Platform maturity

[greyhawkimages]

Context: I have been researching and reading about UAS for several months. My end goal is to pilot a quality photo and video platform.

Question: How long did the Phantom line take to mature into its generally well received current status? I know it had some issues along the way, so it must have turned a corner at some point.

Before you answer, know that I'm not interested in a discussion about whether DJI released a system that's not ready for prime time. I also don't want to rehash perceptions about quality control. That's for the other threads.

I expect sophisticated technology to experience growing pains. I don't know of any other industry that hasn't lived through them with new products.

My question is about how long the Phantom took to mature.

Thanks in advance.


Fighting the good fight.

 

[HunterSK]

Hi Greyhawkimages,

Others will chime in, but this is what I've seen: Basically as the Phantoms have gotten more sophisticated, the platform seem to be seeing more issues. I think the Phantom 1 in many respects had the least issues compared to its more advanced siblings.

I will cite examples: the current issues with the Vision+'s camera interference with GPS, mis-matched ESCs with the new Phantom motors, the list goes on. On the software side, DJI implemented 'smart' batteries on the Phantom 2 but a recent firmware upgrade caused genuine DJI Phantom batteries to brick because the software did not check the correct version.

For every two issues fixed or new feature added, a new bug or unintended consequence arises.

Here is a recent case related to the latest Phantom 2 Vision+ (ver 3) of new issues arising.

http://www.phantompilots.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=33415

To answer your question, depending on how you define 'mature' I think the industry feels like the automobile industry in the 1920s. I don't think this is restricted to DJI, I think this is industry-wide until such time that enough competition, innovation, regulatory standards and culture develop from being a hobby to being a professional industry.