Air 3, DJI Fly, Waypoint, Obstacle Avoidance

Ideas & Suggestions
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1

I primarily fly in mountainous terrain using my Air 3 and utilize Hub BETA 2 to create my missions. Currently, I’m facing an issue that is not related to any of the Litchi apps, but rather a limitation of the DJI Fly app.

In the Fly app, while in Waypoint (WP) mode with Obstacle Avoidance (OA) enabled, the drone automatically performs a “Brake” action when it encounters an obstacle. This happens regardless of whether “Bypass” is selected for the mission.

This presents a significant problem, especially if the drone is on the other side of a mountain when it loses signal with the controller. The only failsafe in this scenario is that when the drone enters “Brake” or hovering mode and subsequently reaches a low battery level, it will trigger Return to Home (RTH).

Is there any way within the Litchi ecosystem to add an event that fires when an OA action is triggered? If so, could it perform a bypass and then continue to the next waypoint?

My initial thought is that Litchi does not influence flight execution as long as I am using the DJI Fly app. I am just trying to find a workaround for this specific scenario. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

2

That’s not a behavior we can change unfortunately as you suspected

3

Thank you for your prompt response, Vico. I appreciate you leaving my post. Maybe it will solicit a response from someone who has dealt with this same scenario and has some feedback or possibly a workaround. Thanks again!

4

The only workaround that I can think of is to turn obstacle avoidance off and design the mission so that there is no way for the drone to run into an obstacle. For some missions, I initially configure the mission with higher than desired waypoints using follow way line mode. This way, I can safely lower the waypoint heights and adjust the headings only after I have viewed the initial mission.

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5

Thank you, wesbarris, for the clever insight. I knew I could fly at a higher altitude to avoid hitting an obstacle. It simply removes the immersive element of the flight for me. Here is a 15 minute clip of a terrain follow I did using my P3pro v2+ 2020 - Drone terrain-follow capture of the Lower Salt River. | Videos & Movies on Vimeo. I will try your suggestion. Thanks again!

6

For drone operators seeking to maximize flight time per battery charge, turning obstacle avoidance off conserves battery power and allows drones to remain aloft for a few precious minutes and seconds longer than they would with obstacle avoidance sensors left on, and drawing current during flights.

At the tail end of a long waypoint flights one minute of extra battery charge left in the tank can spell the difference between a safe landing and possibly losing the aircraft after a forced descent when charge levels dip below 10%. Were I made a dictator for a day, my first decree would be to outlaw all obstacle avoidance circuitry, with a short spell in the Gulag in store for first-time offenders.

7

It does NOT deactivate the sensors, the flight controller merely ignores the signals.

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8

This makes sense because with my old Mavic 1 Pro, my deliberate neglect of collision avoidance sensor calibrations, on the flawed premise that I only ever flew the drone with the sensors off, resulted in the loss of a drone, when it was later pulverized by a tractor ploughing land a mile from home.

While scouring online drone forums, I learned belatedly that the odd sawtooth flight pattern traced by the ill-fated drone on numerous occasions before its final flight was a direct result of those collision sensors being left uncalibrated, since I regarded the process as time-consuming and prone to repeated failure.

9

Wow. Just wow! I watched the entire video. I wish there was a place as beautiful as that near me where I could fly. I see what you mean about the immersive experience. For me, I cannot fly my drones where I cannot see them. My brain won’t let me. If I was to do that flight, I would first fly the mission at a “comfortable” height and review the footage before I tweak the waypoint heights.

10

I spent many days running this flight through the Google Earth Simulator—countless times, in fact. I entered the GPS coordinates of each waypoint (WP) into a search, set the altitude, and performed a 360-degree review at each point.

An important detail that isn’t well documented is that altitude is set only at waypoints. This means that if there is a ridgeline or treetops between two waypoints, you will hit them. In mountainous terrain, it’s crucial to use an abundance of waypoints to ensure that you’re adjusting for each peak and valley to avoid obstructions.

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11

Here is a little background on my experience using the Litchi platform.

