Drone
−55%
Used
CHF450.– currently CHF992.27 new
DJI Mavic Pro Platinum Fly More Bundle
30 min, 743 g, 12 Mpx
DJI Mavic Pro: less noise, more swarm
5.9.2017
Translation: machine translated
Video: Stephanie Tresch
The search for the new DJI drones at IFA is proving more difficult than expected. This is because a new feature is throwing a spanner in the works. It is almost impossible to find the flying objects without a map of the trade fair.
"It can't be that difficult to find a stand with drones," I say to video producer Stephanie Tresch. Because we're travelling on behalf of our readers and viewers. So on your behalf. The mission: find the new DJI drones and test them out. Big tests aren't possible at IFA, but we're hoping to get a minute or two flying with the new Mavic Pro Platinum or Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian. Something like up and down, sideways, take-off, landing. Simple enough for us to get a feel for the drone and give you our first impressions.
If it were that easy. We're in the right hall. But at the IFA, individual halls can easily be the size of the Letzigrund stadium and even have several floors. We have already got lost several times in individual halls. We don't like to admit this publicly, but it helps you to understand the confusion that follows.
There are two places at IFA where the new drones are buzzing around.
- In the outdoor area A15
- In hall 3.2
Hall 3.2 is closer and the flying conditions are better under cover, even if it drizzles a little outside from time to time. So, off we go to 3.2. The dot two stands for the floor. We quickly find the hall. But then it gets a bit hairy. The suggestion: we walk along the centre of the hall, prick up our ears and look for a noise that sounds like a gigantic swarm of angry bees on steroids. Then we follow the noise and will inevitably end up with the drones. Because the noise is totally annoying.
Ten minutes later, we check our mobile to see exactly where the drones are. Because we can't hear them. If we had read the press release, we would have known that the drones are now 60% quieter. "People don't know how decibels work anyway," a drone pilot in DJI uniform tells us later at the stand. But 60% quieter would go down well. The angry bees now sound like a really oversized bumblebee, to continue the bee analogy.
Higher, faster, further
In conversation at the bumblebee stand, it is noticeable that the names have become somewhat clunky. DJI Mavic Pro Platinum is just about right. If we tear the name apart, we get the following:
- Manufacturer: DJI
- Series: Mavic
- Version: Pro
- Subversion: Platinum
It gets worse with the DJI Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian
- Manufacturer: DJI
- Series: Phantom
- Version: 4
- Subversion #1: Pro
- Subversion #2: Obsidian
No one will ever call it that. Even the employee at the stand calls the drones either "The Drone", "The Device" or, in the case of the subversions, "Platinum" or "Obsidian". Because he doesn't have time for big names. The stand is extremely well attended and there is great interest in the drones. The Obsidian is nice, but the main focus is on the Platinum.
It's not just a small upgrade of its predecessor, but does much more. It is quieter and flies eleven per cent longer. This means the flight time is half an hour. This is how slowly the drone can really be fun, because one of my main criticisms in my admittedly somewhat manageable drone piloting career was that the fun is over before it has really started.
Today, however, we want to fly. Video producer Stephanie Tresch wants to find out how the camera performs, because even if the tech specs are rumoured to remain unchanged, we have heard that the camera has been improved. But that was before the first tests appeared on the Internet. But our curiosity was definitely piqued.
I, on the other hand, just wanted to turn a few corners and look at the device from all sides and find out how Dà-Jiāng Innovations Science and Technology Co., Ltd, or DJI for short, had reduced the noise.
From bee to bumblebee... or wasp
We find the stand and there's a cage in which the Mavic Platinum is buzzing away. Gone is the shrill whirring that betrays the presence of a drone. The Platinum is really quiet. On a Sunday at the swimming pool, it's quite possible that it will be drowned out by the background noise of pits and bathers.
This not only attracts private individuals, cameramen and cameramen and companies who would like to have aerial shots. Singapore's second most widely read newspaper, Today, recently revealed in an article that the Chinese military is showing great interest in drones. In particular, it recently proved in a demonstration that it is capable of deploying a large swarm of drones in a controlled and strategic manner. The newspaper paints a bleak picture of an army that relies on drones.
A light attack force can defeat a much stronger and technologically superior opponent. It comes out of nowhere, attacks from all sides and disappears again. Over and over again - Randall Steeb, Senior Engineer at Rand Corporation told Today
The lines between military technology and private technology are becoming increasingly blurred. A trivial example: my rucksack, which I carry around with me every day at the IFA, was built to military specifications. It is on the US Army's list of authorised backpacks for military use and is compatible with the MOLLE system, which allows the wearer to easily attach all kinds of pouches and attachments to the backpack. My boots are Doc Martens, which were developed by the German military doctor Klaus Märtens shortly after the Second World War. In short: two of my most important tools in everyday IFA life are military inventions.
With drones, the reverse is now happening. Since China has sovereignty over drone production, and manufacturer DJI dominates both the Chinese and the global market. Citing unnamed sources, Today claims to know that drone manufacturers have received orders from China's People's Liberation Army.
Makers such as DJI, Zerotech and Ehang dominate the global consumer drone market and many of these private sector firms have been enlisted for military purposes by the People's Liberation Army [中国人民解放军, the Chinese military - ed. - Today
This is also shown by a demonstration by the army on 11 June 2017. 119 drones with artificial intelligence flew in a swarm on that day. A world record. The reason why it all worked so well is that the drones are equipped with a variety of systems that are just as exciting for the military as they are for private use. These include collision detection and a long battery life.
The drones in the video above are the same ones that flew on 11 June: Skywalker X6. Cost 125 US dollars. With a typically high military budget, it is thus quite possible to create a swarm of efficient and effective air attack vehicles.
The test in the cage
After some waiting and a take with the Mavic Platinum in hand, we are allowed to climb into the cage. We ask if we can fly ourselves. "Unfortunately not," says the assistant whose job it is to fly drones and buzz around with them. Best job at the IFA? We think so!
For the filming, we ask the young man to fly the drone close to my head. Sounds fun, doesn't it? I felt a bit queasy. Because the noise of the drone is completely drowned out by the humming of the hall and there is a camera eye that seems to be standing silently in the air. I was glad to be able to get out of the cage again. Because even though the technology is really great, the camera that just moved in my direction gave me the creeps.
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
14 comments
later