New app: TelloFPV for Android

[volate!lo]

On a side note: I received a message from a user who is confronted with a "Licensing compromised" message.

There is only one reason why this is shown: A special program has been used to "patch" Google Play Store or TelloFpv, rendering the licensing mechanism useless. Both are against the respective EULAs of course.
In this case the user wanted to get rid of advertising in other apps, and has patched the google play store.

Because of the compromised play store TelloFpv can no longer determine if this is a legal copy or not, and refuses to work. Even though he has paid for TelloFpv app he can't use it.

I am OK to refund the purchase price in these scenarios but I am not going to actively support this type of installation. It feels like support for cheating on fellow developers who don't receive their well deserved (advertising) revenue. App development is not a charity.


Why is TelloFpv so strict: Google statistics show that in some markets I have many clever fans who prefer not to pay. Basically it's only three countries where the vast majority of pirate apps is installed, I don't know why. Mindset and culture I reckon. There is one extreme country where I can see four times more illegal copies than legal ones.

 

[raulvolador]

On a side note: I received a message from a user who is confronted with a "Licensing compromised" message.

There is only one reason why this is shown: A special program has been used to "patch" Google Play Store or TelloFpv, rendering the licensing mechanism useless. Both are against the respective EULAs of course.
In this case the user wanted to get rid of advertising in other apps, and has patched the google play store.

Because of the compromised play store TelloFpv can no longer determine if this is a legal copy or not, and refuses to work. Even though he has paid for TelloFpv app he can't use it.

I am OK to refund the purchase price in these scenarios but I am not going to actively support this type of installation. It feels like support for cheating on fellow developers who don't receive their well deserved (advertising) revenue. App development is not a charity.


Why is TelloFpv so strict: Google statistics show that in some markets I have many clever fans who prefer not to pay. Basically it's only three countries where the vast majority of pirate apps is installed, I don't know why. Mindset and culture I reckon. There is one extreme country where I can see four times more illegal copies than legal ones.

@volate!lo,

I can understand your rage. Software piracy is a shame. I just hope your future decissions wont affect those of us who are legal users.

I say this because I know that into my country (Spain) software piracy is common, although lately there are stricter laws for protecting intellectual property.

Keep doing so good work.

Raul.

 

[MrSpok]

@volate!lo
Just a different matter.
The Tello is not willing to fly deeper than 20cm. If I force it then it goes straight to the landing.
Is this value adjustable in the app or is it fixed in the firmware?
I apprehend the last-mentioned.

 

[volate!lo]

@volate!lo,

I can understand your rage. Software piracy is a shame. I just hope your future decissions wont affect those of us who are legal users.

I say this because I know that into my country (Spain) software piracy is common, although lately there are stricter laws for protecting intellectual property.

Keep doing so good work.

Raul.

No worries, I'm not in rage. I'm more amused by the mindset in one particular country: 30 licenses, 140 illegal copies, and an average (!) rating of 2.3 stars but loud complaints about the lack of translation.
Instead of translating I'd rather remove the app from their local play store.

I just wanted to clarify that I am not going to support this kind of installation, not even if the users paid for TelloFpv. Only option is to refund

The licensing mechanism is complete since 1.01 so I don't expect any future tightening or modifications.

@volate!lo
Just a different matter.
The Tello is not willing to fly deeper than 20cm. If I force it then it goes straight to the landing.
Is this value adjustable in the app or is it fixed in the firmware?
I apprehend the last-mentioned.

Thats firmware, no way to change.

 

[umanbean]

is it fixed in the firmware?

Yes. It was designed that way.

My theory why: To prevent hard landings due to someone descending too fast and not letting off the stick soon enough.

 

[Th3DroneroGT]

a question, how do I know if the sensors are deactivated? . is that once I vole without light and the drone was moving for any direction but when I operated it with the phone the drone was moving very slow, and another question as I calibrate the center of gravity in TelloFPV App?

 

[anielloz]

I love the option of height, but in very clear pictures the color orange does not distinguish very well, it is only a personal opinion

 

[xcrost]

Yes. It was designed that way.

My theory why: To prevent hard landings due to someone descending too fast and not letting off the stick soon enough.

The fancy term is downward collision avoidance.

 

[umanbean]

The fancy term is downward collision avoidance.

Yes we must avoid downward collisions by any means lol

I've given 1.06 a thorough workout inside, lousy weather out.

Using both on-screen controls and Gamesir T1s via BT - all functions worked perfectly. Using a Mi 2 repeater with t1s, video was smooth, no pixelation, even in fast yaw... 4 Mbps, iframe 7

I'm happy, you could stop now and I'd still be happy... though top row of icons could have better contrast/higher visibility for outside funtimes with no controller

 

[volate!lo]

a question, how do I know if the sensors are deactivated? . is that once I vole without light and the drone was moving for any direction but when I operated it with the phone the drone was moving very slow, and another question as I calibrate the center of gravity in TelloFPV App?

If the vps is deactivated the app will say so.
Gravity calibration is in the menu. Use it like in the ryze app

I love the option of height, but in very clear pictures the color orange does not distinguish very well, it is only a personal opinion

Any colour we choose will be good in one scene and bad in the other.