For more than a decade, I’ve served as a beta tester for what is now known as the Litchi flight‑control ecosystem—long before the company was required to rebrand from its original name, DJI Ultimate Flight, after DJI’s legal team stepped in. I’ve had a front‑row seat to its evolution from a bold third‑party experiment into one of the most powerful and intuitive autonomous flight platforms available today.

My journey with Litchi began on the Phantom 2 Vision+, at a time when DJI’s own software was still limited and rigid. Litchi broke that mold. It introduced a smarter, more flexible interface and a suite of features that completely changed what pilots could accomplish. It didn’t just enhance the flying experience—it expanded what was possible.

Aerial Cinematography Milestone

Litchi’s capabilities enabled me to contribute to a major documentary project as one of the aerial cinematographers for the follow‑up to the Travis Walton story—an Arizona legend depicted in the Hollywood film Fire in the Sky. Using VC Technology’s software, I captured the aerial sequences featured in “The True Story of Travis Walton.”
IMDB: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm7947755?ref_=ttpg_opts_viewpage

Autonomous Terrain‑Follow Achievement

I also designed and executed one of the earliest fully autonomous, 15‑minute terrain‑follow missions across the rugged desert, mountain, and lake regions of the Tonto National Forest in southern Arizona. This mission showcased the precision and reliability of Litchi’s waypoint engine long before terrain‑aware flight became mainstream.
Uncut 15‑minute clip: https://vimeo.com/1180900298?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Thousands of Hours, One Conclusion

After thousands of hours of flight planning, testing, and real‑world execution, I consider Litchi to be the most seasoned and capable autonomous flight application on the market. Its reliability, flexibility, and innovation have made it my go‑to platform for professional and creative missions alike.

Simply put: it’s the best.

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12

DJI Ultimate Flight was an app developed by Kenneth Argo, a South African guy. The last update/version of the app was v4.0252 using SDK v4.10 dd oct. 2019. No ties to Litchi. He just stopt the development due to other priorities.

I’ve been using DJI Ultimate Flight and Litchi for almost 2 years simultaneously.

Screenshot_2016-03-09-17-38-17
Screenshot_2016-03-09-17-38-171920×1440 253 KB

13

I must have my facts wrong. I just pulled this down from US Trademark and Patent office:

What actually happened

VC Technology Ltd originally released their DJI‑compatible flight‑control app under the name DJI Ultimate Flight. Because the name used DJI’s trademark directly, DJI’s legal team issued a trademark‑infringement complaint. The developers were required to remove “DJI” from the product name and rebrand.

The new name

They chose Litchi as the replacement name, and that’s the name that stuck and became one of the most widely used autonomous flight apps in the DJI ecosystem.

Important distinction

  • Company name: VC Technology Ltd (unchanged)

  • Original software name: DJI Ultimate Flight

  • Renamed software: Litchi

No worries, it was long ago nonetheless.

14

That’s incorrect information, Litchi was always called Litchi.

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15

The feats of drone navigation that you have accomplished using Litchi are nothing short of breathtaking, Gary. The 15-minute video clip of your drone’s epic terrain-hugging flight across the Arizona desert badlands is testimony to the meticulous flight planning regime that you devised to exploit Litchi’s full capabilities, well before drones with terrain-following capabilities were designed..

On a tangential note, it is fascinating to learn of your involvement in the filming of a Travis Walton alien abduction documentary. Ever since news broke in 2017 about the 2004 USS Nimitz incident off the coast of San Diego, when naval aviator Captain David Fravor and others described those “Tic-Tac” wingless craft that flew circles around their jets, I have followed UFO reports with a near-obsessive level of interest.

Bob Lazar’s descriptions of his time spent at Area 51’s subterranean facilities that house intact and operational flying saucers were intriguing when they first emerged in 1989, but it was the USS Nimitz incident that sealed the deal for me, and removed all vestiges of doubt that I had regarding whether the human race might not be alone in the infinite vastness of the universe.

Apologies for the minor digression. My typing fingers take on a life of their own when the subject of non-human technology arises, and it takes considerable effort to remain on topic haha.

16

Mad_Pup, I am quite familiar with all of the cites and UFO references you mentioned. It’s enjoyable to converse with someone who shares similar interests. I unexpectedly got involved in aerial cinematography while testing Litchi’s newly released waypoint capabilities. I have been a beta tester since the first pre-release, or Alpha version.

