New Autel Robotics Controller is coming: Now is official :D

[bluesti]

I want one, but it all comes down to price. Anything north of 500 bucks, is out off my birthday and Christmas Bucket.

 

[The Autelian]

While I would not recommend the Nvidia 1050 it does handle H265. Once I render it in Shotcut using a Proxy it flows smoothly even after export it as an H265 file at 4K 60fps then open it with a number of video viewers than can handle the H265 encoding. SMplayer, VLC, etc. Are you sure it's Nvidia that doesn't handle the H265 video encoding or is the viewer you use?

I like H265 mainly because the files are so much smaller compared to H264. Sending a 44 GB file using something like wetransfer.com is easier than uploading to Youtube and saving it as unlisted. On the other hand it stays on Youtube but is gone in 7 days on wetransfer which is a good thing when sending to a client perhaps.

 

[The Autelian]

I too was a Wetransfer user until yesterday but switched. Their 20 GB fine size restriction was an issue.
I now use a program called “Smash” and it uses the same interface but has unlimited file size uploads.
There‘s a free version and a paid version for $5.00 a month! A great alternative to Wetransfer!

 

[advexure]

I want one, but it all comes down to price. Anything north of 500 bucks, is out off my birthday and Christmas Bucket.

We're thinking it will land north of $1k when you look at the feature set head to head with current market offerings.

I think this will help set expectations...

DJI Smart Controller Enterprise - $1,250
DJI CrystalSky 7.85" Ultra (2000-nit) - $1,099
DJI Smart Controller - $749

This is a professional GCS and according to the leaked specs (if they're real) has more functionality and feature set than all three products listed above.

 

[PingSpike]

Time will tell but they most definitely have had plans for it!

The cutout in the lower section of the rugged case just so happens to be the exact same size as the Smart Controller

 

[JTech777]

Is there any kind of estimated launch date? Can we get a hint at least..lol

 

[Rubik3x]

Hopefully my next upgrade will last for a long time once NVIDIA video cards finally support H.265 4:2:2 encoding.

I have been able to produce E2P H.265 10-bit 4K videos with my setup for several months. My 4+year old computer is i7-6700K with SSD for OS and programs. Video card is nVidia GeForce GTX 1070 (latest update). I use DaVinci Studio for editing. The HEVC H.265 codec for Windows 10 is a simple download.
Watch out, though. H.265 does do amazing compression but I have found that if the output bit rate is too low, there will be unpleasant pixel shifting (flickering) in complex 4K scenes, say, with lots of evergreen trees. Set the bit rate to 80 Mbps or higher. If I set it to 120 Mbps, the file size is about the same as H.264 but it is 10-bit color.

 

[Quad808]

Great discussions guys, much appreciated! 1K+, if this is the case, no reason to buy it, unless you are a commercial pilot and have a big budget. It sure would be nice though to have an all in one, new Autel RC, with additional range already built in, so maybe no need to boost the RC anymore to power through interference.

 

[Junior]

Nice! I bet a lot of Tripltek tablets go on sale on ebay when these come out. It's great it has HDMI out.

What would you guys guess would be the price? I'm guessing $799.

Why would I give up the ability to use my Tripltec as a tablet or the ability to use across other platforms (for me - Mini 2, M2Z, Anafi). I don't see the capability of using a sim card in this controller for stand alone use

 

[Quad808]

Why would I give up the ability to use my Tripltec as a tablet or the ability to use across other platforms (for me - Mini 2, M2Z, Anafi). I don't see the capability of using a sim card in this controller for stand alone use

I too am liking the TRIPLTEK tablet, since I can easily use it on all my drones, while at the same time...would love a new Autel RC with large screen...but its going to be pricey...probably at a price I can't justify in my mind buying for one drone. That would be great though....no tablet/phone adapters and cables to mess with....

 

[tomrink550]

If it's true be for flying Autel 2 pro 6k. I was flying DJI mavic 2 with a smart controller I really like the hole set up. but started looking into Autel so after a few months. I sold all my DJI stuff and bought my Autel 2 pro and really love it .if they do come out I really hope they keep. The cost a round $750 to $899 I hope a lower end so more of us guy's that have family can own one

 

[advexure]

Why would I give up the ability to use my Tripltec as a tablet or the ability to use across other platforms (for me - Mini 2, M2Z, Anafi). I don't see the capability of using a sim card in this controller for stand alone use

Primary use case for cell/sim functionality is likely for use with future EVO II RTK models to be able to connect to NTRIP networks.

