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Stand Up Paddle => SUP General => Topic started by: Admin on February 03, 2020, 08:08:38 AM

Title: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: Admin on February 03, 2020, 08:08:38 AM
These wristband/GPS  follow me drones look really cool and easy.  obxDave had mentioned that he had the Staaker drone in another thread.  I would be stoked to hear more about that one and any others as well.  Anyone used one?
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: Admin on February 04, 2020, 01:43:28 AM
Holy crap.  This thing looks incredible!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToQS0aJJ1LA
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: eastbound on February 04, 2020, 03:02:14 PM
wow---and i assume, for water use, it can be programmed to return to "base" when battery depletes-- so one can surf on, and the drone waits on land at the "base" til one finishes
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: Luc Benac on February 04, 2020, 04:01:58 PM
wow---and i assume, for water use, it can be programmed to return to "base" when battery depletes-- so one can surf on, and the drone waits on land at the "base" til one finishes

That is an interesting idea in regards of liability (a little bit like self-driving cars). If the drone returning to base hurts anybody who is responsible. I would assume that if the manufcaturer build into it specs that it can do that safely then the manufacturer (they woudl be taking on a big liability not knowing what is in between the point of return and base...from airports to little kids playing on the beach in droves). But if the drone is required to be "supervised" at all time, then you.
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: Admin on February 05, 2020, 12:16:29 AM
wow---and i assume, for water use, it can be programmed to return to "base" when battery depletes-- so one can surf on, and the drone waits on land at the "base" til one finishes

Hi,

This is from the Skydio site:

If you set a home point on the map within the Skydio 2 app and are tracking a subject, Skydio 2 will continue to follow the subject until the vehicle needs to return home due to a low battery (In which case, it will return to the home point you have set).

Bummer that these guys are sold out until Q3.  I wonder if DJI doesn't introduce a GPS wrist band to compete with these.  It seems like a natural.
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: PonoBill on February 05, 2020, 01:14:38 AM
Well, you could pop for an Inspire2 which will do all that. A bit more money though.
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: Admin on February 05, 2020, 09:21:39 AM
Well, you could pop for an Inspire2 which will do all that. A bit more money though.

I sold mine after about a year.  Do you still have yours?  If I remember correctly there was an optional GPS module that you could buy separately and add to the remote but then the remote became huge(r) and you would need the remote with you for GPS tracking.  The nice thing about these types is that you don't need the remote at all and the gps deal is small.  And if it drops in the water you aren't out 8K :). 
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: eastbound on February 05, 2020, 01:01:02 PM
gotta be minimal tinkering or wont work for me

nuther concept -- place on base --paddle out -- drone can be programmed to wait 15 or more mins, then find and fly to you --so the drone isnt using precious battery time filming a paddleout -- and then let's the surfer get acclimated/warmed up --and after filming, returns to base  --  assume it can do that, so long as you dont get swept a few miles paddling out!!
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: rw2 on March 10, 2020, 09:46:08 AM
I pre-ordered the Skydio and received it in early January. It's great for some activities like biking or snowmobiling.

Not great for surfing or skiing, so I already got rid of mine.

For skiing, it's descent rate is not nearly fast enough to keep up with any decent rider.

I didn't even try it for surfing because Skydio does not recommend using it over water. The camera based AI system has trouble recognizing water and obviously that's not ideal. Not the mention the fact that the battery life is around 15 minutes before it "returns to home" so in theory you would have to paddle out and immediately catch a wave or two before it returns to home.

I look forward to the next version which I imagine will be smaller and more FPV style. Can hopefully descend faster and have a longer battery life.
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: Bean on March 10, 2020, 01:41:05 PM
Anyone try the Hollystone drones?  Fun low-cost intro drones (sub 250g), but found out I like to surf more than videos. 
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: Admin on March 11, 2020, 12:12:10 AM
Skydio 2 looks really promising for our water sports. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqpfJ7AN6dA
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: clay on March 11, 2020, 10:52:36 PM
If they make one that is salt-waterproof and floats, I'll give it a try. 

Otherwise I'm out, Jamy almost crash that drone the first time out, and I lost so many camera planes on that stretch of coast.  It's only a matter of time until some fluke air
current or electronic interference causes a water crash/splash.
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: Beasho on March 12, 2020, 07:25:51 AM
Skydio 2 looks really promising for our water sports. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqpfJ7AN6dA

With my Foil Brain kiting with a Prone Board looks VERY BRUTISH.

A lot of work and not very elegant. 
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: PonoBill on March 12, 2020, 08:06:25 PM
If they make one that is salt-waterproof and floats, I'll give it a try. 

Otherwise I'm out, Jamy almost crash that drone the first time out, and I lost so many camera planes on that stretch of coast.  It's only a matter of time until some fluke air
current or electronic interference causes a water crash/splash.

I built several waterproof drones and bought one. My homebrew versions were actually more waterproof than the semi-commercial one, but this was all in the early days of drones and there was no follow me or even GPS waypoint stuff. It's not that hard to do. the motors are brushless and don't suffer much from being submerged as long as you rinse them in distilled water and then run them to dry them. Oddly, there just doesn't seem to be much of a market for waterproof or DJI would be all over it.
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: obxDave on March 25, 2020, 11:49:34 AM
These wristband/GPS  follow me drones look really cool and easy.  obxDave had mentioned that he had the Staaker drone in another thread.  I would be stoked to hear more about that one and any others as well.  Anyone used one?

Missed this one. Guess I’ll need to get my act together and get some wing foiling/kite foiling Staaker video,........ if they’re still letting us out on the water.  All I have is a family vid that includes some Staaker and Mavic Pro clips that I’m sure viewers here would not want to suffer through :P

Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: Admin on May 03, 2020, 06:13:56 AM
New Mavic Air 2 look promising. I am super impressed by how these drones adjust for wind.  So cool to watch. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opBrhp3Ti-8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHs9xgb9FeU
Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: Admin on July 07, 2020, 12:49:04 AM
I ended up buying the DJI Mavic Air 2 a few months back.  After a morning Wing session and some lunch, I was completely roached.  Droning seemed like a great afternoon, and it was.  I headed down to the beach and it was blowing 30 with top gusts over 40.  It was a great day for a high wind test.

This drone is a technological masterpiece.  It is unbelievable to me that this even exists.  Sitting on my shaded park bench (under a tree that was going nuts in the wind) I flew this through 3 batteries.  A lot of the time the drone was almost a mile away.  I was getting about 20 minutes per battery and I wasn't pushing it on any of them.  I shot video of a winger, a windfoiler and a few SUP's.  The drone fly's predictably and is downright stunning in high wind.  I watched the video on my computer and the quality is outrageous.

The only downside (and its a big one) is that the active track system is useless for our sports (at least in this wind).  It will not recognize a winger or a sailbaord at all.  It gives and error when you try (cannot identify subject).  It will pick up and follow a SUP but it won't hold it for long.  Bummer.  That left me manually following riders.  This is possible but it seriously limits what I had hoped this might do. 

I will need to try it in lighter winds and see what it can do but so far it seems like active track is more geared at cars, bikes, people, boats, etc. 

Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: oceanAddict on July 15, 2020, 06:49:49 PM
Someone should put together those two devices:

 - a drone that could hold a decent payload
 - Soloshot 3 cam

Title: Re: GPS Follow Me Drones
Post by: surfcowboy on July 15, 2020, 07:59:55 PM
That’s basically what skydio is.

Btw, saw in tech trades today that they got $100 million for enterprise drones. So expect some crazy awesome toys to spin off of that.
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