Boat Mode

Rich · Mar 14, 2016

We still don't have the ability to launch from a boat. Please let 3DR know that you want this feature.

Ducj5150 · Mar 14, 2016

whats best way to tell em

RPM · Mar 14, 2016

Brace yourselves...boat mode is coming.

SOLO wont take off from boat

Bernie · Mar 14, 2016

Living on an island for 8 months of the year I'd be very glad to see this added to Solo's capabilities.

Ducj5150 · Mar 14, 2016

I would love to get this just for my fishing trips

pyrate · Mar 14, 2016

looks like in the weeks not months

Rich · Mar 14, 2016

RPM said:
Brace yourselves...boat mode is coming.

SOLO wont take off from boat

Wow I hope so!

Rich · Mar 14, 2016

Ducj5150 said:
whats best way to tell em

Support ticket, twitter, wherever they listen and reply to customers to let them know there are some of us that want this.

PdxSteve · Mar 14, 2016

Rich said:
Support ticket, twitter, wherever they listen and reply to customers to let them know there are some of us that want this.

They stated it will be in a release next month!

Ian [P13] · Mar 16, 2016

I do wonder if Chris is being a little optimistic as boat was originally part of EKF2 and I can't see that making it to Solo without a good deal of testing. Unless this is being patched in somehow.

Harassing support is NOT the way to go, adding EKF changes is an area of great risk and as such you'd want the code very well tested or there will be problems.

Rich · Mar 16, 2016

Yes, we want it tested. But telling support of problems is not harassing them. We can't arm on a boat, this is a problem, especially when 3dr shows video from boats, and this can be done with competing drones.

Right now support is the only channel to let 3DR know what problems and issues users are having, so unless 3dr provides another channel for this, how else shall we report deficiencies with the Solo?

If Chris is tossing us a line, why? This is something that is needed. I think more users could use boat mode than burst mode. So named boat mode (being able to arm when solo is not completely motionless) has more uses than only on a boat.

Ian [P13] · Mar 16, 2016

The code is written by the Arducopter team, they're no longer part of 3DR, they're now a separate entity, testing takes as long as testing takes, so using the support channel to push something along that can't go along any faster as it's part of a process is simply being a nuisance and slowing down support's ability to respond to issues that need immediate attention.

Someone with a crash, or a problem applying a firmware is the type of enquiry support is there for. Not for passing on feature requests to the Arducopter team that have already been coded and have to go through formal testing cycles.

Rich · Mar 16, 2016

I guess we shall just disagree. Being unable to arm my Solo from a large boat that seems motionless when I'm sitting on it in calm water does seem like a bug, not a feature request.

The fact that 3dr is not supporting the Arducopter team is no matter to me, as this is a 3dr product, so perhaps they have their own engineere. I'm not making the same request of my Pixhawk based drone, as I understand how that is developed.

Solo is a consumer drone, so if we consumers have a problem, we can only use the method given to report issues. Given enough reports of a common issue, support should report to management that there is the need to solve an issue that real customers are having, and this should help to set the priority of fixes. I work for a company that has a support team, if our users are reporting a common issue, management and engineering take this into account to set the priority of fixes or changes for future releases.

pyrate · Mar 16, 2016

Rich said:
Yes, we want it tested. But telling support of problems is not harassing them. We can't arm on a boat, this is a problem, especially when 3dr shows video from boats, and this can be done with competing drones.

Right now support is the only channel to let 3DR know what problems and issues users are having, so unless 3dr provides another channel for this, how else shall we report deficiencies with the Solo?

If Chris is tossing us a line, why? This is something that is needed. I think more users could use boat mode than burst mode. So named boat mode (being able to arm when solo is not completely motionless) has more uses than only on a boat.

have you ever been in that position?
I can tell you I have, and its frustrating dealing with the I want it now crowd by letting the software go out, then getting blasted because it was not tested.
Personally, I hope they keep it in the barn until its tested completely even if that means next year.

pyrate · Mar 16, 2016

Rich said:
I guess we shall just disagree. Being unable to arm my Solo from a large boat that seems motionless when I'm sitting on it in calm water does seem like a bug, not a feature request.

The fact that 3dr is not supporting the Arducopter team is no matter to me, as this is a 3dr product, so perhaps they have their own engineere. I'm not making the same request of my Pixhawk based drone, as I understand how that is developed.

Solo is a consumer drone, so if we consumers have a problem, we can only use the method given to report issues. Given enough reports of a common issue, support should report to management that there is the need to solve an issue that real customers are having, and this should help to set the priority of fixes. I work for a company that has a support team, if our users are reporting a common issue, management and engineering take this into account to set the priority of fixes or changes for future releases.

A bug is when a piece of software does not perform to the stated requirements.
In this case solo clearly is designed to take off from a motionless stable surface. Just read the manual. Making it able to take off from a moving surface, is indeed a new feature.
Just talk to any development team and they will tell you that.
Harassing them just makes you feel better, 3DR has been great to not succumb to that pressure. I hope they continue to put out solid releases and let DJI send out crap updates.

erikgraham · Mar 16, 2016

Not sure it's accurate to say boat mode was "part of ekf2". It's really more about ekf2 making boat mode easier to implement than a requirement for boat mode. Boat mode already working on arducopter birds, so makes sense for it to come to Solo now. Also, I think it's safe to say they have plenty of resources to do proper testing.

As for requesting this feature via the support system, I agree that's not ideal. Must be a huge pain in the arse for 3DR support people. Unfortunately there isn't much choice. Would be nice if 3DR had a dedicated "suggestion box".

pyrate · Mar 16, 2016

Is there not a feature request on Git?

erikgraham · Mar 16, 2016

pyrate said:
Is there not a feature request on Git?

Oh god no. We will ruin github for the Devs if consumers flood it with feature requests. Github just isn't set up for that.

Ian [P13] · Mar 16, 2016

erikgraham said:
Not sure it's accurate to say boat mode was "part of ekf2". It's really more about ekf2 making boat mode easier to implement than a requirement for boat mode. Boat mode already working on arducopter birds, so makes sense for it to come to Solo now. Also, I think it's safe to say they have plenty of resources to do proper testing.

As for requesting this feature via the support system, I agree that's not ideal. Must be a huge pain in the arse for 3DR support people. Unfortunately there isn't much choice. Would be nice if 3DR had a dedicated "suggestion box".

That's a fair point, boat was being coded before EK2 originally, I think as time went on the discussions that I saw, like you said suggested it would be linked to EK2 as it makes it easier to implement.

It's not an issue of resources with testing, good testing takes time, I wouldn't want EKF2 on my Solo without plenty of testing, weeks would never suffice. It was EKF code being used instead of simpler APM legacy pre-arm checks that caused the problems in Solo's first firmware.

My issue is, the feature has been coded and will come, not one e-mail to support will make it a day quicker as the speed is down to the correct processes being followed, raising support tickets just slows them dealing with the job they're actually tasked to do.