DroneDeploy is excited to support the Skydio 2 drone for flight. Before you get started, there are some important notes on operating the Skydio drone.
While your experience with flying Skydio 2 on DroneDeploy will be fairly similar to DJI, you will want to make sure you practice flying your Skydio 2 drone with the Skydio app before you attempt to fly your drone with DroneDeploy. All DroneDeploy autonomous operations expect pilots to be comfortable flying the drone manually first.
Is the Skydio 2 right for me?
The Skydio 2 might be right for you if you value lower altitude mapping near structures, close proximity inspection, or if you just want enhanced safety features for all pilots.
Is Planning my flight with Skydio any different than using a DJI drone?
Good news, your flight plans will work for both DJI and Skydio. Just connect your drone to get started! Having said that, we recommend registering for Skydio before flying with DroneDeploy the first time.
How does my In-Flight experience differ from DJI after takeoff?
The Skydio 2 drone will go around objects to reach its desired waypoint. If the drone cannot reach a waypoint (e.g. the waypoint is obstructed by obstacles) it will skip that waypoint and move on to the next. Additionally, in manual flight, the Skydio 2 drone will steer around structures and other objects (provided they are not in motion), even if the pilot attempts to fly directly into them. Please note that thin structures such as power lines or thin branches are challenging for Skydio 2 to see. Consult Skydio's Safety page for more tips on which environments are unsafe for Skydio 2 to fly in.
Connecting to the DroneDeploy App
Because of the way the Skydio 2 determines which app is in control of the drone. It is not advised to switch back and forth between the Skydio 2 app and the DroneDeploy app. If you do need to switch between the two applications, it is best to force quit the app you are not using. It may be necessary to quit and restart the app that you want to use to establish a proper connection.
Taking Off with the Skydio 2
The Skydio 2 performs multiple systems and safety checks before taking off. Because of this, you will often notice a delay between pressing take-off and the drone actually taking off. It is not uncommon for the delay to be upwards of 60 seconds. Please remain patient and wait for it to get past this. If an error does prevent take-off from happening, a message will appear at the bottom of the DroneDeploy application.
What is my landing experience with Skydio 2?
Skydio 2 will descend until it is 3m (10 ft) above the surface below it. Once Skydio 2 is less than 3m from the surface the LEDs on Skydio 2 will turn yellow and all obstacle avoidance will be disabled for the remainder of the landing. Users will be notified of this change on screen if flying with the Skydio 2 app.
WARNING: Skydio may recognize bushes, trees, and similar obstacles as potential surfaces. Make sure to first pilot the drone to an open area free of obstacles before initiating a landing.
While Skydio 2 is landing you may nudge the drone forwards, backward, left, or right using the Controller or digital thumbsticks in the app.
If you are using the Skydio 2 case, the drone can identify the case and land on it. There will be a yellow circle in the video feed when the drone has identified the case. If the Skydio 2 is not landing in the location you prefer, you can press the Launch/Land Button to stop the landing sequence. You can then manually adjust the Skydio 2 to the proper landing location and press the Launch/Land Button again to resume landing.
Note the launch/land button which you can press if you need to stop the drone from landing.
Do you support Skydio 3D Scan?
DroneDeploy has worked closely with Skydio to enable high-quality models from their 3D Scan technology. Today, these flights are conducted in the Skydio app. The imagery from these flights can then be processed into a model using DroneDeploy.
Do you support the Skydio Enterprise controller?
We do not support this controller today.
What are my uploading options for the Skydio 2?
Currently, DroneDeploy does not support mobile uploads but users can upload and process imagery on a desktop via the Skydio 2 SD card.
When I fly are DroneDeploy flight logs generated?
No, DroneDeploy flight logs are not yet generated with Skydio flights. Skydio has its own flight logs that are generated and are inaccessible to the user. For any Skydio warranty claims, Skydio may require you to send flight logs or other data from your drone or the Skydio 2 app to Skydio to verify what happened during the crash (The Skydio support team can provide assistance with the process of sending flight logs). See the Skydio warranty for additional details.
Are there any other key functionalities that I may not get with a Skydio drone compared to DJI drone?
The Skydio 2 has advanced obstacle avoidance and autonomous flight features, but compared to the current experience with DJI drones on DroneDeploy, you may notice a few differences:
- No DroneDeploy flight logs will be created
- Mobile upload of imagery is not yet supported
Is Skydio 2 supported on iOS and Android versions of DroneDeploy?
All functionality is available on iOS only. Users can download the DroneDeploy app on iTunes.
How do I contact Skydio for hardware issues?
For any hardware issues please contact Skydio at help@skydio.com. For any software issues while using Skydio with DroneDeploy please contact DroneDeploy at support@dronedeploy.com
How do I learn more about Skydio 2?
Check out the Skydio support site at skydio.com/support or visit skydio.com for more information specific to the Skydio 2 platform.