USA Inspire 1 NFZ hack needed....

[Donnie Frank]

Hey doods;

I did a site search for the word "hack," and didn't find the results I was looking for, so I'm starting this thread.

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I've got a mapping job coming up near an airport. Me and my partner have utilized the DJI Unlock program several times for photo/video jobs, but this mapping job is going to require automated waypoint flight (via the DJI Ground Station app). Unfortunately, the Unlock site says the following:

"The custom unlock mechanism may disable certain features like waypoint navigation. Please plan to fly your equipment manually."

A DJI chat lemming told me otherwise, but then reversed his story when I called him on it. His name is Jeff (likely a pseudonym). Be sure to call him an asshat if you chat with him. But I digress...

So, clearly I'm going to have to hack past the DJI NFZ's. I'm running FW version 1.8.xx, so I do not THINK I can roll back to pre-NFZ versions. So I'd like to table that solution for now. That said, has anybody heard of a way to hack around these DJI NFZ's in an Inspire 1, v2.0? Your help will be appreciated.

NOTE: These flights will be done totally legally and in full cooperation with the airport authorities and the FAA. Our problem is that the DJI NFZ's will render our Inspires useless for this job.

Regard,

Donnie Frank

High Flight Media

 

[Dr Jon]

If you contact the "flysafe" team at DJI they can provide a short term unlock code if you can provide proof of FAA agreement. This can be from the DJI web page request a custom unlock but this will take 5 days. Click this link...

DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography

 

[The Editor]

Hey doods;

I did a site search for the word "hack," and didn't find the results I was looking for, so I'm starting this thread.

---------------------

I've got a mapping job coming up near an airport. Me and my partner have utilized the DJI Unlock program several times for photo/video jobs, but this mapping job is going to require automated waypoint flight (via the DJI Ground Station app). Unfortunately, the Unlock site says the following:

"The custom unlock mechanism may disable certain features like waypoint navigation. Please plan to fly your equipment manually."

A DJI chat lemming told me otherwise, but then reversed his story when I called him on it. His name is Jeff (likely a pseudonym). Be sure to call him an asshat if you chat with him. But I digress...

So, clearly I'm going to have to hack past the DJI NFZ's. I'm running FW version 1.8.xx, so I do not THINK I can roll back to pre-NFZ versions. So I'd like to table that solution for now. That said, has anybody heard of a way to hack around these DJI NFZ's in an Inspire 1, v2.0? Your help will be appreciated.

NOTE: These flights will be done totally legally and in full cooperation with the airport authorities and the FAA. Our problem is that the DJI NFZ's will render our Inspires useless for this job.

Regard,

Donnie Frank

High Flight Media

Since I assume this is a legitimate commercial operation I have moved this to the 'Certified UAV' Section.

Your options are:

• As Dr Jon mentions above - Contact and await DJI. They will supply you with a bespoke (and time sensitive) version of the Go App which will have your required area unlocked (temporarily)
• Fly a different platform

Using one of the GPS spoofing devices (which has already been mentioned on here before) will not work since you will be waypoint flying and reliant on GPS accuracy - It would also invalidate your commercial insurance.

 

[Donnie Frank]

If you contact the "flysafe" team at DJI they can provide a short term unlock code if you can provide proof of FAA agreement. This can be from the DJI web page request a custom unlock but this will take 5 days. Click this link...

DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography

Please read my post again.

 

[Donnie Frank]

Since I assume this is a legitimate commercial operation I have moved this to the 'Certified UAV' Section.

Your options are:

• As Dr Jon mentions above - Contact and await DJI. They will supply you with a bespoke (and time sensitive) version of the Go App which will have your required area unlocked (temporarily)

Yes, our operations are completely compliant and above board. That said, please reread my post.

• Fly a different platform

We have tried a couple different platforms, including the $21,000 eBee and some of the Phantom offerings. They all have shortcomings we were able to overcome with the Inspire 1. The problem with Mavic, Inspire 2 and other offerings is they have limited support from DJI and third-party apps. The Inspire 1 is, by far, the most versatile tool in my aerial toolbox. It's rider-friendly for the film industry, perfect for commercial real estate gigs, and third-party apps seem to give it Carte Blanche, essentially writing software FOR the Inspire 1, with support for other platforms trickling in. This message is typical of what I run into:



When it comes to "one drone does all," nothing even comes close to the Inspire 1. So I really don't wish to move away from that platform. Hence the "hack" request.

Using one of the GPS spoofing devices (which has already been mentioned on here before) will not work since you will be waypoint flying and reliant on GPS accuracy - It would also invalidate your commercial insurance.

Interesting. Because GNSS is quite dubious, we definitely don't rely on it for our final product. At this point we're using GCP's set by a surveying company.

Interesting what you say about Insurance. I will check with my insurance company.

I will do some research into GPS spoofing. Offsetting our GPS coordinates by as little as 300' may solve our problem. I'll do some research. Thanx for the tip.

EDIT: Apparently "GPS spoofing" is not what I thought it was. There seem to be a lot of articles regarding disabling and/or "taking over" a drone. Nothing about simply fooling the drone into the thinking it's 300' West of its current position. Still looking.

Regards,

Donnie Frank

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

Could you open up in dji go, boot everything up, then open litchi or autopilot and run the pre-programmed mission, or program it then and there, leaving dji go open in the background?

