Evo 2 Pro suicides itself into a tree...

[uas_gian]

You make it sound as though this is an issue I run into all the time. Lol. I've only had this drone do this...and many MANY other issues. Please explain to me where Autel or even DJI claim their drone use is not for low flying usage? I'm really curious

I agree, the manufactures even make promotion videos about using their products for indoor video footage, that is similar to flying under tree branches. It should be possible with the knowledge of related risks.

@Shain Rufus On Android the "Indoor" mode is available since App Version: V1.1.7.9. This means you can fly without GPS and hence no RTH. I have to double check how this is on iOS, since I am using the Smart Controller with an older version of the Explorer app built-in.

 

[KANSAS KILLSHOT]

These all sound like V2 or V3 issues, you did not mention what version you have, but I have a V1 with the original FW it shipped with (have never updated) and I don't have a single one of these issues, no horizon problems, no GPS problems, and no flight elevation change issues.

Occasionally the horizon will tilt after executing a turn, orbit, etc, but within a few seconds it levels back out, I have even had to take off occasionally from surfaces that are not perfectly level and it just fixes the horizon after takeoff. I used to pay particular attention to ensuring the takeoff surface was perfectly level, but these days I just look for the most convenient spot and shoot for somewhat level vs perfectly level.

IMO though the OP will continue to lose drones while using them in the way they have chosen to use them, drones simply are not a good fit for that type of project (flying low close to and underneath tree cover) so the occasional loss of the drone must be calculated in the client's service proposals to stay profitable. Drone's real power is 100'+ AGL showing the big picture, its just not the right tool for that type of job.

Bro I'm rocking evo 2 v1 with original dual flir. Using FW Version 2.6.22 and haven't touched an update since. FW are like stds. Why run updates through your drone and batteries when you can just stay off grid with everything and not have any problems. I did have a out of control after launch one time. I took off from a picnic bench and as soon as it went about 20 feet up I let go and let it sit there, well as soon as that happened it start going hard left like 60mph winds were blowing it away, but it was doing it itself. I quickly caught it with a hard right on the rc to compensate its wanting to go left. Then I dropped it down and landed it. No more picnic benches. I only launch from my yukon sun roof now. No problems

 

[herein2021]

Bro I'm rocking evo 2 v1 with original dual flir. Using FW Version 2.6.22 and haven't touched an update since. FW are like stds. Why run updates through your drone and batteries when you can just stay off grid with everything and not have any problems. I did have a out of control after launch one time. I took off from a picnic bench and as soon as it went about 20 feet up I let go and let it sit there, well as soon as that happened it start going hard left like 60mph winds were blowing it away, but it was doing it itself. I quickly caught it with a hard right on the rc to compensate its wanting to go left. Then I dropped it down and landed it. No more picnic benches. I only launch from my yukon sun roof now. No problems

I definitely avoid them like the plague; for everything (computers, cameras, my car, phone, etc.), if its not broke don't fix it, I don't understand the mad rush to get the latest FW updates unless your current product has something major missing or not working properly that a new update says it will fix. Even then I wait weeks or months to see reviews before updating. The only issue I have had with my V1 that almost caused me to lose it was the battery countdown timer stopped working once. The remaining time and battery level kept showing 30min remaining even after flying for 10min or so. I landed immediately when I realized what was going on; haven't had that problem since and still have all 4 original batteries.

As far as takeoffs go, I always take off from the top of my rugged case and never from the ground or on concrete. Rebar and other sources of compass interference in the ground is the quickest way to lose your drone. In cement parking garages even the top of my case wasn't enough to overcome the compass errors.

 

[uas_gian]

Is it possible to re-activate indoor mode while airborne when not being indoors? I mean when you are going to fly under a tree branch this would allow us to disable the GPS and RTH temporarily, right? However Autel says indoor mode will deactivate itself automatically when a GPS signal is picked up, so they are assuming you want to takeoff indoors or under a bridge and fly out into open air from that point. But what happens if the pilot turns on indoor mode thereafter? Will it keep toggling on and off, or stay on?

 

[herein2021]

Is it possible to re-activate indoor mode while airborne when not being indoors? I mean when you are going to fly under a tree branch this would allow us to disable the GPS and RTH temporarily, right? However Autel says indoor mode will deactivate itself automatically when a GPS signal is picked up, so they are assuming you want to takeoff indoors or under a bridge and fly out into open air from that point. But what happens if the pilot turns on indoor mode thereafter? Will it keep toggling on and off, or stay on?

I have flown under plenty of bridges and some branches, I make a point of flying quickly in both situations before it notices the GPS is lost and have never had an issue. It takes a few seconds for it to detect no GPS signal and it usually doesn't lose it all at once. IMO fiddling with different modes while trying to set up the approach would just be more trouble than its worth; if you keep LOS, plan your path, and execute it quickly you won't have a problem.

