Drone News & Articles

The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has sent out a reminder to all drone pilots to stay away from bushfires, with huge fines and possible jail time if you are caught. Every year Australia and the world receive a battering from bushfires, and firefighters don’t want to deal with drones.

Although this reminder is coming from Australian authorities, it’s important to not fly a drone near any fire or emergency situation.

Australia’s CASA took to Twitter earlier today to remind people not to fly drones near a bushfire as the Aussie season kicks off. As summer is in full swing down under, more and more fires pop up every day, stretching resources thin.

When an intense bushfire is raging through or near a city, the number-one priority is to stop it from heading toward people and homes. Aerial firefighting with helicopters and tankers achieve this by dropping large amounts of fire retardant along fire lines.

As a result of this, the airspace around a fire is usually restricted for the immediate future. Drones must abide by this as well. A few drone pilots haven’t listened to this in the past and have caused firefighting to come to a stop, putting lives in danger.

Flying a drone near a bushfire is illegal and can run you up a fine of AUD$11,100 and up to two years in jail. Make sure you check where you are flying beforehand, and visit the CASA website to stay up-to-date with the latest drone laws.

Written by Josh Spires | Jan 11 2021

Sony is getting into the drone business, with the company showing off a brief first look at its new Airpeak drone at CES 2021. The new drone is said to be the smallest drone capable of carrying an Alpha camera and is designed for video content creation and professional photography.

There are very few concrete details about the new drone system right now, although Sony mentioned that it’s been exploring using the drones to film landscape and city shots. It showcased the Airpeak working as a chase camera for footage of its Vision-S concept car from last CES. The model shown off at CES 2021 is a quadcopter design and features two landing gear extensions that retract upward during flight (so as not to spoil your footage).

While Sony hasn’t dabbled in drones before, its cameras are among the best in the industry — so much so that market leader DJI already offers camera mounts for Sony Alpha products. And the idea of Sony bringing that expertise to bear with bespoke drone-focused products is certainly an intriguing one.

Sony had originally announced the Airpeak brand in late 2020, with a planned “spring 2021” release window.

Written by Chaim Gartenberg | Jan 11 2021

First of all, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone from the DroneDJ team. So you’ve just gotten a drone for Christmas, and you aren’t sure about the next steps to get it in the air safely. Look no further, as we take you through the important steps you MUST follow before piloting your new high-tech flying machine.

Un-packing the drone

At this point, you are likely very excited that you’ve just unwrapped a drone. Before you get carried away and fly the drone, you must first take it out of the box. Many drones will come with batteries in the box, so once the box is opened, find the charger and the batteries and start charging them. Don’t forget the controller. It’s good to do this first as they usually take a fair bit of time to charge fully.

It is also a good idea to lay everything the drone has come with on a flat surface, to know exactly what you got. This is a useful step as spare parts are often included, meaning you can quickly replace a propeller rather than having to buy more in the future. This is also good to see if anything is missing from the packaging.

Learning the rules

Now that your batteries are charging and you’ve taken everything out, it’s the perfect time to learn the rules for your new flying machine. It is important to know the weight of your drone. In most countries, drones that weigh under 250 grams are exempt from some of the rules. Below are the basic rules you should know when flying a drone, especially if you are doing so outdoors. Please note the below rules differ slightly from country to country, so please check your country’s rules.

• You must only fly one drone at a time
• You must always fly your drone within visual line-of-sight — this means:
• flying only during the day
• avoid flying in cloud, fog, or heavy rain
• you can see your drone with your own eyes at all times — not by using binoculars or watching a video screen
• not flying behind trees, buildings, or anything else that stops you from seeing your drone at all times.
• You must not fly higher than 120 m (400 ft) above ground level — that’s about the height of a 35-story building or the length of a football field
• You must not fly closer than 30 m (98 ft) to people — other than those helping to fly or navigate your drone
• You must not fly over or above people at any time or height
• You must not fly in a way that creates a hazard to another person, aircraft, or property
• You must not fly near emergency situations
• You must not fly in prohibited or restricted airspace

Setting up the drone

Now you should understand the rules and have enough charge in your battery for a flight. If you have a drone that requires an app to work, download that now and create an account in the app if required. Once complete, power on the controller first and then the drone. This ensures the drone connects to the controller right away.

