Typhoon H video on the Yuneec homepage has “Call to Order”
on the top right. Its slogan “The only drone you can fly without your phone” looks
like a direct dig at Ehang who advertises app control for drones.
As a potential customer, here are a few questions for
Yuneec.
1. Why is the Typhoon H Pro with
Intel RealSense so expensive?
The Typhoon H Pro is $1899.99, more than $100 higher
than announced at CES, or 30% more than a DJI Phantom 4. And, it’s only $100
below the professional DJI Inspire 1 drone that comes with the Zenmuse X3 4K
camera and can be used with two remote controls.
That is a lot for a consumer drone. What’s going to make
your average drone buyer consider it? Since the arrival of the Phantom series,
the price of drones has steadily declined, and the Phantom 4, its latest
iteration, has over 1,500 product reviews already out there from media around
the world saying it offers the best performance of any drone in its price range.
Behind the pricing are strategy and cost. Yuneec is
selling a high-priced product to position itself as a premium drone brand. As
well, it’s entirely possible the cost of building the Typhooh H Pro was more
than Yuneec expected.
If the second point is true, then Yuneec may have a
cost-control issue, finding it tough to mass produce at scale. One driver for
higher costs is likely the Typhoon H’s folding arms, a feature common on large,professional
aircraft, but one that is likely to be a weak point if you’re trying to sell to
general consumers.
The RealSense module, itself, adds $600 to the drone’s
cost. It contains two sensors for sensing infrared light, one emitting
structured infrared light, and one 1080P camera. Its MEMS design and RealSense modular
design further increase the overall build cost.
2. Is RealSense on drones just an
experiment?
Dell Venue Integrated
with RealSense Device
RealSense was originally created to allow laptops and
smart devices to create 3D models of their environments. It is able to create
high precision 3D images of a space at close range, but a drone needs long-range
sensing for safety. Does this mean that RealSense’s integration with drones is
just an experiment for Intel as it tries to find a new use for its technology?
For now, only Intel and Yuneec know the answer.
RealSense device mounted on Typhoon H Pro
Integrated camera of Phantom 4
Data storage is extremely important for consumer drones.
Ever since the DJI’s Ace One flight controller, DJI aircraft have stored large
amounts of flight data in an onboard black box.
This information includes location, weather, time,
environment, altitude, and is all stored to ensure smooth flight and even
provide accurate data to customer support. Visual positioning systems and
obstacle avoidance systems place further demands for data storage. Since Yuneec
has little experience with this, the question of how all this will function in
the Typhoon H Pro is up for debate.
When you price at the top of the market as Yuneec has
with the Typhoon H, the last thing you should be doing is experimenting with
consumers’ money.
3.
How good is the obstacle avoidance?
As sensing technologies, flight control algorithms,
control links and power systems have improved, manufacturers are now able to
create fast and stable flight. The Phantom 4 even includes a Sports Mode. Of
course, drones will always need to change speed, flying slow and flying fast,
which can introduce issues with flight precision. RealSense has a claimed
effective distance of 3-5 meters and uses structured infrared light that is
near to useless outdoors. That means it is dependent on infrared sensors, which
suggests that it is not specially designed for outdoor aerial photography. Not
to mention the 3-5m range, which is really too short for any kind of protection
during high-speed flight.
The Typhoon H Pro depends on GPS for positioning and
tracking, so if the GPS signal is weak, obstacle avoidance and Follow Me mode
would be seriously affected.
The price of the Typhoon H Pro is high because of
RealSense, but it remains to be seen how well RealSense will actually work. We
should already know that, but when Yuneec unveiled the Typhoon H at the CES
show in Las Vegas to start the year, it used a multimillion-dollar VICON system
for its demonstration, as a kind of “belt-and-suspenders” approach. Now, as the
unit comes to market without VICON, the question is whether belt or suspenders
will be good enough to offer a world-class tracking system like the one aboard
DJI’s Phantom 4.
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