Skydio 2 Autonomous Sports Drone: Holy cow!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Hey folks - thanks for watching! I've also uploaded a huge footage compilation (as well as the original files if you want to download them) - all here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fISngnRjnZ2IpZY Plus, check out my full written review here: www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/12/skydio-autonomous-sports.html with plenty more details that didn't fit in this video.

[@ThatTriathlonLife]

DC Rainmaker hi Ray, I just sent you an email. I’d love to borrow your skydio if you’ve still got it ;)

[@stsingh167]

Hi, I love my Skydio as well. How are you attaching the beacon to your bike?

[@Dcrainmaker]

@@stsingh167 So I use two things. The first is this little mount I put on the back of the remote (amzn.to/3i31NUv) - fits perfectly, and is rock solid (seriously, I tried to remove one once to take pictures w/o it, and just about required a saw to get off). Then just a standard Garmin rubber band mount on the frame (amzn.to/2RTTLTp) - of course, you can use Garmin mount then, but I just use the rubber band ones on the top tube of the frame so it's out of the picture.

[@stsingh167]

@@Dcrainmaker Thank you.

[@MrAnanoymous]

Can I make this done follow me at same height and constant distance of only 2 meters away from me on my side while i run and talk??

[@PaulNurse1]

That is the most incredible avoidance system I’ve ever seen. And it’s not from dji

[@rosspidoto]

I love how the footsteps look at 20x due to combination of step frequency and framerate. Looks like you're ice skating!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Or moon walking!

[@crawfordjacoba]

DC Rainmaker That's what I was thinking! It looked so cool! The drone was awesome too. Haha!

[@davidsirmons]

LOL oh my god that and the music are total winsauce!!!

[@rickykngo]

@@Dcrainmaker how do you achieve that effect? Is it just automatic?

[@Dcrainmaker]

@@rickykngo I just sped up the video.

[@klewis2048]

I've never wanted a drone, until today

[@jasonkasprzak7875]

Same here! I've generally thought they were a "novelty" but this is next level stuff!

[@noelcapule2337]

I have the same feeling until I realized all the rules and regulations I need to comply with the FAA as well as the local ordinance.

[@droneceptionart]

Unless you live in Europe, where they dont ship it, then you are stuck with DJI...

[@knoxieman]

@@noelcapule2337 Rules are for fools, just ignore all that fly and have fun.

[@quarans08]

knoxieman No! DONT ignore all of them!

[@Skydio]

DC we always know you'll put it through its paces! Nice work.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!

[@SeanOzz]

Looking forward to putting it through test on the mountain snowboarding soon.

[@marekliban7366]

Dear Skydio Team, can you let us know how much did the algorithms improves over the last year? Did you update the app and the drone? Would it do better right now than a year ago?

[@Skydio]

@@marekliban7366 we have had several software updates adding features and functionality.

[@SportbikeUnitedRiderz]

6:00 at this point, any DJI drone would've tapped out, crashed and burned. Kudos to Skydio for setting the bar extremely high as it should. Standing ovation ! Should have mine delivered very soon.

[@bakerXderek]

My favorite tech of the year for sure !

[@JustinDoesTriathlon]

That's truly pretty amazing. I was ready to be underwhelmed, but seriously good on you, Skydio. I sure couldn't have flown a drone through the areas it struggled with.

[@CAPTAINDRONE798]

Best Consumer "Follow Me" Drone on the planet. Bonus that the camera is more than decent.

[@Steven.spendlesstime]

I dont plan to buy a drone, but man I love this video with you and the team! Still very impressed by the drone quality of navigating the forest. It might not be perfect but still.

[@thinkingclown]

Love your moon walk when you fast forward your run!.

[@Dcrainmaker]

It's epic!

[@joshmobley263]

Active track on mavic air and M2P cant even come CLOSE to competing with this Thanks for sharing

[@Issac_G]

also they dont do barrel rolls like Skydio either

[@blueorange8532]

Agree

[@JadenFeddock]

What a cool piece of tech!! Thanks for the review! This is what a lot of people are looking for to video themselves. Improving the tracking from just visual identification is a huge step forward (think skier/snowboarders) and the better processing power and object avoidance will help with the trees issue ;) Unfortunately the price range makes it unusable for the vast majority of athletes who would want it... the good news is that now the tech is out there, and we will soon see other companies taking advantage and the competition will be exciting to watch 😀

[@Dcrainmaker]

Yup - super cool for athletes. I think the $999 price range of the R2 is far better than the R1.

