DJI Phantom 3 Quadcopter

Phantom 3 Flight Control System

Main Controller

The burden of processing and analyzing flight data in real time it taken up by the Main Controller, the brains of the computerized flight control system. It collects data from the entire system, including motor speed, GPS location, your command inputs, and data from automatic sensors, and analyzes it all to tell your Phantom 3 exactly how to behave at any given moment

GPS Navigation

Because of the complexity associated with multi-rotor aircraft the Phantom 3 relies on a GPS-based navigation system to maintain flight stability and provide other features. While fully manual operation is possible, most users, especially videographers hoping to get the smoothest possible shoots, will opt for one of the GPS-assisted modes

IMU

The Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) uses a 6-axis gyroscope plus an accelerometer to keep track the slightest tilt or change in acceleration. This data is relayed to the Main Controller and used to help maintain a stable flight

ESCs

Four Electronic Speed Controllers (ESCs) not only relay vital motor speed information to the Main Controller, they also send commands back to the motors based on your input. This constant communication helps keeps your Phantom 3 stable in flight, and also helps you achieve any flight movement, from gentle pans to rapid acceleration

Vision Positioning System for Indoor Navigation

Vision Positioning System uses a specially designed camera as well as sonic waves to provide comparable stability function indoors or close to the ground as GPS does outdoors. This technology allows the Phantom 3 to hold its location, stop when the controls are released, and quickly respond to pilot commands even when GPS is unavailable

Auto-Takeoff

With one tap in the DJI Pilot app, the Phantom 3 will turn on its motors and raise to a pre-set height. It will then hover in place, completely motionless until you direct it where to go

Auto-Landing

When GPS is available, the Phantom 3 remembers the exact spot that it took off. Simply tap a button to have it return to the point from which it took off

Return to Home Failsafe

If the Quadcopter loses the signal from the controller for any reason or the battery starts to run low the “return to home” feature will initialize. The aircraft will ascend to 60 feet then make a straight-line course back to the “home position” you will have defined during the GPS calibration process. Once there, it will safely descend to the ground and power itself off

Intelligent Orientation Control (IOC)

IOC is designed to help make flying more intuitive. Nominally, the yaw control will allow the Quadcopter to rotate continuously, which can quickly become confusing if you lose track of which way is “front”. Suddenly your controls can get mixed up, where pressing right causes the craft to move left and pressing forward causes it move backward. Intelligent Orientation Control prevents this from happening, keeping the “tail” of the Quadcopter pointed roughly toward the pilot at all times