DJI files patent suit against Yuneec

[Old Man]

This takes me back to the "Ultimate American Muscle rivalry", so in 1964 Ford came out with the Mustang and 3 years later Chevrolet came out with the Camaro; what did Ford do? Sue Chevrolet for "patent infringement"? Nope, they went to back to the drawing board and came out with bigger and badder, that's when the war began. Later everyone else joined the war and started making "bigger and badder"! Same goes for Suzuki and Kawasaki, and the list goes on. It's called competition! This seems like something that'll eventually backfire on DJI when the proverbial fecal matter hits the flat surface of the "propeller"?! [yeah I giggled at that]

What's the point here? Yeah, they've[DJI] been selling for a while and they've done well for themselves, they've also come up with some pretty cool stuff; however, they mentioned "Active Track" in paragraph 19 and stepped on their tongue by mentioning "relative to target" in paragraph 27. I'm no legal analyst, but these two things are not the same. DJI came up with technology that will follow a selected target (if I understand it correctly) and Yuneec is selling technology that follows the transmitter, how is this the same?

I have yet to understand the rest of the lawsuit as I just read through it once and rather quickly (I'm at work). What I see is that DJI got a little mud on their face and now they're crying "but it was my idea".

I believe 3DR beat DJI to the active track thing back with the Iris.

 

[jetkrazee]

Just heard from my dealer that Yuneec is pushing appx ship date to the second week of May. COME ON MAN!! If they aren't careful their going to loose their a**!! He told me that they (his company) has had to refund a lot of unhappy Typhoon H purchases. Mine may be his next, I'm going to sleep on it.

 

[Old Man]

You're call but perhaps hang on a bit longer. I have had a couple conversations with a dealer that spent some time with them recently. The reason for the delay has good cause, but the cause raises a lot of questions. End result may be that each and every unit is being test flown before boxing for consumer sales. I'll elaborate when not on a phone keypad. I'm not happy with this either but the results should prove out well.

Edit,

The following was related to me by an individual that's somewhat close to Yuneec. It is totally unsubstantiated. I have no verification from anyone to prove or disprove, but in light of another recent "blown" release from another maker it makes sense.

The production aircraft were shipped from the factory to Yuneec proper for distribution and many were found to have severe defects in the firmware. Those defects were not evident in pre-production test units. Spot checks indicated it would be impossible to determine which units were good and which would not. All units were sent back to the factory to install new firmware. Bugs were still evident after the reload so shipping was stopped in order that every aircraft could be checked and test flown prior to being boxed up for transport.

The similarity between what appears to have happened with Yuneec's Typhoon and 3DR's Solo is uncanny. The difference is that Yuneec has caught and corrected the problem before they got out the door. That was not the case with the Solo. Take from this what you will but methinks a possibility exists that some bad seeds were planted in some multirotor factories with an intent to spoil the fruit.

 

[jetkrazee]

Hmmm, quite interesting bit Old Man. I have, for the most part decided to wait it out a bit longer. I certainly hope were not let down in the end my friend. You know that little thing about patients and virtues, well virtues SUCK! LOLOL

 

[ProfEngr]

If that's the case.... someone needs a stay at the Greybar Hotel.

 

[Old Man]

In that part of the world some "corrections" have a tendency to be permanent

jetkrazee,

I know what you mean, I've had a full pay pre-order riding with a dealer since 3/17. Virtuous is something I have never been accused of...

 

[jetkrazee]

Were both close on order dates. 3/25 for me....and full pay pre-order as well.

 

[jetkrazee]

Gotta get off here and do some nature photography (stress relief) Have a good one my friend!

 

[Old Man]

You too!