 

[The Editor]

Could you open up in dji go, boot everything up, then open litchi or autopilot and run the pre-programmed mission, or program it then and there, leaving dji go open in the background?

That doesn't work unfortunately and can cause all sorts of undesired conflicts.

 

[Donnie Frank]

Could you open up in dji go, boot everything up, then open litchi or autopilot and run the pre-programmed mission, or program it then and there, leaving dji go open in the background?

Unfortunately, the NFZ's are "hard coded" into the flight controller. This can be demonstrated by failed attempts to launch the Inspire 1 with no iPad, tablet or any other smart device at all. With this in mind, I see no reason why any third-party app would have the ability to usurp or override the FC. I suppose we could try, but I have serious doubts on this one. I would give it a 1% chance of success.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

If they are in the controller and dji sent you the hack, then the controller should be good, no?

Are you saying that, alongside the hack, the controller wont allow pre-programmed flight?

I beieve I have had dji go inadvertantly running in the background while operating in litchi. It may be worth an experiment.

 

[Donnie Frank]

Unfortunately, the NFZ's are "hard coded" into the flight controller. This can be demonstrated by failed attempts to launch the Inspire 1 with no iPad, tablet or any other smart device at all. With this in mind, I see no reason why any third-party app would have the ability to usurp or override the FC. Even apps like Autopilot, that use the smart device as a flight controller, are still bound by NFZ's. At least that's my understanding of it. I suppose we could try, but I have serious doubts on this one. I would give it a 1% chance of success. The caveat is that - unlike the DJI Ground Station app - the controller must remain connected to the Inspire the whole time. With the GS app, you can turn the controller OFF and it will finish its mission before engaging RTH. Since some of my mapping jobs take the Inspire to the outer fringe of its range, "having to stay connected" is kind of a deal-breaker. But....for this one job (which isn't that big)... Hmmmmm.....

 

[Donnie Frank]

If they are in the controller and dji sent you the hack, then the controller should be good, no?

Are you saying that, alongside the hack, the controller wont allow pre-programmed flight?

I beieve I have had dji go inadvertantly running in the background while operating in litchi. It may be worth an experiment.

Does Litchi use the DJI SDK??? Or is does it use the Tablet as the flight controller?

See...the problem is that the Inspire won't launch even with NO smart device connected to the controller. In other words, these limitations (NFZ's) are "hard coded" into the DJI SDK. So only DJI can override it. That's my theory, anyway.

Warning on the DJI FlySafe website:

"The custom unlock mechanism may disable certain features like waypoint navigation. Please plan to fly your equipment manually."

Thoughts?

 

[The Editor]

You can get very unpredictable results running both apps simultaneously. In addition, one or both apps can lock up causing a delayed release of the USB socket/protocol and thus temporarily lock you out of control of your aircraft.
Avoid at all costs.....

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

That I don't know. What I do know, is that I've inadvertantly booted up my drone on dji go, and without turning off controller or aircraft, switched to litchi to fly pre-programmed missions, with no consequences. I was not trying to defeat any dji go features at the time, just neglected to close the app.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

If dji provided the hack, that solves the nfz problem. If they encoded it anywhere other than the dji go app, then you should be free to use third party apps, no?

It is always prudent to err on the side of caution, but that principle wouldnt've gotten the Wright Bros. up in the air, either, lol.

 

[Donnie Frank]

You can get very unpredictable results running both apps simultaneously. In addition, one or both apps can lock up causing a delayed release of the USB socket/protocol and thus temporarily lock you out of control of your aircraft.
Avoid at all costs.....

I concur. I have tried to run 2 apps so that I could control the camera's exposure, D-log and other settings with the exact results you describe here. So what I have to do for ALL apps is open the DJI Go app FIRST, set the camera up, THEN open other apps like Autopilot or DJI Ground Station app. I've already complained to DJI that there is ZERO camera control in the Ground Station app. And the Autopilot app is very resource heavy, so ALL iPad resources have to be allocated to the app, or it does exactly as you describe. It locks up or just randomly closes in the middle of a job. Very frustrating.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

Maybe for $25 litchi is worth a try. Not nearly as immersive as autopilot.

 

[Donnie Frank]

That I don't know. What I do know, is that I've inadvertantly booted up my drone on dji go, and without turning off controller or aircraft, switched to litchi to fly pre-programmed missions, with no consequences. I was not trying to defeat any dji go features at the time, just neglected to close the app.

If you're using an Air 2 or Air Pro you *might* be able to get away with that. And/or you just lucked out. If you have an Air 1 (like I do), it seems to do okay with both DJI apps open, but acts "wonky" (read: unpredictable). It makes sense to me that having 2 apps open that essentially control the bird would cause confusion.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

I have an Air 2. And I think perhaps litchi doesn't require the processing that autopilot does.

 

[Donnie Frank]

Maybe for $25 litchi is worth a try. Not nearly as immersive as autopilot.

We'll see. I purchased Autopilot over Litchi based on its features. But for mapping, I use neither. I have tried Pix4D and the DJI GS app. The DJI GS app is FAR better for mapping.

Worth trying MIGHT be to use the Go app to disable NFZ's, and then allow the GS app to control the bird's flight. My HOPES were that, perhaps someone had tried this already.

I see some experimenting in my future.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

Go gettem, tiger...

Let us know how it turns out. If I have time today, which it doesn't look like, i may try it again.