[@1micYT]

Fantastic!! Even though it go stuck in the woods, it did a great job!! Can't wait for mine!!!

[@bucharestbiketraffic]

Holy cow. This is awesome.Thanks for your reviews. I discovered you from your GoPro Max review and I have to say, you do a great job, especially providing sample footage. It helped my decisions a lot.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks - appreciate it!

[@turnerstechtalk7737]

Best review of this drone yet (for my purposes at least). Most reviews show it in fairly open forrest areas. You answered some big questions for me. I'm still getting one for some of my more open trail runs and my road bike rides but you've definitely found it's limitations. It's still an amazing piece of technology.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!!

[@eca7773]

Just think it can only get better over time...

[@paulstabler]

Awesome. I’ve never trusted Active Track on my Mavic. This looks next level.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Definitely indeed!

[@caseylabelle1128]

Same.

[@jetpipe28]

Wow. Can’t wait for mine! Didn’t even know this was coming out until a week ago. Ordered 3 days ago and I’m in Batch 4. 3rd quarter 2020 ☹️. To give you an idea of backorder. Guess I will have plenty of time to save up.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Holy balls that's far out!

[@michaeljmobley]

Wow. These guys could really stand to ramp up production. Amazing product. Just saw this today and it looks absolutely amazing for a super affordable price. Cinematic quality shooting for scenic hiking and biking.

[@hellohogo]

Oh man, I thought batch 2 was long. Srry dude. It’ll be worth it tho!

[@cinemoto5715]

Now this has to be the most independent drone video I've ever watched. Spectacular!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks - appreciate it!

[@Mike0193Azul]

The tracking and obstacle avoidance technology in this drone looks amazing 🤯

[@AC-wq7fo]

5:15 +, best moonwalk ever? Suggestion: go up! for the drone? With an over-over-over-overview it would be able to find the beacon?

[@Dcrainmaker]

Haha...saw the moonwalk as well - it's awesome! Yeah, there isn't really a great overhead type quick shot that you can hold in tracking mode.

[@Jecotul]

I love the moonwalk too, it's like a backwards skating haha!

[@larryt1004]

For what it's worth. You have put it through the more complex scenarios than what most people would use it for so in my eyes. This is the drone to get over any DJI offerings. I have both thr Spark and Mavic Pro Platinum and looking to upgrade soon so this may be it thanks for the review.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Yup - I'm all about pushing things to the point of breaking...or, crashing in this case!

[@marekliban7366]

Thanks a lot. It would be absolutely fantastic to redo this test after a year to see if they improve the algorithms (more smooth, less jerky and better obstacle avoidance) ! I'm sure many people would love that!

[@PaulWaye]

Yep.. I see why you called it the wow moment at the openhouse now!. just that single sweeping shot around the bridge was the money shot!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Haha...indeed - that's what we were saying. Wish I had the audio recording for that one!

[@51Drones]

I was thinking you would get an early unit. Excellent review! Mine is on the way!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!

[@thecalledout7]

Unfair going through all those branches but it still followed like it wanted to figure out a way to get through all those twigs. Impressive!

[@supernova1976]

This is remarkable , it was so much fun to watch . this is the future right here.

[@brianhill273]

Great comparison video. You are brave flying over the water and close to trees while in tracking mode!

[@johnhoover3345]

Great review! Answers pretty much all my questions. I generally don't run through heavily dense forests nor do I engage in picking my way along narrow branch-rich low canopy paths, LOL. I do however appreciate this Quad's versatility and it's intuitive ability to think for itself. I've got a Mavic Pro and a Blade Chroma which work fine for my needs but this Drone is too much of a Next Step Up not to consider. Price Point is pretty fantastic too. Wish they could produce them faster though. Thanks again

[@Dcrainmaker]

John Hoover thanks!

[@donaldduck5731]

Cleaverest thing I've seen for a long time, very impressed. What it needs to do though is record the GPS path you take, so if it gets stuck, it can then simply retrace your route to find you rather than just trying to take a direct route.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Yeah, I think there's a lot of places they can take the Beacon with future software updates.

[@fredlampart3536]

Great written review ... thanks for taking the time to put it together.... SUBSCRIBED!!!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!

[@johnb5482]

The KZbin award placed next to the torque wrenches. Perfect.

[@SloMo2723]

That was amazing!!!! I'm going to get the Skydio. You put this thing through a lot and I felt it did well ! Thanks for posting it !

