Autopilot - tips?

[erikgraham]

Just set up two waypoints and play around with the different options. They're endless. I personally like using the joystick to control the movement. Maybe I'm missing something but it seems joystick movement control would be a nice feature on zipline missions, too.

Well figuring it out by myself is certainly an option... but I was hoping for a few tips.

Also, Cable Cam is much more than a few waypoints. It's true that anything you can do with Cable Cam, you can do in Autopilot or Litchi. But Cable Cams allow spontaneous flight planing on location. Often the results are much better than carefully created waypoint missions. What makes the Solo version particularly nice is its accessibility and ease of use. Fly to a location, frame your shot, click a button, move to the next point, repeat. Then play it back. The Solo does a great job interpolating (easing in and out at just the right speed), but there is no going back and editing later.

With Litchi, in the manual they actually give you a "cookbook recipe" for how to set parameters and then walk you through creating a cable cam. Aside from the initial set up, it's pretty much as easy as on a Solo.

Seeing as this is a "tips" thread, I'm hoping someone has some advice on what works.

 

[Hangar]

Maybe I'm missing something but it seems joystick movement control would be a nice feature on zipline missions, too.

Since the capability is already available in Waypoint there was no immediate need to go back and update Zip Line mode.

 

[erikgraham]

Since the capability is already available in Waypoint there was no immediate need to go back and update Zip Line mode.

So I know in being repetitive so apologize for that. To create a cable cam, use C2 to record the way point. Answer at prompt to record gimbal position. Then repeat for as many additional waypoints. Engage and go.

Any recommendations for other default settings?

 

[erikgraham]

So I know in being repetitive so apologize for that. To create a cable cam, use C2 to record the way point. Answer at prompt to record gimbal position. Then repeat for as many additional waypoints. Engage and go.

Any recommendations for other default settings?

Well, dove into cable cam functionality today.
I sort of got it working. Wasn't able to effect speed on the "cable" using the joystick (or change direction). Also it only seemed to be able to run the cable in one direction. When it got to the end (end of mission), it just stopped and no amount of yanking on the sticks could get it to run in reverse. Basically I had to manually fly back near to the first waypoint and rerun the mission.

Nonetheless, it's progress. Autopilot does a really nice job tilting the gimbal and yawning copter smoothly. The interface is a bit dense, but I'm slowly figuring it out.

 

[erikgraham]

What you interpreted as hostility, was in fact frustration and I'm sorry if that wasn't apparent.

But if you look at the sample images I provided and then imagine spending several dozen hours trying to do anything productive with them, I would hope you could empathize. The fact that I know suitable imagery is available amplified the frustration.

If you look at my posts in this thread and others, you'll see that I was a fan, a proponent and almost even a champion of the Autopilot software - but after trying to create usable missions with that horrible Google imagery as a backdrop, I've found that all of those advanced Autopilot features that work so well in some areas are useless to me in an area I do 50% of my flying in.

Because of that, and now knowing that any possible improvement is in the backlog, I'm disappointed that I'm going to have to spend money on an alternate product that is most likely less-capable than Autopilot.

Since Autopilot is apparently only useful to me for 50% of my flying, I think the fair thing to do would be to provide a 50% refund - and I'll contact your support people to see what they think about that - although my definite preference would be to have you keep my money and even give you a little bit more in exchange for the ability to generate my own background imagery.

I've been planning flights for years with a variety of software. Yes, poor imagery makes planning a mission harder, but I think you are overstating it. The map is an important guide, but you have to scout the site and make adjustments based on the real world. To ask for a 50% refund is a little nutty.

 

[erikgraham]

Regarding Cable Cam in Autopilot.

I pretty much worked out all my issues on my own. At least I have something workable. For someone in the future that comes across this and wants cable cam, here are the settings:
Mode: Waypoint
Mission Type: Joystick
Refernce: POI (still playing with this)
Default preferred speed: set to the fastest speed you think you will want to run the cable. This can be adjusted during flight.
Path type: Beizers or Rounded
Focus Strategy: Triggers

Also, in the main settings near the bottom, you'll need to set C1 or C2 to "Use Aircraft Location"

Then your ready.

