- IT FOLLOWS 2 REVIEW FULL
- IT FOLLOWS 2 REVIEW SOFTWARE
- IT FOLLOWS 2 REVIEW TRIAL
- IT FOLLOWS 2 REVIEW SERIES
- IT FOLLOWS 2 REVIEW FREE
Lose the drone? Just press the homing button and it’ll fly toward your GPS signal until it re-establishes a visual lock. It’s a GPS beacon/remote you can use in lieu of your smartphone for controls. We used this leapfrog method for the rest of our ride through the forest, which allowed us to capture some long, unbroken riding sequences even when the drone was having trouble keeping up.
IT FOLLOWS 2 REVIEW SOFTWARE
It then came to a stop – presumably because he rode too far ahead – but when I rode underneath it and came into it’s field of view, the software instantly remembered me, locked on, and resumed following.
At one point, I was riding behind the drone so I could observe as it followed my friend down the trail.
Not only does Skydio 2 have the ability to track multiple subjects, it also remembers the visual signature of those subjects and can re-establish a lock when someone leaves and re-enters the frame. Second, the subject tracking software is top-notch. I can’t understate how comforting it is to know your $1,000 flying camera isn’t going to destroy itself, no matter how sketchy the environment.
IT FOLLOWS 2 REVIEW FULL
This is a huge confidence booster, and puts your mind at ease during filming sessions.īy the end of the day, I had full confidence in Skydio’s autopilot. No matter how dense the foliage, no matter how many branches stood in its way, it always did what was necessary to avoid a collision.
IT FOLLOWS 2 REVIEW TRIAL
However, despite the lackluster chase footage, this extreme trial did highlight what the Skydio 2 has going for it.įirst, and best – the Skydio 2 never crashed. I was hoping it would succeed here, but it ended up being more of a burden than a convenience. Initially, I couldn’t get more than a couple dozen meters ahead without having to pause and wait for it to catch up. I left it in the dust within a few seconds, and had to backtrack so it could re-establish a visual lock on me. It followed for a few seconds and successfully negotiated a tricky route through the trees, but due to the combination of high speed and frequent obstacles, it started to lag behind. This was where the drone’s limitations started to show. I rode into the thickest part of the forest, fired up the drone, and sped off down the dirt. If it can navigate through tight trees at high speeds, then it can handle anything. In my mind, this is the ultimate test for an auto-follow drone. The plan was to blast down them on mountain bike as fast as possible and see if Skydio 2 could keep up.
IT FOLLOWS 2 REVIEW SERIES
What I had come for was a series of trails that snake through a densely-packed forest. It stayed on my tail like a shadow, and even when I tried to bamboozle it by abruptly turning around and racing downhill, the drone not only kept up, but kept me in frame the whole time.Īt this point I was impressed, but the hardest test lay ahead. Branches hung down from the surrounding trees and bushes, and there was only a narrow corridor in which the drone could safely follow.Īgain, Skydio 2 handled this environment with ease. Me and a handful of friends hopped on our bikes and started an ascent up a decommissioned road (on our way to the gnarly, tree-filled trails we had planned for later). It stuck on me like white on rice, maintaining a consistent distance at all times, and automatically adjusting its camera angle when necessary. Once my heart rate slowed, I locked the drone on me and darted around the parking lot on foot for a few seconds, an act the drone had zero trouble following. Thankfully, Skydio’s software did its job, and it came to a gentle stop just before the trunk, nestling in to find an ideal filming angle. To my delight, the drone handled itself gracefully in this open environment, save for a slightly nerve-wracking point between takeoff and orientation when it flew toward the trees near the perimeter of the lot and appeared to be on a collision course with a large Douglas fir.
IT FOLLOWS 2 REVIEW FREE
Even with a reputation like Skydio’s, I wanted to do the maiden flight in a place that was mostly free of obstructions. After trying a half dozen other auto-follow drones over the years, I’ve developed a healthy skepticism of their abilities.
The first place I set Skydio 2 loose was an open parking lot with nothing more than a few lamp posts sparsely peppered throughout. I hopped on a mountain bike, headed to the nearest thicket of trees, and tried my best to lose it. So, when I got my hands on a review unit, I did the only thing I could think of to test an auto-follow drone of this caliber. This is the second generation of the drone, and in this new and improved version, Skydio has tried to iron out the kinks that plagued the original.