Skydio software update brings long-awaited Panorama, KeyFrame gimbal roll

Skydio is finally rolling out the software update which will give its drones the ability to capture horizontal, vertical, and spherical panoramas. The US drone maker had initially promised this update to users in November 2022.

Panorama is a new flight skill that is being rolled out for the entire Skydio drone lineup: Skydio 2/2+, Skydio 2/2+ Enterprise, and Skydio X2E. It will allow your Skydio to take three different types of panoramic shots:

• Horizontal captures a 180° horizontal panorama, centered at the horizon.
• Vertical captures a full 180° degree vertical panorama.
• Spherical provides a full 360° degree equirectangular image. The final stitched output includes metadata which allows the image to be viewed in 360° interactive viewers.

Oh, and there’s also a cool new Panorama Live Preview feature that you utilize to see a low-resolution preview frame of the shot you’ve chosen.

Another major feature that the January 2023 software update brings for Skydio 2/2+ and Skydio 2/2+ Enterprise is the ability to adjust the gimbal roll angle in KeyFrame — the flight skill that empowers Skydio pilots to capture smooth, complex cinematic shots with just a few taps. You now have the ability to manually or automatically adjust the camera roll along the flight path when flying in KeyFrame. Simply use the slider to adjust the gimbal roll from -35° to 35°. In addition, the KeyFrame skill has now been improved to reduce drift and increase accuracy for long-distance and when loading and replaying KeyFrames.

The “Low Battery Auto Return” feature is also finally here. Enable this within the “Return Behaviors” menu and your drone will automatically return to your specified return location when the battery level is low.

Skydio’s enterprise drone users, meanwhile, can look forward to improvements in the Scout subject-tracking skill as well. The drone’s behavior can now be set to automatically reposition itself to match changes in the subject’s heading while still maintaining its position relative to the tracked Skydio Enterprise Controller or Beacon. Skydio has also added an AR marker over the tracked subject, so you can more easily orient yourself to the tracked GPS subject while in flight.

Finally, additional telemetry information about your current flight is now available in the top left of the live camera feed. New in-flight telemetry information for all drones includes compass heading (displayed in degrees ranging from 0°- 359° and cardinal directions). Skydio 2/2+ users will also be able to view the camera gimbal pitch here.

Read: When will drone delivery actually make sense? Here’s what McKinsey cost model predicts

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