Reader's response final

 

N3 DJI Flight Control Unit (FCU)

The DJI website (n.d) features the N3 flight controller which is part of the NAZA series of DJI family of control units that caters to both industrial and hobbyists drone applications. The function of the flight control unit is the overall flight system and command of a drone that replicates the controls of the pilot. The N3 system consists of a flight control unit, GPS compass antenna and Power Management Unit (PMU).  

The DJI N3 flight controller is a reliable, robust, safe platform for custom built drones, and it is highly recommended in operating in a densely populated country like Singapore.

The flight controller contains a dual Inertial Management Unit (IMU) for built in redundancy which enhances flight reliability.  For example, if one of the IMU is down the secondary unit can regain control which prevents the UAS from crashing or moving in an undesired direction.

 In addition, the flight control unit also has a robust 8GB industrial black box that records performance and real time flight data. This allows pilot to troubleshoot potential issues and fine tune the aircraft for a safer flight. The aircraft can be configured using software such as DJI Assistant 2 or phone application DJI GO. Singapore is known for to be a concrete jungle that is densely packed with buildings hence it could risk a signal lost or GPS jamming due to metal structures. Having a dual redundancy system on a drone would be an important asset in drone operation in Singapore.

  The Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) can use the GPS GNSS antenna to gain a reference to maintain a stable flight path during operations.  The customizability of the N3 would also allow pilots to add other GPS compasses as a redundancy feature so that if the first GPS compass loses signal, the secondary unit can quickly activate to prevent the drone from deviating for its flight path. It is a CAAS requirement for operators to provide details of drone flight path when applying for permit. A GPS system would mean that drone would have a reference on its positioning which would allow it to actively traverse its planned flight path.

The N3 flight controller supports a wide spectrum of upgradability with DJI’s eco system of products such as camera gimbals like the DJI Ronin-MX series and flight devices such as Lightbridge 2 and TAKON™ series for electronic speed controllers. 

Its software feature is a fault tolerance control that allow UAS to execute a controlled decent in an event of an imminent crash. This is a notable safety feature that is built into the flight controller that will not only minimize damage during crash but would also prevent drones from gaining lethal momentum that could lead to casualties.

Hence, this makes the N3 DJI flight controller a formidable choice for drones to operate in Singapore and adhering to the guidelines of CAAS.

A Straits Times news article reports a drone had deviated from its planned route due to a faulty positioning sensor which resulted in a crash on the grounds of One-North Residences.

Lim, K. (2024, July 24). Company suspended from drone operations after device crash-lands on one-north condo grounds. The Straits Times.

Being a drone operator myself incidents like these deeply resonates with me as this undesired situation can happen to both new and highly experienced pilots. DJI’s N3 flight controller has a feature called fault tolerance control which allows the drone to execute a controlled decent in an event of a crash due to propulsion lose with one or two of its rotors. The caveat is that this feature would only work on hexacopters and octocopters as these drones have sufficient rotors to stabilize themselves in an event of a propulsion failure.

If the pilot experiences a propulsion failure while flying a quadcopter, he or she would experience an inevitable crash. As drone systems get progressively sophisticated packed with features like autonomous flying, tracking and the ability to avoid objects with its sensors.  Safe operation and flying of the drone boil down to the skill of the pilot. A drone may still lose GPS signal due to interference from jammers or metal structures of the building that causes the drone to switch from GPS mode to altitude mode.

Flying in altitude mode would mean that your drone would be easily influence by wind conditions which would flying more challenging.  This makes the skills and vigilance of the pilot the difference between a successful flight mission or a crash incident. As the saying goes it’s not the plane but the pilot.

References:

Lim, K. (2024, July 24). Company suspended from drone operations after device crash-lands on one-north condo grounds. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/company-suspended-from-drone-operations-after-device-crash-lands-into-one-north-condo-grounds

DJI. (2019). N3 flight controller. DJI. https://www.dji.com/n3

Google AI. (2024). Gemini AI: Language model. https://deepmind.google/technologies/gemini

Copilot. (2024, September 17). N3 designed for reliability and upgradability [Conversation].

DJI. (n.d.). N3. DJI Official. https://www.dji.com/sg/n3

DJI. (n.d.). Ronin-MX. DJI Official. https://www.dji.com/sg/ronin-mx

DJI. (n.d.). Lightbridge 2. DJI Official. https://www.dji.com/sg/lightbridge-2

DJI. (n.d.-a). N3 - product information. DJI Official. https://www.dji.com/sg/n3/info#video

DJI. (n.d.-b). Takyon z14120. DJI Official. https://www.dji.com/sg/takyon-z14120

UAVFordrone. (2020, May 17). DJI N3 flight controller for agriculture drone. https://www.uavfordrone.com/product/dji-n3-flight-controller-naza-series

DJI. (n.d.). DJI Lightbridge 2. DJI Official. https://www.dji.com/sg/lightbridge-2

GetFPV. (n.d.). DJI N3 flight controller [Product Information]. https://www.getfpv.com/dji-n3-flight-controller.html