[@DC9848]

As a DJI Mavic 2 owner the Skydio looks impressive. For next version they could consider capturing the path of the user and using that to follow the user. As in the case of mountain biking through the forest would have helped a lot.

[@El-se7vx]

the fact he says the price is wonderful!!!! one love man !!!

[@knoxieman]

Anyone who manually flies a drone knows just how amazing this thing is, folks that are bugging out on it flying through the twiggy sections should try doing that themselves, the shots in between the trees of the 3 road cyclists are simply stunning, totally next level and the way the drone moved in between them at speed would not be possible by someone on the ground with a drone of this size, DJI need to get their act together if they want part of the action drone market, I still think that DJI are fine in other sectors and they make some amazing drones its just this is way more amazing.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Indeed - super cool stuff!

[@computergames5]

It’s incredible and kind of creepy how it can make such quick decisions all by itself... I mean goodness it can even spot the tiny branches while you’re running! Glad to see the US built consumer drone market finally kick in!

[@FlyingNikon]

The most honest review of it that I have seen, thank you. Still on the fence over this one or the Mavic Air as an upgrade to my Spark.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!!!

[@BeckersReviews]

I was waiting for this video since I first heard about it!!! my expectations are super high=) starting to watch now

[@BeckersReviews]

Dc Rainmaker quality =)

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!!!

[@Worthfishing]

You can’t expect it to be 100% perfect but it’s awful damn close.I’ll more than likely by this drone.Thanks

[@LinoPR-ds2ke]

Man this drone make the rookie look like a pro, I’m excited and I’m hoping this company succeeds because I’m done with DJI

[@themeatpopsicle]

Gotta say, I really love watching people run in time-lapse

[@StopLossLOL]

Omg, the 20x moon-walk looks amazing! :)

[@JoelsterG4k]

Wow, what an amazing drone, very good review, those shots switching views between the tree was fantastic, great video, thanks

[@davidjordan2789]

This just went to the top of my list for My Next Drone. I will have to see some reviewers on how it handles the cold for winter activities then hope I can get one by next ski season.

[@fpvflyriding]

Wow! It's really what we've been waiting for all these years!

[@discbrakefan]

This is really impressive, even if it does get stuck sometimes the technology is amazing

[@Dcrainmaker]

Yup! I was chatting with Des a bit about it last night after I finished the intro to this video, and realized that normally people are just using snippets of videos like these. So in that context it's incredible what can be achieved 95% of the time (versus just sitting down to watch a single 23 minute long take of following someone on a bike around).

[@vdolong]

Tôi nghĩ điều nó hơn Mavic 2 là trong tình huống tránh được các cành nhỏ tìm nối thoát theo chủ - Mavic không làm được. Tôi đã dùng Mavic !

[@eointmcmahon]

I was about to pull the trigger on a mavic mini 2 and watched your review on it where you name dropped Skydio 2 and then thought, huh what's that? Glad I didn't purchase yet. The Skydio 2 looks incredible and I would mainly use it for mountain biking on singletrack and wakeboarding. The particular forest you used for testing was great as it highlighted it's weaknesses on narrow trails with thin branches hanging down, this is a pity as most trails I ride would be similar to this but I can appreciate that it's very difficult to navigate dense forest. This drone has superb potential.

[@woolfel]

skydio is an awesome drone. they're making great progress making it smaller

[@ayoifeoni]

The 20x speed looks like some funny video game. Like your content btw. I was already putting together a budget for the Mavic 2 Pro or 3 Pro if that came out soon enough but I'm honestly sold on Skydio 2. Definitely getting one for myself.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!!!

[@scoro3]

Just when I didn't think I needed a new drone I watch this video. Nice review!

[@BJKeane-mc6bm]

been waiting for your review!

[@djryanashton]

This guy doesn't fuck around. He really put it through its paces.

[@Dcrainmaker]

That's what I'm here for!

[@misticalodin]

this is CRAZY!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Sometimes you just need a bit of crazy!

[@JoseRizaldyCarolino]

Now I love drone already ❤❤❤

[@fernando_dominguez]

Thanks for the time and effort put into this, the best review so far!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!

[@lexville12]

Great video on putting this drone to its max capabilities. The drone handled it well...and even a human pilot may not able to pull off getting around that tight spot in the 10.00" mark.

[@JasonMemory]

This review was so good !

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!

[@MrPhilbautista]

It needs a laser to cut a hole through the branches. Not a flame thrower, cos that would just be irresponsible.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Sharks...err...drones...with frickin' lasers on their heads!

