Several owners of GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO)’s Karma Dronesare struggling in the New Year. They are unable to fly the drones may be due to a GPS glitch. The owners of Karma drones are unable to calibrate the GPS Compass and show no GPS signal. However, the controllers in this machine are working perfectly.
A workaround to keep Karma drones flying
According to one of the Karma drone users, the machine could fly by disabling the GPS and resetting the controller. However, it is not the perfect way to operate the drone. According to a communiqué shared by GoPro with Engadget, its team is working on rectifying the drones.
A GPS rollover flaw has affected several drones and prevented them from flying. The hardware has an automatic feature to reset the date of GPS once the clock reaches 1,024 weeks. Therefore, the drone loses the location finding capability because of a change in time. GoPro shutdown the drone business in 2018. But, the company has not issued any update to the software to correct the timing issue and make the drone flying. It shows the devices that depend on GPS for their functioning is not guaranteed to work forever without proper support.
GoPro promises to extend support
GoPro has promised to extend the support for the existing drones by issuing a software update. According to a spokesperson of GoPro with BBC, the company will resolve the issue and keep the camera fitted drones flying. He said the company is well aware of the problem, and its technical team is already on the job. The GPS rollover problem is preventing the drones from flying because the clock is reset every 19.7 years or 1,204 weeks. GoPro team needs to update the software to bring back the GPS clock to zero. It allows the machine to fly for another 19.7 years uninterruptedly.
Several firms issued an update
Several firms that produced drones have already issued an update, and the drones are flying without any glitches. But, GoPro has not addressed the issue since it abandoned the project in 2018. When the owners of the GoPro drones are trying to calibrate the compass, it shows a message ‘try again, calibration failed.’ It also tells you that the GPS signal is mandatory for calibration.
Features of GoPro Karma drones
The quadcopter allows the professionals to capture stabilized and high-quality aerial footage. It uses a compact and unique design in the gimbal stabilizer. The drone also comes with a Karma Grip and an optional camera mount. It is ready to fly with all components and battery in place. The features of GoPro Karma drone include an LCD touch screen, a remote controller, propellers, and a land/ takeoff press button.
