Other drones besides Parrot Mambo FPV

I am looking to buy a camera drone and process the images in Matlab. Since this is new to me, I would like easy integration with Matlab. Matlab has a lot of support for the Parrot Mambo FPV drone, but Parrot has confirmed it is discontinuing its minidrones. If you have sucessfully used the Matlab Parrot support package with other Parrot drones, like the Bebop 2, I would like to know.

[Ennio Verderese]

Hi,

The mambo are being made exclusively for FTW Robotics

website is www.ftw-robotics.com

i hope this helps

Answer 1

[Srijith Vijay]

Hello Ali and KAE,

The drone hardware business is changing fast, so it is unlikely that any of today’s hardware will still be shipping a few years from now.

MathWorks is continuously evaluating drone hardwares to ensure that our user community will have options to work with drones in MATLAB/Simulink.

For example, we are currently evaluating the support for Parrot Anafi, Ryze Tello etc. in MATLAB/Simulink.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

Srijith

[KAE]

Thank you. I know it is a moving target but it would be nice to include support for the DJI drones due to their widespread use, or perhaps a user who has succeded connecting Matlab to the DJI drone SDK could be 'interviewed' for one of the Matlab blogs.

Answer 2

[Christopher Stapels]

We have just released the MATLAB Support Package for Ryze Tello Drones . You can see examples in the Support Package Documentation.

[junnet]

Yes! Thank you!

However, why the difference in capabilities between the regular and the EDU version? Am I correct to assume the EDU has a different/better firmware?

[MathWorks MATLAB Hardware Team]

I am not sure why DJI decided to manufacture the drones that way. I would guess it is a firmware difference between the two. The cost difference is small, but at the low cost of the drone it may be more significant. I havent had the chance to try the advanced features of the EDU model that I have yet.

[junnet]

I did some digging around and according to SDK 1.3 for the Tello (which I assume is used by the regular model), it also supports the "emergency" and "go x y z speed" commands. However, the equivalent MATLAB functions "abort" and "move" are only supported on the EDU version. I'd be interested in finding out why.

Would it be possible for me to implement those same functions (as well as others) on my own without too much trouble using plain MATLAB? Or will I need some other toolboxes/addons?

Decisions! Decisions!

In any case, thanks again for the great work!

[Ali Buendia]

Thnak you. I will try it.

Answer 3

[Srijith Vijay]

Hi KAE,

The MATLAB Support Package for Parrot Drones will start supporting the Parrot Bebop2 drone from the July update.

Keep an eye out for this in the hardware support page here: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/70363-matlab-support-package-for-parrot-drones

-Srijith

[KAE]

It seems like the Bebop 2 may also be discontinued (only refurbished drones seem to be sold on Amazon and Best Buy is sold old, but I will confirm with Parrot). Will the July updated package support any other Parrot drone such as the Anafi?

[Srijith Vijay]

As of now, only Parrot Bebop2 will be supported in addition to mambo FPV in the July update.

[KAE]

Parrot has confirmed that the Bebop 2 is discontinued though still available for purchase through resellers, same thing for the Mambo. The drone which is still in production is the Anafi drone. Since this is evolving so quickly, I hope Matlab updates the Parrot package so that it's more generic and not tied to a specific drone model, though I am sure that represents a lot of work.

[KAE]

I would like to warn readers not to do what I did, which was to buy reconditioned Parrot Mambo FPV drones (I really wanted the Matlab compatibility even though the drone was discontinued). Both drones didn't work. I will need to switch to a more reliable current drone like the DJI Mavic 2 and figure out how to communicate with its camera but this likely means a non-Matlab solution. Choosing a discontinued drone was a serious setback to a short-term project for my students and I can't recommend it.

[Kishan]

Can you please let me know as to why reconditioned Parrot Mambo FPV did not work. I am asking because, I was almost about to buy it on Amazon and then saw your post.

[KAE]

They seemed to have electrical and connection problems. We did troubleshooting but never got to the bottom of it. Their tech support said having all 3 fail was unexpected so maybe we just got unlucky. You can ask Parrot questions at [e-mail] or [phone]. I will say that Amazon let us return them for free return shipping so if timing is not critical, you could give it a try.

[Ali Buendia]

Mambo, Beebop and Swing are being discontinued. See:

https://dronelife.com/2019/07/22/parrot-to-step-away-from-toy-drone-market/

This is a set back for my students too. I'd like to understand from the Mathworks if there is

any plan to add other drones for toolbox before I create a class using this technology. I am

a little worried about using this in more projects/classes.

Any feedback from the staff would be appreciated,

[KAE]

I will add that the DJI Mavic, a common consumer drone that I ended up using, offers a SDK to access the drone's camera and movement. You could search the forum here to get an idea if it is suitable for the projects you are planning. We gave it a quick try and found using it was not straightforward, but if your students have more time maybe they would have luck.

[Ali Buendia]

Thank you

[junnet]

What I would like to know is how long MATHWORKS will be supporting the Mambo. The last thing I want to happen is them removing support soon after I have bought a few of the drones for my project.

They seem to have recently removed support for connecting MATLAB Mobile to the PC just as I was starting another project -- which was supposed to be ***today***. I don't want to get burned again by unexpected support removal.

[KAE]

For that kind of judgement call, you are probably better putting in a support request or calling tech support. You will likely end up with someone who has worked on the drone toolbox and can give you the big picture.

[MathWorks MATLAB Hardware Team]

Hi Junnet,

MathWorks is continuously evaluating drone hardware to ensure that our user community has options to work with drones in MATLAB/Simulink. The MATLAB Support Package for Parrot Drones is one of the widely used support packages in our user community and we do not have any plans of discontinuing this as of now.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

MathWorks MATLAB Hardware Team

[junnet]

Given that the Mambo is now discontinued and getting harder to get, support for another drone within the same price range would be wonderful.

[Srijith Vijay]

As mentioned in the answer above, we are evaluating support for the Ryze Tello drone which is in the same price range as the Mambo.

[Ali Buendia]

The Tello drone seems like a good option. We are starting to use it with Python & It'd be fantastic to have enabled in Matlab.

Answer 4

[Ennio Verderese]

Hi,

The mambo are being made exclusively for FTW Robotics

website is www.ftw-robotics.com

i hope this helps