Drones can’t just fly themselves. Well, actually, theycan. But the whole point of flying your drone is
actually flying it! Controlling a drone can happen in a
number of ways. First and foremost, you must
understand how flight controls work.
At the basic level, your drone is equipped with a
receiver. The receiver receives information that tells it
what to do. You tell your drone what to do using a
transmitter. Since the dawn of remote control flight,
receivers and transmitters have communicated using
radio frequencies (RF).
Not much has changed with remote controls. What has
changed, is the numerous additional communication
methods built into consumer drones today:
GPS provides accurate position data for your drone. It
also allows for some pretty slick auto pilot features.
Wi-Fi provides the ability to transmit heavy amounts of
data to and from the drone within a specific control
radius.
Bluetooth provides another method for transmitting
information to and from the drone.
900Mhz/433Mhz provides longer range communication
at a slower data rate.
The additional communication methods have opened
the door to some pretty awesome drone flying features.
Some drones have thrown out remote control with
handheld transmitters and replaced them with
smartphone and tablet controls. Flight controls are a
major differentiator between drones and a very
important feature to take into consideration when
choosing a drone!
RC Transmitters
Most drones come with an RC transmitter. RC controls
are very basic and typically only offer directional
control. RC transmitters provide control of your drone
for a much greater distance than a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
connection.
Most drones will come with an RC transmitter designed
specifically for them, although RC transmitters can be
interchangeable, so you can use a third party RC
transmitter if you want. If you are going to use a third-
party RC transmitter, make sure you verify that it is
compatible with your drone or the matching receiver
can be installed in your drone.
Your drone should come with documentation to specify
which transmitters are compatible with it. If you can’t
find the information in your operating manual or online,
then you may want to hold off on purchasing a
transmitter. An incompatible transmitter will only be
useful as a paper weight, or contemporary art.
Drones are typically offered in two different package
types: ready-to-fly means all you need to fly are
included in the box and there is next to no assembly
required; bind-and-fly means you need to set your
drone up to work with your own remote control
handset.
Credit: Courtesy of Tucker Krajewski
Several RC transmitters.
Mobile Apps
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have made it possible for drone
manufacturers to create device controls that run on
smartphone or tablet. Not just a smartphone version of
your RC transmitter, but high-tech controls. Several
drone manufactures have created apps that give you
advanced positioning, first person video controls,
programmable flight routes, and more.
Some drones come with both an RC transmitter
controller and a mobile application for viewing you’re
the drone’s position using GPS, flight stats like speed,
battery life, and fly time.
Credit: Courtesy of Tucker Krajewski
A sample drone control applications.
Advanced flight modes
Drone manufacturers have come up with several useful
flight modes and autopilots to make flying with a
purpose a little bit easier. Advanced flight modes can
also help you recover a drone that has gone rogue.
Set it and forget it: Program a flight path for your
drone into a mobile or tablet app and then watch it go.
(Be careful where you tell your drone to fly. Drones go
exactly where you tell them to go, even if a building is
in the way!)
Auto return home: GPS locking your drone before you
start flying will make it possible for your drone to
return home if it loses data connection or flies out of
range of your controller.
Follow mode: Using an app or other controller makes it
possible for your drone to follow you at a specified
altitude and distance.
Source :dummies