FAA Ruling on ID - Has there been any response by Autel how they accommodate the remote ID regulation? Built in and additional add on to drones?

[kenautelevo2pro]

We live in a country where people have been given permission to act like morons to the point of taking this label on as a badge of honor -- and I have no problem with reasonable efforts to rein in bad pilots. Yet under the new FAA rules, flying legally could easily be misinterpreted as nefarious activity, and I might be inaccurately labeled as one of those bad pilots.

For example, there's a 100-foot-tall smokestack nearby that lets me fly a bit higher as long as I am flying close to this stack. And I also sometimes use image-stabilized binoculars to follow the flight of my drone -- in theory, using binoculars to extend my visual observation range. Will the Baney Fife's of this world flag the added altitude or range as a federal crime?

And even when I am doing nothing noticeably unusual at all -- with every drone-bigot cellphone owner in the area able to track me down -- I might be aggressively challenged any time during or after my flight.

In reality, I am unlikely to face a genuine threat to my liberty or life -- but it could happen -- and that thought alone is enough to drain the life out of my enjoyment of flying.

drone-bigot LOL LOL

 

[wernerjb]

Not the range. But you are not allowed under 107 to use binoculars for your flight.

 

[MustangPhil]

Hello, do you have any information on how Autel will implement remote ID to the Evo 2 Pro ?

I’m interested in this drone to fly in France (like @claudius62 ) and we already have to transmit a remote ID for French authorities since the 1st of January 2021, so :

- Remote ID is compulsory in France already via a WiFi signal.
- European authorities (as well as US authorities) will soon require one (and French authorities are debating with European Authorities to make their requirements compatible).
- DJI is already implementing a WiFi signal emission for remote ID.
- Parrot (I fly with an Anafi), has the WiFi signal ID emitted in conformance with the French authorities (and I fly professionally with this signal ‘ON’, because Parrot chose to allow ID on/off by the pilot)

If I buy an Autel Evo, I’m afraid I have to buy an external ID transmission system and stick it to the drone ?
Thanks for your help !

 

[claudius62]

Exactly, there is no Remote-ID on the Evo 2 (like on the Evo 1) and I don't think, based on the feedback I have had that it is implemented on the Evo 2, this is not Autel's concern.
The only way to do this is to add a module like I did on the Evo 1.
12 grams doesn't make much of a difference.

I did not buy Evo 2 because for me this bird is not finalized and can not do better than what DJI is doing now.
I took a Mavic 2 Pro which despite its three years of existence still receives updates currently and has the Remote-Id included. I doubt the Evo will still have updates in three years.
Autel has given up tracking the X-Star on the release of the Evo 1, has dropped the tracking of the Evo 1 on the release of the 2 and all the improvements it promised on the 1 and will abandon the Evo 2 within a year of the release of the future Evo 3 ... My confidence with Autel has fallen very low.
I expect to see in two days the release of the new DJI (Mavic) Air 2S with its 1 "5.7k camera which with a weight of less than 800 grams will be able to do without the European Remote-ID. , I think, the 800 € will be very well placed in the market, with the assurance of a product that will be well monitored and whose flight software has been developed for a long time.

@MustangPhil
If you know DJI and the LITCHI Flight app, don't make the same mistake as I did. I had believed that the missions of Evo 1 were going like that of Litchi and I fell very low when I saw the unfolding of the missions.
The Evo slows down and almost stops (2 to 4 km / h):
At each crossing point.
At each change in altitude (with the trap that the change in altitude does not occur at the point you requested but at the previous one!)
He is unable to do the curved courses. Stop-Change of direction and leave ...).
The Evo 2 does the same as it is based on the same flight platform the Px-4 as the H520 which behaves exactly the same as the Evo.
I have been flying with Litchi for seven years, and believe me, no other software with DJI allows so much flexibility in the quality of the shots. Smoothly and with the precision required.

 

[MustangPhil]

Thanks @claudius62 for your infos and analysis.
I mainly use drones for pictures, survey and photogrammetry measurements. I do not make movies.
The Anafi is a drone that perfectly fits my needs but the sensor size and sensibility is the only problem I meet.
I’ll have a look at the Mavic Air 2S (that has a 1 inch sensor) and that has a low weight for my missions in towns (so the European rules and the light weight seem promising).

At least DJI takes into account the European and French regulations that Autel does not seem to care about...
It’s too bad, the overall picture quality in low light seems great on the Evo 2, I’ll see if the Mavic Air 2S can compete with the same sensor size on a smaller drone...
The problem with DJI is the NFZ ! That’s a pain in the xxx !!

 

[robport]

I'll be honest about why I use an Evo II Pro. I like the color profile. While I have to fix a little blue-greenish tint, I don't have to fix DJI's massive magenta shift, especially in low light.

More than that though is DJI's fly safe system. If I can get permission from the FAA to fly a place, I shouldn't then have to ask DJI for permission. There have been several jobs I have either not been able to take, or when I show up on site, the drone refused to take off, even with their digital token on the aircraft.

During one recent incident, a C & D class airspace overlap, I had a limited authorization time from the FAA, the drone started to rise up and go where I told it, then it detected the other airspace and just started to land. I had no control at all. It could have landed on a moving car, a walked baby carriage or anything else. It didn't even return home. I was able to switch tokens on the aircraft (I had downloaded both, but you can only have one activated) after it landed, and complete the job, but for about 30 seconds, the drone went to land straight down with no control from me. That is a serious safety issue in my mind. All this risk for no reduced risk to the airspace. Anyone can get the digital token. All you need to know is your controller serial number and have a cell phone.

 

[claudius62]

The good news, where at least in Europe, is that DJI has just changed its unlocking system from NFZ. All you have to do from your DJI account is to request the unblocking by the application and the return is immediate and the unblocking is done on site for 24 hours. Obviously, we should not think of a release above a prison or a military base. Otherwise, the release is immediate and there is no paper to send.
This function appeared in the latest DJI-Go 4.

 

[robport]

The good news, where at least in Europe, is that DJI has just changed its unlocking system from NFZ. All you have to do from your DJI account is to request the unblocking by the application and the return is immediate and the unblocking is done on site for 24 hours. Obviously, we should not think of a release above a prison or a military base. Otherwise, the release is immediate and there is no paper to send.
This function appeared in the latest DJI-Go 4.

The question I have is how does it make use of the drone any safer for manned aircraft, to have to request permission from a private company in China? I just got back from flying very near an Air Force base that I had to get approval from the FAA and the base tower. How does some automatic "approval" response from a foreign manufacturer help? They don't know if I am authorized to fly there or not. They don't know if I'm a 107 pilot or not. They don't know if I have an airspace authorization or not...and to get their "approval" for red areas, exactly what I'm doing there is between me, the client and the FAA, not the drone manufacturer. They add nothing to the process except complexity and another failure mode.

 

[claudius62]

Do not worry, the NFZ are already implemented in the memory of EVO 1 and 2. It is enough that one or more states oblige Autel to apply them (as it was done in China, Autel was obliged there so that its drones can fly) and voila. Nothing is won and with the future of commercial drones, it looks bleak and space will become restricted.

 

[Ken Ramsley]

View attachment 10218

What module are you showing here? I am finding next to nothing in the way of attachable remote ID modules anywhere I look.

 

[claudius62]

This module is only intended for French identification. it may not meet the standards and requirements of other countries or states.
It works in WiFi on channel 6 exclusively, i.e. 2.437 GHz.

 

[PA452]

Just like most gun laws, they just hinder the law-abiding. Those who don't follow the rules don't care.

 

[UasDriver]

laws, they just hinder the law-abiding

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