Tip # 11: If you need to follow A fast moving boat of motorcycle

[SteveReno]

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[Perry Lawrence]

Steve, does he mean that Left Stick controls camera tilt and Left Paddle controls altitude?

 

[Perry Lawrence]

Found it^^
"Left controller stick exclusively controls where the camera points"

 

[cameraguy]

So, if I want a shot of a car driving down a road, how fast will the Solo go, and I'm guessing I must be at an altitude above all trees and power lines. A couple of questions.

1. How fast and for how long will the Solo fly?

2. Will it fly the same pattern you do, and not cut a corner?

Thanks

 

[pyrate]

It is interesting to learn, dextrously speaking
this also applies to cable cam free look
Working on a project with solo chasing my DIY. one flying mission planner mission the other on a MPCC.
using freelook to manage the frame tweaking

It will eventually end bad, but for now the shots are really great

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

I believe the point he's making is that sometimes the subject you're chasing could be moving faster than the Solo's automation can react to. As such, it could zoom out of the camera's frame a bit until the Solo catches up.

Remember, the solo is responding to the GPS location of the phone/tablet. So the phone tablet has to update it's own location, pass that to the app, which passes it to the controller, which passes it to the solo, which passes it to the flight controller and gimbal. If a race car or speed boat is maneuvering faster than that process can keep up, you will do better using your eyes and thumb to pan/tilt the camera manually. You can better track the subject with your eyes and control the pan/tilt with your thumb faster than the automation. The solo will still follow the subject's track and keep up. You're just taking manual control of the camera pan/tilt.

This is the ultimate example of why the Solo is so powerful. To do this before on a DIY rig and have quality results, you needed two operators. One to pilot the aircraft, and a second to control the camera. Just like in a full size manned helicopter. The solo allows one or both of those operators to be automated. Let the solo fly itself while you manage the camera manually. Or let the solo mange the camera automatically while you pilot the aircraft. Or let the solo do both.


As for altitude, yes you need to flying above obstacles. The solo is not going to know there is a tree or building in the way. This is the same reason your RTH altitude should be higher than the highest obstacle in the area.

If you use Follow Mode LEASH, it will follow the extra ground track of the phone/tablet. So in the case of a car on a road, the solo will follow along above the road, making the same turns at intersections. If you have it in normal follow mode, it will remain in the same relative position and distance regardless of ground track. If you start follow mode with the solo 100ft back and 20ft left, it will follow you from 100ft back and 20ft left throughout. You can use the sticks to move it around and change that relative position, or even use orbit follow to move it around.

 

[cameraguy]

I believe the point he's making is that sometimes the subject you're chasing could be moving faster than the Solo's automation can react to. As such, it could zoom out of the camera's frame a bit until the Solo catches up.

Remember, the solo is responding to the GPS location of the phone/tablet. So the phone tablet has to update it's own location, pass that to the app, which passes it to the controller, which passes it to the solo, which passes it to the flight controller and gimbal. If a race car or speed boat is maneuvering faster than that process can keep up, you will do better using your eyes and thumb to pan/tilt the camera manually. You can better track the subject with your eyes and control the pan/tilt with your thumb faster than the automation. The solo will still follow the subject's track and keep up. You're just taking manual control of the camera pan/tilt.

This is the ultimate example of why the Solo is so powerful. To do this before on a DIY rig and have quality results, you needed two operators. One to pilot the aircraft, and a second to control the camera. Just like in a full size manned helicopter. The solo allows one or both of those operators to be automated. Let the solo fly itself while you manage the camera manually. Or let the solo mange the camera automatically while you pilot the aircraft. Or let the solo do both.


As for altitude, yes you need to flying above obstacles. The solo is not going to know there is a tree or building in the way. This is the same reason your RTH altitude should be higher than the highest obstacle in the area.

If you use Follow Mode LEASH, it will follow the extra ground track of the phone/tablet. So in the case of a car on a road, the solo will follow along above the road, making the same turns at intersections. If you have it in normal follow mode, it will remain in the same relative position and distance regardless of ground track. If you start follow mode with the solo 100ft back and 20ft left, it will follow you from 100ft back and 20ft left throughout. You can use the sticks to move it around and change that relative position, or even use orbit follow to move it around.

What is the top speed of the Solo? Do I need to change into Rabit mode, or will this setting do it all by its self?

Many thanks

 

[SteveReno]

The fastest I heard is about 70, can't remember circumstance, but it was unusual.
Avg. best about 44 mph.

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

Top speed depends on a lot of variables, both software parameters and environmental conditions. So I'll keep this basic and simple for the time being. The turtle/rabbit sliders are not applicable. They don't effect follow speeds. It will follow up to about 22mph. In order to go faster than that, you need to alter parameters in Arducopter using Tower or Mission Planner. Some of those parameters get overwritten by the solo, and some of them can really ruin your day if done wrong. Hence why I'm not going to get into them at the moment. It will not be able to maintain altitude faster than 35-40mph as well.

In addition, you have to consider wind. If you are driving into a headwind, the solo will have to work a lot harder leaning into the wind. So you may not be able to get 22mph, or you may get there but suck the battery down really fast. On the other hand, if you have a tail wind, it will use less power and the battery will last longer. But it will still not exceed 22mph.

 

[PdxSteve]

I believe top speed in full manual mode is about 55mph in NO wind, and yes you have to switch to that mode. Top speed during a GPS enabled smartshot is around 35mph, with no wind. Add wind, temp and other variables and it can be + or - a bit.

 

[cameraguy]

Top speed depends on a lot of variables, both software parameters and environmental conditions. So I'll keep this basic and simple for the time being. The turtle/rabbit sliders are not applicable. They don't effect follow speeds. It will follow up to about 22mph. In order to go faster than that, you need to alter parameters in Arducopter using Tower or Mission Planner. Some of those parameters get overwritten by the solo, and some of them can really ruin your day if done wrong. Hence why I'm not going to get into them at the moment. It will not be able to maintain altitude faster than 35-40mph as well.

In addition, you have to consider wind. If you are driving into a headwind, the solo will have to work a lot harder leaning into the wind. So you may not be able to get 22mph, or you may get there but suck the battery down really fast. On the other hand, if you have a tail wind, it will use less power and the battery will last longer. But it will still not exceed 22mph.

As always, completely useful info. Thanks

 

[cameraguy]

I believe top speed in full manual mode is about 55mph in NO wind, and yes you have to switch to that mode. Top speed during a GPS enabled smartshot is around 35mph, with no wind. Add wind, temp and other variables and it can be + or - a bit.

Many thanks