I wouldn't make a habit of flying under either let alone spending any time under them, but with proper planning its a non issue.

 

[uas_gian]

@herein2021 please note the original origin of this topic. It was about how to prevent an unwanted RTH to start in a bad spot, for example when you are under trees. When a drone is in that spot for a series of photos or video it might take longer than just a fly through. I just added the bridge as alternative situation similar to trees where a GPS signal will eventually come back at some later point. All @Shain Rufus asked is how to turn off RTH, because a pilot cannot turn the RTH feature off in the Explorer App, it then occurred to me this could basically be in a way achieved with indoor mode.

 

[herein2021]

@herein2021 please note the original origin of this topic. It was about how to prevent an unwanted RTH to start in a bad spot, for example when you are under trees. When a drone is in that spot for a series of photos or video it might take longer than just a fly through. I just added the bridge as alternative situation similar to trees where a GPS signal will eventually come back at some later point. All @Shain Rufus asked is how to turn off RTH, because a pilot cannot turn the RTH feature off in the Explorer App, it then occurred to me this could basically be in a way achieved with indoor mode.

The thing is, GPS signal loss does not trigger RTH, controller signal loss is what triggers RTH, so turning it off outdoors could very easily result in a lost drone if you have no way to re-establish communication with the drone before the battery runs out which is why I provided alternative options. My only point is that in over 10yrs of flying commercially and much longer flying as a hobbyist I simply haven't had this problem due to prior planning. I have turned down many jobs where the requirements of the job exceeded what I consider the safe parameters for operating the drone. So yes, trying to disable RTH is definitely one approach to the problem, an alternate one is to place the safety of the drone above the desires of the client (even if the client is yourself).

I thought within the app it was possible to set the behavior when the controller signal was lost; RTH or stay in place and hover, with the latter option that would effectively keep it from trying to RTH without actually turning off RTH. I think it would still rise to its RTH altitude so that would need to be adjusted as well to something like 5' AGL.

 

[uas_gian]

yes, I think we all understood controller signal loss or a way too low battery level shall be the cause of the immediate RTH procedure, only without a working controller signal also the pause button on the controller doesn't help. You seem to have misunderstood.

DJI has an option to hover in place on remote signal loss, this is not the case with an Autel It seems. Or it was removed from the app, I believe I have seen it in the Explorer App a long time ago. Or I am mixing up versions.

Using indoor mode instead means you turn off both GPS and RTH, however when GPS signal becomes available to the aircraft, this will deactivate the indoor mode, hence also RTH would be back on again. That's the small detail what my question was about. I repeat: can we somehow enforce indoor mode to stay active?

If this combination of events happens under a bridge or tree branch while losing wifi connection to the controller and the aircraft is the picking up on GPS your drone could ascend into an obstacle unexpectedly.

Last but not least, the minimum altitude allowed to be set for RTH is way to high.

 

[herein2021]

yes, I think we all understood controller signal loss or a way too low battery level shall be the cause of the immediate RTH procedure, only without a working controller signal also the pause button on the controller doesn't help. You seem to have misunderstood.

DJI has an option to hover in place on remote signal loss, this is not the case with an Autel It seems. Or it was removed from the app, I believe I have seen it in the Explorer App a long time ago. Or I am mixing up versions.

Using indoor mode instead means you turn off both GPS and RTH, however when GPS signal becomes available to the aircraft, this will deactivate the indoor mode, hence also RTH would be back on again. That's the small detail what my question was about. I repeat: can we somehow enforce indoor mode to stay active?

If this combination of events happens under a bridge or tree branch while losing wifi connection to the controller and the aircraft is the picking up on GPS your drone could ascend into an obstacle unexpectedly.

Last but not least, the minimum altitude allowed to be set for RTH is way to high.

I need to check my version of the app, I haven't updated in 2.5yrs, I think in my version there is an option to hover in place, but I might be remembering the option in the DJI app. Also, I have never seen an indoor mode in my older version.

 

[Shain Rufus]

The thing is, GPS signal loss does not trigger RTH, controller signal loss is what triggers RTH, so turning it off outdoors could very easily result in a lost drone if you have no way to re-establish communication with the drone before the battery runs out which is why I provided alternative options. My only point is that in over 10yrs of flying commercially and much longer flying as a hobbyist I simply haven't had this problem due to prior planning. I have turned down many jobs where the requirements of the job exceeded what I consider the safe parameters for operating the drone. So yes, trying to disable RTH is definitely one approach to the problem, an alternate one is to place the safety of the drone above the desires of the client (even if the client is yourself).

I thought within the app it was possible to set the behavior when the controller signal was lost; RTH or stay in place and hover, with the latter option that would effectively keep it from trying to RTH without actually turning off RTH. I think it would still rise to its RTH altitude so that would need to be adjusted as well to something like 5' AGL.

