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Under the hood Look at the SD2

Ridefreak

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I thought this was a pretty good video. The SD CEO shares allot of information on how they got to where they are now and you get a look at the electronics layout.

 
The more I see from these people, the more of an impression I’m left with.
Certainly some hard work they are doing and I will watch closely what their future brings.
 
The more I see from these people, the more of an impression I’m left with.
Certainly some hard work they are doing and I will watch closely what their future brings.

I'd be more impressed if they could actually ship these as promised. They admit they are behind shipping the limited number they planned to ship. Wonder why.

Maybe they are spending too much time making promotional videos; just saying....
 
Production of a new product has a lot more to it than is visible to many viewers. This one has been in the works for some time an hopefully will be worth whatever wait time you’re given. For now, we’ll just have to keep reading.
 
Production of a new product has a lot more to it than is visible to many viewers. This one has been in the works for some time an hopefully will be worth whatever wait time you’re given. For now, we’ll just have to keep reading.

While I agree, in general (I'm an engineer building and delivering lots of products over my career), this specific case is all about marketing.

They defined a limited batch size which they claimed they could ship, then say they need to ramp up production to meet it. (Someone screwed up. Don't, however, say demand has been so great... It was exactly what you planned for - or in this case, failed to plan for.)

They demanded a $100 interest free loan from people to hold their place in line, then don't deliver and don't communicate to them about what's really going on. There are many of us who do engineering every day that can only assume they have a low yield at this point. And while, if true, I appreciate them not shipping a product until it passes quality controls, they should be keeping us informed with details, not apologies with no further explanation. (Apologizing for their inability to plan is fine, but they have already shown their estimates of ship dates are not to be believed so without any specific information it's another random date. I was hoping to have my drone by Christmas - based on November availability which they promised. That seems impossible at this point with their order and shipping processes.) There is no specific time given and they have even said not to ask for it. Hence, they have no idea, it seems (except they set us up to not expect shipment before the end of January, now.)

All may be forgiven if the drone is as nice as it seems it should be, but it's been quite frustrating for something that should and been 100% avoidable. I hear the CEO speak of best in class customer support. I guess one is not considered a customer until they have paid the full purchase price.
 
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While I agree, in general (I'm an engineer building and delivering lots of products over my career), this specific case is all about marketing.

They defined a limited batch size which they claimed they could ship, then say they need to ramp up production to meet it. (Someone screwed up. Don't, however, say demand has been so great... It was exactly what you planned for - or in this case, failed to plan for.)

They demanded a $100 interest free loan from people to hold their place in line, then don't deliver and don't communicate to them about what's really going on. There are many of us who do engineering every day that can only assume they have a low yield at this point. And while, if true, I appreciate them not shipping a product until it passes quality controls, they should be keeping us informed with details, not apologies with no further explanation. (Apologizing for their inability to plan is fine, but they have already shown their estimates of ship dates are not to be believed so without any specific information it's another random date. I was hoping to have my drone by Christmas - based on November availability which they promised. That seems impossible at this point with their order and shipping processes.) There is no specific time given and they have even said not to ask for it. Hence, they have no idea, it seems (except they set us up to not expect shipment before the end of January, now.)

All may be forgiven if the drone is as nice as it seems it should be, but it's been quite frustrating for something that should and been 100% avoidable. I hear the CEO speak of best in class customer support. I guess one is not considered a customer until they have paid the full purchase price.
Think you may be a little harsh in your criticism.

My entire engineering career (in both the private and military procurement areas) has never seen initial production runs go smoothly especially initial lots for a one of kind product.

Being able to reserve a spot in this products delivery schedule for only a $100 is something "no" other drone manufacturer has ever offered.

They have my 100% support for how they are handling what must be an off the charts number of orders.
 
Well, they served someone with a higher number than me so I asked them about it. Here is their reply:
Hi Paul‍,
First, just to clarify, you haven't been skipped. Skydio 2 reservation order numbers are "batched" (see the FAQ for details) but beyond that first digit, they in no way indicate a sequence. We are sending out emails to invite the next people in line to complete their purchases and will continue to do so for each batch as drones come off our manufacturing line and are ready to ship out.

As you probably have heard, the demand for Skydio 2 has been off the charts. the good news is that your reservation order is definitely part of production batch 1. Shipments for batch 1 have already started, and we're getting these drones out the door as fast as we can - in the order reservations are received. Some other details on shipping:
  • All orders ship with UPS Ground delivery, signature required.
  • Once your order is ready to ship, you'll get that email we mentioned earlier, with instructions on how to pay the full balance of your order (you can also add Skydio accessories to your order at that time as well). Again, we can't set any expectations here, but you should see that email soon.
  • After that payment clears, your order ships and you'll receive an email with tracking information so you know when to expect it.
The demand for the product is much greater than what we had planned for, so it is going to take us some time to work our way through all of the orders. We realize this means a slightly longer wait for some folks. We appreciate the confidence you put in us by placing your reservation, and we are working hard to deliver. We think it's worth it, and so do the reviewers who have early access to Skydio 2.
Look for your email soon with directions on paying the remainder of your balance!
If you have any other questions, write back and we'll be happy to answer them. In the meantime, have a look at some of the content linked below - thanks again!
The last Friday, I received this:
Hello everyone,

We greatly appreciate your patience while you wait for your Skydio 2 and we would like to provide an update on our latest production and shipping schedule.