Take off and set up your first position. Yaw and tilt your gimbal to frame your first point. Click C1/2 to create a waypoint. For the first one, select create way point at Start. Another dialog will come up asking if you want to use triggers (not the exact phrasing). Click yes.

Fly to your second position. Frame the shot. Click C1/2. This time in the popup that appears choose to add your waypoint at the End. And click yes to triggers in the next popup.

Fly to your third position. Frame the shot. Click C1/2. This time in the popup that appears there will be a lot more options, but still choose to add your waypoint at the End. And click yes to triggers in the next popup.
Repeat for as many waypoints as you need.

Now go fly near to your first waypoint. Then Engage the mission. Use the left stick up/down to go forward and backward on the cable. Your maximum speed will be limited to the Default Preffered Speed you set earlier. This is nice because you can jam full throttle up or down on the stick and

If you want the drone to fly the cable for you, stop the current mission (Disengage), change the Mission Type to Payrol. Set the patrol number to some random high number (so you have plenty of passes back and forth on the cable before the mission ends). Set the mission speed.
Engage the mission.


Ultimately, Cable Cam on AutoPilot is a bit cumbersome and awkward, but still worth it. I've found I get much better results creating cable cams spontaneously in the field versus planning off-site first. With Autopilot you can run a cable, but then go back and edit it later. Then come back the next day and rerun your cable.

 

[erikgraham]

I've been planning flights for years with a variety of software. Yes, poor imagery makes planning a mission harder, but I think you are overstating it. The map is an important guide, but you have to scout the site and make adjustments based on the real world. To ask for a 50% refund is a little nutty.

Just came across this in the manual, under settings:

Custom Tile Server
The URL of a server that hosts custom map tiles. This is useful when Google Maps does not have acceptable satellite imagery for a target location and you have access to imagery on a custom (usually self-hosted) server. The URL should link to an end-point (Rackspace: Managed Dedicated & Cloud Computing Services) that Autopilot will use by appending zoom and grid parameters. The resulting URLs will be formed according to the Google Maps API specification, such as http://customserver.com/z/x/y.png

 

[ElGuapo]

Could not agree more. We have always encouraged our users to use the right tool for the job, and Autopilot isn't always the right tool. At the same time, we welcome comparisons and actively participate in the threads that are dedicated to that end. The goal is to provide you guys with as much information as possible so that you can choose the right tool for the job. Right now, if you want to fly beyond line of sight or out of signal range, Autopilot is not that tool.

Something strange is happening when I am creating a mission at home or at the office. For some strange reason Autopilot is creating this huge purple ring in a radius of miles and miles from where I am creating the mission. Not to mention that is also showing the location of the iOS device in the map, and it did not used to be this way. But certainly is making it difficult to create a new mission because when a create a focus point it references to the location the iOS is at the moment that I create the mission miles and miles away from the mission, See attached.

Is it a setting that I turned on ?

 

[Tenly]

I've been planning flights for years with a variety of software. Yes, poor imagery makes planning a mission harder, but I think you are overstating it. The map is an important guide, but you have to scout the site and make adjustments based on the real world. To ask for a 50% refund is a little nutty.

You're certainly entitled to think whatever you like but if you saw the actual imagery Google provides in the area I was required to work in, and if you understood the type of waypoint missions I was expected to create - then it would be obvious that I didn't understate anything.... But why bother asking a few questions to understand the situation fully when it's so much easier to just go ahead and pass judgement immediately by filling in all of the unknowns with the most negative thing you can imagine.

In general terms - when you pay "X" dollars for something that you expect to be usable 100% of the time and then discover that it's actually only usable 50% of the time, is it really all that nutty to think that a 50% refund would be fair? What if it was your ISP and you expected to have internet access all month and paid a price you thought was fair for that - but then you discovered that you actually only had internet access on even numbered days and you were going to have spend additional money to get access to something you already thought you had paid for. Would you still think it was nutty?

