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Map Pilot Discussion

MPP support for DJI Mini 2?

Tested a Mini2 with version 5.4.3 build 041320221, which I believe is the most recent release as I downloaded it from the app store right before testing.

MPP found the Mini2 fine, but the only option was to fly with Virtual Sticks once a flight mission was defined. Mini2 did fly the mission although I cut it short because the flight was so erratic, with the UAV pausing then continuing along each flight line with no obvious sequence to the length of pauses vs the length of flying. Lots of stop and go along each flight line. Images were captured, although the camera view on did not show a video transmission during the flight.

Flight was approx 60 meters AGL and the Mini2 was never more than 100 meters horizontally from the controller at it's furthest point.

Controller was hooked to an iPhone 13 Pro running latest iOS and with no additional apps running.

I thought that DJI had released an SDK for the Mini2 and that this would allow MPP to upload data to the Mini2 instead of relying on Virtual Stick control.

I had hoped that the Mini2 in conjunction with MPP would be a great field mapping tool, but between the length of time a mission took with all the pauses along a flight line and, on one test, the spiraling climb to flight level made me very nervous. Test were conducted in a open field, but this spiraling climb could have caused real issues if there were nearby obstacles. Most flight test had a straight up climb from launch site, as I'm used to seeing with MPP missions, this spiraling climb came as quite a surprise.

Did I miss something in setting up the mission in order to access the non-virtual sticks flight for the Mini2.

Thanks,

Dave

Dtewksbu May 04, 2022 13:33

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10 comments

The Mini 2, Air 2 and Air 2S do not have waypoint support and they will not ever do so according to DJI. That leaves us with Virtual Stick support which is what they just added.

We did fix some things in 5.4.4 that might address some of this. The Mini 2 does not support waypoint flights and the Virtual Stick control mode was added specifically for supporting that class of aircraft.

There will be additional fixes in 5.4.5 that we hope to release next Monday. We are still working out some kinks in the Virtual Stick controls. It is safe to use but there might be some odd flight quirks while we get things hammered out.

Zane May 04, 2022 15:00 0 votes

Thanks for the quick reply

Dave

Dtewksbu May 04, 2022 15:02 0 votes

Zane,

Am I correct that with the Virtual Sticks operation there is no video downlink to the controller, so no camera view shows in the camera window during a mapping mission.

I assume that with all the data being transmitted to the Mini2 for flight control, the "bandwidth" is not available for also transmitting the video from the camera to the controller.

Thanks,

Dave

Dtewksbu May 04, 2022 19:32 0 votes

There should definitely be a video feed from the camera in the app. The Mini 2 video preview was fixed with the release of 5.4.3. There was an issue before that.

Zane May 05, 2022 01:58 0 votes

Just tested Mini2 with MPP 5.4.4 build 042920222 and found the video feed from the Mini works fine with this version.

Dave

Dtewksbu May 07, 2022 17:14 0 votes

There is now a release for 5.4.5 that has some other Virtual Stick updates.

Zane May 07, 2022 17:58 0 votes

Not seeing 5.4.5 in the iOS app store yet.

Dtewksbu May 07, 2022 18:04 0 votes

Test flights with DJI Mini 2 and MPP using virtual sticks. Flight legs were MUCH smoother, with no pausing or hesitation and data collected processed nicely. (see images). Only issue I had was that the Mini initially went up about a meter on takeoff, and then just sat there. It was long enough that I took control and landed it. I redid the mission, hit start again and this time the mini climbed straight up to the assigned altitude, but then again just held position there for quite some time. I was just about to quit the mission and land the Mini when it started flying the mission, completed the flight and returned home.

Does it just take a while for the virtual sticks program to get everything ready before a mission commences?

Also, I notice in the 3D view attached below that the camera is off nadir, is this part of the virtual sticks setup? Also, I did get a warning that the camera does not support, something like focus points, although the live feed looked fine and the individual images were good when I checked after the flight and they all processed fine as well.

Great program!

Screenshots of data processed in Agisoft Metashape.

Dtewksbu May 13, 2022 13:15 0 votes

I think there was an update for the pausing issue. You could look in your log files to see the cause. The vision system will stop it if there is something close by.

We will be continuing to refine the virtual stick controls. That pausing shouldn't be there.

The default position for the gimbal in Map Pilot Pro is up 5 degrees from nadir. That looks like it is up further from that. Not sure what would be going on there if you didn't adjust things.

Zane May 13, 2022 13:21 0 votes

Thanks for the quick reply. Flight was done without any outside actions to MPP. I'll continue to test this. I have a number of Mini2s available, I'll see if results vary between models.

Use MPP frequently with a Phantom 4 Pro and Phantom 4 Pro V2 and have just acquired a Phantom RTK that I look forward to testing MPP with as well.

Again, thanks for the program and keeping it up to date.

Dave

Dtewksbu May 13, 2022 13:34 0 votes