LITCHI for Spark - a quick review about the waypoint function.

[Toegema]

Hi all.

So I went out and tried the latest Litchi 2.5.1 for iOS together with my Spark (FCC modded) to test out the function Waypoint Mission.
I have previously used Litchi with waypoints on Phantom 3 Professional and Mavic Pro with quite good results. (The only thing not working optimal with the Phantom 3 was that a Cinematic Shoot which had to decelerate from several different speeds to a full stopp gave a little jerk when it came to a halt. I could overcome that by manually adjusting the speed while it went through the waypoints).
But now I was curious how the Spark would manage a WP mission.
So I went out on a small field, started the app, pressed "Cancel" on the Region change dialogue box, keeping my FCC mod. Then I drew a quick random route making it turn in all kinds of directions, and I put down a fixed Point of Interest in the middle of the field which the camera had to face at all times. This meant that the Spark would have to rotate constantly while traveling to keep the camera positioned at the POI.
So I started the mission, and all the functions seemed to work fine.
However, when looking at the result (file from the SD card), I was a bit disappointed. The result were quite jerky motions through the waypoints (remember the Spark is constantly rotating to keep the camera at a fixed point in the field). It was worse than I am able to fly manually. Perhaps a straight line or waypoints without any yaw movements would have worked fine, but this "stress test" I did was not satisfactory. I don't think Litchi is to blame, as I get the same result with the modded TSS app giving the Mavic capabilities to the Spark. That modded DJI Go app also gave the same jerky movements. So I guess it is fair to conclude that this is the lack of a three-axis gimbal that gives these limitations. Probably also the reason why DJI has not implemented waypoints into the functions of the Spark.

 

[Koala Tails]

Hi. Without the video I can’t see how jerky this was, I know normally a constant horizontal movement, smooths the jerks associated with the spark’s yawl. Have you tried the tracking mode, with a person jogging & the spark orbiting while it tracks the jogger? That describes 1 of my very early flights, & I didn’t notice any jerking. I was impressed how well the spark performed. Perhaps you should compare that against the waypoint video. Sorry I didn’t keep the footage, it was part of a test of the different modes in Go4.

 

[RPL]

Hi all.

So I went out and tried the latest Litchi 2.5.1 for iOS together with my Spark (FCC modded) to test out the function Waypoint Mission.
I have previously used Litchi with waypoints on Phantom 3 Professional and Mavic Pro with quite good results. (The only thing not working optimal with the Phantom 3 was that a Cinematic Shoot which had to decelerate from several different speeds to a full stopp gave a little jerk when it came to a halt. I could overcome that by manually adjusting the speed while it went through the waypoints).
But now I was curious how the Spark would manage a WP mission.
So I went out on a small field, started the app, pressed "Cancel" on the Region change dialogue box, keeping my FCC mod. Then I drew a quick random route making it turn in all kinds of directions, and I put down a fixed Point of Interest in the middle of the field which the camera had to face at all times. This meant that the Spark would have to rotate constantly while traveling to keep the camera positioned at the POI.
So I started the mission, and all the functions seemed to work fine.
However, when looking at the result (file from the SD card), I was a bit disappointed. The result were quite jerky motions through the waypoints (remember the Spark is constantly rotating to keep the camera at a fixed point in the field). It was worse than I am able to fly manually. Perhaps a straight line or waypoints without any yaw movements would have worked fine, but this "stress test" I did was not satisfactory. I don't think Litchi is to blame, as I get the same result with the modded TSS app giving the Mavic capabilities to the Spark. That modded DJI Go app also gave the same jerky movements. So I guess it is fair to conclude that this is the lack of a three-axis gimbal that gives these limitations. Probably also the reason why DJI has not implemented waypoints into the functions of the Spark.

I agree with all of this completely. My P3A performs far better when using the Waypoint feature. As you said, it’s likely a result of the 2-Axis gimbal on the Spark.

 

[Toegema]

Hi. Without the video I can’t see how jerky this was, I know normally a constant horizontal movement, smooths the jerks associated with the spark’s yawl. Have you tried the tracking mode, with a person jogging & the spark orbiting while it tracks the jogger? That describes 1 of my very early flights, & I didn’t notice any jerking. I was impressed how well the spark performed. Perhaps you should compare that against the waypoint video. Sorry I didn’t keep the footage, it was part of a test of the different modes in Go4.

Here’s the footage:

 

[AirCam]

That video looks like it came from the phone, not the SD card. I agree, it is terrible.

The Spark is not a Mavic Pro. It is Not a Phantom 3 Pro. It is a very capable little quad that takes amazing video and, can be flown in situations where people might find the larger quads offensive. It also sells for half of the price of any of its larger brothers. In my experience, it can survive a lot more abuse than its siblings. It takes a little bit more planning and piloting skill to get good video. Planning Litchi missions with the unique flight characteristics of the Spark in mind will work wonders to improve the stability of the video. Try adjusting the speeds, rounding the corners and use interpolation in Litchi to mitigate the jerkiness. Blaming the tools for lack of success won't get better results Analyzing problems and adjusting parameters might reward you with the video you are looking for.

 

[Lars Larsson]

That video looks like it came from the phone, not the SD card. I agree, it is terrible.