Connect your phone to the controller or the drone and load the app. Your drone will likely have a software update to do. This can take a bit of time and will chew through the battery. The batteries themselves might also have to be updated, which is also done through the app. If you aren’t sure what to do, don’t worry. The app will notify you when something has to be updated and stops you from taking off before you do so.

 

This next part is optional. If you want the best settings for your drone straight away, I highly recommend you check out a YouTube video on the specific drone you have. This will allow you to get some tips and understand the settings of the drone before taking off.

Your first flight

The first flight is an important time for any pilot. This is where you will get a feel for the drone. I recommend taking your drone to a large field without any obstacles that could cause the drone to crash. Once you’re at an open area you’re allowed to fly at, power on the controller, then the drone, and take it slow. If your drone has an app, it will walk you through the basic flight operations. If you don’t, the drone will come with flight instructions.

This flight isn’t about getting epic footage. It’s more to get a feel for the controls. I always recommend moving the sticks in small amounts to see how the drone reacts to it. This allows you to know how sensitive the drone is and begin to understand how a drone works. If your drone came with multiple batteries, I would recommend continuing to fly with them until you feel comfortable to start flying a little further.

After the flight

You’ve had your first flight, and you feel pretty great about it. Congrats, you’ve completed the first step to becoming a pro pilot. As soon as your back home, get those batteries on charge, as well as the controller. You’ll probably want to get back right out and flying again. When the batteries are charging, it’s a great time to do some research online to learn more about your drone and the thing people have done to improve it.

Enjoy the rest of your flying and remember to have fun with it. Find the best spots to fly in your city and find other people in the hobby. If you have any questions, please leave them below or send them to me on Twitter @joshspires_. Enjoy the rest of your Christmas day!

Written by Josh Spires | 25 Dec 2020

The rise of videogrammetry is enabling 3D modeling for everyone: making the process easier and lowering barriers to adoption.

The concept of aerial 3D modeling has been around for centuries, dating back to Leonardo da Vinci and beyond. It has been used for surveying battlefields, building cities, astronomical exploration, and everything in between. Certainly, the world has made huge technological strides in drone technology, how 3D models are produced, and how they can be used. So, what’s next?

More recently, photogrammetry (a term originally coined in 1867) has been used to create 3D models through various software that process images captured from drones. This approach became a game-changer, as it took the old practice of manual photography and automated it with data acquisition and the increasing computing power of modern times. In short, a supercomputer would process hundreds or even thousands of pictures and merge the available data to produce a 3D model.

While photogrammetry-based software expanded the use of 3D modeling throughout many industries, it is complex and painstaking, and therefore its use has been relatively limited. This method of 3D modeling is time-consuming – both in gathering the data and in processing it. Capturing hundreds of individual photos can take hours and requires extensive training in the software. The flight is time-consuming and prone to increased risk as the drone has to slow down to take hundreds or thousands of individual photos. The pilot may also need to manually make adjustments dealing with percent overlap, ground sample distance, and photo resolution. This means that if a road accident is being captured, the scene may not be cleared for hours until proper 3D modeling photos are taken. Further, still photographs provide limited data and must be processed one by one. This can take days.

There is, however, a new alternative. Born from a series of research projects at Rutgers University, videogrammetry 3D modeling has become available to everyone in the form of software which allows anyone to make 3D models using their smartphones in just a couple of minutes.

Videogrammetry is the process of creating 3D models using videos instead of pictures. The advantages are numerous: to begin with, videos provide much more data than photos. The video frames, which are naturally shot in sequence, provide much more usable data than still photographs taken individually. From a recording perspective, the entire process is much faster because the drone flies at maximum speed to record video, saving time in capturing the scene and making the most of the drone’s battery life.

Additionally, the processing of the 3D model only takes a few minutes, and the results actually appear more clearly than photogrammetry-based models. Video-based 3D models do not display melting edges: the mixing of the edges of two objects, such as the base of a building and the ground it stands on, which is commonly seen in photogrammetry-based models. Thanks to the higher amount of data available in videos, this problem is easily avoided in videogrammetry.

