No Geofence or GPS?! Help!

[Jeramie]

Hello everyone.... coming to you from Oklahoma, USA. Have a question and hoping to get help. Not finding what I need on the net.

The company I work for does full on Drone Inspections (one of dozens of services/ equipment). Most of these are over refinery, chemical, power plants, etc. We have a full drone program for this with multiple pilots who fly $40k drones. Fully FAA, etc...

However, power plants are now asking that we fly indoor inspections in their HRSG (steam generation) units. These units create steam, to turn a turbine, and generate electricity. The average space is 12'-15' wide and can be from floor to 60'-80' tall. Width can be from 12' to 35''ish. I have flown different sized drones and im far from pro but I can done fine for this type of inspection.

I was looking at the EVO II rugged. Then I realized there is likely going to be an issue with GPS as these HRSGs are complete steel with high temp liners. I likely would not get a GPS signal and if I did it would be spotty, causing the drone to freak out.

Is there a way to avoid GPS all together without just wrapping foil around the drone? *(these are paid inspections, need to look professional)* Or do I need to be looking at other brands? I need to get this program rolling so any help would be appreciated!

 

[Western NC]

You do not need GPS to fly. I fly quite often with no GPS with my Lite+. It's called ATTI Mode - a name used by DJI back in the Phantom days where you could turn off GPS totally. No such 'turn off" feature exists on todays quads.

While in ATTI mode - the drone is pretty squirrely, as no stabilization that GPS gives it. You just have to be extremely careful with right stick movements the most - left or right slide if too much input will send it careening - probably into a wall. Probably same for up / down, but I've not used the left stick all that much when in ATTI. The app should be able to turn all movements down to bare minimum or "super slow" for us old farts that need that help. Sliding the bars to far left (slowest / lowest) for stick movements will allow slower moves even if you mistakenly give too much stick.

I'd also turn off OA, as in small spaces Autels don't seem to move - at all if it detects something too close. Again, choosing that option is highly dangerous, but it super tight spots - will be needed.

With no GPS - some drones will only fly so far in height or horizontally from take off point. Not sure what it is on Autels, if it even exists. It does on DJI and is fairly limiting - but in small spaces - probably helps.

For super tight spots - maybe a cinewhoop type drone with a good camera is a better option. Cheaper and more flexible to fly in very small spots and highly maneuverable - most pilots do acrobatics with them. Should you crash one - it won't be a $5k drone. Battery time is an issue - as most will fly less than 10 minutes or so - but that should be okay in really tight spots. As for a thermal or other type camera to fit on a cinewhoop - got me if one is available.

 

[DroneRat]

Hello everyone.... coming to you from Oklahoma, USA. Have a question and hoping to get help. Not finding what I need on the net.

The company I work for does full on Drone Inspections (one of dozens of services/ equipment). Most of these are over refinery, chemical, power plants, etc. We have a full drone program for this with multiple pilots who fly $40k drones. Fully FAA, etc...

However, power plants are now asking that we fly indoor inspections in their HRSG (steam generation) units. These units create steam, to turn a turbine, and generate electricity. The average space is 12'-15' wide and can be from floor to 60'-80' tall. Width can be from 12' to 35''ish. I have flown different sized drones and im far from pro but I can done fine for this type of inspection.

I was looking at the EVO II rugged. Then I realized there is likely going to be an issue with GPS as these HRSGs are complete steel with high temp liners. I likely would not get a GPS signal and if I did it would be spotty, causing the drone to freak out.

Is there a way to avoid GPS all together without just wrapping foil around the drone? *(these are paid inspections, need to look professional)* Or do I need to be looking at other brands? I need to get this program rolling so any help would be appreciated!

Take a look at Skydio, they claim to be able to do exactly what you want. The Autel drone should convert to ATTI mode if no GPS, not freak out. ATTI mode is strictly manual flight at that point.

 

[pedals2paddles]

There is no way to disable the GPS on any Autel drone. It will work without it. But you can't make it stop trying. This is bad because if it locks onto a poor GPS signal, it's going bonkers and likely crashing.

 

[DroneRat]

Newest (2024-01-08) firmware/app/android updates provide for an ATTI MODE option, finally. Go to AR web site, pick your drone type, click Downloads.

 

[pedals2paddles]

Newest (2024-01-08) firmware/app/android updates provide for an ATTI MODE option, finally. Go to AR web site, pick your drone type, click Downloads.

That new firmware is only for v3 aircraft and v3 smart controllers. Nothing for standard controllers, and nothing for v1 and v2. The Autel Explorer android app is completely gone from the Google Play Store. I don't have an Apple device to see what they screwed up on there. The Autel Explorer app versions on their website are from July/August.

So it appears Autel has likely given up supporting firmware and applications for everything except V3 aircraft and V3 smart controllers. Everyone else with anything else should anticipate no further updates and it is what it is. This also shouldn't be surprising to anyone who's been paying attention. I don't like it, but it isn't surprising at all.

 

[DroneRat]

Yes the update I mentioned is for the V3.