Typhoon H RealSense - First Impressions

[Vertigo Drones]

We received our early release dealer Typhoon H from Yuneec and are pretty impressed with the RealSense. We posted some pictures of the package on our Product Page.

The Good:
- Works just like the demo in January. This is actually pretty nerve racking because it comes very close to obstacles. We have a wooded lot at our location and it was able to navigate through trees spaced about 4 feet apart.
- Seems to work better with the Wizard than with the ST16. Walking, running and trying to confuse the unit proved difficult.
- Speed seems to be much better than with the original obstacle avoidance. Running at about 10mph through obstacles was completed with ease.

The Bad:
- Directions for operation are limited. We found (eventually) that it will only work when Obstacle Avoidance is on. Makes sense. We tested in Smart Mode with 'Watch Me' selected.
- The H tends to seek a higher altitude when using the RealSense. You start at 10ft and without input it manages to creep to 20ft. Altitude is very accurate now with the downward Acoustic Sensors. We tested this first indoors to see if the downward camera was operational. The camera (used to maintain position) does not seem to be operational yet but the acoustic sensor is spot on, hovering at 12in indoors.
- It did not see Utility lines until it was too late. It survived due to its robust design, only chipping 1/2in from one of the blades. The claim is that small branches are sensed with the RealSense and to be fair, a utility line is not a small branch. During testing small branches did not seem to be a problem with their irregularity, but the uniform, horizontal, black utility line spanning between telephone poles proved difficult for the RealSense algorithm and was not picked up until possibly after collision. This will likely be improved upon with later firmware releases.

Synopsis:
The RealSense unit lives up to the hype and delivers a capable unit only in need of minor refinements to be flawless. We were impressed and that is not easy to do. Now if Yuneec can only keep up with demand.

We will release videos of the RealSense in action soon. Check out our YouTube channel for updates.

 

[CAPTAINDRONE]

Cool, looking forward to the video.

 

[THoff]

Do you know if RealSense is active during RTH? That would take care of 99% of the obstacles that the Typhoon might encounter during its return, and totally eliminate the need for setting a RTH altitude.

 

[Jared]

On a slightly unrelated topic, does anyone know or think that Yuneec is holding out a firmware update until the RealSense model has landed at people's doorsteps? Those of us with the standard model are really hoping for some fixes and improvements.

 

[Peter a]

Also is there a big hit on flight times ?

 

[Dutch Nolke]

Do you know if RealSense is active during RTH? That would take care of 99% of the obstacles that the Typhoon might encounter during its return, and totally eliminate the need for setting a RTH altitude.

According the first German video (earlier this week) about the H Pro the German guy mentioned that RealSence would be active during RTH

 

[THoff]

^ Thanks. I'm German and watched the video, but totally missed that. Will have to re-watch it.

 

[Hunter_Michael]

On a slightly unrelated topic, does anyone know or think that Yuneec is holding out a firmware update until the RealSense model has landed at people's doorsteps? Those of us with the standard model are really hoping for some fixes and improvements.

Rumor is that an firmware update is coming by the end of the month. One of the fixes was faster connect time, not sure what else. Hopefully we will be able to purchase these as add ons.

 

[raymond captuo]

one main reason i bought the H was for the realsense....so they assured us that it would be an add on module....the question is when

 

[Paladin]

Do you know if RealSense is active during RTH? That would take care of 99% of the obstacles that the Typhoon might encounter during its return, and totally eliminate the need for setting a RTH altitude.

I would like this confirmed. Can you guys test this for us?
Also has the camera been improved at all like the ST16?

Also how would you guys compare the RealSense to the Phantom 4's OA?

 

[Rayray]

Oh my, Mr. P.

 

[Goh]

Do you know if RealSense is active during RTH? That would take care of 99% of the obstacles that the Typhoon might encounter during its return, and totally eliminate the need for setting a RTH altitude.

Still need RTH setting, if low battery low Real sense take time to return home, by the time it will land somewhere else, if the RTH is set higher than the return home, the return path is clear the H do not need to waste time or battery power it can straight a way home fast.(And is not fair for those without real sense that the RTH height that can not be set).

 

[Tecneek]

We received our early release dealer Typhoon H from Yuneec and are pretty impressed with the RealSense. We posted some pictures of the package on our Product Page.

