DJI Matrice 100 Launched

[damoncooper]

All over the press. CNN just ran a story on it.

I took the liberty of creating a FB group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/804234483017725/

 

[sirnikolas]

Hurry up and add me!

 

[CaptainBadge]

Just got the email from DJI. Looks cool. Of course the handheld gimbal looked cool too. The more products DJI release without following up with the promises to Inspire owners makes me that much more disenfranchised.

 

[Tim]

Not a huge difference to the inspire. A little lighter but that's probably because the legs don't lift. Uses same battery and camera. Looks fun to build though.

If there's an upgrade to the camera, it will hopefully be compatible with the I1. Likewise with the Pilot app updates, they should trickle down to the I1, via the P3.

I'm still waiting for my SDK application to be cleared so I can write Home Lock etc without waiting for DJI.

 

[Phatzo]

I somehow feel that the Inspire was the etalon on all of what has been put into the market after it... everything is based on the I1 technical specs... camera, RC, batteries, video downlink etc... all they have done is take it apart and let you have the ability to separately assemble it and modify... still you do not have to much of freedom in building it up. modular, ok and probably enough for the purpose but you still have restrictions... if they´d use a rail system balancing would be much easier.. and 3DR will come up with something similar in a few months.. I bet anything for it...
then come the copycats....

I like the I1 and did not have a single issue yet (ok one battery dieing on me and sending this one back) but other than that it worked flawlessly and I am sad to see that there is no real big effort being made to really and I mean REALLY improve our system that has been the base for all the rest that has came out after ours...

DJI should start to kick in the bicycle soon so we can start using our investment as we intended to...

just my 2cents and no offence meant..

cheers.

p.s.: nice platform though. - the m100 I mean.

 

[The Editor]

So the Matrix became the Matrice?
Also, let us not forget that we are all still waiting for many features that were advertised on the Inspire to even make it to the platform.
I have no doubt DJI will follow their atrocious marketing form and rush it out before its ready and then will only release half the features it is advertised to have!
Don't be surprised if the collision avoidance module is an 'add on' that will 'be released soon'.
My credit card is staying firmly in my wallet with this one!!!!!!!

 

[Mani]

To compare Inspire 1 with Matrice 100 is almost the same like comparing Inspire 1 with Phantom 3. They are simply different products, for different needs and different markets.
Matrice 100 seems to be a great solution for complex aerial works in agriculture, industrial inspections, volumetric measurements, topographic maps etc..
There is no point in comparing this products, it's very clear that DJI attacks a new market with this drone and I have to say their response to 3DR ''smartest drone'' is better than expected. Guidance vision, 40 minutes plight time, expansion bays etc.
This is a serious tool for UAV enthusiastic, and I think the response in sales will be huge.
I just preordered one

 

[CaptainBadge]

To compare Inspire 1 with Matrice 100 is almost the same like comparing Inspire 1 with Phantom 3. They are simply different products, for different needs and different markets.
Matrice 100 seems to be a great solution for complex aerial works in agriculture, industrial inspections, volumetric measurements, topographic maps etc..
There is no point in comparing this products, it's very clear that DJI attacks a new market with this drone and I have to say their response to 3DR ''smartest drone'' is better than expected. Guidance vision, 40 minutes plight time, expansion bays etc.
This is a serious tool for UAV enthusiastic, and I think the response in sales will be huge.
I just preordered one

The Inspire would be a great tool for many of those applications as well if the originally promised features were made available to us.

 

[Mani]

The Inspire would be a great tool for many of those applications as well if the originally promised features were made available to us.

Phantom 3 would be also compatible with various industrial applications, if originally promised features will become available. However, Inspire, Phantom and Matrice are very different quadcopters in my opinion, and you have to choose carefully which one will suit your purpose better.
Also DJI is taking Apple path, it's very clear, as the product complement each other.
Remember the Iphone / Ipad debate ? Why you should buy an Ipad if you have an iPhone, or why you should have an iPad if you have a Mac ?
Now almost everyone owns all three of them, at least I do and each one of them has a specific role in my activity.
The same with this three drones.
For a serious aerial UAV company, this trio covers almost every angle in UAV industry (I believe it's just a matter of days/months until new options like thermal imaging, new gimbals will become available.)
Bottom line, I am looking forward to my first Matrice flight

 

[CaptainBadge]

Phantom 3 would be also compatible with various industrial applications, if originally promised features will become available. However, Inspire, Phantom and Matrice are very different quadcopters in my opinion, and you have to choose carefully which one will suit your purpose better.
Also DJI is taking Apple path, it's very clear, as the product complement each other.
Remember the Iphone / Ipad debate ? Why you should buy an Ipad if you have an iPhone, or why you should have an iPad if you have a Mac ?
Now almost everyone owns all three of them, at least I do and each one of them has a specific role in my activity.
The same with this three drones.
For a serious aerial UAV company, this trio covers almost every angle in UAV industry (I believe it's just a matter of days/months until new options like thermal imaging, new gimbals will become available.)
Bottom line, I am looking forward to my first Matrice flight

I disagree with the Apple comparison. When Apple makes an announcement today, the product or application will be in production and have been tested. Apple is not going to announce today that they have a new touch screen version of the iMac when in reality they have one touch screen iMac that they haul around to trade shows and show off, all the while selling it knowing they are months away from delivery then at the last minute abandon the touch screen iMac and say that they are going to ask developers to solve the problems and release it third party.

