My Skydio videos

CrashMan · Jul 24, 2023

Ridefreak said:
Got the drone out saturday before it got too hot. This was the first flight since the big update. I flew 3 batteries with zero drama, no disconnects and gave the avoidance a workout, like always if I slow down appropriately in the difficult areas the drone navigates them really well. No other drone will do this.

What I did notice is a lagging on the gimbal repositioning as the subject veers off the drone's current path to the point it's noticeable and the subject can leave the screen during fairly routine tracking. That's new and I'm hoping it'll get better the more it tracks, didn't notice that prior to this update.

Enjoy

I noticed the same thing--a few times instead of being centered I was off to one side of the video.

Ridefreak · Jul 24, 2023

To me it looks like there's times it's not updating the subjects position until the sub goes off the screen and other times it waits or is slow to correct the aim. Almost always on visual tracking from what I can tell.

VEGASROBBI · Jul 24, 2023

Yeah, they wer

Ridefreak said:
To me it looks like there's times it's not updating the subjects position until the sub goes off the screen and other times it waits or is slow to correct the aim. Almost always on visual tracking from what I can tell.

I've had the same issue. I read in a recent update the ability to download in different formats to put the subject where you want it, that's when the issue started.

Ridefreak · Jul 24, 2023

That's interesting, I need to look into it more.

VEGASROBBI · Jul 26, 2023

I believe it's called the Auto Crop option.

Ridefreak · Jul 27, 2023

VEGASROBBI said:
I believe it's called the Auto Crop option.

Thanks Robbi, that got me to the article on it.

Skydio boosts subject tracking with drone software update

A new software update is now available for all Skydio drones, and according to the company, it's one of its most significant yet.

dronedj.com

It appears autocrop is a function of the app for editing but they did mess allot with the tracking and just the fact that they have this new post flight function that helps center the subject tells me their tracking update needs some work. I liked it allot better before.

I'm going to let them know not that it'll make a difference.

VEGASROBBI · Jul 27, 2023

Ridefreak said:
Thanks Robbi, that got me to the article on it.

Skydio boosts subject tracking with drone software update

A new software update is now available for all Skydio drones, and according to the company, it's one of its most significant yet.

dronedj.com

It appears autocrop is a function of the app for editing but they did mess allot with the tracking and just the fact that they have this new post flight function that helps center the subject tells me their tracking update needs some work. I liked it allot better before.

I'm going to let them know not that it'll make a difference.

Yep, when I read helps center the subject, and my subject was often off frame, something is up.

Ridefreak · Jul 28, 2023

SD requested the logs, and provided the following:

- Acquire GPS Lock by flying in lateral directions above the launch point. This will greatly improve your GPS quality, which can help out in situations where visual tracking is struggling. How does Skydio 2/2+ use GPS?
- Check your Skill Settings while flying in Motion Track and Fixed Track to see if you have Smooth Mode enabled (a new feature with the latest release). By default, your drone will capture footage with smoother camera movements when tracking a subject, even if the subject is changing direction quickly and frequently (such as when skiing or biking). Please read more about the new features available here: Skydio 2/2+ Release Notes.

VEGASROBBI · Jul 29, 2023

Ridefreak said:
SD requested the logs, and provided the following:

- Acquire GPS Lock by flying in lateral directions above the launch point. This will greatly improve your GPS quality, which can help out in situations where visual tracking is struggling. How does Skydio 2/2+ use GPS?
- Check your Skill Settings while flying in Motion Track and Fixed Track to see if you have Smooth Mode enabled (a new feature with the latest release). By default, your drone will capture footage with smoother camera movements when tracking a subject, even if the subject is changing direction quickly and frequently (such as when skiing or biking). Please read more about the new features available here: Skydio 2/2+ Release Notes.

Seems like lack of GPS is their rationale for most failures. I'm not having a problem with the tracking I'm having a problem with the subject remaining in center of frame, that seems more like an optical tracking problem. The fact it happened at the same time they went to Auto Crop may not just be a coincidence. I just updated to the new software so maybe they have it sorted now, but thanks for inquiring.

Ridefreak · Jul 29, 2023

VEGASROBBI said:
Seems like lack of GPS is their rationale for most failures. I'm not having a problem with the tracking I'm having a problem with the subject remaining in center of frame, that seems more like an optical tracking problem. The fact it happened at the same time they went to Auto Crop may not just be a coincidence. I just updated to the new software so maybe they have it sorted now, but thanks for inquiring.

I agree, I'm miles from any RF interference, clear sky @ 7500' I never see gps issues around here even in canyons. In my case GPS tracking is the better of the two by an noticeable margin, I realize it's the easier of the two but to me it looks like it's sometimes failing to update when visually tracking a subject. Probably busy sending out RFID msgs

I will try the smooth setting he mentioned, I could see that making a difference.

VEGASROBBI · Aug 10, 2023

Ridefreak, I turned off the smooth setting and the problem virtually went away.

Ridefreak · Oct 1, 2023

Teaser drone pics:

Spent 5 days tooling around on some UT backroads filming cool spots with the SD2 and the M3P, stay tuned for the movie.

deedeebulldog · Oct 2, 2023

VEGASROBBI said:
Seems like lack of GPS is their rationale for most failures. I'm not having a problem with the tracking I'm having a problem with the subject remaining in center of frame, that seems more like an optical tracking problem. The fact it happened at the same time they went to Auto Crop may not just be a coincidence. I just updated to the new software so maybe they have it sorted now, but thanks for inquiring.

I love Skydio support. "You didn't have good GPS so visual tracking took priority and that's why it followed someone else. It would have eventually realized it wasn't you and and came back". Also, "You didn't have good GPS so even though it initially had a visual lock on you the GPS took priority and thought you were 50 yards away. That's why it flew off to look at a tree."

Ridefreak · Oct 2, 2023

SD2 have followed someone else since they came out. I've had it fly off a 1/2 mile across an area full of canyons as it followed someone else. We figured the drone was gone but It rose up to about 400' reacquired the beacon and flew right back and locked on me much to the surprise of everyone there, it was at least 5 min later. I don't use it around a crowd any more for that reason. I've since discovered there's an easy recovery when it does that. Point the beacon at the drone and push the blue button, it send the beacons location back to the drone and it'll fly right back into the previous orientation. When following the truck is was easy to let the speed creep up and end up going too fast causing the drone to loose it's lock and stop, it was already on GPS when that happened. Probably happened to me 3 or 4 times over 5 days filming last week, We just stopped the vehicle, I stepped out and did the beacon thing and was motoring down the road less then a min later. I typically fly in remote areas and GPS signal tends to be great in those places so I've not experienced the weirdness some report with the GPS.

paularity · Oct 2, 2023

VEGASROBBI said:
Ridefreak, I turned off the smooth setting and the problem virtually went away.

I'm going to experiment with this, just got a new drone so see if there are issues either way

Ridefreak · Oct 4, 2023

I looked for the smooth setting and didn't see it but the drone updated one evening half way through a recent trip and I haven't looked again. It's def not on in this video.

Here's some video of a place I like to visit in Utah. These are old uranium mining roads made back in the middle of the 1950s Cold War mining boom.

Between the bright sun the shade and the sandstone's reflection it makes it tough to get a consistent picture quality.

VEGASROBBI · Oct 4, 2023

It should still be there. When hooked up to the drone look for the 3 lines(settings) on the app when in drone view.

Click on the 3 lines and it should show a button to disable smooth mode, if I get a chance I'll try to get a screenshot.