Indoor “GPS” (with ±2cm precision) Autonomous copter setting manual
Description - 2 The manual gives basic and practical recommendations for setting up of Indoor “GPS” system for usage with autonomous copters/drones indoor and outdoor, with focus on indoor
Step 1: Get basic tracking of beacon Dashboard view - - 3 First of all, reach good basic tracking of beacon prior attaching to any drone. Use Starter Set or Starter Set with IMU with default settings Don’t yet try to fly remotely controlled or even fly autonomously until you have good tracking of a mobile beacon in hands.
Step 1.1: Use default settings - Set everything in default, at the beginning. Later on, you may use optimized settings (higher order Radio Profile, faster update rate, etc.).
Step 1.2: Place beacons correctly - Choose a mid-size area, for example, 6x4m or 10x10m or so It is recommended to put stationary beacons at the same height and above the fly area and farther from the sources of noise, such as copter Enable only needed sensors (RX1-RX5) – not all of them.
Step 1.3: Reaching good “Z” axis - 6 To have good Z tracking, remember to fly always either significantly below the plane of stationary beacons and significantly above the plane. Otherwise, Z precision will suffer. Rule of thumb, the angle between the mobile beacon and the plane of stationary beacons must not be less than 1520 degrees: https://www.youtube.
Step 1.4: Reach stable tracking - Reach good and stable tracking of a mobile beacon over the whole map, where the drone will fly. The beacon shall be still separate from a copter - just regular tracking over the whole area with mobile beacon in hands or installed on a tripod, etc.
Step 1.5: Set recommended number of periods - For distances larger than 10m or so, use 50 periods in ultrasonic instead of 5 periods in default (Dashboard => Choose beacon => Ultrasound => Number of periods).
Step 1.
Step 2: Onboard tracking - rotors not active - In Step 2, repeat the Step 1, but place the beacon on the copter exactly how it will be placed in real life. Power everything on the drone, except rotors. Check, for example, that drone’s telemetry, power, etc. doesn’t affect tracking of the mobile beacon.
Step 3: Onboard tracking – rotors active - Now, put the copter on the floor where it is supposed to fly and apply 80-90% of taking off power to the rotors. If the tracking is stable (no jumps, etc.
Step 3.1: Overcome the noise - If tracking becomes unstable, when motors are powered, use Dashboard => Oscilloscope => View to monitor signal from the mobile beacon to all stationary beacons one by one. Help Video: how to use embedded oscilloscope - - 12 If necessary, set gain settings to manual in beacon ultrasonic settings and adjust the gain optimally and manually. Do it by changing the gain and monitoring the ultrasonic signal using oscilloscope.
Step 3.
Step 3.3: AGC with noise - example - SNR is 2 - Trigger (incorrect) 14 AGC is ON Strong external noise, for example, copter’s noise Trigger works incorrectly (real distance is 10m, but it triggers at 0.
Step 3.
Step 3.5: Manual gain – correct values Manual amplification is ON The same level of noise as in the previous example Receiver amplifier = 2350 Signal is not overloaded Solid signal to noise ratio Trigger works correctly SNR 3.
Step 4: The manual flight - Now, starts flying the drone in manual mode and track the copter over the whole area. If tracking is good , the copter is ready for automatic mode.
Step 4.1: If something is wrong 18 - Please, re-check the previous steps and Operating Manual and our YouTube channel. Try also: Check that only correct sensors (RX1-RX5) are enabled Fly farther from stationary beacons, i.e. place them 15m apart and fly only within the central 5 meters spot, etc.
Step 5: Autonomous flight It is time to fly in automatic mode now. It is advised to monitor the tracking via Dashboard to identify the cause for issues - whether it is an issue with tracking or with the drone's onboard SW: https://www.youtube.
Notes - - 20 In order to get fully autonomous flight, you shall do step by step settings and jump over to the end without verifying that underlying layer works as supposed to. For example, don’t jump to tracking or flying autonomously a copter, if your basic tracking with beacon in hand is not stable Clearly distinguish between issues with tracking from issues with misconfiguration of ArduPilot or effect of barometer or compass on the system, for example.
Contacts For additional support: Site: https://marvelmind.com/ Selected video demos: https://marvelmind.com/#watch_demo Selected customers: https://marvelmind.com/#customers Email: info@marvelmind.
