New Drone - 3D Robotics Solo

P13

P13

Well-known member
It was announced a couple of days ago that 3DR has a new drone, also as you'll likely know DJI have also released the Phantom 3.

I'm most excited about the Solo for a number of reasons, first and foremost is customer service, I think drone/multicopter buyers get a raw deal on gear that isn't cheap, we need a player that's got a level of service that gives you confidence, 3DR are offering World class service, no one in their industry comes close. I know certainly in the US there's a 30 day money back guarantee, it's been the case with 3DR over a year now that they put things right at their expense if a crash is a fault of the software or a genuine hardware bug, but they're repeating that message so it's entirely clear.

The next thing I like about it, is it's designed for video photographers, the applications, the simplicity (not suggesting video photographers need things dumbed down) and the fact it's designed by the looks by someone knowing editing as it's almost like adding keyframes to set the motion for moves.

Finally, it's modular so future proofed, they're also happy for 3rd party companies to build accessories.

The heart of the Solo is a new flight controller the Pixhawk 2, which really is a tweaked Pixhawk with more redundancy. It also has a CPU running Linux dedicated to the photography elements, i.e. communicating with the application on the tablet.

Anyway check it out.


There was some jello on this video, but 3DR have said this was on a pre-production gimbal that wasn't balanced properly: http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/13/8394359/3d-robotics-solo-drone-quadcopter-gopro

A few extra technical details on the Pixhawk 2 are here: http://www.uavhive.com/2015/04/13/3d-robotics-release-the-solo/
 
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I'm definitely considering this over the Phantom. I'd rather record on a GoPro than an inbuilt camera - easier to match to the rest of my footage and also potentially gives the opportunity for easier camera upgrades. Really like how well it seems to work with the GoPros, and although I don't see myself using the automated modes a huge amount some looks like they'll definitely come in handy.
 
I hope it's awesome. I'd wait on it for a few months after shipping though. This is a big leap for 3DR and their IRIS wasn't exactly awesome.
 
I have an IRIS, I got it to learn the Pixhawk and Arducopter, the software is great, but the frame wasn't designed with video in mind which means doing mods and using 3D printed parts to get the best out of it, which is too much hassle for most people.

The Solo, like you say is a big leap forward, looking to combine Arducopter's power with Colin Guinn's product and video knowledge, people that have seen it at NAB have all been positive about it with it winning the NAB best drone award, I hope the first reviews from real users are equally as positive as the industry needs more choice and competition.
 
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It looked great at NAB (I was there) and certainly deserved the "best drone" award.

I played with the simulator... if that's representative of the control responsiveness, I hope it's adjustable. It was really twitchy in some respects and really sluggish in others.

It looks awesome though. Might have to sell off my P2 and snag one to play with.
 
I'm thinking of grabbing one of these once they are released. Was wondering if any of you folks who have gotten to play with one already could chime in on whether or not you used the gimbal that it has? Any feedback on it? Also, is the footage downlinked in some way? Are you able to watch through your GoPro at your base station?
 
There's HDMI out from the transmitter so you can watch or record the footage as you're flying. There's been positive feedback so far from people that have flown the Solo, but anyone who's got one to test must be under an NDA so you probably won't be able to quiz anyone yet.

Some of the 3DR staff post little snippets of info now and again on this Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3DRSOLO

Everyone is really waiting on 4K footage to make a proper judgement on just how well the Solo performs.
 
Well, the NDA makes sense. Thanks for the link, I'll lurk there and see what I can pickup from those who post.

I'm not really worried about the 4K footage but I understand the big industry push for it at the moment. Always has to be something. Regardless, I'm looking forward to this drone, and all of its options.

Do you know if you can control the gimbal from the controller as well? Or would that require a separate person with a separate remote?
 
In a private mail through their website I got a confirmation that one can change height limit, and it tops at 800 meters. That's more than enough for me, so consider it preordered!
 
I been studying multirotors lately, I think the solo could be the best one yet as far as micro cameras go. I hear pixhawk is on point, they might even have optical flow sensors for indoor flying.
 
P13 said:
There's HDMI out from the transmitter so you can watch or record the footage as you're flying. There's been positive feedback so far from people that have flown the Solo, but anyone who's got one to test must be under an NDA so you probably won't be able to quiz anyone yet.

Some of the 3DR staff post little snippets of info now and again on this Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3DRSOLO

Everyone is really waiting on 4K footage to make a proper judgement on just how well the Solo performs.
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Why is everyone waiting on 4k footage? The Hero4 has been out for some time now. Since that's the cam the Solo is currently configured for, it'll be the same "almost good enough" 4k that both it and the Inspire cams put out. Great for establishing wide shots with slow movement or very little motion and not too much detail. Faster tracks on shots with a ton of detail and the bitrate can't keep up. The 2.7k @48 and 60fps is where the Hero 4 really shines for aerial. I think it's more a matter of seeing how 3DR's gimbal performs (i.e. horizon drift, etc) in real world tests.
 
It's more for pixel peeping and looking out for jello TBH. The point you make is valid though.
 
Sly9 said:
Do you know if you can control the gimbal from the controller as well? Or would that require a separate person with a separate remote?
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It's called the Solo, with the idea in mind you don't need a 2nd operator, as I understand it, say with cable cam, you set your start and end waypoints, the Solo then flies those, for that time you control the camera, so the Solo's Pixhawk is flying and you become the camera operator.
 
Marino215 said:
I been studying multirotors lately, I think the solo could be the best one yet as far as micro cameras go. I hear pixhawk is on point, they might even have optical flow sensors for indoor flying.
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That's an optional extra, it already works, but the software is under going testing, the expectation is the optical flow will use LIDAR instead of Sonar so will perform better than DJI's, we'll have to wait a little while I suspect to see it in action.
 
On the LIDAR, consumer electronics I recently purchased a laser measuring device, a cheapie accurate to 3mm over 15 meters range, the more expensive unt had an accuracy of 1mm of 100 meters range and still it was relatively cheap. This sort of accuracy could really assist hovering/altitude keeping
 
P13 said:
It's called the Solo, with the idea in mind you don't need a 2nd operator, as I understand it, say with cable cam, you set your start and end waypoints, the Solo then flies those, for that time you control the camera, so the Solo's Pixhawk is flying and you become the camera operator.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. Hopefully the controls will be intuitive when it comes to manipulating the camera/gimbal.
 
Placed an order for solo + gimbal at B&H last week. Now the waiting game.

I looked into RC helicopters years ago but it was still very DIY and the advent of the "drone revolution" or whatever you'd call it has made much better technology much more accessible in such short time, it's amazing. Excited to put this aerial platform to good use in the coming months/years. The additional "turn key" automation beyond existing platforms really makes it seem like it will live up to its name and enable solo operation in capturing steady and compelling shots.
 
Has anyone ever thought about anything like that?


It is only more 200 grams compared with the GoPro Hero4 alternative...
 
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