How to show virtual stick controls (dev mode?)
Hi everyone,
My company is attempting to use Dronelink on Android devices along with DJI drones when running inspection style missions. We'd like the ability to have on screen virtual stick control to examine something while the mission is paused. This is for remote use, so the RC isn't accessible. From previous comments, it seems that this is possible in dev mode. We have a Professional Growth plan that we are trying to set this up on.
So far if something is seen we've had to pause the mission, force stop Dronelink, launch the DJI MSDK Demo app, use its virtual stick UI to manually move the drone, force stop the MSDK Demo app, re-launch Dronelink, and resume the mission. This is not ideal for production use.
Is it possible to have virtual sticks enabled in Dronelink and, if so, how?
Currently we are using DJI Mini 3 and DJI Mini 3 Pro units. As soon as the DJI Mini 4 Pro is supported (by the DJI MSDK so Dronelink can communicate to them), we'd want to use those too.
Comments
7 comments
Hi Ryan. I don’t think the on-screen controls are available anymore but I may be wrong. Bottom line, even if it was you still need the Controller to use DL mobile app. The DL app sends commands to the flight controller to control the drone so controller is required. When paused you can control the drone, capture photos or video and then resume. No need to open and close any other app. Curious why the controller isn’t accessible. It’s always needed to fly the drone with any app.
Hi Mike,
The RC may be near the drone, but say it's a few hundred miles away from an available inspector. Relaying directions over the phone to the on site person if something is spotted doesn't seem to do well with just smartphone cameras, let alone drones.
The Android phone or tablet can be remotely controlled, so with the previous procedure I went over it is awkward but possible to have the drone check a specific area. If it can all be done in Dronelink, then it would be a textbook procedure. That's what we'd like to set up.
Hopefully this helps give more detail.
The virtual stick view is only available in dev mode because it has not been thoroughly tested and could be dangerous to use, especially in the scenario you are outlining. Having said that, if you want to risk it and take full responsibility for any crashes, you can turn on dev mode in the app main menu (hamburger button on the home screen) by tapping the version number 7 times. After that, you can open the flight dashboard, tap … in the top right, and then tap the bug tab, scroll to the bottom and tap Virtual Sticks.
Hi again,
Thanks for providing that information! We're definitely interested in this capability and willing to accept the tradeoffs involved with it. The only issue we run into now is lack of camera control. Live gimbal adjustment and zoom control would be ideal. Is this currently available?
Additionally, is there a flag and/or file we can add to the APK (since it is really a zipped folder), to have the debug option enabled by default on app start (in case this accidentally gets turned off)?
Awaiting your response.
No
No
Hi once more,
Thanks for clarifying that!
In that case, we'd like a feature request to have manual gimbal and zoom controls available for the DJI drones, ideally when virtual sticks are active.
Thanks again!
Understood, but just to set expectations, this won't happen any time soon. If you really need it and want to pay to prioritize the work: sales@dronelink.com
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