!!CONFIRMED!! WAYPOINTS Setup that could CRASH your DJI Mini 4 Pro #youtuber #djimini4pro #crash

Confirmed, WAYPOINTS really has issues and this is to prove that the same settings behaves the same way over land and this is not caused by flying over waters. This Waypoints setup can crash your drone. Be aware about this settings and save your drone from definite crash.

@DJI Please fix this issue!

Flight location: Open Field Beside Gardens By The Bay MRT Station

Shot on:
▫️iPhone 15 Pro Max | DJI RC2

Drone:
▫️DJI Mini 4 Pro

Equipments:
▫️DJI Action 3
▫️iPhone 15 Pro Max
▫️DJI OM6
▫️iMac

Video Editing Tool:
▫️CapCut

Music:
▫️California | Lost in Dirt

▶️ Instagram: DarthDrone
▶️ Treads: DarthDrone

[jmm]

thanks a lot for this video with all interesting comment as i am preparing a mission over trees and the turning and descending toward a shop's door .Will be cautious with the finger on the pase button

[markharwood]

This results from the waypoint algorithm using bezier curves in the plane formed by the 3 waypoints, which in this case is a near vertical plane, with the resultant flight path intersecting the ground, though collision avoidance should prevent a ground impact.

[marvheston]

I believe you are 100% correct. DJI creates a smooth transition from point to point using curves, so it only makes sense that increasing your altitude between points will lead to a curved path that will push your drone into the ground/water if you start at a low altitude. Yes it needs to be fixed. I can think of 2 ways to fix it, one is to set a Hard Deck below which the drone cannot descend. The second way is to "move" the curve inside rather than outside the points. Currently waypoint missions curve outside the points to smooth their transitions, on vertical changes The curve could run inside the point where elevation "starts" to change. Of course this means that your mission will never reach some points as the curve will occur inside the point, but that's better than your drone never completing it's mission because it is nose down in the ground/water.

[Hat_Uncle]

I confirmed this on my own as well, only I made my fly points go lower as they progressed.
It goes from 50' at the second point to 80'-90' at the sharp turn there, like a popping bobber, then since the next waypoint is only 40' it sees it's MUCH higher than it needs to be and dives.
The sum of all parts ends up greater than the whole. I'm glad I caught your first video and decided to test it, now I know what to avoid.

[spladam]

Thanks for bringing this to DJI's attention.

[walker]

Yes DJI needs to fix this. I had a it a couple of times, planned up to 8 to 10 waypoints to have a longer flight, starting low and going up but indeed instead of going up before going to the 2end waypoint which is up it goes down almost crashing into the ground. Only way to fix this atleast for me was to have a higher starting point.

[terrencejustice]

I'm now certain you're correct in your analysis. I fly over water often and took your warning to heart while preparing a waypoint mission yesterday. However, I triggered a different problem related to the vertical aspect of curvature through a tight turn. I'm flying in an altitude zone near a military airfield and obtained an unlock license that limits me to 60m altitude.

My mission has 21 points and about 3.5km distance but it fails at the second point. 1st waypoint @ 30m, 2nd waypoint @ 60m at which I have a 150º turn--almost a hairpin. Tried it twice and got the same error both times, something like 'error, unable to continue.' I was mystified, but later realized I'd created the INVERSE of your demonstration, essentially trying to fly above my altitude limit as I passed through the 60m waypoint.

There are two easy solutions to this: 1. Place the 1st waypoint also at 60m so there's no vertical "momentum" to reverse at WP2. 2. Don't place any waypoint above 55m, leaving a 5m "buffer" for the smooth vertical transition through waypoints at different elevations.

I think the most elegant solution is to place an additional waypoint at 60m with no lateral direction change at some distance before WP2. That way, the direction change at what is now WP 3 is entirely in the horizontal plane. I also think it's prudent to leave at least a small buffer for any vertical boundary, high or low.

[Swaggerlot]

I'd suggest that it is the proximity of the outbound and return legs, further complicated by the limited waypoints. In short, at times the drone doesn't know if it is coming or going.

[verdinec]

i had a similar experience doing a waypoint mission around a property. All points were about the same around 55 ft but when it was coming from the second to last point a topdown view which was much higher than the other points it started descending below 50ft and still decreasing, i had to hit pause quickly as it was heading quickly towards some trees, so i never made it to the last point.

[badGamr]

I have had issues with this as well. I setup a waypoint hyperlapse mission and it ran fine. A week later I returned to the same location to run the same mission again. I launched adjacent to the start point and the drone rose to maximum altitude and just sat there doing nothing. So I know there are bugs in this system.

[frankdecock]

Hm, definitely something to watch out for.
Have you received an answer from DJI yet, after you have reported this issue?

[westwingaero]

my drone did this and descended onto oncoming traffic and got hit by a car, I’ve already had it replaced and thought it was my fault all along 😲 😯 😮

[nkssam]

i will try the same method as you did when i get my RC2 back from DJI Authorized service center. My mini 4 pro was purchased on 10th November but RC2 cannot be charged / detected by PC after using just less than 1 month. How disappointed of the quality of DJI.

[BMAK]

DJI have always been awful with their waypoint functionality. Given how much they charge for these drones you would think they would get their act together and allocate more serious resources to this software feature.

[trik-video]

I believe this is not due to the C shape of the course. It's because the path height increases after wp2 and since it is recording video, it tries to make it more cinematic, without sudden height increase after wp2. It should be an easy fix for DJI via sw update...
However, one should be mindful of this when creating waypoints👍

[PtolemyCeasar]

My little Mini 1 keeps plugging along. With Thermal.

[JMprodquad]

Hi, you are definitely onto something here… the cause of my M4P crash was when it tracking my car while flying backwards. It descended on top of a tree, while totally ignoring the sensors detecting the object. That is an algorithm issue that DJI has yet to resolve.

Keep up the good work and fly safe.

@jmprodquad