Autopilot App appears to be enabling Gimble Tile limit to 30 degrees

[DeputyDawg]

I recently purchased the Autopilot app to assist me with Dronebase pano missions.

Test pano, worked fine. However, my first real mission with it – in the stills where the camera points straight on, I got the props in the way?? I brought the drone down to a height where I could see the camera. Turns out that when I turned the gimble knob it keeps going up until its pointing straight up (thus catching the props).

I did some google searches, but couldn’t find much. I did read some articles that an IMI calibration might help. I tried this and did another test pano mission at home and it worked fine.

Today I tried two real pano missions. The first worked perfectly. But the second had the props in the way again. I haven’t tried another IMU reset, but seems too odd that I would have to keep doing IMU resets.

Any thoughts…


Update since posting:

A friend gave a suggestion to check the Enable upwards gimble tilt limit to 30 degrees". We confirmed it was not set. I went outside to do another test Pano. Low and behold it did the same thing. When I landed I checked that setting and surprisingly it is now turned on. So did autopilot do this?

 

[Tim Pearson]

If your Autopilot mission is set to "Lost Connection = End Mission" then I think it's very likely that Autopilot could change the gimbal tilt limit setting. They don't explain it well, but there's a drastic difference between the "Lost Connection End Mission" and "Lost Connection Mission Continues" or LCMC modes in Autopilot missions. In LCMC (Continue Mission) mode, Autopilot works like Litchi... it uploads a list of commands to the aircraft. The aircraft then uses a relatively limited API to execute those commands autonomously, one after the other. Changing settings, like the gimbal tilt limit, aren't available (I don't think) in the command set used with the drone executes a set of uploaded commands.

In the "End Mission" lost connection mode, it's a very different world as far as what's happening. The Autopilot program running on your tablet/phone is using a completely different API set to control the aircraft. It's a "real-time, hands-on" method of the Autopilot program, running on the tablet/phone, controlling the drone's actions... taking telemetry data from the aircraft and sending throttle, heading, etc. commands to the drone in real time. The drone has "no idea what it's doing next." It's just slavishly doing what its told, from moment to moment. This more full-featured "real time" method probably DOES expose commands like "gimbal tilt limit" to control by Autopilot.

One way to test this theory would be to set the tilt limit, change the "lost connection" mode to "mission continues" (put Autopilot in "Litchi Mode") and run your Pano mission. I'd be most interested to learn how that worked out!

 

[DeputyDawg]

If your Autopilot mission is set to "Lost Connection = End Mission" then I think it's very likely that Autopilot could change the gimbal tilt limit setting. They don't explain it well, but there's a drastic difference between the "Lost Connection End Mission" and "Lost Connection Mission Continues" or LCMC modes in Autopilot missions. In LCMC (Continue Mission) mode, Autopilot works like Litchi... it uploads a list of commands to the aircraft. The aircraft then uses a relatively limited API to execute those commands autonomously, one after the other. Changing settings, like the gimbal tilt limit, aren't available (I don't think) in the command set used with the drone executes a set of uploaded commands.

In the "End Mission" lost connection mode, it's a very different world as far as what's happening. The Autopilot program running on your tablet/phone is using a completely different API set to control the aircraft. It's a "real-time, hands-on" method of the Autopilot program, running on the tablet/phone, controlling the drone's actions... taking telemetry data from the aircraft and sending throttle, heading, etc. commands to the drone in real time. The drone has "no idea what it's doing next." It's just slavishly doing what its told, from moment to moment. This more full-featured "real time" method probably DOES expose commands like "gimbal tilt limit" to control by Autopilot.

One way to test this theory would be to set the tilt limit, change the "lost connection" mode to "mission continues" (put Autopilot in "Litchi Mode") and run your Pano mission. I'd be most interested to learn how that worked out!

Tim,

Wow very interesting reply, thanks The good news is I have yet to reproduce this. It happened a few times and that's it.

Autopilot support had never seen this.

Regarding your comment about testing by changing the lost connection to mission continues - can you please help on where to do this. I am new to autopilot and have never gone into any of the settings (except the pano mission for which I bought it for).

Thanks again

 

[Tim Pearson]

Sure... I must actually offer an apology... After looking just now, the only mission mode where this can be selected appears to be "Waypoint". You'll see it at the top of the Waypoint mission settings. That mode is the one I use most often (by far - with "Cruise" mode being my 2nd fav) and I (incorrectly) assumed it was there in other modes. I think the other modes run in "Signal Loss = End Mission" mode (advanced, direct control mode) all the time. Only the waypoint mission, it seems, can be set to "Signal Loss = Continue Mission" mode.

So I was all wet from the start!

 

[DeputyDawg]

Knock on wood (or something else) but it has not occurred since.

I had another issue with autopilot - after using it a few times and uploading logs to healthydrones, my batteries (#1,2, and 3) now have a #4 and #5. Of course Autopilot denies anything and blames it on HD. HD stated hey we are just displaying the data we get. HD showed me how to fix it though.

Still like autopilot but NOT their support

 

[DanMan32]

Makes no sense that missions would change gimbal limit setting, especially it changing based on setting for what to do on signal loss.
I assume "signal loss - end mission then triggers fail-safe setting? After all, RC and app can't send any new commands with the AC once signal is lost.

Sent from my HTC 10 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[DeputyDawg]

DanMan

I would agree. First of all I didn't even know about that gimble setting let alone change it.

But once I found it, I set it back. Did another flight test and the same symptom.

Something is changing that setting - correction was as it seem to be fine now

I in good faith, did NOT change that setting what so ever !!!