Does Dronelink Support Onboard Waypoint Autonomous Missions For DJI drones?
I am looking from autonomous waypoint missions that do NOT require a constant connection to the drone, such as your Virtual Joystick system.
Does DroneLink support onboard waypoints and/or virtual joystick?
A list of DJI Drones that support Dronelink Onboard Waypoints would be helpful.
I have a large property that I want to monitor and all I need is a preprogrammed waypoint that can be uploaded to the drone and then executed, without constant RC connection. The concern is that the heavily forested property will lose RC connection to the drone using Virtual Joystick, therefore the onboard waypoints approach is more logical.
Comments
11 comments
From the FAQ: What happens if the drone loses connection? – Dronelink
Thank you for your prompt response. So to be clear, Dronelink does not currently support Onboard Waypoints for autonomous missions on any DJI drone.
That is my understanding -- but I don't work for Dronelink, so I could be incorrect. The FAQ and several other answers posted here, however, make me conclude it is currently "virtual joystick only" for planned missions. The FAQ I linked to is only 2 months old, and indicates there *might* be onboard, autonomous missions at some future point, but they aren't currently supported and -- if they ever are -- they will necessarily be limited to a small subset of functionality provided in the current virtual joystick implementation.
My understanding is DJI won’t have onboard waypoints capability on these drones. I don’t see the need for Onboard waypoints anyway. Most of these newer DJI drones can stay connected at a much, much, much farther distances then VLOS or ever needed. I’ve never had my MA2 with Ocusync or even my Mavic Mini which has no Ocusync transmission system lose a single signal bar at 2,000 feet or more.
The issue I see with onboard waypoints is if the drone loses connection it will continue but without any control and could crash into anything. You would have no idea where or what happened except it didn’t complete the mission and return. Everyone has their opinions but with Dronelinks Virtual Joystick approach it is more capable of performing tasks which can’t be done with limited onboard waypoints. Also DL system is a much safer way to fly fully automated missions.
Good luck and enjoy.
Mike……..
Unless I’ve read incorrectly, here is a recent post regarding Onboard capability.
Recent post regarding Onboard capability Answered by the Creator and owner of Dronelink.
https://support.dronelink.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/4403828162067-Onboard-Compatibility-w-recent-DJI-drones
>> My understanding is DJI won’t have onboard waypoints capability on these drones.
Depends on the specific DJI drone. Some do support onboard waypoints, some do not (like your MA2, which is what I have as well). And specifically for the MA2, it doesn't look like DJI ever plans to add that capability.
But Dronelink does more than just waypoints -- so even on the DJI drones that do support onboard waypoint missions, much of a Dronelink mission plan would be beyond the onboard flight controller's ability. That's the point the DL author has made in the FAQ: That if Dronelink *were* to someday support onboard waypoints missions, a lot of Dronelink features would have to be "stripped" from the mission plan.
So if a simple waypoint mission is all that's needed, and autonomous execution is a requirement, then Dronelink just isn't currently the tool for that job.
You make a really good point about "loss of connection" also meaning the pilot has no control, and can't react to an emerging problem, such as a nearby helicopter, manned ultralight, or bird of prey. The first two shouldn't be under 400 AGL, but "stuff happens".... And PIC should always have the ability to see AND avoid, so (IMO) routine/expected loss of connection really isn't a good justification for wanting autonomous missions. :-)
Older drones such as the Mavic Air and Mavic Pro do support Onboard Waypoints, and is currently available with Litchi. The question is, does DroneLink also support it.
To clarify I have a range of DJI drones ranging from Mavic Air, Mavic Mini, Mini 2, Air 2, Mavic 2 Pro, FPV.
Before committing to an application such as Dronelink or Litchi, I 'm curious as to if DroneLink does support Onboard Waypoints on the older models (Mavic Air). If DroneLink does support onboard waypoints on these older models then the choice is easy.
Dronelink does not support uploading waypoint missions, but I'd say it's still the easy choice. That's because the older drones that support uploading missions can be programmed from DJI's own app, so Litchi would be redundant for those and not usable for the rest. Neither Litchi nor Dronelink can be used with drones that aren't supported in the DJI SDK, such as the Mini 2 and FPV, so waypoint missions just aren't possible with those, but they would become possible with Dronelink if and when DJI adds SDK support.
Not yet but I am actively working on it right now. Before you ask, I don't ever give release date estimates ;)
Is it going to get added functionality for drones that support onboard waypoints without sacrificing parts of the flexibility that is only with virtual sticks?
It's too early to tell how many trade-offs there will be, but I outlined the issues here already.
Onboard compatibility is now available for beta testing.
Please sign in to leave a comment.