Welcome Matrice Pilots!
Join our free DJI Matrice community today!
Sign up

Initial Public Safety comparison between the M30T and Matrice 300 RTK with H20T payload

Joined
Jun 1, 2022
Messages
41
Reaction score
10
Age
50
Last weekend I got to finally see a Matrice 30T and compare it to our Matrice 300 RTK. Our PD just got the aircraft and it was out for its maiden flights. We were conducting overwatch for a weekend concert series and there were some interesting notes.

This was not an official comparison as it was during live missions, it was more just comparing what I saw from each aircraft.

We were using the for now free DJI Flight Hub 2 Beta as well as Live Streaming through a capture card and Zoom back to a command post.

Flight Hub 2 needs some work in that its Live Streaming works great when there is high bandwidth available, but when taxed by large numbers of people such as a concert competing on the nearest cell tower it had connection issues that would constantly have network drops. And this was using AT&T First Net with a compatible First Net Band 14 router. From the same router Zoom was able to keep a Live Stream going without buffering for almost the whole concert while Flight Hub 2 would get disconnects rather frequently. I will be sure to give feedback to Flight Hub 2 as DJI is asking for this since it is in Beta.

Without doing a side by side comparison this is only initial observations between the two flagship Enterprise aircraft.

  • Of course setup time is not comparable. The M30T can be deployed as fast as a Mavic 2, while I am still attaching legs and payloads on the 300 RTK
  • Both aircraft look impressive (For those who judge a book by its cover) and add a wow factor to any program (Not my criteria) but they did attract comments, questions and concerns from concert goers.
  • I did not get a chance to use RTK on the M30T, but the 300 RTK was easily able to connect to a Custom NTRIP network I setup using an Emlid Reach RS2 on a high quality NGS monument. (Monument used in Hybrid Geoid 18 to constrain the monument to the geoid's gravimetric data)
  • The zoom on the M30T is almost as good as the Matrice 300 RTK, but the 300 RTK is a much cleaner, clearer picture when zoomed in at max and near max (200Xs) levels
  • The M30T had better battery times and can consistently be over 30 minutes flight time (conditions limiting)
  • Both drones are easy to see and allow you to have VLOS more easily than say a Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced
  • The thermal image met my expectations in that it is a wider FOV better suited for Public Safety. Even with the same 640x512 resolution, things on the M30T looked smaller. (This is just a lens effect, you would still have the same number of pixels on target when obtaining a temperature)
    • This effect was highlighted when we were trying to use the thermal to spot the other drone from several hundred feet away. Both drones can easily "spot" the other drone with the thermal sensor, but the M30T's wide FOV made the Matrice 300 RTK look like a tiny speck, while the 300 RTK was far easier to find the small target. For finding people this would not matter, but for inspections operators should note that in my opinion the thermal is setup to Public Safety a tad bit more than for inspections.
  • Both aircraft integrated into Flight Hub 2 seamlessly and we even let the 300 RTK produce a "live map" session. The map was created using the Wide camera and is a nice way to overlay a map of a current area that all invited members can see. In terms of maps though, the map is very low quality and the elevation's do not resemble anything near accurate. They were off by 15 meters. I tested an Anafi Thermal just using the onboard inaccurate GPS and it was able to 0.33 meters inaccuracy in elevation. And this effect is not just the "fast stitching" of Flight Hub 2's photogrammetry software (Most Likely Terra). I mapped a project with the 300 RTK and used Agisoft Metashape to process and it was also off in elevations in double digits.
  • I want to now generate some maps with the M30T and see if it can beat the 300 RTK's abysmal performance. (I know that it is stated they are not for mapping, but the 300 RTK's performance is by far the worst of any drone I have ever used to make a map.
  • In high winds both are rock solid. The M30T only flew for one night and it was only slightly windy, but it was rock solid. The 300 RTK has been flown in winds up to 45 mph and was absolutely rock solid.
  • The range finder on both seem accurate, more testing is needed
  • The M30T really shine with the FPV camera and the ability to see in close to near darkness.
  • Both aircraft offer excellent images and video
  • I did not test the Grid photo on the M30T, but on the 300 RTK it produced very nice "stitched" panoramas. These images seem like they are from a much better sensor than the normal images
  • I did not test the 360 Panorama on the 30T but the 300 RTK performed about the same as my other DJI products. The overall result was okay with 1 image slightly improperly stitched.

Overall I cannot see one of these tools being better than the other. There are too many variables and pros and cons. You must pick one based on your needs and budget. If we had neither in our city and we had the money, I would get the 300 RTK, but if we did not have the budget for the 300 RTK, I would in no way be upset with a M30T.

I will follow up hopefully with some side by side images from both.
 
  • Like
Reactions: twoheadlines
I was hoping to be able to continue doing this type of work in florida, but July 1st, a law went into effect a prohibits any government agency from acquiring, using or consulting with anyone that uses DJI drones. In fact, they're only five drones listed that are acceptable and only one of them even comes close to meeting agency requirements. A new survey shows that a very large percentage of government agencies are going to stop using drones as part of their programs now. What a mistake. Instead, I will still engage in private contracted search and rescue, for both humans and pets.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vasco
I was hoping to be able to continue doing this type of work in florida, but July 1st, a law went into effect a prohibits any government agency from acquiring, using or consulting with anyone that uses DJI drones. In fact, they're only five drones listed that are acceptable and only one of them even comes close to meeting agency requirements. A new survey shows that a very large percentage of government agencies are going to stop using drones as part of their programs now. What a mistake. Instead, I will still engage in private contracted search and rescue, for both humans and pets.
Yes, we have been following what has happened in Florida. I have a sinking feeling that this will spread to other states and possibly national.