Batch 1 shipments are in progress and more customers are receiving their Skydio 2s each week. However, scaling up our production output has progressed more slowly than we initially predicted, so Batch 1 fulfillments will now continue into January.

As Adam mentioned in his recent interview with Kyle Warner, this is a major cross-team effort and our top priority. We regret the delay and we're working hard to produce your drone as soon as possible without compromising our stringent quality and safety standards. We've doubled our production team and are now running multiple shifts - output is increasing each week.

For Batch 2 customers, your shipments will start as soon as Batch 1 is complete, which at this time is looking like late January or early February. (Find out how to tell which batch you're in.)

We expect to have enough accessories to meet demand. In the event of shortages we will prioritize accessory orders for customers whose drones are ready to ship. Most accessories will ship with your Skydio 2, and those that don't will have estimated shipping times shown in our online store. Purchasing accessories as part of the order completion process will help ensure that most or all of them arrive with your drone.

Please note that customer support agents do not know your place in line or when your order is going to be ready. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions - as always, Skydio Support is here to help.
I'm not mad at them though. I would be lucky to get my hands on anything this technically advanced.
 
Congratulations! You got one of their long-with-no-useful-information emails, too. (Did you read to the end where the essentially told you to not expect shipment until late January to early February?)
 
Well, they served someone with a higher number than me so I asked them about it. Here is their reply:
Hi Paul‍,
First, just to clarify, you haven't been skipped. Skydio 2 reservation order numbers are "batched" (see the FAQ for details) but beyond that first digit, they in no way indicate a sequence. We are sending out emails to invite the next people in line to complete their purchases and will continue to do so for each batch as drones come off our manufacturing line and are ready to ship out.

As you probably have heard, the demand for Skydio 2 has been off the charts. the good news is that your reservation order is definitely part of production batch 1. Shipments for batch 1 have already started, and we're getting these drones out the door as fast as we can - in the order reservations are received. Some other details on shipping:
  • All orders ship with UPS Ground delivery, signature required.
  • Once your order is ready to ship, you'll get that email we mentioned earlier, with instructions on how to pay the full balance of your order (you can also add Skydio accessories to your order at that time as well). Again, we can't set any expectations here, but you should see that email soon.
  • After that payment clears, your order ships and you'll receive an email with tracking information so you know when to expect it.
The demand for the product is much greater than what we had planned for, so it is going to take us some time to work our way through all of the orders. We realize this means a slightly longer wait for some folks. We appreciate the confidence you put in us by placing your reservation, and we are working hard to deliver. We think it's worth it, and so do the reviewers who have early access to Skydio 2.
Look for your email soon with directions on paying the remainder of your balance!
If you have any other questions, write back and we'll be happy to answer them. In the meantime, have a look at some of the content linked below - thanks again!
The last Friday, I received this:
Hello everyone,

We greatly appreciate your patience while you wait for your Skydio 2 and we would like to provide an update on our latest production and shipping schedule.

Batch 1 shipments are in progress and more customers are receiving their Skydio 2s each week. However, scaling up our production output has progressed more slowly than we initially predicted, so Batch 1 fulfillments will now continue into January.

As Adam mentioned in his recent interview with Kyle Warner, this is a major cross-team effort and our top priority. We regret the delay and we're working hard to produce your drone as soon as possible without compromising our stringent quality and safety standards. We've doubled our production team and are now running multiple shifts - output is increasing each week.

For Batch 2 customers, your shipments will start as soon as Batch 1 is complete, which at this time is looking like late January or early February. (Find out how to tell which batch you're in.)

We expect to have enough accessories to meet demand. In the event of shortages we will prioritize accessory orders for customers whose drones are ready to ship. Most accessories will ship with your Skydio 2, and those that don't will have estimated shipping times shown in our online store. Purchasing accessories as part of the order completion process will help ensure that most or all of them arrive with your drone.

Please note that customer support agents do not know your place in line or when your order is going to be ready. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions - as always, Skydio Support is here to help.
I'm not mad at them though. I would be lucky to get my hands on anything this technically advanced.
Adjusting to the unforeseen is what its all about and some of us definitely do it better than others. I'm not overly happy about any backlog that maybe building up but I'm going to give them every chance to mitigate problem areas. It's a revolutionary new product that's going to change how we all fly.
 
