Dev Call Dec 18, 2017 2300 UTC

Development Team
1

Copter

Rover

  • 3.2 release progress

General

  • Removed create() methods

  • apj_tool now in master

  • funding team activity

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2987782-Lowest-priced-Pixhawk!-Radiolink-Mini-PIX-F4-Fc
http://radiolink.com.cn/doce/product-detail-133.html

Luis nominates Mark Whitehorn for Contribution of the month - kd0aij
Tom working with Eugene on CANUAV

2

Attendee count (max): 22

UTC23:01 - Randy and Copter

  • Requests for new releases to resolve remaining compass issues

  • Two issues

  • PixRacer LISM303D

  • Compass orientation wrong orientation issue on HERE

  • Two versions of the HERE

  • Configuration required at the moment

  • Can’t break existing users

  • Can add arguments to constructors

  • But existing users will have to change their parameters

  • Can get away with this this early, so that’s what we’ll do

  • Frustrating

  • Nobody in dev team got the hardware

  • Not noticing compass orientation is a problem

  • Fresh release will be required to fix it

  • People attempted to muddle through and decided it was OK for users to specify an orientation, which isn’t good

  • Will also include apjtool in the stable release

  • Aero changes broke defaults.parm in the build, so apjtool is the way it will have to be from now on

  • Will panic on boot if you get parameter names wrong

  • We can fix

  • No RC4… yet

  • Rover

  • [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbgXc3vo5qw]

  • Tuning has changed so documentation coming

  • Renaming modes to indicate highest-level controller?

  • Documentation coming for the different modes

  • Table showing which controllers are active?

  • [url=http://ardupilot.org/rover/docs/rover-motor-and-servo-connections.html]

UTC23:20 - tridge and create()

  • Create has been removed from master()
  • Need to watch out in PRs that we’ll get conflicts
  • Watch out not to reintroduce create()
  • Compiler optimisation meant the uninitialised value problem only happened on very small objects

UTC23:25 - tridge and apjtool and parameters

  • Can give people a binary which sets parameters
  • Avoiding recalibration would be nice in some use cases when wiping params
  • APWeb has this feature
  • include/exclude configuration parameters
  • include/exclude things that are/aren’t defaults
  • Would be nice to be able to get things that aren’t their default values
  • Extend AP_Param so we tell this
  • Can’t at the moment because of constructors and the like
  • And, in fact, just raw code which fiddles based on tailsitter or not!
  • Chokepoint
  • Records the ones that have changed
  • Some sort of list
  • Scribble down the default value when someone configures something
  • Memory consumption!
  • Maybe 30 or 40 parameters
  • 8 bytes + linked list overhead
  • Also needs mavlink stuff
  • Param_value extensions?
  • Fewer roundtrips
  • Or separate messages
  • Xml file and defaults?
  • Defaults are runtime!
  • Only download non-default variables?
  • Bigger problem!
  • Often-requested
  • Checksum the initial parameter set
  • “Enable” parameters might complete stuff it
  • A “GET_PARAM_METADATA” message and custom response?
  • Or store the checksum in the parameters themself?

UTC23:40 - Luis and funding

  • They’ve met once

  • Clean up backlog on discuss

  • Contacted some of the people

  • Some have been closed/lost interest

  • Solos for Matt was approved

  • [url=https://discuss.ardupilot.org/t/buy-testing-solos-for-matt-approved/18984/7]

  • Revision of funding committee bylaws

  • With tidge’s help

  • Vote coming

  • Partner offered to donate

  • Francisco offered to follow up

  • Encourage new proposals

  • Swag shop

  • [url=https://discuss.ardupilot.org/t/ardupilot-swag-shop/23909/9]

  • M Kelly has undertaken to chase this

  • Will look at budget for upcoming year

UTC23:46 - RC Groups fork?!

  • Something that’s been discussed from RadioLink guys
  • New kind of PixHawk?
  • Mini-Pix-F4
  • Forked ardupilot, mission planner?
  • “Closed implementation” of both, they claim?
  • RadioLink did contribute a compass driver, however!
  • lgwang102
  • Modified process for flashing?
  • F405 not a F427
  • [url=https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2987782-Lowest-priced-Pixhawk%21-Radiolink-Mini-PIX-F4-Fc]
  • Need to discuss with these guys becoming a partner and sharing code and procedures
  • A few interaction issues in terms of business practices / GPSs
  • Need to look at the code to work out whether we can support their board
  • Craig will contact
  • Cutting code size down is a topic for future dev calls!
  • Separate fork for smaller boards?
  • Maintenance burden for a merged thing could be high
  • non-GPS makes for very small ArduPilot!
  • Randy thinks we should try to support as many boards as possible
  • Really need a way of turning off features
  • [url=https://github.com/bugobliterator/ardupilot-chibios/commit/260caff2e45de1b25274431fb5755c3454b16433]
  • Need to have a good scheme on our #defines
  • AP_FEATURE_x?
  • Need to be able to validate #define configurations
  • ArduPilot on ChiBIOS?
  • Olivier test-few SkyViper and Chibios
  • PixRacer is an obvious target
  • Wid’s getting a unit courtesy of Phil and Jordi
  • IO processor communication stuff is underway
  • No support for buzzer
  • Lots of details
  • Fly on Iris is the milestone fotesting release
  • a r bet

UTC23:46 - Microsoft is bouncing emails from discuss

  • There’s a link to remove block of your IPs
  • Jani is working on it

UTC00:27 - Luis nominates Mark for contribution of the month

  • SBus out on serial
  • [url=https://discuss.ardupilot.org/t/direct-sbus-output-on-ardupilot-linux-ports/12264]
  • Amongst a whole lot of other stuff!
  • Simulation stuff
  • Collective-pitch quadcopter stuff
  • tailsitter testing
  • Vectored tailsitter
  • Compass drivers on PixRacer
    UTC00:27 - Tom is working with Eugene on a CANUAV port to Linux
  • Already is one?!
  • Tom’s working on top of code from emlid
  • Trying to get it ready to be merged
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