I think it's a bit nutty to comment on something that was written 2 months ago when the author was admittedly frustrated - and to belittle his problem without understanding it as well as to call him nutty for making some off the cuff remarks about price vs usability which are really not all that unrealistic depending on your perspective. Did you honestly think those comments would be well received and/or help move the conversation forward productively? Did you read the rest of the thread before posting to see if perhaps the problems had somehow been resolved to mutual satisfaction? (In fact it has!)
In the future, please think twice before posting something that is clearly antagonistic - and if there is no value in doing so - save yourself some keystrokes and go have a beer instead of sending that message.

For anyone else stumbling upon this thread - AutoFlightLogic was awesome in assisting me to a mutually satisfactory resolution. (I did not ask for or receive any kind of refund.). I can't think of another company on the planet that would have done what they did for me. I ended up with the background imagery I needed in order to complete my job. I guess I'm a little better at the waypoint missions than erikgraham is because my missions flew flawlessly, first try without any of the "required" adjustments or error corrections that his missions require.

Here are some pics that show my before and after.

The first two images are the exact same location. The first uses the default Google tiles. The second uses updated imagery i created myself.

View attachment 62366

View attachment 62367

View attachment 62368

 

[erikgraham]

You're certainly entitled to think whatever you like but if you saw the actual imagery Google provides in the area I was required to work in, and if you understood the type of waypoint missions I was expected to create - then it would be obvious that I didn't understate anything.... But why bother asking a few questions to understand the situation fully when it's so much easier to just go ahead and pass judgement immediately by filling in all of the unknowns with the most negative thing you can imagine.

In general terms - when you pay "X" dollars for something that you expect to be usable 100% of the time and then discover that it's actually only usable 50% of the time, is it really all that nutty to think that a 50% refund would be fair? What if it was your ISP and you expected to have internet access all month and paid a price you thought was fair for that - but then you discovered that you actually only had internet access on even numbered days and you were going to have spend additional money to get access to something you already thought you had paid for. Would you still think it was nutty?

I think it's a bit nutty to comment on something that was written 2 months ago when the author was admittedly frustrated - and to belittle his problem without understanding it as well as to call him nutty for making some off the cuff remarks about price vs usability which are really not all that unrealistic depending on your perspective. Did you honestly think those comments would be well received and/or help move the conversation forward productively? Did you read the rest of the thread before posting to see if perhaps the problems had somehow been resolved to mutual satisfaction? (In fact it has!)
In the future, please think twice before posting something that is clearly antagonistic - and if there is no value in doing so - save yourself some keystrokes and go have a beer instead of sending that message.

For anyone else stumbling upon this thread - AutoFlightLogic was awesome in assisting me to a mutually satisfactory resolution. (I did not ask for or receive any kind of refund.). I can't think of another company on the planet that would have done what they did for me. I ended up with the background imagery I needed in order to complete my job. I guess I'm a little better at the waypoint missions than erikgraham is because my missions flew flawlessly, first try without any of the "required" adjustments or error corrections that his missions require.

Here are some pics that show my before and after.

The first two images are the exact same location. The first uses the default Google tiles. The second uses updated imagery i created myself.

View attachment 62366

View attachment 62367

View attachment 62368

I still maintain that it's more important, and SAFER to scout a location with your own eyes. Never rely on maps. Image quality AND accuracy is not consistent throughout the world (or even in the US). It's a safety issue more than anything else. You may think that isn't constructive advice, but that's still my advice.

If you have to design a mission off site, then it should be a rough draft where you keep the altitudes high. Run some tests on site and tweak for perfection. Safest way, and best final result. Often turns out to be the most efficient.

Also, AutoPilot does allow custom maps, so that really should be pointed out for any future readers here.

(As for the 50% discount thing, or the other insults, I'm not going to respond to that. It's fairly irrelevant).

 

[Tenly]

I still maintain that it's more important, and SAFER to scout a location with your own eyes. Never rely on maps. Image quality AND accuracy is not consistent throughout the world (or even in the US). It's a safety issue more than anything else. You may think that isn't constructive advice, but that's still my advice.

