Careful with Map Pilot

Oyibo VFX · Sep 24, 2017

Today, for the second time in three weeks my Mavic Pro crashed while flying a Map Pilot mission. Reason..... no clue
Only indication was a battery warning although AirData shows 63% power.
I mainly use Autopilot but for my mapping, I'm used to Map Pilot.
Until now. I have not used it with my Inspire but I can fix the Mavic. Would not like this with a €6000 unit

So, please.... be careful

IrishSights · Sep 24, 2017

If it showed a battery warning it’s unlikely to be the app that caused a crash. The state of the cells in Airdata might give you a clue.

Oyibo VFX · Sep 24, 2017

I've checked AirData. All green. It only happened with Map Pilot. Second time. 400+ km with Autopilot and no issue

bluelight.support · Sep 24, 2017

Oyibo VFX said:
I mainly use Autopilot but for my mapping, I'm used to Map Pilot.
Until now.

From what I can see you can't use autopilot for mapping mission can you? I also use Map Pilot and lost confidence when My I2 suffered a flyaway during a mission.

Also if you think its Map Pilot - wouldn't their support be the first port of call to see where the problem lays. What firm,warware are you using ?

Oyibo VFX · Sep 24, 2017

You can use Autopilot for mapping. In the Waypoint mode, there is a Mapping section. Actually works fine

bluelight.support · Sep 24, 2017

Oyibo VFX said:
You can use Autopilot for mapping. In the Waypoint mode, there is a Mapping section. Actually works fine

So which is better at the moment would you say - if you take terrain following out of the equation ?

Oyibo VFX · Sep 24, 2017

The thing I liked about Map Pilot was that you can plan your map, fly it and stitch it for free when you stay below a certain amount of pixels.
For me, that means below 100 images.
With Autopilot, you don't have that option. You just plan your route and fly.
Autopilot does not yet support stitching

bluelight.support · Sep 24, 2017

Oyibo VFX said:
With Autopilot, you don't have that option. You just plan your route and fly.
Autopilot does not yet support stitching

I process everything in-house so I'm only using the software for image capture

Oyibo VFX · Sep 25, 2017

bluelight.support said:
I process everything in-house so I'm only using the software for image capture

What software do you use for map stitching??

Oyibo VFX · Sep 25, 2017

Maybe I was too quick. I'm back at my desk and loaded all the images in Autopano Giga 4.4 and that came out perfectly.
Of course it's only stitching in to one big image (12.282 x 18.769 and 70,6 MB) and not have all the features as elevation and 3D modelling but for me, this is exactly what I need.
Images of large ereas in high detail.
So, now I can do my routes in Autopilot and stitch them in Autopano...
No more hours of uploading (in Nigeria internet is still very slow) and more important, I can now fly lower, greater overlap (+70%) and slower drone speed...

Next.... making a Google Earth overlay. Will be busy today

The Editor · Sep 25, 2017

Oyibo VFX said:
Today, for the second time in three weeks my Mavic Pro crashed while flying a Map Pilot mission. Reason..... no clue
Only indication was a battery warning although AirData shows 63% power.
I mainly use Autopilot but for my mapping, I'm used to Map Pilot.
Until now. I have not used it with my Inspire but I can fix the Mavic. Would not like this with a €6000 unit

So, please.... be careful

OK so, why have you posted this in the Photos and Video section and why not over on Mavic Pilots since it is a Mavic airframe related crash?
Am I missing something?

Oyibo VFX · Sep 25, 2017

Yes, I think you do
If I can prevent some of my fellow pilots to loose their expensive drone due to a software glitch, I think it is worth the effort.
For now I have learned that I will NOT use Map Pilot at any future flight. Not with my Mavic, not with my Inspire and not with my future M210.

Better save then sorry

IrishSights · Sep 25, 2017

Oyibo VFX said:
Yes, I think you do
If I can prevent some of my fellow pilots to loose their expensive drone due to a software glitch, I think it is worth the effort.
For now I have learned that I will NOT use Map Pilot at any future flight. Not with my Mavic, not with my Inspire and not with my future M210.

Better save then sorry

I think you need to prove first categorically it was a Map Pilot 'glitch' before condemning it outright. By all means for your own peace of mind, I understand your reason not to use it. I use it nearly every day professionally with an Inspire and have never had a problem. I know bluelight had a problem with it on his Inspire 2 but I never heard if he got to the bottom of it with MME.

Oyibo VFX · Sep 25, 2017

Where I use Autopilot on a daily basis without any problem (451 flights, over 750km) I never had a crash.
I did 3 flights with Map Pilot the last three weeks (after the last software update) and it crashed on 2 of them. Same issue, same message on my screen, same notification for my battery, no error on my flight details (as per AirData information)...
So, despite the fact that you might have no problems, my stats prove otherwise

Donnie Frank · Oct 1, 2017

Oyibo VFX said:
Today, for the second time in three weeks my Mavic Pro crashed while flying a Map Pilot mission. Reason..... no clue
Only indication was a battery warning although AirData shows 63% power.
I mainly use Autopilot but for my mapping, I'm used to Map Pilot.
Until now. I have not used it with my Inspire but I can fix the Mavic. Would not like this with a €6000 unit

So, please.... be careful

Why use either for mapping? DJI's GS Pro app is simpler and doesn't require the bird to stay in contact with the remote. So far it's been rock solid reliable with my Inspire 1, and I've flown 3 mapping missions with the Mavic with no problem so far. I DO use Autopilot for construction progress videos, but not mapping gigs.