 

[advexure]

Is there any kind of estimated launch date? Can we get a hint at least..lol

Wouldn't be surprised if we see this release by the end of the month (April). Assuming the screenshots that were posted are real, I would imagine they're ready to let it out of the bag soon. Ship date would be another story. I'm sure many of you can remember the wait and delays for EVO II's to start shipping, but then again that coincided with the start of COVID which threw just about everything off track!

 

[PingSpike]

Would this not have shown up on the FCC database by now though?

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

what a nice thread to wake up to on a Saturday weekend day. for many of us our dreams may come true!

I hate to say it but personally I think this device will come in a $1299 which is about the most I would pay for it. for some reason I get the impression this is going to be super expensive.

if the price is too low then you may as well abandon the old rc and start packaging the new drones standard with a sc. not sure how you would be able to sell a sc bundle vs rc bundle.

 

[KlooGee]

Wish it had an external, hot swappable battery. Maybe it does? Just not pictured.

Yes, this is the biggest problem for the consumer version of DJI’s Smart Controller that they fixed with the Enterprise version.

 

[herein2021]

You are mistaken. Autel is huge! their drone department is tiny, yes, but the parent company is bigger than DJI. They make auto testing equipment mostly. I think they have the resources to make a smart controller.

@Autelian @advexure I should have been more clear...I know their parent company (Shenzhen Daotong Intelligent Aviation) is huge, but the Autel drone subsidiary barely adds a dent to their parent company's revenue. Even though the parent company is loaded, it still does not mean they are willing to make large outflow expenditures to their drone subsidiary if they don't think they will break even or make a profit. Without the size and revenues from the parent company we definitely would not have the EVO II......here's to hoping they make a profit and survive. GoPro is a good example of a huge company that still decided they weren't going to be able to compete with DJI.

Now you do make a good point that their parent company may already have a lot of the components and expertise necessary to bring to market something like the smart controller for cheaper than say a small startup that has to start from nothing.

I have been able to produce E2P H.265 10-bit 4K videos with my setup for several months. My 4+year old computer is i7-6700K with SSD for OS and programs. Video card is nVidia GeForce GTX 1070 (latest update). I use DaVinci Studio for editing.

While I would not recommend the Nvidia 1050 it does handle H265. Once I render it in Shotcut using a Proxy it flows smoothly even after export it as an H265 file at 4K 60fps then open it with a number of video viewers than can handle the H265 encoding. SMplayer, VLC, etc. Are you sure it's Nvidia that doesn't handle the H265 video encoding or is the viewer you use?

@Rubik3x @Eagle928 I have no problems editing the footage out of the EVO II 6K and I also use Davinci Resolve....notice I said H.265 4:2:2....the EVO II 6K produces H.265 4:2:0 10 bit footage. I have a 14 core I7 and an NVIDIA RTX 2080Ti video card.....I can edit anything that comes out of the EVO II 6K in real time even after adding effects, overlays, color grading, tracking masks, etc.

No current NVIDIA or AMD video card supports HW offloading of H.265 4:2:2 10 bit encoding that I am aware of. Even the rumored RTX 3080Ti has not been confirmed to support H.265 4:2:2 only H.265 4:2:0. That's why I said my next upgrade will be when a video card comes out that supports H.265 4:2:2. Newer cinema cameras and mirrorless cameras like the Canon EOS R5 and R6 use H.265 4:2:2 encoding and even on my system proxy files are required to even playback the footage.

As far as NVIDIA vs AMD.....I studied many Puget Systems configuration guides while building my system and the general rule of thumb is that NVIDIA will work better with Davinci Resolve especially if you have an Intel CPU. If you have an AMD CPU the delta is smaller. So for my setup, I stick with NVIDIA, Studio supported video cards, and Studio drivers.

 

[AutelTN]

Interesting point as Apple actually has the word "retina" trademarked which covers computer displays, including handhelds, notepad computers and displays used in telephone computers.

Makes me wonder if this is even real. If so Autel has set themselves up for a call from Apple’s legal team.

 

[herein2021]

Makes me wonder if this is even real. If so Autel has set themselves up for a call from Apple’s legal team.

Keep in mind something could have been lost or misunderstood in translation. I think there's no way that Autel will release a product with the word Retina in it. The marketing material quality, and level of details makes me think its real; people have a lot of free time and have been known to waste it on projects like this just as a joke.....but the marketing materials look to me to be too high quality to be just a joke.

Now it is possible that they have prepared everything and in the end decide not to release it; if they decide they can't make a profit or the retail price to achieve everything in the brochure is higher than they think people will pay they may scrap the project. Look at how many concept cars and electronics manufacturers demo every year that they never release.

 

[bluesti]

If this device is pricey, but comes with oblique mission documentation as a freebie I might just buy it