"The drone that never crashes" - yeah, unless you fly it on planet earth, where things like thin branches and power lines exist.

It's sad to see that Skydio's marketing promises #1 don't hold true and #2 their support seems to be trained to reject warranty claims rather than to learn from user's experiences and improve the product. Disappointed.
 
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"The drone that never crashes" - yeah, unless you fly it on planet earth, where things like thin branches and power lines exist.

It's sad to see that Skydio's marketing promises #1 don't hold true and #2 their support seems to be trained to reject warranty claims rather than to learn from user's experiences and improve the product. Disappointed.
Guess you're not in the Skydio camp, huh ? :rolleyes:

P.S. My only disappointment is that I still wish I'd pre-ordered earlier...
 
"The drone that never crashes" - yeah, unless you fly it on planet earth, where things like thin branches and power lines exist.

It's sad to see that Skydio's marketing promises #1 don't hold true and #2 their support seems to be trained to reject warranty claims rather than to learn from user's experiences and improve the product. Disappointed.
It's a shame you feel like you need to bash SD and their warranty. The things that brought down your drone is clearly spelled out in their warnings, low sun angles and small branches or wires. They are telling you the drone's OA is limited at best in those situations. No surprise it wasn't covered, in the same circumstances I wouldn't expect coverage nor would I on a crash like Kloogees or Accelerated.

Activating the height floor likely would have avoided that situation but even still the ocotillo's tall thin branches present a formidable obstacle when you compare them to their background , add in a low winter sun angle and you entered into a situation that's too much for the system. All you need to do is drive west this time of year about 4:30 in the afternoon (no sun glasses) and see how well you can pick out a traffic light with the afternoon sun behind it, your OA is significantly compromised in that situation, the drone is no different. You were lucky, it only suffered minor damage.

You mentioned you wished the drone was smart enough to know when the OA wouldn't operate properly. We all do, but if the drone can't see it or discern the obstacle from the surrounding light how does it know it's in a situation that will fool the OA. Conversely if they made the OA stop every time the cameras faced into direct sunlight everyone would be bitching about that. There are limitations to the system and you discovered one of them, the good part is you can still fly it and as they get caught up I have no doubt they will be willing to repair the scratched lens.

I rely heavily on the OA when I use the SD2. Basically letting it fly for miles at a time with no regard to the type or size of obstacles it might encounter and it's constantly avoiding things. I do fly it in good lighting though and there aren't power wires in the area, when I get near a barbwire fence I slow to make sure the drone isn't near it but otherwise its on its own for 20 min at a time. If during my flying should the drone encounter a thin branch that brings it down then that's on me. What I discovered during 20 battery cycles worth of flights is when you heed the manufacturers warnings the OA works extremely well.
 
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It's a shame you feel like you need to bash SD and their warranty. The things that brought down your drone is clearly spelled out in their warnings, low sun angles and small branches or wires. They are telling you the drone's OA is limited at best in those situations. No surprise it wasn't covered, in the same circumstances I wouldn't expect coverage nor would I on a crash like Kloogees or Accelerated.

Activating the height floor likely would have avoided that situation but even still the ocotillo's tall thin branches present a formidable obstacle when you compare them to their background , add in a low winter sun angle and you entered into a situation that's too much for the system. All you need to do is drive west this time of year about 4:30 in the afternoon (no sun glasses) and see how well you can pick out a traffic light with the afternoon sun behind it, your OA is significantly compromised in that situation, the drone is no different. You were lucky, it only suffered minor damage.

You mentioned you wished the drone was smart enough to know when the OA wouldn't operate properly. We all do, but if the drone can't see it or discern the obstacle from the surrounding light how does it know it's in a situation that will fool the OA. Conversely if they made the OA stop every time the cameras faced into direct sunlight everyone would be bitching about that. There are limitations to the system and you discovered one of them, the good part is you can still fly it and as they get caught up I have no doubt they will be willing to repair the scratched lens.

I rely heavily on the OA when I use the SD2. Basically letting it fly for miles at a time with no regard to the type or size of obstacles it might encounter and it's constantly avoiding things. I do fly it in good lighting though and there aren't power wires in the area, when I get near a barbwire fence I slow to make sure the drone isn't near it but otherwise its on its own for 20 min at a time. If during my flying should the drone encounter a thin branch that brings it down then that's on me. What I discovered during 20 battery cycles worth of flights is when you heed the manufacturers warnings the OA works extremely well.
Good post... paying attention to warnings is something some do better than others.
 
Skydio never said there drone could not crash, how absurd to believe that.

If you flew a DJI drone or any other manufacturer into a tree, wall, water, fence
and tried to claim warranty they would laugh and say, 'what were you thinking'.

The Skydio 2 has the best AO of any drone and will work at it's best to keep you
out of trouble but it is certainly not fallible, use some common sense!
 

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