So I have been thinking how strange it is that Skydio has never bothered to implement certain features etc. What I find most strange however is how so many YouTubers simply never mention these in their reviews and continue to praise it:
Here are the options I would like to see in order of importance with explanation:
1. Waypoints. Not Keyframe. Not Cable Cam. Waypoints. They have already showed that the S2 can use a point tapped on a map to fly to so why not expand that? And each waypoint can allow for full customization, from speed, angle, camera tilt, camera settings and even camera mode, still versus video and their respective resolutions etc.
2. The ability for complete manual control. All for complete manual control disabling obstacle avoidance so one could fly into fog or into intense light like the setting sun and even at night. Too many times this winter I have had issues returning my S2 "manually" and with RTH because the S2 thinks the sun is an obstacles and refuses to move. There could be a warning that this will void warranty but then the warranty can easily be reinstated after a landing and reset of the OA.
3. The ability to use the Beacon as a tracker and at the same time, use a separate phone and the Controller as a monitor and emergency controller in case it loses track and gets stuck or if the person is not family with using the Beacon or is otherwise incapable of using the Beacon. This would give a long range feature of essentially monitoring a third party subject. I have often wanted to track a boat but am unable to board the boat, then with a simple command take control and fly away with a panning shot back to shore. This is not possible currently.
4. The ability to adjust the camera angle and tilt while still following a subject. This would give more of a true "follow me" feature than a "watch me" feature. This would allow for less of those confined view moments often encountered while subject tracking and during those moments you could tilt up or down and even pan around to give large sweeping views of the epic terrain or backdrop all while continuing to track and avoid obstacles.
5. The ability to change the orientation of the S2 while in RTH. Currently there are only two directions, backward or forward and not both. I know I have missed some epic scenes while on RTH simply because I cannot orient the camera or even tilt the camera. This seems like a huge oversight.
6. A gimbal guard that also wraps up and covers the lens. I hate companies that just give a guard that only blocks the gimbal from movement. Not to mention the fact that the current guard makes me cringe everytime I take it off and put it back on fearing I'm damaging the gimbal.
7. POI. Add Point Of Interest. Yes I know POI is in the program, but I want a POI where I can set a point for the S2 to perform some maneuvers around while avoiding obstacles. A tree, a structure, anything other than just me.
8. Smart battery charger. Develope a charger that can charge and discharge and put batteries into storage mode. I realize these are "smart" batteries and they discharge to 60% after about 2 weeks but even the manual clearly states that we should be fully charging and fully discharging the batteries 2 times per month if not used. I'm sorry, but that's not always possible. I usually charge for about 20 minutes after each flight whether I'm going to fly or not again anytime soon. This gets the battery to where the 3rd light is just starting to flash.
What does everyone else do for best battery practices?
9. Provide on the Skydio website a 90 to 100w charger that is guaranteed to work. I say this because apparently not all chargers are created equal, duh, especially considering the Chinese ones. At the very least, recommend a brand. Heck, the manual even states to NEVER use a charger that is not Skydio branded! Um, ok. But it also says to use 90 and 100w chargers from laptop computers? Really? This is all a bit strange.
This is in no way complete. I'm sure I'll think of more. One thing I'm suspicious about is how the S2 actually uses its sensors and that may prevent some of these features from ever being implemented. We all know there is never ever any compass calibration of the compass with the S2. That is because the S2 visual cues for orientation and other issues that other drones use a compass for. So I'm not sure how this may interfere with some of these features I mentioned but I do find it very odd why we can't manipulate the camera during RTH and why we can't have a normal POI.
Anyway, I'm interested in everyone's thoughts.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Skydio for one, it's really the only US based consumer drone company and it's tech is the best for tracking and obstacle avoidance. There are just some things I find odd and things I feel ought to be a no brainer.
Here are the options I would like to see in order of importance with explanation:
1. Waypoints. Not Keyframe. Not Cable Cam. Waypoints. They have already showed that the S2 can use a point tapped on a map to fly to so why not expand that? And each waypoint can allow for full customization, from speed, angle, camera tilt, camera settings and even camera mode, still versus video and their respective resolutions etc.
2. The ability for complete manual control. All for complete manual control disabling obstacle avoidance so one could fly into fog or into intense light like the setting sun and even at night. Too many times this winter I have had issues returning my S2 "manually" and with RTH because the S2 thinks the sun is an obstacles and refuses to move. There could be a warning that this will void warranty but then the warranty can easily be reinstated after a landing and reset of the OA.
3. The ability to use the Beacon as a tracker and at the same time, use a separate phone and the Controller as a monitor and emergency controller in case it loses track and gets stuck or if the person is not family with using the Beacon or is otherwise incapable of using the Beacon. This would give a long range feature of essentially monitoring a third party subject. I have often wanted to track a boat but am unable to board the boat, then with a simple command take control and fly away with a panning shot back to shore. This is not possible currently.
4. The ability to adjust the camera angle and tilt while still following a subject. This would give more of a true "follow me" feature than a "watch me" feature. This would allow for less of those confined view moments often encountered while subject tracking and during those moments you could tilt up or down and even pan around to give large sweeping views of the epic terrain or backdrop all while continuing to track and avoid obstacles.
5. The ability to change the orientation of the S2 while in RTH. Currently there are only two directions, backward or forward and not both. I know I have missed some epic scenes while on RTH simply because I cannot orient the camera or even tilt the camera. This seems like a huge oversight.
6. A gimbal guard that also wraps up and covers the lens. I hate companies that just give a guard that only blocks the gimbal from movement. Not to mention the fact that the current guard makes me cringe everytime I take it off and put it back on fearing I'm damaging the gimbal.
7. POI. Add Point Of Interest. Yes I know POI is in the program, but I want a POI where I can set a point for the S2 to perform some maneuvers around while avoiding obstacles. A tree, a structure, anything other than just me.
8. Smart battery charger. Develope a charger that can charge and discharge and put batteries into storage mode. I realize these are "smart" batteries and they discharge to 60% after about 2 weeks but even the manual clearly states that we should be fully charging and fully discharging the batteries 2 times per month if not used. I'm sorry, but that's not always possible. I usually charge for about 20 minutes after each flight whether I'm going to fly or not again anytime soon. This gets the battery to where the 3rd light is just starting to flash.
What does everyone else do for best battery practices?
9. Provide on the Skydio website a 90 to 100w charger that is guaranteed to work. I say this because apparently not all chargers are created equal, duh, especially considering the Chinese ones. At the very least, recommend a brand. Heck, the manual even states to NEVER use a charger that is not Skydio branded! Um, ok. But it also says to use 90 and 100w chargers from laptop computers? Really? This is all a bit strange.
This is in no way complete. I'm sure I'll think of more. One thing I'm suspicious about is how the S2 actually uses its sensors and that may prevent some of these features from ever being implemented. We all know there is never ever any compass calibration of the compass with the S2. That is because the S2 visual cues for orientation and other issues that other drones use a compass for. So I'm not sure how this may interfere with some of these features I mentioned but I do find it very odd why we can't manipulate the camera during RTH and why we can't have a normal POI.
Anyway, I'm interested in everyone's thoughts.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Skydio for one, it's really the only US based consumer drone company and it's tech is the best for tracking and obstacle avoidance. There are just some things I find odd and things I feel ought to be a no brainer.
Last edited:
