Technical discussion about the new KeyFrame skill

[RiverEagle]

I wonder the "bug" has to do with the GPS because it can only pinpoint to an area within a few feet (mobile phones for example have an average of 5 meters accuracy) so it would make sense there would be some drift.

Here's a good explainer of GPS accuracy: GPS.gov: GPS Accuracy

 

[Sky Cyclist]

That's a huge bug! Hopefully they get that one resolved soon.

experiment

 

[kgilbertsen]

I wonder the "bug" has to do with the GPS because it can only pinpoint to an area within a few feet (mobile phones for example have an average of 5 meters accuracy) so it would make sense there would be some drift.

Here's a good explainer of GPS accuracy: GPS.gov: GPS Accuracy

I'm sure you are right. It seems to be a bit more than the typical GPS variance based on what saladshooter described here tho, didn't it? Time will tell as more of us get a chance to put these drones to the test...

 

[TonyPHX]

One of of my keyframe flights today it got "stuck" but allowed me to recover it gracefully. It did not want to climb high enough to go over the house to get back to the next keyframe. I will try to post video of my feeble tests later.

 

[Sky Cyclist]

I'm sure you are right. It seems to be a bit more than the typical GPS variance based on what saladshooter described here tho, didn't it? Time will tell as more of us get a chance to put these drones to the test...

I think so.

Another technical evidence is the KeyFrame works indoor and there is no GPS signal at all.

So it does not rely on GPS only.

I won't know how Skydio does the KeyFrame but I will know it is smart but the GPS variance might happen.

It is not a problem when I know its ability very well.

 

[kgilbertsen]

Watched a few videos on Keyframe tonight, and it looks pretty awesome. It'll sure keep me busy once things warm up here. Hopefully in time to get some practice before Maui...

 

[mswlogo]

Tested the new Keyframe skill again today. This time I found the speed slider and was able to fly at 11.5mph. This is a big improvement over the first flight which was way too slow due to my lack of familiarity with the Keyframe controls.

The disappointing part so far is that the waypoints/keyframes seem to drift. I flew a path down the middle of a river to test the skill and should have been way out of harm's way. Instead the Skydio's route shifted to follow the riverbank and flew through more than a few trees. The initial Keyframe shifted by at least 75ft and placed the Skydio just under a stand of trees that was nowhere near my launch point.

The footage the Keyframe skill produces is excellent and its a worthy feature but I feel there are some bugs that need to be worked out before my luck with branches runs out.

I watched a good video on it. They suggested adding more key frames than you might think you need.

 

[Saladshooter]

I watched a good video on it. They suggested adding more key frames than you might think you need.

Adding KeyFrames would probably help in certain scenarios but its moving my initial keyframe by as much as 75ft, which is creating hairy situations for the obstacle avoidance. This causes at least two major problems; a much higher chance of crashing and disruptions in the video when the Skydio has to avoid objects that shouldn't be in the way.

 

[Saladshooter]

The android version is now live on the Google Play store. Downloaded onto my Tripltek this morning but its still 18°F outside so I don't know if I will get to test it today.

I'm hoping others will figure out how to overcome some of the issues I have encountered as the KeyFrame skill really is a great addition.

 

[Saladshooter]

Here is a portion of the Keyframe test I did yesterday. The first half of the video is sped up four times while I set up the waypoints/keyframes. The second half of the video shows how the Skydio shifted my path toward the riverbank which put the drone in danger of hitting a great number of trees. Also note the starting position of the Skydio 2 and how the end point moved by approximately 75ft.

 

[Trailryder42]

Here is a portion of the Keyframe test I did yesterday. The first half of the video is sped up four times while I set up the waypoints/keyframes. The second half of the video shows how the Skydio shifted my path toward the riverbank which put the drone in danger of hitting a great number of trees. Also note the starting position of the Skydio 2 and how the end point moved by approximately 75ft.

Whoa, I'm sure watching the drone do that was a little scary. I wonder if flying over water had something to do with it. I bet Skydio would say so.

It seems like we're going to have learn to think about the flight path from the last waypoint to the first, instead setting the path thinking about the first, near us and take-off point, to the last. Thinking about what potential deviations the drone could take autonomously flying/navigating it backwards.

In this case, flying the route backwards to the first waypoint, the drone drifted that outside turn wide.

The videos I've watched so far make me wonder if you can set a waypoint on-the-fly, instead of stopping at every point to do so. It would be neat to be able to map one of the controller buttons for setting a waypoint. That would make for a quick, less jerky route setup, as you're flying the drone, without slowing or stopping thru the flight from beginning to end.

 

[Saladshooter]

The videos I've watched so far make me wonder if you can set a waypoint on-the-fly, instead of stopping at every point to do so.

You should be able to do the Keyframes on the fly without stopping just by tapping the ADD button as you go along..... however the best part of using this function is to stop and aim the camera exactly where you want it for any given point. Once it is all set up the footage on the actual run is nice and smooth unless the Skydio needs to avoid an object.

 

[kgilbertsen]

Here is a portion of the Keyframe test I did yesterday. The first half of the video is sped up four times while I set up the waypoints/keyframes. The second half of the video shows how the Skydio shifted my path toward the riverbank which put the drone in danger of hitting a great number of trees. Also note the starting position of the Skydio 2 and how the end point moved by approximately 75ft.

Holy crap! That was way off! Amazing that it avoided several sets of those bare trees. I can't imagine that it was anything to do with being over water, as there seemed to be plenty of 'chop' for the drone to see. Strange...

 

[RiverEagle]

Whoa. That would have scared the crap out of me!

Might just be me but seeing the surface of the water it seems there was a pretty good breeze -- if that's the case it might explain the course variance.

At any rate this is something I would send into Skydio to help them further tweak the software...

Ray

 

[Saladshooter]

Might just be me but seeing the surface of the water it seems there was a pretty good breeze -- if that's the case it might explain the course variance.

There was a breeze..... maybe 10mph, but nothing the Skydio couldn't normally handle. If the Keyframes were recorded in GPS there is no real reason why it would be so far off course. Even with the GPS's margin of error the points should be near enough to keep the Skydio out of trouble. The 75ft change at the starting point was particularly troubling.

 

[RiverEagle]

Agreed. I usually give around 20 feet for GPS variance but 75 feet is a bit much. Do let us know what Skydio says?

Ray

 

[TonyPHX]

The android version is now live on the Google Play store. Downloaded onto my Tripltek this morning but its still 18°F outside so I don't know if I will get to test it today.

I'm hoping others will figure out how to overcome some of the issues I have encountered as the KeyFrame skill really is a great addition.

I must have the laziest android tablet ever.... I keep checking and cannot seem to find updated version.

 

[TonyPHX]

Oh and I used Keyframe today and actually had to put up my karate blocking arm, my S2 decided that going through me would be the best way to get from one keyframe to the next. : ) It looked at me, sat, waited while I expected an attack, then buzzed around me so fast I jumped. Not posting that video of my panic.

 

[Ridefreak]

Oh and I used Keyframe today and actually had to put up my karate blocking arm, my S2 decided that going through me would be the best way to get from one keyframe to the next. : ) It looked at me, sat, waited while I expected an attack, then buzzed around me so fast I jumped. Not posting that video of my panic.

I've seen that before, if you aren't the subject of the drone's attention it doesn't see you. It's wierd for sure but I've see it fly within 10" of a person's face, way inside of it's OA bubble.

 

[LivinLarge]

I was able to download and install the update with Keyframe features a few days ago. It finally got just above freezing today and I was able to do my first keyframe flight. I set about 12 points circling my house, going up above a tree and another house at points. It was easy to set up and executed flawlessly.