Latest dealer PR message. This will be the last delay I tolerate. Bold emphasis is mine;

Frank here with an update for all of that have pre-ordered the Typhoon H. The news is disappointing but not bad in my opinion.
The Yuneec Typhoon H has been delayed due to high demand and software updates. Yuneec has received an unprecedented amount of orders for their new product. The demand surpassed their production capabilities which is what is causing this delay. Yuneec has assured everyone that placed an order directly with them, including dealers, that the Typhoon H will start shipping by end of the first week of May.
I know that this is disappointing and frustrating for everyone, myself included. But I cannot tell you how much I appreciate Yuneec’s honesty and transparency. They have proven to me that they are committed to providing the best possibly product even if that means delivering it late.
If this causes an issue for you and you do not want to wait for the shipment, then I would ask that you contact me by replying to this email and telling me what you would like to do. If you do not want to wait for the Typhoon H, I would encourage you to consider the other drones that we have available.
I want to thank you for your patience and understanding during this delay and have included an excerpt of the email from Yuneec for you as well.
As always, fly safe!
Sincerely,
Frank Farray
Owner CarolinaDronz.com
-------
EMAIL FROM YUNEEC
“Thank you for your Typhoon H order, and thank you for your patience as we prepare the first shipments of this highly anticipated product. We want to let you know that we have experienced an unforeseen delay in ramping production. Although the issue has now been fully resolved, this means we will begin deliveries later than planned.
Please accept our apologies, and we hope you understand that our commitment to deliver the very best product drove this decision. We plan to ship the first round of Typhoon H units by the end of the first week in May. Production will continue to ramp up over the coming weeks to meet the incredible demand we have experienced. We appreciate your understanding and continued support, and are confident you will be pleased when you receive your Typhoon H.”
While this delay is disappointing, it is in no way bad news. Yuneec is being as honest as possible with all of their customers, including dealers. The interest in the Typhoon H has taken both Yuneec and the industry by surprise. The interest has generated many more orders than Yuneec had planned for which is why they are having a problem keeping up with demand."

Carolina Dronz

 

[Old Man]

Jetcrazee,

I just got to see a very well done video shot with the H, unedited except for scene splicing. It was provided sort of back channel from someone overseas. Stick it out, I'm certainly going to. The video product is absolutely exceptional. There was no lens distortion I could see, the color rendition was stellar, aircraft speed was much higher than I anticipated, and everything looked real smooth.

If you want to see a poorly done H review, PopSci just did one on Facebook.

 

[Old Man]

From YuneecUK. There were 85 views when I saw it last night. I plan on doing a review after mine arrives.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=859841474160819

 

[violetwolf]

At first I thought the footage was stabilized (telltale is foggy looking trees). But there appears to be a big smudge on the lens just to the upper right of center.

That said there are other spots that look stabilized when watching the edges of the screen (foggy trees). Possibly yt compression, but worth mentioning.

Horizon is off in places too.

Overall decent for the price though.

 

[Carapau]

It has been edited, look at the shot where it rises directly above the pier, the people in it are walking backwards! Or were you referring to a different video when you said you had seen something from overseas? Still good to see what this thing can do.

 

[ProfEngr]

It has been edited, look at the shot where it rises directly above the pier, the people in it are walking backwards!

I see a lot of edits like this. Kind of funny. It's like they don't think we'll notice or something.

 

[Old Man]

That's why I prefer to post files direct from the card to sharing service when doing a review. The only additional compression comes from the upload and there's no "cheating" with edits.

 

[jetkrazee]

I have my Typhoon H! YES!!

 

[Old Man]

Shipping notice says I get mine Wednesday

 

[jetkrazee]

Shipping notice says I get mine Wednesday

You are going to love it I do believe

 

[Av8Chuck]

That's why I prefer to post files direct from the card to sharing service when doing a review. The only additional compression comes from the upload and there's no "cheating" with edits.

I guess I'm one of the few that don't considering post processing cheating. I never consider what you capture in the camera as the final anything. I like to see what's possible, if people post process and use it as an example that's fine as long as they share how they accomplished it.

I see a lot of edits like this. Kind of funny. It's like they don't think we'll notice or something.

People see what they want to see.. If someone likes a particular drone they don't seem to see the drifting horizon..

 

[Av8Chuck]

OK its Sunday, I'm bored so...

Anyway, here's an oldie, but a goodie. There was NO EDITING or STABILIZATION, it was shot on my iPhone3 in realtime. I just listened to the music and hit the button...