If you have to design a mission off site, then it should be a rough draft where you keep the altitudes high. Run some tests on site and tweak for perfection. Safest way, and best final result. Often turns out to be the most efficient.

Also, AutoPilot does allow custom maps, so that really should be pointed out for any future readers here.

(As for the 50% discount thing, or the other insults, I'm not going to respond to that. It's fairly irrelevant).

My issues are the reason that Autopilot supports custom maps. The capability was added at my request due to this specific issue. It's rudimentary support - and it takes a lot of work to get to the point where it is useful - but for someone that lives/plays in an area that Google has neglected, it's nice that it's at least possible. The capability is there - but as far as I'm aware, it's an unadvertised, completely unsupported "use at your own risk" capability.

You continue to assume that I was unfamiliar with the area and that I flew blind without scouting it first. I certainly didn't say that anywhere in this thread - so that's a conclusion that you have jumped to. I've probably played 500 rounds of golf at that course and I'm very familiar with the layout and the height of local obstacles.

And of course I was on site when I flew the missions - to observe that the flight path was "as expected" - and ready to take over control if something went wrong. Especially since my imagery was slightly offset from the baseline google imagery. But nothing went wrong. The mission flew flawlessly and exactly as I had programmed it. It took a total of 12 minutes to collect the video I needed to create the individual hole by hole flyover vids. It was extremely important to the course owners that I be done as soon as possible and keep the disruption to their golfers to an absolute minimum. That would not have been possible if I was not able to update the map data to something usable. So to anybody else that ever uses the autopilot capability to use custom tiles - you're welcome!

And here's a tip for free for anyone trying to make it work - you'd expect it to be XYZ but it's not. Use TMS instead.

 

[Dragonfly2016]

Hey I'm new to Litchi and getting so what confused with the lingo. What type of flight is it when you set up waypoints but can still control the direction that the camera is facing?

Sent from my XT1585 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Dragonfly2016]

Hey I'm new to Litchi and getting confused with the lingo. What type of flight is it when you set up waypoints but can still control the direction that the camera is facing? What settings are activated? I have a P4.

Sent from my XT1585 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Tenly]

Hey I'm new to Litchi and getting confused with the lingo. What type of flight is it when you set up waypoints but can still control the direction that the camera is facing? What settings are activated? I have a P4.

Sent from my XT1585 using PhantomPilots mobile app

This is an Auto Pilot thread - not Litchi. I don't know if Litchi has its own name for that type of flight - but in AutoPilot, it would still be a Waypoint flight, but the focus strategy would be set to joystick. That would cause the Phantom to travel along the path you programmed, but you would be able to control the camera direction and angle manually with the joystick.

 

[erikgraham]

My issues are the reason that Autopilot supports custom maps. The capability was added at my request due to this specific issue. It's rudimentary support - and it takes a lot of work to get to the point where it is useful - but for someone that lives/plays in an area that Google has neglected, it's nice that it's at least possible. The capability is there - but as far as I'm aware, it's an unadvertised, completely unsupported "use at your own risk" capability.

You continue to assume that I was unfamiliar with the area and that I flew blind without scouting it first. I certainly didn't say that anywhere in this thread - so that's a conclusion that you have jumped to. I've probably played 500 rounds of golf at that course and I'm very familiar with the layout and the height of local obstacles.

And of course I was on site when I flew the missions - to observe that the flight path was "as expected" - and ready to take over control if something went wrong. Especially since my imagery was slightly offset from the baseline google imagery. But nothing went wrong. The mission flew flawlessly and exactly as I had programmed it. It took a total of 12 minutes to collect the video I needed to create the individual hole by hole flyover vids. It was extremely important to the course owners that I be done as soon as possible and keep the disruption to their golfers to an absolute minimum. That would not have been possible if I was not able to update the map data to something usable. So to anybody else that ever uses the autopilot capability to use custom tiles - you're welcome!

And here's a tip for free for anyone trying to make it work - you'd expect it to be XYZ but it's not. Use TMS instead.