Videogrammetry is a relatively new technology that is changing the landscape of the drone industry, just like photogrammetry did years ago. This means that the evidence in a car crash can now be captured in just a couple of minutes so the scene can be cleared off. It means that it takes less time, effort, and risk for roof inspectors to do their jobs by just flying their drone above the site, getting a model, and moving on. It means that a construction site can be captured within minutes without halting any activity on the site. Reduced traffic jams, decreased time spent by police officers gathering evidence, and increased productivity in commercial operations are just several of the immediate benefits of videogrammetry. These low adoption barriers will help the technology grow rapidly across many more industries.

The speed, convenience, and simplicity of videogrammetry also mean that the technology is more affordable compared to photogrammetry, making 3D modeling available for all. Today, anybody can make 3D models in just a few minutes with their smartphones; it no longer requires extensive training, time, or resources to process it. 

Written by Mirian McNabb | 13 Mar 2020

While on Reddit, I came across this epic video of an FPV drone making its way through a city center covered in Christmas lights while following a rollerblader. The footage shows how drones can be used to create shots that were never before possible.

Taking a look at the video, it starts in between two buildings with Christmas lights dangling just below it. If you look closely, there is also someone on a bike. The drone then makes its way through the lights to where a person happens to be rollerblading at the perfect time.

 

That’s when the video stops. It just 12 seconds but all 12 seconds of it is amazing, from the smooth shots in the beginning to the drone managing to scrape past the lights and the perfect timing with the rollerblader.

You might be wondering how the pilot was able to pull off such a cool video. A commenter wondered the same, asking, “How did it not get tangled up in the lights?! Or was this take 14?.” Magiccuber22 responded by saying:

“I think it’s obvious that it didn’t work out from the first try, but I didn’t tangle up at all just. When falling through, my propellers aren’t spinning, and I just touched the last row of lights, for example. But the most difficult part was to fall perfectly so that I don’t need to overcorrect and the timing with the rollerblader.”

Magiccube22 then shared that they managed to capture the epic footage using BETAFPV’s Beta95x whoop drone, a 100 mm drone that runs on a powerful 4S battery, making shots this possible. They also mentioned that a naked GoPro was used to capture the video. In another reply to a comment, it turns out that it is the Digital FPV version of the drone as the DJI FPV goggles were used to stream the live video down.

While this video is epic in every way possible, a few commenters did point out an important point — the flight’s legality. We can see the video was shot in the dark and in a public space. Magiccube22 responded by saying that the square was empty, other than the people in the video, and also said that as it’s winter, it appeared darker earlier. It is also worth pointing out the drone likely weighed less than 250 grams, the golden number when it comes to drone rules.

Click for link to video on reddit

Written by Josh Spires | 24 Dec 2020

Agriculture drone and robot manufacturer XAG has announced its latest drone, the V40 2021, with a brand-new modular design. The drone replaces the usual quadcopter design with two rotors that keep the drone stable and force the payload to be applied to the fields below.

The new drone from XAG goes by the name Polar V40 2021, suggesting it’s next year’s model. Along with the V40, the company also released its more standard Polar P40 and Polar P80 spraying drones.

The selling point

The big selling point for this drone is the fact that there is only two rotors. XAG says this allows the drone to be more efficient and fly tighter lines, thanks to its smaller size.

The arms of the V40 are carbon fiber, along with the body of the drone being molded in one large piece. Thanks to the new design, pesticides and insecticides sprayed from the drone can penetrate the plants more than two times more effectively.

 

The drone is fully modular, allowing for parts to easily be swapped out if broken or upgraded when a new payload or an improved part becomes available. It breaks down into 18 parts, with literally everything on the drone being replaceable without much effort at all. It’s a design that would be awesome to see trickle down into consumer drones.

The V40 2021 arms are foldable, allowing you to save space while transporting — 33%, in fact. XAG has gone ahead and given the drone an extra layer of protection with an IP67 rating, which means the drone can drop into water up to 1.5 meters deep for up to 30 minutes and still be good to fly. This ensures any splashes the drone receives will not result in it falling to the ground.

Powerful and safe

The brains of the drone are the SuperX4. A flight controller backed up by AI to ensure the drone is flying as efficiently as possible while getting the job done. The drone is equipped with an RTK module for improved precision and can also be equipped with a 5G module, allowing the drone to always be connected.

To keep the drone even safer in the air, it is fitted with three top, forward, and ground-facing radar. This allows the drone to know what’s above, in front, and below it, ensuring it can dynamically adjust its flight path in the air. It is also equipped with an FPV camera for the operator on the ground.

