The launch point seems to be handled by the drone itself as it’s similar to the drone returning to where it last “saw” a tracked object. I don’t do anything to control that. Using the same logic I think the Home Point is cleared when you power the drone off. When you start up you have to use the map in the app to set a home point (at least that is the only way to do it that I know of). Having the drone remember and attempt to use a “home point” that is invalid because it was set 100’s of miles away seems dangerous and therefore liable.

Having both a launch point AND a separate home point with options to where to return to the phone location was new to me with this drone. Almost need a cheat sheet to recall what all the possibilities are

 

[Ridefreak]

The app is the only interface adjust the camera settings, floor height and stick settings. There are no separate settings for the beacon. Whatever is set in the app will be how the camera settings and drone limits are derived. Some settings won't apply to autonomous operation: control stick settings are used by the app in manual control and with the controller but not the beacon. Height floor is an autonomous setting, you can fly it lower then the height floor manually. Not played much with home point other then to try it but it's set from within the app and the beacon/phone location is the moving (separate) home point from the launch point

 

[ETdronehome]

The app is the only interface adjust the camera settings, floor height and stick settings. There are no separate settings for the beacon. Whatever is set in the app will be how the camera settings and drone limits are derived. Some settings won't apply to autonomous operation: control stick settings are used by the app in manual control and with the controller but not the beacon. Height floor is an autonomous setting, you can fly it lower then the height floor manually. Not played much with home point other then to try it but it's set from within the app and the beacon/phone location is the moving (separate) home point from the launch point

It’s interesting that you mention the height floor override. Kinda freaked me out when I flew with the controller when I was getting started as I almost dove into the ground.
New at Skydio and had turned tracking off so was just flying the drone around with the controller, assuming it wouldn’t go lower than the 8’ floor. Holy %^<% !!!!

I don’t know if you can do the same with the beacon as the controlling device? I recall only used the beacon in tracking mode other than some minor adjustments to case land.

Sorry for hyjacking the thread.

So back to that… I guess there might be some instances where the drone powers up with ONLY the beacon present like if your phone with the app on it dies and you want to keep flying but I would think SOP would be to have the vehicle to beacon to app setup. You might not use the app for the actual flight but it’s still there at “startup” so could load info to the drone each time.

To confirm what the OP asks I think you would have to make your settings in the app, launch and confirm they are all functional. Then land, power off the app, power on drone, launch with ONLY beacon and see what happens. Not sure how you would confirm if the “home point” sticks as I believe the beacon only returns to “launch point” - could be wrong on that as I usually get more stuff wrong than right

 

[Ridefreak]

It’s interesting that you mention the height floor override. Kinda freaked me out when I flew with the controller when I was getting started as I almost dove into the ground.
New at Skydio and had turned tracking off so was just flying the drone around with the controller, assuming it wouldn’t go lower than the 8’ floor. Holy %^<% !!!!

I don’t know if you can do the same with the beacon as the controlling device? I recall only used the beacon in tracking mode other than some minor adjustments to case land.

Sorry for hyjacking the thread.

So back to that… I guess there might be some instances where the drone powers up with ONLY the beacon present like if your phone with the app on it dies and you want to keep flying but I would think SOP would be to have the vehicle to beacon to app setup. You might not use the app for the actual flight but it’s still there at “startup” so could load info to the drone each time.

To confirm what the OP asks I think you would have to make your settings in the app, launch and confirm they are all functional. Then land, power off the app, power on drone, launch with ONLY beacon and see what happens. Not sure how you would confirm if the “home point” sticks as I believe the beacon only returns to “launch point” - could be wrong on that as I usually get more stuff wrong than right

I'm almost positive you can wand it down below the height floor but it will rise back up as soon as it starts off. The settings will remain at their last setting. There's no need to connect the app to resend the setting but if you need to change them the app it won't update the drone until the app connects next time. I've flown sometimes days apart w/o connection the app and the last settings remain in the drone.

 

[farmer brown]

When you go thru the app and set all your preferred parameters for video capture settings, flight speeds, return to home, height and lost connection behaviors, which, if any, of those behaviors carry over to when you're just using the beacon?

what you’re setting is the drone. so, all of them will carry over.