With that being said, in New Jersey, the state police, and various other municipal police and fire pretty much all use DJI drones, with the Matrice 210 and 300 RTK being a very popular choice. I am sure the M30T will also allow those without $30K to now get into the game.

Cost wise there is no comparison in what you receive. We looked at the FLIR Skyranger at one point and for it to match the at the time Matrice 210 RTK it would of been well over $100K.

We are having a regional drone training session next week, and it will be a collection of Matrice's (210, 300 and 30's). The only non-DJI product will most likely be our Autel Evo 2 Dual (Still Chinese Made and ultimately owned).

I agree with the Blue sUAS not currently being up to the challenge. Just an example is the Parrot Anafi USA civ/mil. The civ version uses the same Skycontroller are the original Anafi and has poor range and loses connection in urban areas too easily. It is $7K. You must fork over $14K to get the mil version with a proper GCS and then its payloads are lacking as compared to a $7K Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced.

I really want American companies to compete or even dominate the sUAS field, but for my small drone company I cannot afford the Blue sUAS that offer less ability. My real job in Public Safety would find the current Blue sUAS as severely lacking in their abilities.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MikeA
Very well said. Nothing to add to that except I will continue to pursue this privately. I did read that Booz Allen recently released a report from an extensive study saying that this idea that DJI is stealing data is simply not true. As a result, even the federal government has cleared at least two DJI drones for use.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MikeA and jaja6009
I was hoping to be able to continue doing this type of work in florida, but July 1st, a law went into effect a prohibits any government agency from acquiring, using or consulting with anyone that uses DJI drones. In fact, they're only five drones listed that are acceptable and only one of them even comes close to meeting agency requirements. A new survey shows that a very large percentage of government agencies are going to stop using drones as part of their programs now. What a mistake. Instead, I will still engage in private contracted search and rescue, for both humans and pets.
Do you happen to have or point me in the right direction of finding the study where agencies are going to stop using drones in their program? We are front and center of this DJI replacement and have created a comparison chart showing the differences in the drones, compared to the current DJI fleets. It's a tough pill to swallow, and the law is about as clear as mud. Any intel or info you have, I would love to see it. Thanks!
 
As a consultant for numerous law enforcement agencies in Florida, I can confirm there have been a lot of M30T's purchased in the past few months by county and local PD's. All have been advised of Florida's regulation prior to purchase. They all have stated that there is simply not a cost effective option that competes with the M30T, and I fully agree.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kcobello
Do you happen to have or point me in the right direction of finding the study where agencies are going to stop using drones in their program? We are front and center of this DJI replacement and have created a comparison chart showing the differences in the drones, compared to the current DJI fleets. It's a tough pill to swallow, and the law is about as clear as mud. Any intel or info you have, I would love to see it. Thanks!
I don't know anything beyond what is in the legislation. I can tell you that the county fire department here had their attorney weigh in (I think the city or county attorney) and he said that using contractors is a gray area and as such, he advised them not to do it.
 
As a consultant for numerous law enforcement agencies in Florida, I can confirm there have been a lot of M30T's purchased in the past few months by county and local PD's. All have been advised of Florida's regulation prior to purchase. They all have stated that there is simply not a cost effective option that competes with the M30T, and I fully agree.
I am hoping that there is some allowance for independent contractors.
 
I was hoping to be able to continue doing this type of work in florida, but July 1st, a law went into effect a prohibits any government agency from acquiring, using or consulting with anyone that uses DJI drones. In fact, they're only five drones listed that are acceptable and only one of them even comes close to meeting agency requirements. A new survey shows that a very large percentage of government agencies are going to stop using drones as part of their programs now. What a mistake. Instead, I will still engage in private contracted search and rescue, for both humans and pets.
Florida's situation was spearheaded by one US company (no name) lobbying legislators against DJI. I always thought that was not legal but I guess not. Hundreds of FL public safety agencies will be grounded 1/1/23 and the public's safety and welfare are in danger. Guess no one cares.

Article here.
 
I know that you're going to see a lot of these agencies applying for a waiver to the rule. And, if they will open this up to outside consultants, it'll be like the drone pilots employment act of 2023 for florida.
 
  • Like
Reactions: UAVIATOR 53
I'm testing my M30T and only worries I have for privacy is DJI Flight Hub 2 and I'm testing some local to van solutions to keep data isolated. Other's against DJI I think is ... what ever.. Very few are educated on cybersecurity.
 
We seem to be conjuring our own dragons so we can slay them. I am not aware of any police operation where the suspect "hack' into the data nor live stream video and used it as a defense against the coppers. Fire service is even less concerned. Is anyone?
 
We seem to be conjuring our own dragons so we can slay them. I am not aware of any police operation where the suspect "hack' into the data nor live stream video and used it as a defense against the coppers. Fire service is even less concerned. Is anyone?
Yes agree, But as hacker, it to find and disrupt and if found to also to make anything to make a buck. So hmm I done some hacking and If I found a feed I don't like for surveying as in wrong footfall game sure I will try to take it down :)

It's to disrupt normal life make chaos , confusion , Just saying,

Thank you.
 
And to add to that, What test has been done to make sure if I get to that feed I can not send command to aircraft to crash ?
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
2,717
Messages
25,373
Members
5,592
Latest member
Bigbair