[@weirdscience8341]

Lasers still can start fires tho 🤔

[@MrPhilbautista]

@@weirdscience8341 It's like the difference between driving at the speed limit and driving at 150mph. You could get in an accident either way but there's a responsible way of driving and there's "mounting a flame thrower on a drone" level of driving.

[@weirdscience8341]

@@MrPhilbautista how about just learning to fly properly on acro mode then theres no need for either just knife edge the tree i actually love flying my power whoops in the forest its like the scene in star wars were there on the speeder bikes daisy cutter racings fun too you aren't aloud above 1ft for the entire course thats like pod racing ...im a star wars fan dont hate me 😂👍👍

[@MrPhilbautista]

@@weirdscience8341 This drone is for those who aren't strong in the Force but crave the attention Jarjar gets.

[@fc1133]

Great video, as always. That said, in the beginning, when you are running through the woods, it's more like "catching up" and not really following you. In other words, if you wouldn't have stopped, it would have lost you for sure. However, it's still pretty impressive that it can do that!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Definitely. Though, that's actually a great case for the Beacon. In that scenario with the Beacon it would have basically given up and tracked from above, rather than try and do it visually.

[@fc1133]

@@Dcrainmaker I agree. Thanks for the reply.

[@fernando_dominguez]

By far the best review, thanks man!

[@bliglum]

Wow... SUPER impressive autonomy!!!

[@horsetowater]

That 20x speed run looked amazing

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!

[@proz71ful19]

In 10 years when these are chasing us life or death, I choose the right path to Thin Twig Forrest 👍🏽

[@azendantforces1897]

🤖 we will upgrade flesh thing👾

[@coryrolling6938]

LMFAO

[@GglSux]

Thanks for another great review, and "Holy Cow* indeed !! those tracking shots are quite astonishing!! And I have a hard time seeing how a drone would manage the "sticking points" that You showed with less than the drone getting an actual gps track to follow... which I would't put beyond the realm of possibilities in the future. Another much more basic thing that I wondered about was why they don't equip it with "prop guards".... Then they could possibly even have a "small bubble mode" where You could set it to use algorithms where it "accepted" objects closer, but also took that into account when "choosing path".... Seeing things like this I actually feel like "I'm living in the future" ;) Best regards.

[@albertAsoriano]

SUPERB!!! I hope they will release a new model that folds like dji soon!!

[@Totustuus2022]

Thank you for your honest review. This drone even when not perfect is the best there is at the moment for tracking and there is no DJI drone that comes close to it. I have pretty much all DJI drones in the market except the Inspire. It will be the best combination between my Mavic 2 Pro and the Skydio. I can't wait for me to arrive! One question: Does the skydio still have RTH as the DJI drones?

[@Dcrainmaker]

Yup, it has a few different modes of RTH depending on the exact circumstances (such as actively tracking someone or not, with beacon/controller/etc...). All of it makes pretty good sense (and is roughly similiar to the DJI Dynamic Homepoint). I'd agree, if you have a Mavic 2 Pro for 'pretty shots', and a Skydio 2 for sports shots - it's a hard to beat combo.

[@Totustuus2022]

@@Dcrainmaker Thank you for your prompt reply but I am more interested to know what will happen if you are flying with the controller and have a signal interference or a controller malfunction, Can you set up the drone to return to you or does not return?. When following you if you are using the beacon, how do you know if the drone has stop following you? I meant, you can be biking down the hill pretty rapidly and not realizing your drone is not following you until about 200-500 mts. What then? Does the drone keep hovering where it lost you until the battery run out or will go up like a DJI drone and fly where you are with the beacon? Thank you for your reply.

[@Skydio]

@@Totustuus2022 You can see the RTH through obstacles here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bojXoHaoe5Wmo9E

[@hussTennis]

Skydio 3 will be impressive 😃 bikes and trees follow-up was incredible !

[@Canyon76]

Well I'm still impressed. True it's not perfect but all this tells me is that with Skydio 3 it just might be able to follow you through all those branches. I was super blown away by most of it though. The part where you and 2 others bike along the path and you keep changing position... amazing! When you went around the corner in the thick forest making that 180 at 9:50 and had some issues that I feel predictive pathing might solve. I was under the impression it had this. I thought that while visual tracking the subject it would track the subjects path and be able to follow along the same path. Anyway, if not then that is certainly something they could work on for Skydio 3. I believe comparing the Skydio 2 to the Mavic 2 is very appropriate. Sure there are things the Mavic is better for but the imagery and video is what really matters and the ability to get those shots. Sure for normal cinematic shots the Mavic 2 may be a better bet ultimately but the Skydio 2's camera is actually very good. 60 fps in 4k! Mavic 2 no! HDR? Higher for Skydio 2. Really it is very comparable and even the Active Track 2.0 can't compete. Even price makes it more comparable to the Mavic 2. Really the most glaring thing is the size and even that is quite manageable give its low profile! Anyway great video testing the Skydio 2!

