AutoPilot and the Spark

[Tom Croley]

When using AP, it is pretty easy to lay out a course that out ranges the limitations of the Spark. Keep the limitations in mind and always be thinking, "What would I do if I lost contact right NOW." Could I fly home using just the sticks? It is nice to have the RTH feature to fall back on but what if that does not work for some reason?

I was flying a test waypoint mission the other day and during the mission, I was experimenting with changing the focus options on the fly....tweaking this and tweaking that...trying different methods. Suddenly the app just crashed...but I could see the Spark as a dot in the sky and it just stopped and hovered. In the App settings there is an option to select the behaviour if contact is lost... I have that set to hover. You can set it to RTH, but I don't trust RTH all that much and use it only as a last resort.

 

[AndyN]

I don't find RTH on all missions to be selecten on end of mission?!, I use RTH to engage the AC to return but then often find my self manually landing when in sight and resonably close, 20m or so!

 

[Lastrexking]

Still haven't used AP.... Weather hasn't been great for flying small drones. Do you run Go4 in the background?

 

[mywalter]

Still haven't used AP.... Weather hasn't been great for flying small drones. Do you run Go4 in the background?

No, Go4 has definitely to be stopped before starting AP.

 

[beiter]

...

RTH.....
I looked really carefully for a RTH button on the screen and found NONE.... maybe there is an option for it in the settings. I always use the RC controller with my mini 4 attached in a mount on top. I have one custom RC button programmed to "disengage" the mission....this is important because it is easier to hit the button then it is to hit the "disengage" word on the screen. It disengages instantly and then hovers. (I think there is an option to have it RTH as soon as you disengage...I have that turned off) If you have that option ON, then yes there is a RTH button on the screen that says "Disengage". It is easier to find and hit the C1 button on the RC controller.

....

Autopilot disengages as you described by pressing disengage. There is however also another failsafe/override build in besides the sometimes complicated and error prone RTH (which is just another auto-flight program and no good if you need to quickly and manually get out of harms way)

-> SPORT mode. flip the switch on the RC and you are in full control. Autopilot immediately disengages.

 

[AndyN]

Autopilot disengages as you described by pressing disengage. There is however also another failsafe/override build in besides the sometimes complicated and error prone RTH (which is just another auto-flight program and no good if you need to quickly and manually get out of harms way)

-> SPORT mode. flip the switch on the RC and you are in full control. Autopilot immediately disengages.

My concern is in a case where signal is lost, the AP will disengage AC mission, but imagine it hovering 100m up in the air, far away from your "home point". Where it is hard or even impossible to get it. Over a lake/water for example! An automated RTH would be a welcome function!

 

[beiter]

Autopilot also offers the option of mission continuation on connection loss, however at the cost of limited functionalities. Example no bezier curves. Just tick the option.

 

[AndyN]

Autopilot also offers the option of mission continuation on connection loss, however at the cost of limited functionalities. Example no bezier curves. Just tick the option.

Are you sure AC actually can store navigational data in case of signal loss from RC? I heard different for Spark!

 

[Tom Croley]

My concern is in a case where signal is lost, the AP will disengage AC mission, but imagine it hovering 100m up in the air, far away from your "home point". Where it is hard or even impossible to get it. Over a lake/water for example! An automated RTH would be a welcome function!

There IS an option to RTH upon loss of signal.... just look in the settings and you will find it. You can also disengage and then press the RTH button on the RC. Personally I think that is better.

I do not recommend the "Continue Mission" option upon loss of contact. It is an option that is listed, but I'm not too sure how well the spark handles it. This app was really made for the more expensive drones...not the spark. The spark lacks some of the necessary capabilities to handle all the features of the app.

 

[RaWine]

I've always assumed RTH is stored internally on the Spark, since the action is made to occur when you lose complete contact. It would be gps coordinates I suppose.

I can't see a point in Autopilot having a RTH that works any different. If you lose full contact the drone is on its own.

On the other hand I'd want to know what height it flies back at, and the other things you depend on with the DJI's RTH.

 

[Tom Croley]

I've always assumed RTH is stored internally on the Spark, since the action is made to occur when you lose complete contact. It would be gps coordinates I suppose.

I can't see a point in Autopilot having a RTH that works any different. If you lose full contact the drone is on its own.

On the other hand I'd want to know what height it flies back at, and the other things you depend on with the DJI's RTH.

I think the RTH is built into the drone...so when AP disconnects, you can simply push the button on the RC and it should RTH. You can also set a switch in the AP app to activate RTH if it disconnects.... not sure how that works because I have that set to hover instead.

 

[AndyN]

I think the RTH is built into the drone...so when AP disconnects, you can simply push the button on the RC and it should RTH. You can also set a switch in the AP app to activate RTH if it disconnects.... not sure how that works because I have that set to hover instead.

Yes I think you are right, but not navigational data such as waypoints. I need to test this before flying more advanced missions. I will build a small waypoint mission close to "home" and then turn of RC and AP and see what happens!

