Flying a drone inside a moving vehicle is a very bad idea. Both the pilot and passengers can get hurt, but even that risky situation leads to a question many have asked in the past: What is the drone's behavior? Does it accompany the movement of the vehicle, or does it end up slammed against the rear window?
Drones have become the go-to vehicles for all kinds of experiments. While authorities around the world still have to sort out certain legal details (and that includes annoyed neighbors who shoot them down with shotguns), the web is busy testing weight, range, speed, and much more. This time, the plan is to evaluate their behavior in a closed space... a moving car, to be precise. The people at The Action Lab used a $900 DJI Mavic Pro in their little exercise, and honestly, I don't know what worries me more: the fact that the pilot could be sliced like a sausage, or the hits the drone takes.
The first thing to note is that the test conditions are not ideal. In my opinion, the back of the vehicle is very small, which affects the drone's responsiveness. That became evident during the first attempt, as the acceleration was too sudden and the drone nearly ended up in the pilot's face. The second flight ends with a pretty ugly hit for the drone because the driver had to turn. Then the pilot lost control and the drone cut his finger. With more gradual acceleration and an extra dose of care, what we expected happened: The drone accompanies the movement of the car. In other words, the drone remains fixed relative to the air trapped inside the vehicle.
The behavior changes with the trunk open. At first, the drone tries to follow the car, but eventually falls behind. Needless to say, the comments on the video are a flood of complaints and suggestions. The drone's sensors were deactivated, but the possibility of some automatic correction in the background cannot be completely ruled out. Maybe we'll see a second part with a cheaper drone...?