The Good:
- Works just like the demo in January. This is actually pretty nerve racking because it comes very close to obstacles. We have a wooded lot at our location and it was able to navigate through trees spaced about 4 feet apart.
- Seems to work better with the Wizard than with the ST16. Walking, running and trying to confuse the unit proved difficult.
- Speed seems to be much better than with the original obstacle avoidance. Running at about 10mph through obstacles was completed with ease.

The Bad:
- Directions for operation are limited. We found (eventually) that it will only work when Obstacle Avoidance is on. Makes sense. We tested in Smart Mode with 'Watch Me' selected.
- The H tends to seek a higher altitude when using the RealSense. You start at 10ft and without input it manages to creep to 20ft. Altitude is very accurate now with the downward Acoustic Sensors. We tested this first indoors to see if the downward camera was operational. The camera (used to maintain position) does not seem to be operational yet but the acoustic sensor is spot on, hovering at 12in indoors.
- It did not see Utility lines until it was too late. It survived due to its robust design, only chipping 1/2in from one of the blades. The claim is that small branches are sensed with the RealSense and to be fair, a utility line is not a small branch. During testing small branches did not seem to be a problem with their irregularity, but the uniform, horizontal, black utility line spanning between telephone poles proved difficult for the RealSense algorithm and was not picked up until possibly after collision. This will likely be improved upon with later firmware releases.

Synopsis:
The RealSense unit lives up to the hype and delivers a capable unit only in need of minor refinements to be flawless. We were impressed and that is not easy to do. Now if Yuneec can only keep up with demand.

We will release videos of the RealSense in action soon. Check out our YouTube channel for updates.

Thank you. I am surprised that it overall actually works. This sort of thing is hard to test. Failure could mean destruction. So, I'm thinking that if I have it RTH, and it was lower in altitude than the top of some trees, the RealSense will avoid the trees to make it home. Also, I wish I could adjust the RTH's initial height. This will allow the RTH to accommodate different scenarios. This thing got through trees 4 feet apart. I am not going to try this, but ever since RealSense was introduced to us, I was imagining it following me through the woods. I can't see that being successful, and I am not going to put it through the test.

 

[Tecneek]

Do you know if RealSense is active during RTH? That would take care of 99% of the obstacles that the Typhoon might encounter during its return, and totally eliminate the need for setting a RTH altitude.

..but if it is toooo low, I can't imagine it RTH by going through the woods. Seems like it is going to hit something..

 

[Tecneek]

On a slightly unrelated topic, does anyone know or think that Yuneec is holding out a firmware update until the RealSense model has landed at people's doorsteps? Those of us with the standard model are really hoping for some fixes and improvements.

Or say they come out with a RealSense2, and make our first RealSense obsolete from enhancements - hopefully no time soon..

 

[Peter a]

Did you see the latest german youtube video ( posted today ) ? , it stopped just before hitting a guide wire and moved around it , so sure if that was realsense or operator pinic.

 

[Tecneek]

Rumor is that an firmware update is coming by the end of the month. One of the fixes was faster connect time, not sure what else. Hopefully we will be able to purchase these as add ons.

The only thing too me that can fix the connect time, is to make it maybe 30 seconds.

Add up the possible costs for the add-ons, and you might be better off calling Mr. eBay. Warranty and everything starts over..

 

[K3CFPV]

There is a new firmware update already available on the Yuneec website (released last week). I looked at the files it installed on the ST-16 and there are a bunch with the word "intel" in them. So my guess is that this FW release does supports the RealSense add-on.

 

[THoff]

Or say they come out with a RealSense2, and make our first RealSense obsolete from enhancements - hopefully no time soon..

At least RealSense is not an integral part of the drone -- since it is an add-on module, you would be able to swap it out just like the camera.

 

[Tecneek]

Speaking of RTH.. Take a look at this youtube:

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When using the wizard, is the Smartmode Geofence defined from the wizard, takeoff position, or what?

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Thanks for sharing this. Quite concerning. Please contact Yuneec to understand what happened and share. I can only suspect that it hit it's distance limitation (in smart mode I think it's 400') and/or lost it's RF connection and landed in place. This begs the question that is the 400' smart mode limitation from point of take-off and NOT the wizard? A critical question indeed. You didn't appear to be more than 400 feet when you lost connection from the wizard. Concern is why it didn't go back to it's home position and the more frightening concern is if this happened over the road and came down in traffic (you were not just in the parking area). The chances of injury in that situation would have been high and probably hit the news in a very bad way. Again -- this is critical information to know -- thanks for sharing.
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