[@sirgigolo]

Even with the struggles, you have to admit, it's awesome tech!

[@amarisfrancescasanluis]

Awesome! Great reviews. Can’t wait to have mine next year. Thank you sir for sharing.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!!!

[@RidefreakTV]

DCR, Nice review. I had one to beta test but I was real hesitant about getting it in a situation that might cause it to hit branches, as it was I almost ran it into a barbwire fence. It's to be expected, I had trouble seeing the fence @ 30mph so it no surprise the drone did also.

[@Dcrainmaker]

It's funny, back with the R1 I ran alongside a chainlinked/barbed wire fence. At the time I didn't think anything of it, but then I looked back at the footage and was like...holy cow that was close!

[@DroneCrush]

Great review! I'm waiting for mine in January.

[@CrazyGreek80]

Very impressive damn!! I'm sold!!

[@ChupacabraOffroad]

Awesome review as always DC. For action sports this looks to be a game changer, Did you see Nate Hills new video mountain biking in Arizona? Unbelievable!!

[@cdarw]

Thanks for this! Mine is on order. Your test in the “branchy” was borderline cruel to the drone. I felt a little sorry for it when it couldn’t find a path through the dense branches. 😃

[@pathania]

You are killing the machine

[@nonesounique]

Superb presentation. Thank you. Looking forward to seeing my R2. It's shipping!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Enjoy it!

[@jimlips]

Nice review. KZbin clickbait brought me here, but I'm glad it did! Your video is well laid-out, not boring, and answered all my questions about Skydio 2. I ordered mine in October, and have gotten one (1) email from Skydio saying that they are starting to ship (not mine, but someones!) It would be nice if they had a status page on where I was in the Queue, or even an email saying that mine was shipping in January or whenever. Not knowing is the worst!

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!

[@xboxice2005]

Honestly that's bloody good :) i couldn't honestly asked it to do more.

[@alaminsnighdho3818]

really done good job by skydio!!

[@mat8471]

Very good and honest test !!! Thank you...

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!

[@joando61]

Amazing !!!! I love this drone !

[@IdealBike]

Just amazing, I am impressed, Dji it's waaay behind

[@antoniofigueroamx]

impressive, I just bought the Mavic Mini, but for sure my next one will be this one or v3 in the near future,. amazing technology. For now I will we learning with mavic mini is my first drone and I wanted something with low investment to be sure if I like the new hobby

[@JimHaysom]

Bridge fly bys are great!

[@TeamStruggleBunny]

Wow, that is pretty amazing how well it does.

[@tacotaker46]

It's insane how it could maneuver though all of those little branches.

[@Dcrainmaker]

I love your username.

[@tacotaker46]

@@Dcrainmaker Thanks

[@vincentrogiest997]

That was about time !

[@RWWRENTAL]

its probably such great yet complicated engineering, but in areas with super dense forest, I wish there was a way skydio can engineer an option to follow the exact path of the beacon directly straight behind you. then im sure it probably wont have an issue. im sure much easier said than done, but this is still amazing!

[@backcountrybluegrass4770]

wow im impressed, freaking awesome

[@AndrewVanTil]

This is scary, and cool at the same time.

[@Dcrainmaker]

That's the best kind of scary!

[@GearMashers]

Ray, I wish I had your terrain here in Austin. Those single track mountain biking trails look sweet. Great video as always. Keep it up.

[@VisionCommunications]

Great demo! Thanks! Certainly too much to expect it to navigate through lots of thin trees

[@MrEye4get]

Interesting (but too focused) features. The beacon tracker is unique. The obstacle avoidance is fantastic. I definite contender if you are an "action" for of person!

[@nino1filionewheeler257]

Amazing machine can’t wait to get mine

[@hightechcorvette]

I wish I had this and not a Mavic Pro...

[@AratjaUjotOurstories]

Dude, what an amazing machine. I can really see why this will be great for first responders. Great! Not a drone for the masses I think though. But what an achievement!

[@icanhasbase]

Wow. Super impressive going through those small branches. I really really wish it had fold up arms like the mavic.

[@GokuRunner]

That's amazing! So good.