Look. I'm really not trying to get in an argument with you. No matter what I say you seem to get very upset. The way I see it, you ranted at a hard working developer. You felt entitled to a discount. You left your post at that for a few months. Even after they bent over backwards to accommodate you, you never returned to this thread to report back how happy you were. You just left it out there... until I came along and simply said demanding a 50% discount from a developer for poor imagery in google maps is "a little nutty." (And I later posted the info about being able to load your own maps). None of it was meant as the wild eyed attack you seem to think it is. I've read back through the thread and really can't figure out what's got you so bent out of shape. Can we just drop it?

Anyway, back on topic - for anyone else, the point still stands about scouting and familiarity. If you know an area, you can get by with very poor map imagery. It's what a lot of us have had tondo for years. Autopilot's ability to load alternate maps is a real plus versus some other DJI ground station apps. Even so, sometimes you can't find good imagery and you just have to deal. Good scouting makes it workable and will yield better results than relying on even the best map imagery.

 

[Tenly]

Look. I'm really not trying to get in an argument with you. No matter what I say you seem to get very upset. The way I see it, you ranted at a hard working developer. You felt entitled to a discount. You left your post at that for a few months. Even after they bent over backwards to accommodate you, you never returned to this thread to report back how happy you were. You just left it out there... until I came along and simply said demanding a 50% discount from a developer for poor imagery in google maps is "a little nutty." (And I later posted the info about being able to load your own maps). None of it was meant as the wild eyed attack you seem to think it is. I've read back through the thread and really can't figure out what's got you so bent out of shape. Can we just drop it?

Anyway, back on topic - for anyone else, the point still stands about scouting and familiarity. If you know an area, you can get by with very poor map imagery. It's what a lot of us have had tondo for years. Autopilot's ability to load alternate maps is a real plus versus some other DJI ground station apps. Even so, sometimes you can't find good imagery and you just have to deal. Good scouting makes it workable and will yield better results than relying on even the best map imagery.

Just drop all the assumptions. You get them wrong every time. "Bent over backwards" is a little extreme. At my request they added a line of code and an option in settings so I could enter a server IP. It would have taken a developer all of about 15 minutes to do it. Don't get me wrong - it was great that they agreed to do it for me and I appreciate it very much - as I communicated in the other Autopilot thread it was discussed in - and directly via email. Not a lot of companies would be that receptive to a customer need - but it was not by any means a monumental effort.

I didn't rant at anybody. I was communicating my feelings in a forum made just for that. You came along, presenting yourself as a know it all - and communicated your disagreement with the information I posted. You were wrong about much of it and made a bunch of incorrect assumptions - proving that you're really not that much of a know it all. You quote me as "demanding a 50% discount". My actual words were "I think a 50% discount would be fair". I never asked for a discount - merely suggested that I thought it would be fair. I still think it would have been fair in that situation or in others like it - and you can't tell me I'm wrong because I'm expressing an opinion. My opinion. If you think thats nutty - that's your opinion. You could have kept it to yourself - but you chose to post it publicly - and I thought that made you a bit of a jerk - but I didn't post that opinion until just now - since you keep coming back at me about this. If you really do want to "drop it", then do just that. Drop it and don't reply to this message. I'm not following you around the site and harassing you. I thought my last message was the end of things - and it would have been if you hadn't replied. You say you want to drop it - but apparently only after you get some sort of final word - and that's not going to happen as long as you keep attacking, criticizing or misquoting me. I considered the matter closed as I hit send on my previous reply - and it would have stayed closed if you hadn't replied. So if you really want to drop it - here's your chance! Be the bigger person and don't reply to this message and consider the matter dropped!

 

[FliteDoc]

One thing I don’t see anywhere, unless Autopilot App has changed, it is like GO in that it sends commands to the drone as it flies the mission ... so if contact lost for any reason the drone will RTH ... vs. Litchi where flight plan is uploaded at the start, and the mission is flown autonomously, w/o any input from the RC ... an advantage in some cases...