 

[Tom Croley]

Yes I think you are right, but not navigational data such as waypoints. I need to test this before flying more advanced missions. I will build a small waypoint mission close to "home" and then turn of RC and AP and see what happens!

Please post your results. Interesting.

 

[RaWine]

Yes I think you are right, but not navigational data such as waypoints. I need to test this before flying more advanced missions. I will build a small waypoint mission close to "home" and then turn of RC and AP and see what happens!

It would also be cool if it did have some available "continue the mission" capability. We know DJI doesn't give the Spark as many intelligent flight modes as is actually possible.

 

[gavcuk]

Can Autopilot be used without RC? I’d like to do Active Track when out running. Would be nice if could do it Phone only.

 

[Tom Croley]

Can Autopilot be used without RC? I’d like to do Active Track when out running. Would be nice if could do it Phone only.

I have not tried it, but I do not think so. Tracking while running using a spark is possible but kind of a hassle because of the short battery life. At best, you may be able to run for 12 minutes, 10 is more likely. I think AP requires the RC.

AP will follow your iphone as using the "device" method for "focus and follow" and it is rock solid in its ability to follow you even behind trees etc. If you happen to have a new enough IPad, you could possibly set up the flight on the Ipad and use "Airspace" and the Iphone to achieve the tracking. Layout a small running course perhaps a circle or short trail. You could start the flight using the ipad, focus on the iphone and then either place the controller on the ground or have an assistant hold it during the course of your run.

As always, the problem with this is the short distance of the wifi on the phone when it is not connected to the RC. Airspace depends on the wifi of the device that is being tracked. If it looses contact with the tracked object, I think it will either hover in place or RTH.

I'll try that out when I get a chance and post results. Won't be today and I think we have bad WX the rest of the week...we'll see.

 

[gavcuk]

I have not tried it, but I do not think so. Tracking while running using a spark is possible but kind of a hassle because of the short battery life. At best, you may be able to run for 12 minutes, 10 is more likely. I think AP requires the RC.

AP will follow your iphone as using the "device" method for "focus and follow" and it is rock solid in its ability to follow you even behind trees etc. If you happen to have a new enough IPad, you could possibly set up the flight on the Ipad and use "Airspace" and the Iphone to achieve the tracking. Layout a small running course perhaps a circle or short trail. You could start the flight using the ipad, focus on the iphone and then either place the controller on the ground or have an assistant hold it during the course of your run.

As always, the problem with this is the short distance of the wifi on the phone when it is not connected to the RC. Airspace depends on the wifi of the device that is being tracked. If it looses contact with the tracked object, I think it will either hover in place or RTH.

I'll try that out when I get a chance and post results. Won't be today and I think we have bad WX the rest of the week...we'll see.

Goal isn’t to catch a whole run but rather a few shots here and there along with footage captured from other cameras as well e.g. GoPro and phone itself

 

[Tom Croley]

Strange thing happened! Today I set out to try the "map" function instead of just "patrolling" with the AP app. I flew two successful "Mapping" missions. The AC flew a course that the AP app determined all the while taking pictures or video of the scenery that was below. It was a straight down mission and it seemed to work OK although I have not viewed the pictures yet.

Then the STRANGE thing happened. On my third mission I elected to fly a simple orbit. I've done it many times before with no problem. During the mission, the AC was very wobbly during flight and the camera could not stay on the target. When the mission was over, I still had 60% so I started again after tweaking the parameters of the orbit a little. About 45 seconds into the mission, I got a "can't read battery" message so I aborted the mission and flew home using the sticks.

I was hovering in the field in a safe area and I wanted to descend but the AC was STUCK at 45 feet. It would not go UP either, but it would move around. It was like the left stick was missing. The mission was disengaged, but to be sure, I pressed the disengage button again.... a couple of times. Nothing. Still stuck. I began to worry that I would run out of gas and fall from the sky so in desperation, I shut off the AP app and booted up DJI. It was still stuck at 45 feet. Finally I tried a forced landing using the land button and that worked. It started to descend. I let it go about 10 fee then I aborted the landing and full control was restored. I landed and shut her down. At no time did I try the RTH button. I think that would have worked but I did not want it to rise to RTH altitude and maybe get stuck there and I just wasn't sure if it remembered where home was.

So.... chalk up a glitch for today.

 

[RaWine]

I wonder if it has anything to do with running multiple missions without a break? If you have a program that's not extensively tested for users doing something different than what's expected, then bugs may show up under certain circumstances.

But who knows. Do they have tech support for AP?

 

[Tom Croley]

I wonder if it has anything to do with running multiple missions without a break? If you have a program that's not extensively tested for users doing something different than what's expected, then bugs may show up under certain circumstances.

But who knows. Do they have tech support for AP?

I have run 3 missions in a row many times. I have not tried their tech support. Their blog is not well attended and some there have said that their support is not that great. I'll shoot them a note and see.