The drone can be flown in various modes, including standard, free, fixed-point, and manual. In standard, the drone follows a back-and-forth pattern, going through a field one row at a time. Free mode allows the drone to follow odd-shaped rows of plants or crops to get the best coverage. In fixed-point mode, the user selects the points, and the drone follows. Manual mode allows a pilot to fly the drone with a controller.

The Polar V40 has a high-capacity lithium battery with an intelligent power management system proving the perfect amount of power at the right time. The battery also features fast charging technology that allows it to be charged from 30% to 95% in just 11 minutes.

If you are interested in the XAG Polar V40, you can fill out this form right now. The drone only appears to be on the Chinese version of the website, but we hope to see it on the global site in the near future. The price of the drone is also unknown.

 Written by Josh Spires | 15 Dec 2020

The deadline for drone registration for many Australian flyers is getting closer, with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) promising fines of up to $11,100 for drone pilots deemed to be flying unregistered drones for work after 28 January 2021.

After that date, photographers using their drones for business purposes will need to make sure any drone they fly is registered, regardless of how much it weighs, or risk a fine.

CASA defines business purposes fairly broadly - with commercial operations including selling photos or videos taken from an Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), using the photos or videos in content that is used to generate an income through advertising or sponsorship, inspecting industrial equipment, construction sites or infrastructure, monitoring, surveillance or security services, research and development, or any 'drone activities' on behalf of an employer.

In theory, this means a photographer selling prints taken with a drone will need to be registered come January 28. 

According to CASA, more than 800 organisations have already taken advantage of free registration for the drones they use for business, with thousands of drones now registered for commercial use in Australia. 

As well as being registered, all drones used for business purposes will need to be flown by a pilot with accreditation or a remote pilot’s licence. Drone users flying for sport or recreation, including model aircraft flown at CASA-approved model airfields, don't need to register. 

Drone registration is valid for 12 months, and is free for any drone registered before 30 June 2021. Pilots must be 16 or older to register a drone.

You can find out more about drone registration on the CASA website. 

Written by Australian Photography | 8 Dec 2020

When Hollywood director Ridley Scott filmed astronauts looking for aliens in his 2012 movie Prometheus, little did he know that it would one day inspire a Network Rail drone project.

But, bizarrely, that's exactly what has happened. Network Rail, which owns and maintains most of the railway infrastructure in Britain - from vast stretches of track to thousands of bridges, tunnels and level crossings - has long sought cheaper and easier ways of surveying the many underground caves and abandoned mines dotted around its property.

Engineers must account for "shallow" subterranean voids when doing building work or moving heavy machinery, because the caverns might collapse and cause the ground above to shift. There are more than 5,000 shallow voids in Britain.

At an innovation workshop in 2018, Network Rail's principal mining engineer Neal Rushton found himself seated at a table with electronics experts and robot researchers. He sketched a simple drawing of the sort of device he was looking for - something that could travel down a 15cm borehole, enter an underground cave and map its interior.

Existing methods of mapping these areas are slow and sometimes hazardous. Surveyors either drill multiple boreholes into the ground, through which they poke sensors at the end of long sticks in order to scan the space below; or technicians enter the mine shafts and caverns themselves to collect the data by hand. Dangerous gases, cave-ins and even explosions are all possible causes of harm to such workers.

When Simon Watson, a robotics engineer at the University of Manchester, saw Mr Rushton's drawing, he immediately piped up: "Eh, I've watched a film about that," he said. "It's Prometheus."

In a well-known scene in the science-fiction blockbuster, four spherical drones whizz off into a creepy, unexplored alien structure, scanning it with lasers as they go in order to build up a 3D model of the environment. It's a tantalising moment in which the human space travellers realise the enormous scale of the outlandish place they have stumbled upon.

Mr Rushton knew the film and so instantly recognised Mr Watson's analogy, which got everyone at the table talking. "A tool like that would be invaluable," says Mr Rushton today. "Not just for us but for hundreds of applications around the world."

This is how the "Prometheus" drone project got its name and, although the caverns Network Rail hopes to explore with the device will be smaller than the alien tunnels in the film, the technological principles are almost exactly the same.

There are special challenges though. For one thing, the drone has to fit through a snug 15cm (6in) borehole - a standard size used for underground surveys. Mr Watson, his research associate, Liam Brown, and colleagues have come up with a folding design in which the drone's propeller-equipped arms raise up into the "flight" position once the device has been pushed through the borehole and into the gloomy mine below.

