Mavic 2 Enterprise Unveiled at DJI Airworks

For those that thought the Phantom 4 RTK would be the most exciting industrial offering from DJI this year, the Mavic 2 Enterprise says, ‘Not so fast…”

Leading up to the release of the Mavic 2, mysterious images appeared showing the Mavic with some accessories bolted on the top.  When the Mavic 2 announcement came and went with no mention of this third Mavic, people assumed that it must have been a one off like the “Phantom 5” images seen earlier this year.

However, DJI decided to wait until AirWorks to unveil their new enterprise workhorse, the Mavic 2 Enterprise.  At first glance, this might appear to a Zoom with a bolt on boombox, but there’s a bit more going on under the hood that make this worthy of the ‘Enterprise’ moniker.

Mavic 2 Enterprise

Clearly, DJI is in the middle of a full court press into the enterprise/industrial market.  With the Mavic 2 Enterprise, they have brought capabilities previously restricted to the expensive Matrice 200 series down to a much more affordable price point.  While much of the marketing material suggests this drone is for first responders, their partnership with American Airlines shows that it can be used for a wide variety of applications.

Camera

The Mavic Enterprise is equipped with the same 1/2.3″ 12MP sensor found on the Mavic 2 Zoom, brining you the same 2x optical zoom.  However, DJI has increased the digital zoom up to 3x which should make Search and Rescue teams quite happy.  To help stabilize the zoomed images, DJI reps said that the Mavic 2 Enterprise has the most stable gimbal they have ever produced. (Editors Note: The Mavic 2 Enterprise carries forward the gimbal from the Mavic 2 Zoom and has an Angular Vibration Range of ±0.005°)

It is not immediately known if the camera will allow the same QuickShot modes or Super Resolution Photos found in the Zoom model but I don’t see why DJI would specifically omit them.

Performance

The Mavic 2 Enterprise shares all the technological advancements of its predecessor resulting an advertised flight time of 31minutes and a top speed of 44mph.  In addition to the improved power and endurance, new sensors have improved both the Active Track feature and the APAS collision avoidance system.

All models of the Mavic 2 Series uses all three sensors up front to create a 3d model of the world around it, allowing it to more effectively track and even predict the movement of your subjects!  The new Enhanced APAS has stereo vision sensing on front, bottom, and back, with a time of flight sensor on the top and side sensors for Active Track and Tripod modes.  All told, there are 10 vision sensors on the Mavic 2 that should make it almost impossible to crash.  One final note on this is the downward facing LED light that comes on during landing to assist the vision sensors with precision landings, even in low light conditions.  

While its form factor and flight performance isn’t that different than the Zoom, there are a few little tricks that make the Enterprise worth the $1,999 price tag.

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What’s New?

AirSense

Aside from an increased zoom functionality and password protection, DJI has opted to include AirSense in the Mavic Enterprise.  For the uninitiated, Airsense is DJI’s branded flight safety system that includes an ADS-B receiver to help remote pilots identify hazards posed by other aircraft nearby.  This feature was previously limited to the (much more expensive) Matrice series of aircraft so it is exciting to see DJI work it into a much smaller, and less expensive airframe.  

Self Heated Batteries

Another welcome addition for our friends up North is the self warming batteries.  DJI claims that they will allow pilots to operate in temps as low as -10°C (14°F).  The good news is, DJI has confirmed that your current Mavic 2 batteries will work with the Enterprise and vice versa.  

Password Protection

DJI is working to support users’ desire for data security by password protecting all of the information on the aircraft.  When the aircraft’s power is cycled of connects to a new controller, a password must be input to gain access to the aircraft’s data.

Accessories

The new line of accessories is the most obvious addition to the aircraft.  While only three exist right now, given the emphasis DJI put on the ‘ecosystem’ at Airworks today, it would not surprise me to see more in the future. 

The Spotlight

The 2400 lumen spotlight attached to the M2E is bright.  Even though it is limited to 50% when not in flight, it easily lit up the large conference hall where the keynote was being held.  It was most readily compared to the LumeCube but a single LumeuCube is only 1500 lumens.  The obvious concern with such a powerful light is its impact on battery life.  DJI’s site suggests that you will lose about 8 minutes of flight time (in hover) with the spotlight on, but today they said that you should only lose ~5 minutes in normal flight.  The speaker and strobe also impact the endurance but to a much smaller degree.   

The Strobe

While the spotlight got most of the attention, the strobe is also a useful tool in the kit.  Anyone wanting to obtain a 107.29 waiver or even to fly in civil twilight must have anti-collision lighting that can be seen for at least 3SM.  DJI’s new strobe can be seen for…you guessed it…3SM.  Sadly, there is only one port, so you cannot use the spotlight and the strobe at the same time which could cause some issues for those needing both to comply with a waiver.

The Speaker

This is a neat tool for first responders needing to communicate with those that cannot be immediately reached by foot.  Like the Spotlight, the 100db speaker easily filled up the conference hall with the prerecorded message from DJI.

https://vimeo.com/298504443

Conclusions

The Mavic 2 Enterprise is a right step in making industrial level equipment accessible to first responders and others who might need it.  Providing such a robust platform in such a small footprint should increase the rate of adoption among those who could not justify the purchase of a Matrice Series aircraft.  DJI’s increased support of developers (hardware and software) will hopefully make it easier for third parties to create specialty accessories for a wide range of industry needs.  Personally, I’l love to see a thermal camera up top but that might be a ways off 🙂

The Mavic 2 Enterprise is available today from DJI Enterprise Dealers.  The Universal Edition, which contains the aircraft, 1 battery, a hard case, and all three accessories will run $1,999 while the Fly More kit, which contains 2 additional batteries, a soft case, and spare props will set you back another $419.

What do you think, is the Mavic 2 Enterprise worth the price premium?  Could you use it in your industry?  Let us know in the comments below!

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