Interdrone - Las Vegas!

[White Airwolf]

Attending Interdrone this year and I am totally impressed with the GDU machines.
They also feature right hand camera pitch control which, if you've ever tried to do a forward moving up and over reveal shot, enables the use of your right forefinger instead of the left. Great for right handed people. As far as I know, they are the only company that does this.
You can also carry a dslr with their "Byrd" unit.

A lot of companies with helicopters and multi rotor machines costing upwards of $59,000 and higher. There are companies with a $25,000 inspection camera drone to a survey company with a $6,000 10 piece system you place on the ground for more precise satellite measuring etc.

These other systems are mind boggling to say the least and it puts into perspective the many uses out there that DJI cannot even touch!
However, I still believe the Inspire and the GDU Byrd can probably do a great deal of the work the others can do for a fraction of the cost. Yes, the pricier systems can sustain stronger winds, fly 40 miles out, etc but I have to ask how often is that necessary? They still have to follow general aviation world wide rules, like everyone else.
The one thing I was disappointed in was some of the so called classes held in different rooms. I attended a few but did not learn anything new as the talk was all about what I already knew.
Paying a premium $600.00 or so dollars for this priviedge leaves a lot to be desired, imo. Mind you I only attended two and there are quite a few so perhaps others might find the rest informative.
Lots of deals on the floor with accessories for the Inspire such as lights, Bags etc.
Yuneec is there with their nice orange machines but I believe they still use the archaic 5.8 ghz system for transmission. They weren't clear on that when I asked. Can anyone comment on that?

One more day today to try out the GDU again! Lol!

 

[Casey53]

The GDU looks promising. Good flight times too. Byrd looks like a folding-arm Phantom 4. Problem is their camera is only 12 or 16 MP and where DJI excels ahead of the fold. They do offer thermal and normal side-by-sides though.

I'd like to see some of these "Pro models" get rid of the NFZ stuff if one has a 107. I'd expect the licensed pilots to know better than the general public at large instead of fighting with NFZ crippleware and need to wait (days) for an unlock to be done - if they ever get around to unlocking it.

 

[Advexure]

The break-out discussions and panels this week at ID have definitely been hit or miss. Yesterday there was a panel on the future of drone battery technology which was quite interesting. Very promising progressions with hydrogen fuel cell. DJI's lead iOS dev (Arnaud) had a pretty detailed workshop on the future of DJI SDK developments.

In Romeo Durscher's session on "The Day a Fireman became a Drone Pilot" he alluded to DJI's strong focus right now to find the right method for preventing those who are operating properly on 107 with necessary waivers and who are playing by the book to not be hindered by NFZs. They are definitely working to find the right solution as it's hindered a number of time critical public safety operations.

 

[White Airwolf]

The GDU machines are awesome, however, my experience at the booth was not so great!
Their so called "pilot" was there and he shouldn't have been.
He was a caucasian guy who simply did NOT want to be there at all!
He was unfriendly, rude and refused to answer questions and held the drones in a stationary position with very little movement. Wouldn't acknowledge people.
If this company wants to promote themselves, they should fire this guy immediately, or at least not bring him to these events!