At that point, the drone detaches and zooms off into the underground space on its mission. But no human will have control over where it goes because of the lack of light and difficulty of maintaining a wireless signal to the surface. Prometheus must instead explore the subterranean space autonomously.

To gather data about its environment and avoid slamming into cave walls or stalactites, the drone will carry a camera that uses lasers and infrared imaging to make 3D maps of its environment. The device has been miniaturised so that it can fit onto the drone. If all goes as planned, once it has acquired a map of the cave's interior, the drone will then fly back to the borehole where it will autonomously dock with a rig and be pulled back up to the surface.

The consortium behind the project involves various organisations, including - among others - the universities of Manchester, Bristol and Royal Holloway, all working on the drone itself; and Headlight AI, a London-based tech firm tasked with designing the special camera and other components.

"The challenge with the Prometheus drone is, number one, it has to navigate when there's no GPS," explains Puneet Chhabra, co-founder and chief technical officer at Headlight AI, who was present when the idea for the Prometheus project arose at the innovation lab meeting in 2018. "That means you have to create a 3D map and that map has to update itself as the drone moves - you have to localise in that space, if you like."

Not only that, but because of the drone's diminutive size, it can carry only a small battery so will have to complete its mission in just 10 minutes, says Mr Watson: "You have to navigate quite quickly but also slow enough to gather up all the data."

The team has already trialled some of the technology during test flights, such as the docking equipment - which uses locking pins and magnets to hold the drone in place until it is ready to drop down and fly away - and 3D mapping. Their work is described in a recently published scientific paper.

Plus, Mr Watson and his colleagues have also tested some off-the-shelf drones, which unlike the completed Prometheus, can't fly by themselves and don't have scanning equipment.

Nevertheless, the experiments in caves in Shropshire gave the team a sense of how the devices cope with turbulence in confined spaces. It's important to account for this, because, should the actual Prometheus drone crash underground on one of its future expeditions, there's more or less zero chance that engineers will be able to retrieve it.

An in-cave flight test using a prototype of Prometheus itself is scheduled for spring 2021, says Mr Chhabra.

It's not the first time that someone has attempted to build an autonomous, cave-mapping drone. Three years ago, a team in Australia demonstrated one such device - though it was much larger than Prometheus will be.

Meanwhile, Guido de Croon, at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and colleagues, have experimented with a swarm of small, autonomous drones designed to map an unknown environment. Their research was published in the journal Science Robotics last year.

Prof de Croon says Network Rail's ambition is impressive.

"I think it's very exciting. I was not aware of this problem, I must say," he comments.

"There's a whole world underneath that's hardly accessible, and dangerous for humans."

Although the project presents multiple challenges, he praises the approach chosen by the Prometheus team. And he notes how discussion of Ridley Scott's film has also come up among his students while working on similar projects.

"Movies make people dream," says Prof de Croon. "Researchers, they have an eye out for this kind of cool stuff that they would like to realise in reality.

"It also works the other way round. Some of the research work you do inspires movie-makers."

All well and good, so long as Prometheus doesn't find anything too startling on its future missions - alien spawn lurking beneath the East Coast Main Line, for instance.

"It's when we find the cavern and it's full of eggs and we're like… erm, right," says Mr Watson, with a nervous laugh.

Written by Chris Baraniuk | 12 Dec 2020

Drones have become a vital piece of kit for surveyors.

Deploying unmanned aircraft on job sites yields fast and accurate data capture – gathered safely and efficiently.

One statistic shows that collecting topographic data with a drone is up to five times faster than with land-based methods and requires less manpower.

But what is the best drone for aerial surveying and mapping?

Until recently, the two DJI drones which stood out were the Phantom 4 RTK and the M210 RTK V2 with X7 camera.

However, the unveiling of the P1 camera (below, left) and L1 LiDAR sensor (below, right) for the M300 RTK has changed things dramatically, transforming DJI’s flagship commercial drone into a powerful aerial surveying tool.

So how does the M300 RTK compare to the Phantom 4 RTK and M210 RTK with X7 camera, and what are the advantages of deploying them on your job site?

Introduction

DJI released the Phantom 4 RTK in 2018 as a dedicated, out-of-the-box, all-in-one solution for low-altitude surveying and mapping.