The Spark is not a Mavic Pro. It is Not a Phantom 3 Pro. It is a very capable little quad that takes amazing video and, can be flown in situations where people might find the larger quads offensive. It also sells for half of the price of any of its larger brothers. In my experience, it can survive a lot more abuse than its siblings. It takes a little bit more planning and piloting skill to get good video. Planning Litchi missions with the unique flight characteristics of the Spark in mind will work wonders to improve the stability of the video. Try adjusting the speeds, rounding the corners and use interpolation in Litchi to mitigate the jerkiness. Blaming the tools for lack of success won't get better results Analyzing problems and adjusting parameters might reward you with the video you are looking for.

Could you please elaborate a bit more about how to get nice and smooth videos from the Spark using Litchi?

 

[pmshop]

Here’s the footage:

Agreed that 720p does not look like it is from the SD card.
That can cause all kinds of issues with jumpiness.
I had no issues at all with my hotdogging session:
Hotdogging With 25 Litchi Waypoints - August 17, 2018

 

[AirCam]

It was in the post you quoted.

I said, "Try adjusting the speeds, rounding the corners and use interpolation in Litchi to mitigate the jerkiness."

Specifically:
Open Virtual Litchi Mission.
Click on "SETTINGS."
Set "Path Mode" to "Curved Turns."
Use the sliders to reduce "Cruising Speed" and Max Flight Speed," I don't know a magic number, but for a mission like the one described by the original poster, I would set them both to 10 or less.
Set the "Default Gimbal Pitch Mode" to "Interpolate."
Those settings would, at least, be a starting point to smooth out the video.

The posted video is a 720p video. The jerkiness and dropped frames make it appear that the video that was posted is the streamed WiFi video that that is cached to the phone. The 1080p video the Spark records to the SD card is typically far superior to that.

 

[Toegema]

That video looks like it came from the phone, not the SD card. I agree, it is terrible.

The Spark is not a Mavic Pro. It is Not a Phantom 3 Pro. It is a very capable little quad that takes amazing video and, can be flown in situations where people might find the larger quads offensive. It also sells for half of the price of any of its larger brothers. In my experience, it can survive a lot more abuse than its siblings. It takes a little bit more planning and piloting skill to get good video. Planning Litchi missions with the unique flight characteristics of the Spark in mind will work wonders to improve the stability of the video. Try adjusting the speeds, rounding the corners and use interpolation in Litchi to mitigate the jerkiness. Blaming the tools for lack of success won't get better results Analyzing problems and adjusting parameters might reward you with the video you are looking for.

Yes, you are correct, the uploaded video is the downstream but the movements were similar on the original. I love the Spark and use it much more than my Phantom. I never expected the Spark to do waypoints as smooth as my Phantom because of its two axis limitations. I guess if I fly the same Litchi mission with my Phantom the results will be smoother. But again, as you say, it’s all about knowing your tool and if necessary make minor adjustments that might still give you satisfying results. ;-)

 

[Koala Tails]

As the original post explained, this was a stress test. It was designed to see the differences between a Phantom & Spark. Comparing a hatchback to a limousine, which is better? The larger & more expensive is better 90% of the time.
More people own a hatchback!

 

[Steve P McManus]

Do you have a high speed MICROSD Card. If it can't keep up with the video it could be jerky.

 

[Andre Levite]

You have again demonstrated the difference between a true 3-axis gimbal (Phantom) and a 2-axis gimbal with digital yaw stabilization (Spark). The differences in footage are noticeable - and exactly as expected.

They are different drones meant for different applications. Each has their own advantage and their own weakness.

 

[pmshop]

You have again demonstrated the difference between a true 3-axis gimbal (Phantom) and a 2-axis gimbal with digital yaw stabilization (Spark). The differences in footage are noticeable - and exactly as expected.

They are different drones meant for different applications. Each has their own advantage and their own weakness.

Not really, because this is the streamed video.
Not from the SD Card - big difference in quality and capturing YAW movements.

 

[pmshop]

Do you have a high speed MICROSD Card. If it can't keep up with the video it could be jerky.

That can do it too but OP stated it is the WiFi stream from the Spark, not the SD Card.

 

[Steve P McManus]

That can do it too but OP stated it is the WiFi stream from the Spark, not the SD Card.

LOL. I must have been typing my reply when he was posting his.

 

[Andre Levite]

Not really, because this is the streamed video.
Not from the SD Card - big difference in quality and capturing YAW movements.

You missed the point:

It is well established that a 2-axis gimbal is inferior to 3-axis gimbal.

It is also well established that the cached video feed to phone is inferior to footage stored on SD card.

Just not surprising that a Phantom outperforms a Spark

 

[pmshop]

It sure is:

2-axis can run a very close second if you know what you are doing?

The point is the OP video is not a true demonstration since it is a WiFi stream.
720p adds to the jerkiness.

 

[webvan]

Not surprised by the jerkiness as you get a lot of it with the Quickflight (or whatever it's called) "Circle" automated flight as well.

 

[pmshop]

Yep, a lot of jerkiness in Orbit mode too:

Seriously people, it can be done.

 

[Haggi]

Yep, a lot of jerkiness in Orbit mode too:

Seriously people, it can be done.

Nice one