What do the lights on Skydio 2/2+ indicate?

Skydio 2/2+ has LED indicators on its wings and fuselage - it has two strips of five RGB LEDs along the leading edge of both front arms and one group of eight RGB LEDs centered on the rear of the drone body. There is also a strip of four RGB LEDs on the Skydio battery. All of these LEDs are used to communicate meaningful information to the user.

Skydio 2/2+ LEDs

Obstacle Avoidance and Landing Indicators

When landing (whether commanded by the user or automatically due to low battery), obstacle avoidance is on until Skydio is ~3m above the ground. Before Skydio reaches this threshold, its LEDs will be flashing blue.

When Skydio reaches this 3m threshold during landing, it will then briefly pause, turn off obstacle avoidance, and continue landing vertically. To indicate that it has reached this threshold and is now proceeding with landing, the LEDs will be flashing yellow.

Always monitor your drone during landing and be prepared to use the “nudge” feature or cancel the landing if Skydio is landing in an undesirable location. Use particular caution when landing on elevated platforms, such as the roof of a car or truck, as the Skydio may move laterally to avoid the platform before descending to the 3m threshold.

TLDR; When landing and the Skydio LEDs are blue, obstacle avoidance is on. When the LEDs are yellow, obstacle avoidance is off. When the Skydio LEDs are blue, the vehicle may not descend in a vertical line and may deviate to avoid obstacles. 

[warning]Do NOT attempt to hand catch Skydio before the LEDs turn yellow. Attempting to hand catch Skydio while obstacle avoidance is active will cause it to attempt to avoid your hand and may result in Skydio 2/2+ impacting yourself or another nearby object. Read our related article Hand Launching and Hand Landing your Skydio 2/2+.[/warning]

Chase Animation

When Skydio is performing a continuous skill (such as motion track, hover, or orbit) the LEDs will expand from the center point outward.

Command Indicators (Blinking Animation)

The LED strips will blink on and off when Skydio 2/2+ is processing a command such as Wand or one-shot Skills (like Dronie).

Skydio 2/2+ Battery LEDs

Charging Animation

While the battery is in a charging state, one of the four LEDs will pulse to represent the battery’s current charge level:

• 1st LED - 0-37% charged
• 2nd LED - 38-62% charged
• 3rd LED - 63-87% charged
• 4th LED - 88-100% charged