The DJI M210 RTK V2 is part of the DJI M200 Series V2. While it is not a dedicated surveying drone, it can be utilised for these missions when integrated with the Zenmuse X7 camera and the 24 mm/35 mm lenses (to be purchased separately).

Recently, DJI unveiled the M300 RTK, a totally revamped and next-level version of the popular Matrice Series.

The M300 RTK cannot be integrated with the X7 camera, but it can carry the new P1 and L1 sensors (purchased separately), which are dedicated to aerial mapping and surveying.

The M210 RTK V2 and the M300 RTK can also be integrated with other DJI and third-party payloads, to further expand their versatility.

Which Drone Has The Better Camera For Mapping And Surveying?

Camera quality is a major consideration when it comes to aerial surveying.

Firstly, photogrammetry missions.

Drone photogrammetry is when a drone captures a large number of high-resolution images over a specific area. These images can then be processed by specialist software to generate accurate and realistic models of the world, which include key data such as measurements.

Prior to the release of the P1, the X7 was DJI’s premier solution, with its 24MP camera, and choice of 24 mm and 35 mm lenses.

Other lense options are available for the X7, but the 24 mm and 35 mm (pictured) are opitmised for surveying and can store imagery with geotagged centimetre-level precision.

However, the P1 has changed things significantly, thanks to its 45MP full-frame low-noise high-sensitivity sensor.

Ultimately, better resolution equals better accuracy and, eventually, more precise 3D models.

P1 operators also have the choice of three interchangeable lenses: 24 mm, 35 mm, and 50 mm.

This gives greater versatility. A 35 mm lens is suitable for most mapping scenarios, but if the UAV operation needs to be higher, the 50 mm lens can be used. Similarly, the 24 mm is available for lower altitude flights.

In contrast, the Phantom 4 RTK has a fixed camera/lens which can capture 20MP imagery, with a focal length of 8.8 mm.

Having interchangeable lens options not only expands versatility, but it can also help to improve ground sample distance, which in turn boosts mission efficiency.

This is especially helpful for flying in a city environment and near to high-rise buildings – improving the operating radius and safety in the process.

Safety Features

Safety is an important part of any drone flight and the DJI ecosystem is among the safety on the market.

M300 RTK

As DJI’s flagship commercial drone, the M300 RTK sets a new standard for safety, and is the company’s safest platform yet.

These enhanced safety features include six direction dual visual sensors, dual Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensors, dual auxiliary lights, and an adjustable detection range of between 1 to 40m.

The aircraft also benefits from DJI’s AirSense technology – which enhances airspace safety by automatically providing the operator with real-time information about nearby airplanes and helicopters.

Meanwhile, advanced redundancy features include the three-propeller Emergency Landing, and Dual Operator Control.

To further increase flight safety, the M300 RTK has a maximum wind speed resistance of 15 m/s and an IP45 rating.

While this isn’t a complete waterproofing, DJI has stated that the M300 RTK can withstand 100 mm of rain during a 24-hour period.

This robustness ensures that missions can be conducted in tricky conditions – reducing downtime.

If you need to perform operations in extreme weather conditions, the Matrice 300 RTK could be the best surveying drone for you.

Find out how water-resistant the M300 RTK is by clicking here.

M210 RTK V2

By comparison, while the M210 RTK V2 doesn’t include as advanced safety features as the M300 RTK, it is still a very reliable drone.

It has DJI’s AirSense technology, top and bottom anti-collision beacons, and front, bottom and upper obstacle avoidance sensors.

The M210 RTK V2 has an IP43 rating, which means that the drone can operate in light rain, and a wind-speed resistance of 12 m/s. You can read our guide to flying in the rain, here.

The M210 RTK V2 also has dual RTK antennas, providing powerful antimagnetic interference capability and holding the drone steady – a crucial factor if operating close to infrastructure.

Phantom 4 RTK

The Phantom 4 RTK does not benefit from such an array of safety features, nor does it have an IP rating, but it is still a reliable option.

The drone benefits from OcuSync technology, and has an obstacle sensing range of 0.7 metres to 30 metres.

Thanks to RTK, the drone can automatically resume a mission after the battery has been replaced.

The Phantom 4 RTK benefits from OcuSync technology.