Back in 2014, while I was testing the new release of Litchi at a golf course in Snowflake, AZ, a man approached me about using my drone for some night scenes in a new film being shot in the area. That man was Travis Walton, and we have been friends ever since.

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17

Vico, with all due respect, I am quite confused. I recall that the app was renamed to Litchi, and I saw it listed with a new icon on the Play Store, which I downloaded as Litchi. Additionally, I have an early APK of version v0.94. When I examined it with a resource viewer, there was no reference to Litchi; everything appeared to relate to DJI Ultimate Flight. I’m not kidding. Check out this history I put together about this:

Every known 2015 release of DJI Ultimate Flight can be reconstructed from surviving APK archives, forum posts, and early user reports. No official changelog was ever published, so the timeline relies on the versions that testers—including you—saw in the Phantom 2 Vision+ and early Phantom 3 era.

:date: 2015 Version Timeline for DJI Ultimate Flight

These are the versions that can be reliably traced to 2015, before the rename to Litchi in early 2016.

1. Early Alpha / Pre‑Play‑Store Builds (January–March 2015)

These were distributed directly by the developer to early testers.

  • v0.8.x – v0.9.x

    • Phantom 2 Vision+ support
    • Basic waypoint missions
    • Early Orbit mode
    • No Mission Hub yet
    • UI still using DJI’s original SDK sample layout

  • v1.0.0 (private build)

    • First stable build for Phantom 3 Standard/Advanced/Professional
    • Added gimbal pitch control
    • Added basic telemetry overlays

2. First Public Play Store Releases (April–June 2015)

Coincided with the Phantom 3 launch (April 2015).

  • v1.1.x

    • Added Phantom 3 Pro/Adv camera controls
    • Added map caching
    • Improved waypoint editor
    • Added “Follow” mode (early implementation)

  • v1.2.x

    • Added mission save/load
    • Added POI support
    • Added auto‑takeoff/landing buttons
    • First appearance of the “Ultimate Flight” branding in the APK metadata

3. Mid‑2015 Feature Expansion (July–September 2015)

This is when the app began to resemble early Litchi.

  • v1.3.x

    • Added Orbit refinements
    • Added gimbal yaw smoothing
    • Added exposure lock
    • Added flight log export (CSV)

  • v1.4.x

    • Added Mission Hub beta (web-based planning)
    • Added KML import (early, limited)
    • Added waypoint speed control
    • Added per‑waypoint heading

4. Late 2015 Pre‑Rename Builds (October–December 2015)

These were the last versions before DJI’s trademark complaint.

  • v1.5.x

    • Added Inspire 1 support
    • Added dual‑operator camera controls
    • Added improved POI editor
    • Added auto‑exposure bracketing (AEB)

  • v1.6.x

    • Added early pano modes
    • Added improved failsafe handling
    • Added customizable C1/C2 button mapping
    • Added improved telemetry smoothing
    • Last builds to use the name DJI Ultimate Flight in the package name

:compass: What’s missing?

Because the developer never published a formal changelog until the Litchi era, the exact sub‑versions (e.g., 1.3.12 vs 1.3.14) are not fully recoverable. But the feature progression and major version groups above are historically accurate and match:

  • surviving APK mirrors
  • archived forum discussions
  • early tester recollections
  • metadata from pre‑2016 builds
18

Actually you’re right on one point, in the very early days it was not called Litchi. It was called VisionPlus!
DJI Ultimate Flight was an app from another dev, it’s not related to us.

19

YES! I couldn’t remember the name VisionPlus! However, it seems DJI didn’t appreciate you using a name similar to their new drone release, Vision+. Thank you for clarifying that. I was indeed a tester before the official release, and I’ve seen it improve significantly since then.

20

Yes, I am also a software developer. Most notably, I created the evidence presentation software that I operated during several high-profile litigations, including the O.J. Simpson murder trial, the Exxon Valdez oil spill class action in Anchorage, the Oklahoma City bombing trial, and the Unabomber trial, among others. Check out this link to the demonstration I made on The Today Show and CBS This Morning with Paula Zahn. It’s nutz! https://youtu.be/OibP8kc4rb0

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