MISSION flight tests experiences

[Kisssys]

[Shogun]

The Nexus 7 does not have gsm, how do you plan missions without the map? Does this work offline?

Oh, and it does not have a slot for SD-Cards.

[Kisssys]

Shogun
Offline maps are in the making, if it takes a live link to make a mission it's not worth much to me. If it just used the map creator's used for the MK it would be fine. The SD slot is a consideration, I'll have to think about it a bit. I've got a couple of old laptops so maybe I'll wait a bit.

[GoFaster]

This is veering off from a stock Nexus 7; but if you decide to root the tablet, you can get a OTG Host mode adapter and the Stickmount utility. This will let you plug in and mount USB card readers (USB Mass Storage Devices).
Rooting has risks and this also means more stuff to carry around but it's an option...



I find the N7 very convenient for tuning and planning missions at the field without having to squint at and fat finger a smaller phone screen. Plus the speech option is great for inflight status without having to look at the screen.
Peter is doing a super job on the Android app!

- Felix

[GoFaster]

Some simple mission tests from a few days ago with v6.6r21 and the Android app.

Mag inclination and declination set to flight location values.
3 waypoints and RTH as the 4th.

Screenshot_2012-09-21-12-50-57.png (624.38 KiB) Viewed 12138 times

[Test 1]
Waypoints:
Hit radius 1 m
Relative altitude 0.0
Loiter 5 secs
PO Heading 0.0
Horizontal Speed 2.5 m/s
RTH:
Default (front of copter is always pointing to whatever compass direction it's pointing at when Home Position is set)

Sequence is:
Take off in Manual, activate PosHold, set Home via AUX2 then back to middle switch position, activate Mission.
Video begins just before I activate Mission.

Result:
Seems to work fine except that it tilts my gimbal down between WP0 and WP1.
http://youtu.be/JkYJDWjWlbM


[Test 2]
Same waypoints as Test 1, edited POI Heading to -0 so the nose of the copter faces the direction of travel and increased horizontal speed to 5 m/s.

Sequence is:
Take off in Manual, activate PosHold, set Home via AUX2 then back to middle switch position, activate Mission.
Video begins just before I activate Mission. I don't touch any sticks or controls between start of mission until after RTH is achieved.

Result:
Again it titled the gimbal down between WP0 and WP1.
At all three waypoints, the yaw seems to be 'hunting'.
I wonder if this has to do with my fuzzy IMU_MAG plots while the motors are turning. However, it doesn't hunt in PosHold or in Test 1, just a solid yaw and lock to the correct orientation.

http://youtu.be/zdsb1R4WMQI


Edit: the "hunting" is expected behaviour for relative bearing when hovering over a waypoint and trying to maintain location.

[Max]

I'm getting the problem where I can't save/retrieve any mission via Android GCS. Create a waypoint, hit Save, it says saving was successful, but when I hit Retrieve, the map just clears and my waypoint is gone. What's weird is that I tested this a long time ago, before all my calculations (when Felix was having the same issue) and it worked fine back then. I've tried from a couple different Android devices with different Android flavors. Any clues to how you guys solved this?

Thanks,
-Max

[afernan]

@Shogun, N7 doesn't have gsm, but you can connect easily to your phone internet connection by WiFi or BT. Also, you can prepare the missions at home and then retrieve it at field and save to the copter without any internet connetion required.

@Max, sorry about your problem. I guess you've double check your heartbeat is green. Try also to reset the AQ and try again.

[Max]

Yea with a rooted smartphone you can have a Wifi hotspot in your pocket w/out the phone co.s' bogus tethering fees. Very handy. On a recent family trip we had up to 6 devices at once sharing one GSM data connection on a Droid 2. FTW
/offtopic

It seems I can't save any mission from Windows QGC either. Seems to save OK but retrieves nothing (not even the 2 default waypoints, which are gone). I must be missing something basic...

-Max

[epyonxero]

[Max]