DJI M300 RTK v M210 RTK V2 v Phantom 4 RTK – Which Is The Best Surveying Drone?

Drones have become a vital tool for surveying and the M300 RTK, M210 RTK V2 and Phantom 4 RTK are very capable platforms for the job.

The Phantom 4 RTK is a dedicated surveying drone, so if that is your only requirement, it is a suitable option.

The Phantom 4 RTK is a purpose-built surveying drone. It’s out-of-the-box capabilities ensure a quick launch and its user-friendly design and controls make it an ideal companion for surveyors who are starting out with drones on their job site.

The Phantom 4 RTK is especially suited for low-altitude mapping missions, over smaller job sites.

Meanwhile, the M210 RTK V2 offers greater versatility – able to carry a range of payloads for different types of missions – while the X7 camera does provide that extra bit of quality over the Phantom 4 RTK’s sensor.

Are There Any Other Options?

While the M300 RTK, Phantom 4 RTK and M210 RTK V2 are some of the best surveying drones within the DJI ecosystem, there are other options from the world’s leading drone-maker.

The M600 Pro is a robust heavy-lift surveying solution which benefits from the Lightbridge 2 HD transmission system.

Integrate the drone with a high-resolution third-party payload, like the 42MP Sony RX1R II sensor, to make it a comprehensive surveying and mapping platform.

It can also carry quality sensors such as the Z30 and XT2 for added mission versatility.

World-renowned engineering and design company Atkins used Heliguy’s research and development team to integrate the Sony RX1R II sensor with the DJI M600 Pro.

This provided a tailored solution to meet the business’s specific survey requirements.

Atkins was able to create 3D models like this.

Phantom 4 Multispectral

If agriculture is your specialty, then the high-precision Phantom 4 Multispectral is the best surveying drone for you.

The drone is capable of gathering precise plant-level data.

It also collects data with one RGB camera and a multispectral camera covering Blue, Green, Red, Red Edge, and Near Infrared bands – all at 2MP with global shutter, on a 3-axis stabilised gimbal.

Written by Heliguy | 10 Dec 2020

If you’ve seen the new DJI Mini 2, you would have noticed the inclusion of a light on the front. Was it a last-minute change instead of obstacle avoidance being added? A recent comment on Billy Kyle’s comparison video of the original Mini and Mini 2 seems to think so.

The comment

Looking at the comment, user Trapper John speculated that DJI tried to add forward-facing obstacle avoidance to the DJI Mini 2 but couldn’t get it in the 249g weight limit due to the whole U.S. China chip ban.

This forced DJI to add something else in, which happens to be the light bar on the front. While this is 100% just a theory, this did get us thinking that DJI wanted to make the Mini 2 even better than it currently is.

And by taking a look at the crazy features DJI has managed to put in its other drones, there might be something behind this theory.

DJI Mini 2’s weight

While discussing this further with Billy, he points out that the Mini 2 only weighs 242 grams, rather than the 249 grams stated on the drone itself. Looking at DJI’s website, it does say it weighs less than 249 grams compared to the Mavic Mini, which weighs 249 grams. I also checked this with my unit, and it is around the 242-gram mark.

Now, with the extra seven grams, DJI could have been thinking about two things, adding more tech to the drone in the form of obstacle avoidance or allowing people to add more accessories to the drone, such as filters and skins. I have no idea how much the extra sensors would weigh, but I wouldn’t think two cameras and the cables would add too much extra weight.

Where would the sensors go?

On the original Mavic Mini, the two black ‘vents’ on the front were actually fake and just solid pieces of plastic purely there for the aesthetics. On the DJI Mini 2, we can see that the vents are real and allow air to flow into the drone.

DJI might have just done this to increase the airflow and cool down the components or had planned on adding the cameras into the holes. The gimbal area does allow for a fair amount of air to get in, with the two holes not adding much to it overall.

Would DJI do it?

As for DJI adding obstacle avoidance to Mini 2, I’m a little on the fence about it. On the one hand, I could see DJI doing it, but on the other, I don’t think they would as it would eat away at the sales of the larger Mavic Air 2. Another thing to note is the extra weight it would add to the drone if the sensors were added. I haven’t taken apart the Mini 2 to see if it has the extra circuitry for them, but other people have said the boards are basically identical between the two drones.

Written by Josh Spires | 16 Nov 2020