 

[Th3DroneroGT]

interesting the vps of the tello does not deactivate, it was flying and the only thing that told me is low luminosity.

the little house that appears in the TelloFPV app does not work well, at first when I fly the drone I get the house where it is and after a while I change it automatically, then I assign it again the house where it is and I return it to change ... is it normal?

 

[umanbean]

Good grief y'all, this is not a GPS drone with compass... it's an advanced toy! It does not and never will have a true return to home capability. Live with the limitations, fly it, love it!

Tellofpv has given it capabilities beyond my initial expectations.

 

[Th3DroneroGT]

Good grief y'all, this is not a GPS drone with compass... it's an advanced toy! It does not and never will have a true return to home capability. Live with the limitations, fly it, love it!

Tellofpv has given it capabilities beyond my initial expectations.

Well I asked if it was normal, not that they fixed it, and I do not complain about the limitations

 

[xcrost]

Way beyond! Thank you Volate!lo!

 

[Garry]

volate!lo

Thanks for all the amazing improvements you are making to your app.
DJI Ryze should give you some Tellos to play with, since you have really taken a toy, and improved its flight controller so much, its now becomming a MUST HAVE, when buying a Tello.

Now for a question.
How far down the list of things to add, is the Add Audio recording?
It would be nice to add the ambiant background noise of where you are flying, and your own voice, if you are on a holiday, describing what you see.

P.S. I normally fly first thing in the morning, while the birds are still singing. (So I'm rather interested in this feature)

 

[raulvolador]

..
Now for a question.
How far down the list of things to add, is the Add Audio recording?
It would be nice to add the ambiant background noise of where you are flying, and your own voice, if you are on a holiday, describing what you see.
..

@Garry,

About your sound recording request, I recommend you recording your flights using an screen capture app like DU Recorder https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.duapps.recorder (free).



That way you will get two video files from each flight. First, high resolution video file saved by TelloFPV and second low resolution screen capture showing flight data (distance, speed, height, ...) and optionally ambient sound. You only have to remember launching DU Recorder previous to TelloFPV. For me it's part of my daily flight checklist.

Thats the way I do, let me show you an example:

Flight recorded into TelloFPV app:


Same flight simultaneosly recorded into DU Recorder app (including ambient sound):


All the best,

Raul.

 

[volate!lo]

Sound recording is somewhere in the middle, but frankly its a rather complicated thing to get this right, at least the way I'm doing things (manual coding instead of using large but unmanageable libraries).

 

[Garry]

volate!lo
Ahhh.... the length of string gets longer....
BUT... worth the wait.

raulvolador
Thanks for your input.
I'll have a look at DU

 

[volate!lo]

interesting the vps of the tello does not deactivate, it was flying and the only thing that told me is low luminosity.

the little house that appears in the TelloFPV app does not work well, at first when I fly the drone I get the house where it is and after a while I change it automatically, then I assign it again the house where it is and I return it to change ... is it normal?

TelloFpv uses the positions reported by Tello. If some position is completely wrong, then you managed to confuse the VPS.

To understand why this happens imagine yourself in Tello's position and look down, also close one eye so you don't have any sense for distance. Also you have to forget that you know a wall is vertical and tiles, roads are horizontal. All you have is this image.

As long as you fly over a flat surface with a clear pattern and marks its easy to know where you are. You move at a certain speed and the paterns move accordingly. All fine!
Now imagine you fly low over some trees. Part of the image you see (the ground) moves as you expect but some other parts move way quicker (the leaves and limbs). No decide how fast you are moving. Do you use the slow moving ground part or the faster moving tree parts for calculating the position / speed ? Keep in mind you have no sense what each part is because you are a dumb computer.

Next scenario you fly alongside a house: one half of the image moves as you'd expect (again the ground) but the other half just does weird things (the wall). Which part of the image gives true information about position?

Even worse: Fly over the edge of a cliff...


Most often VPS is confused if you fly low over trees so it fills most of the VPS' field of view.

 

[GabrielK]

TelloFpv uses the positions reported by Tello. If some position is completely wrong, then you managed to confuse the VPS.

To understand why this happens imagine yourself in Tello's position and look down, also close one eye so you don't have any sense for distance. Also you have to forget that you know a wall is vertical and tiles, roads are horizontal. All you have is this image.

As long as you fly over a flat surface with a clear pattern and marks its easy to know where you are. You move at a certain speed and the paterns move accordingly. All fine!
Now imagine you fly low over some trees. Part of the image you see (the ground) moves as you expect but some other parts move way quicker (the leaves and limbs). No decide how fast you are moving. Do you use the slow moving ground part or the faster moving tree parts for calculating the position / speed ? Keep in mind you have no sense what each part is because you are a dumb computer.

Next scenario you fly alongside a house: one half of the image moves as you'd expect (again the ground) but the other half just does weird things (the wall). Which part of the image gives true information about position?

Even worse: Fly over the edge of a cliff...


Most often VPS is confused if you fly low over trees so it fills most of the VPS' field of view.

Loud and clear!!!
As usual...

I´m learning a lot, thanks to you...