 

[jon b]

So the Matrix became the Matrice?
Also, let us not forget that we are all still waiting for many features that were advertised on the Inspire to even make it to the platform.
I have no doubt DJI will follow their atrocious marketing form and rush it out before its ready and then will only release half the features it is advertised to have!
Don't be surprised if the collision avoidance module is an 'add on' that will 'be released soon'.
My credit card is staying firmly in my wallet with this one!!!!!!!

Yep, me too. So thinking inspire with an modular bay to carry stuff plus an extra (and yet again unique battery to buy)
if you don't need to scab on more hardware... Inspire. You need to carry stuff or feel like adding non-DJI stuff, go for it.
Inspire fits my humble needs for now but this might be a cheaper way to emulate an s900 or similar AC without the complexity or heft.

I always find it interesting how products are developed and how they either do or don't fit into existing product line-ups. DJI really does look like the Apple of UAV's

 

[Mani]

In reply to Captain Badge.
I have been an Apple user for almost 20 years and they had their ''DJI'' moments for sure.
Serious software & hardware bugs, some of the features announced during their keynotes were delayed considerably etc.
Quite recently, a lot of iPhone 6 users bricked out their phone, due to a buggy firmware update.
Remember the Maps incident, with people going in very wrong directions due to a very poor developed software ?
Or a lot of Macbook Pro users, like me, receiving units with bad Graphic CPU ? Hardware issue which was recognised by Apple after 3 years since I purchased my machine (check the Apple statement made this years for Macbook Graphic CPU problem).
Or the fact that I purchased a shiny brand new Mac Pro, specifically for editing 4K video, and Apple still does not provide a 4K monitor, to replace their current Thunderbolt Cinema Display, although they recently released a 5K iMac which is perfect for 4K video editing, but cannot be use with a new Mac Pro ?

And we are talking about a company worth value at least ten more times than DJI.
Let me put this this way.
We're talking of a company which is not even 10 years old.
Established in 2006.

Considering their amazing growth & their amazing innovative aerial solutions I think the statement DJI is the ''Apple of drones'' is well deserved.
For sure, they have a long way to go to reach the customer service provided curently by Apple, but I think it's just a matter of time and they have the cash flow to hire the right people, time will tell.

 

[skylabimaging]

In theory they had no choice but to release this....The exom drone from that Parrot backed company, Xaircraft has their survey mission based unit, 3dr has always had their mapping machines...DJI needed to play catch up here....I wouldn't mind owning one but I feel like it's just another rope in. It's obvious they are going to release this before anything is ready for it, maybe a camera whether the inspire or not. So there will be a short supply of batteries if any at all, pretty much any promise of accessory will be snuffed for a while...this is definitely a machine that if I don't build one myself I would wait to purchase

 

[Mani]

These guys at Tested seems to have a copy key to DJI labs.
Nice review of the Guidance Vision system, enjoy !

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[skylabimaging]

These guys at Tested seems to have a copy key to DJI labs.
Nice review of the Guidance Vision system, enjoy !

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Kinda turns me off on it a bit more, I like the guidance system, it seems to work well with Eric's demo...but I still think this a glorified f450, I wonder if the guidance system will work with a2 or wkm...The occulus is very cool also...**** I might be getting sold on this

 

[KnightOwl]

In theory they had no choice but to release this....The exom drone from that Parrot backed company, Xaircraft has their survey mission based unit, 3dr has always had their mapping machines...DJI needed to play catch up here....I wouldn't mind owning one but I feel like it's just another rope in. It's obvious they are going to release this before anything is ready for it, maybe a camera whether the inspire or not. So there will be a short supply of batteries if any at all, pretty much any promise of accessory will be snuffed for a while...this is definitely a machine that if I don't build one myself I would wait to purchase

I agree with you and will wait....what's really starting to annoy me with DJI is their wanton lack of interchangeability! FIrst strike was DJI's claim that the I1 controller could not work with the P3 (though this has been proven incorrect), now the batteries on the Matrice have a slightly different form factor than I1 ones (though it's apparent these are TB47 & TB48 batteries). Will DJI make an "new" incompatible controller for the Matrice so in their ideal world an operator of all three platforms will have three controllers to lug around? Typically when a company introduces complementary products their is some level of compatibility / interchangeability amongst the platforms so the user is enticed to purchase them. With Apple a strong sell (IMO) was iTunes and its extensive functionality....at this point is DJI proposing the Pilot App as that glue? If so, we got a long way to go since the Pilot App is lacking functionality promised months ago and DJI has reportedly outsourced many of this to 3rd party SDK developers.

 

[LockMD]

I'm liking that Oculus Rift, head movement controls gimbal.

 

[CaptainBadge]

LMAO 'What is the situation with the SDK for the Inspire and Phantom 3' 'So the Inspire and Phantom 3 SDK have been in Beta for quite some time now, and along with shipping of the m100 those SDKs will become available'

Ok odds anyone? I think we should get a pool going.

 

[Kilrah]

When Apple makes an announcement today, the product or application will be in production and have been tested.

That used to be true... but this seems to be going down the drain lately. See the Apple Watch... several key specs and features weren't frozen and thus weren't detailed when it was announced, that was >6 months ago, and deliveries are plagued with delays.

The good old times of "hey we did that new cool thing - and you can buy it today right after walking out of the keynote" are unfortunately over.

BTW the WWDC keynote is on right now... I missed the beginning cause my iPad was flat - and of course it's Apple, so you can only watch the live stream on an Apple device.

 

[DennisCox]

It's an awesome development platform. This falls in line with DJI releasing the SDK. If I was a developer, I would want this unit ASAP