DJI FPV Is Here, The Drone That Can Do It All
March 5, 2021DJI has outdone themselves again, this time with the introduction of the DJI FPV. According to the company, it offers a combination of “ first-person view, high-speed performance of racing drones and the cinematic camera sweep of traditional drones.” Unlike previous products, this unit comes with all the bells and whistles.
Besides the drone, customers also get a dedicated remote control and goggles for first person view of the drone’s flight path. You can also get the optional motion controller, which will allow the drone to respond to your hand movements – it’s pretty impressive to say the least. The goggles use OcuSync technology, which help pilots capture crisp footage.
The drone is supported by a number of assistive technology to help make flying extremely simple. Users get to choose between three distinct flight modes that cater to all skill levels:
- Normal Mode: Hover in place with the use of GPS and/or visual positioning systems (VPS) on the bottom of the drone. The drone will warn pilots of obstacles and slow down when needed. This helps keep the vehicle out of harm’s way.
- Manual Mode: All sensors and hovering features are disabled, it’s just you and the drone.
- Sport Mode: It’s a hybrid blend of Normal and Manual mode. It allows pilots to executive more creative maneuvers while ensuring that there’s a big enough safety net should something go wrong.
Several features can be used mid-flight such as emergency brake, hover mode and Failsafe Return Home. The third feature is quite important, because it tells the drone to fly back to its designated ‘home’ should there be a loss in transmission between it and the pilot.
These are some of the more interesting functions built in to the drone:
- Emergency Brake and hover feature to help make flying safer and less intimidating for new users
- GPS-based geofencing to advise pilots of airspace restrictions and potential hazards and to automatically prevent drones from flying near certain high-risk locations
- DJI’s AirSense ADS-B receiver system to warn the drone pilot when airplanes or helicopters are nearby
The DJI FPV is capable of a max speed of 140 kph (87 mph) and a max acceleration of 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) in just two seconds. The goggles offer a 10 km [1]transmission range, auto-switching dual-frequencies, a high bitrate of 50 Mpbs, and state-of-the-art anti-interference methods.
Pilots can also choose between three viewing modes:
- High Quality: View in 1440x810p in either 60 fps with a wider 142° Field of View (FOV), or 50 fps with 150° FOV with latency of less than 28ms
- Low Latency Mode: Offers a resolution of 1440×810p 120 fps with 142° FOV or 100 fps at 150° FOV
- Audience Mode: A pilot can share their perspective in audience mode. The system allows eight additional goggles users to connect to the pilot’s view. This way spectators can experience what exactly is taking place with the drone.
The DJI FPV has an onboard 4K 60 fps @ 120 Mbps camera fitted to a single-axis gimbal. The addition of RockSteady stabilization technology is supposed to make recorded footage look smooth, crisp and devoid of the rolling shutter effect when filming action scenes. Advanced distortion correction software removes the fish-eye effect of the captured footage.
This drone can record footage in 4Xx Slow Motion in 1080p and 120 fps and can store footage in H.265 and H.264 format.
The standard DJI FPV Combo includes the FPV drone, remote controller 2, FPV Goggles V2, all required cables and one battery for the retail price of 1,249 GBP/ from 1,349 EUR (dependent on VAT). The Fly More Kit version includes two additional batteries and educated charging hub retails for 259 GBP/ from 279 EUR (dependent on VAT).
DJI is selling the optional Motion Controller separately for a price of 139 GBP/ from 149 EUR (dependent on VAT). If you want to hone your skills before actually taking the plunge and buying a DJI FPV, there’s a simulator that you can practice with, which is available on iOS. Support for Android devices will come later in 2021.