There is no option to tell the drone to hover if there is a signal loss. I have checked and have asked Autel. It is not a feature. This IS a feature on DJI drones and it is sorely needed on Autel. If a pilot is only 10 to 30 feet from a drone and there is a communication hiccup that is due to hardware or software then having the drone stay put is a must. If there is a communication issue then hovering gives the pilot a little time to reestablish a connection without the drone flying off and doing its own thing. I agree planning is a large role before EVERY takeoff...but incidents OFTEN take place outside of planning. Just because you haven't seen it happen in 10+ years doesn't mean it wont. I do SAR as well and we have protocols we must follow to provide safe and reliable air support. However, the priority is the person we are searching for...and if we lose connection...we HAVE to have that drone remain in that location regardless so as to make sure we can reestablish visual of the person once the RC reconnects while we wait for ground crews to arrive on scene. This is why an option to turn off RTH is vital. Communication errors can happen all the time and even with careful planning. If something can go wrong then eventually it will. And if its a bug with the software causing the disconnects its your fault until the company is willing to admit it. And I can guarantee you they will admit it as much as the FAA admits to their own blunders...almost never. The many MANY flyaways that the early DJI models comes to mind. A bug in the software but DJI claimed it was pilot error...just to save their own skins financially.

 

[Shain Rufus]

I need to check my version of the app, I haven't updated in 2.5yrs, I think in my version there is an option to hover in place, but I might be remembering the option in the DJI app. Also, I have never seen an indoor mode in my older version.

I can tell you that if there ever is a bug...Autel will make you pay for it. I was forced to pay because they claimed the bug was from me not updating the drone for 9 months. I hate updates because they always introduce new bugs. And if its working fine...I generally don't want to mess with it. When I asked them would this bug have been fixed if I had updated it and they said that they don't know but updating is always best. So in other words they aren't sure if this particular bug has been squashed...but to protect themselves they fall onto the "You didn't update" excuse. So if you ever have an issue...I'm sure 2.5 years gives them an easy way out...regardless of their care program.

 

[uas_gian]

OK guys and girls, let’s do a recap.

As to date Autel’s software is missing the turn “off” RTH for some reason. A pro feature to be applied in situations where the pilot knows what the risks are and decides it’s better to disable RTH.

1. upon losing wifi connection to the controller, simply hovering the aircraft in place until connection is reestablished or else ultimately critical battery levels are reached that will also enforce an RTH, should be possible.

2. indoor mode allows this in a way, however indoor mode will undo itself when GPS becomes available. So this is not a secure option.

3. When the controller has no connection you cannot pause the RTH or manoeuvre the drone to a spot where the RTH procedure can be executed safely.

4. RTH should always be on again on takeoff, just like obstacle avoidance will be until you manually disable it for a clear and given purpose.

conclusion: It is for rare cases only and requires awareness of pilots to allow to occasionally fly in a certain spot without RTH. A double warning in the software, warnings of the type “are you really sure?” with a notice “disabling this switch voids all warranty for this flight” would do for me!

 

[andrew124C41]

Been flying for almost 8 years and this is the second drone crash I have had. The first being a DJI mavic Air that RTH on its own into trees due to losing signal from the controller while standing 7 feet from it. This time, I was flying the Autel Evo 2 pro. Flown this for over a year now and its been faithful until today. Arrived at the home today for the photoshoot. Went through my pre-flight checklist...everything good. Launched the drone, got it into the first picture position and snapped the image at about 5 feet from the ground under a tree. Nothing different...I have done this over 100 times. It did not immediately take the picture however. I have had this issue happen before and it sometimes would take about 5 or 7 seconds and then it would register. This time however it did not. It took about 25 seconds and it finally took it. Then I preceded to move the drone into the next position. However, I noticed the drone immediately turn away from me...and then proceed to take off vertically as if it were RTH for some reason. I could not do anything via the RC as it ignored all inputs. The controller was still connected to it as well as the visual system. It ignored its obstacle avoidance systems and proceeded to go into the tree limbs and then crash.

So now I'm on hold with their customer service department. I hope NO ONE has to do this as I'm convinced they have ONLY one employee managing their phones. I started at position 8 in their que and I'm now finally number 1 at almost 2 hours now on hold... Thats pathetic. I'm sure this is going to be considered "pilot error" because DJI tried to weasel out of it till I posted videos and contacted the BBB. Just irritates me when crap like this happens. I can accept pilot error if it was my mistake...but when you have no explanation and the drone just does what it wants to do...its frustrating.
They NEED to give us the option to turn off the RTH function. DJI does and Autel needs to as well. Someone is going to get hurt...

I'll keep everyone posted on how this updates if anyone is interested.

I just went through this on April 13 during a smart orbit. Took me a month to resolve. Foolishly upgraded to V3 RTK but just returned it because upgrade not with it. (See my posts about all of this if you want.)