January 4, 2022

New

KeyFrame

KeyFrame is a new autonomous skill that offers even inexperienced pilots the ability to choreograph professional cinematic aerial shots by capturing continuous, complex video with smooth camera motion. KeyFrame flights can be flown repeatedly, with varying degrees of complexity, subtle camera moves, speed adjustments, and obstacle avoidance. Set up your sequence by adding up to 100 keyframes in a 3D space. Adjust the camera framing at each keyFrame to create dynamic, multi-point flight paths. You can reverse, speed up, slow down or repeat your custom flight path and watch as Skydio X2 smoothly and autonomously flies from point to point.

Enhancements

Disable Return when Disconnected

You now have the option to toggle off the Return when Disconnected setting and the corresponding Lost Connection settings below it. When toggled off, Skydio X2 will not return if it loses connection—it will hover until it reaches low battery and land.

Improved video feed at long ranges

Video throughput has been improved when flying at long ranges, resulting in smoother, clearer video streaming to the controller.

Radio channel selection

You now have the ability to manually select your radio frequency channel to avoid congestion from other signals.

Fixes

Zoom support for photos

Your photos will now be saved at the zoom level at which they were captured.

Radio sensitivity issue improved

• Fixed issue where Skydio X2 was overly de-sensing its radios in response to interference, which was causing poor signal quality
• Skydio X2 is now able to successfully dynamically adjust the sensitivity of its radios according to the level of interference the drone is experiencing
• Results in better signal quality and control range in all environments

September 28, 2021

Skydio is proud to announce exciting new features in our software release designed for a more safe and intuitive flying experience now available for Skydio X2E.

For more information visit:

Access Skydio X2E Manuals, Checklists, and Guides

Access 3D Scan Software Manuals

Getting Started on Skydio Cloud

Skydio X2 Color

Skydio is proud to announce the availability of Skydio X2 Color, a new configuration with a color-only payload optimized for mapping and inspection. Skydio X2 color incorporates AI-driven flight autonomy software and advanced geo-stabilized imagery systems for enterprise-level monitoring, surveying, and assessment of critical infrastructure.

Contact a Skydio Sales Representative to purchase Skydio X2 Color.

Skydio Autonomy NEW

Map Coordinates

When viewing your maps, creating waypoint missions, or orbiting a point of interest, you now have the option to display latitude and longitude coordinates. The position of Skydio X2, the controller, Home Point, and Fly Here Now will display coordinates on the map in real-time. Disable the setting if you do not want coordinates displayed. Your selection will persist across flights and power cycles.

Find Drone - If the Coordinates setting is enabled, the coordinates of your drone's current or last known location are displayed, making it easier for you to locate your lost drone.

Thermal Palette (X2 Color/Thermal Only)

Skydio X2 Color/Thermal now has more thermal palettes to choose from for efficient analysis of your environment. The thermal camera assigns each pixel a unique color or shade based on a relative temperature data point. Changing the thermal palette can help highlight specific warm or cold people, objects, or points of interest for better identification confidence and decision-making. Thermal palette selection persists across flights and power cycles.

White Hot (default) - displays warmer objects in white and cooler objects in black to generate detailed images—well suited for use in urban environments.
Black Hot - is an inverted White Hot, displaying warmer objects as black and cooler objects as white.
Rainbow - uses colors to display subtle variations in scenes with low-contrast heat differentials.
Ironbow - uses color to display heat distribution and thermal anomalies. Warmer objects are represented in lighter colors and colder objects in darker colors.

Indoor Height Ceiling

When flying indoors without GPS, Skydio will prevent you from flying above 66 feet (20 meters). With this update, we’ve added the option to disable this Indoor Height Ceiling. If you choose to disable your indoor height ceiling, make sure your drone stays within 66 ft of surfaces to ensure robust visual navigation.

• • By default the Indoor Height Ceiling is enabled; disabling the Indoor Height Ceiling setting does not persist across flights or power cycles.

Memory Card Overwrite

Skydio has made it easier for you to manage your media storage space by automatically deleting old media to ensure that you can always start a new flight without waiting. Toggle this setting on to automatically delete the oldest media stored on the SD memory card. This setting will persist across flights and power cycles.

View Last Flights

The View Last Flight feature is designed to assist with locating your Skydio X2 in the event of a crash, emergency landing, or low battery landing in an unintended location. Review video of the 10 most recent flights, even if your Controller is not connected to your Skydio X2.

• • View the recorded video as Skydio X2 lands to help you identify the location of your lost drone.

Anti-flicker

You now have the ability to adjust anti-flicker settings if you experience flickering in your video. This setting is for users located outside of North America, in countries where the frequency of the alternating current in household electrical outlets is 50 Hz.

• • 60 Hz (default) - North America
  • 50 Hz - Australia and New Zealand

Lost Connection Return Behaviors

Choose how your want your drone to behave if the signal to your controlling device is lost:

• • Wait Before Return - Specify the amount of time that you want Skydio X2 to wait before it initiates a return flight, allowing time to reconnect.
  • Land Once Returned - When enabled, Skydio X2 will return, hover for a specified amount of time, then land.
  • Wait Before Land - Specify the amount of time between 0 to 300 seconds (default - 240 seconds) that you want Skydio X2 to wait before landing. Only available when Land Once Return is toggled on.

Flight History .CSV

You can now save a record of flight information to a flight_log.csv file in the root folder of the media SD card containing the following flight data:

• • Vehicle name
  • Flight ID
  • Launch latitude/longitude and time
  • Land latitude/longitude and time

Zoom in While Tracking Subject

You can now zoom in while tracking a subject. Initiate the Track in Place skill and digitally zoom in up to 3x with color and 1.5x with thermal for a clear and enlarged view of the individual or vehicle being tracked.

Skydio Autonomy ENHANCED

Lights

Turn the RGB navigation lights off, and they will now stay off from the moment you power on your Skydio X2 and throughout your flight. The setting will persist across flights and power cycles.

Skydio Autonomy FIXED

• • Improved zoom tracking for better case landings
  • Media will display immediately after landing
  • Return to Home joystick issues solve

Skydio Cloud Available for Skydio X2 (Requires license purchase)

Skydio Cloud* is now available for Skydio X2. As the foundational service within Skydio Cloud, Fleet Manager provides federated management for distributed Skydio X2 operations. Access telemetry data uploaded to Skydio Cloud to view flight logs and robust reporting on usage metrics. Media Sync* provides for automatic upload and management of your 3D Scan* images and videos. Designed to be accessed using a web browser or through API integration, users can store, view, organize, and manage their organization's in-flight digital assets. Skydio Cloud AWS - U.S. Region cloud infrastructure meets the highest level of security, compliance, and data protection.

*Additional license required - to purchase Skydio Cloud, Media Sync, and Skydio 3D Scan contact a Skydio Sales Representative

3D Scan Available for Skydio X2 (Requires license purchase)

Skydio 3D Scan is unprecedented adaptive scanning software that is now available for purchase to use with Skydio X2. 3D Scan automates data capture for asset inspection and scene reconstruction to efficiently capture a complete photographic dataset that documents every angle of a scene, ensuring accurate coverage with sub-millimeter precision with a fraction of the time and the risk. You can perform higher quality inspections in less time, with minimal pilot training. The precise, visually geotagged imagery generated by Skydio 3D Scan is easily exported to any mainstream photogrammetry software, generating high-quality photosets without the mountains of extra data required by traditional capture methods.

2D GPS Capture, a new 3D Scan capture mode, offers you the ability to preplan your flight using a top-down map view. 

For more information about what's new with 3D Scan, visit our Skydio 3D Scan Release Notes.