Dev Call Dec 6, 2021

Development Team
1

Issues & Pull Requests

Plane

Copter

Rover

2

Attendee count (max): 18

UTC1104 - Plane: add plane records by peterbarker · Pull Request #3954 · ArduPilot/ardupilot_wiki · GitHub

  • Plane records
  • faster/lightest/heaviest etc
  • Merged!

UTC1103 - SYS_STATUS: Use flag 0x80000000 for recovery system status by ThomasDebrunner · Pull Request #1751 · mavlink/mavlink · GitHub

  • More SYS_STATUS bits / extensions
  • Comment added
  • Maybe need better comments in XML

UTC1108 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/19122

  • Cleans up short failsafe code
  • Merged
  • (BTW, I think our autotests need improving around short-failsafe; I don’t think they’re complete enough)

UTC1109 - Plane: add Q_OPTION to force fw trans on fail instead of QLAND by Hwurzburg · Pull Request #19326 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • Q_OPTION to force fw transition on fail instead of qland
  • Why not transition time to zero?
    • Use timeouts but forces the move to the forward mode
  • Check for some groundspeed?
  • No qassist any more after this?
  • Maybe some threshold where we really do give up?
    • Forward propulsion failures

UTC1120 - hwdef: added CarbonixL496 AP_Periph node by tridge · Pull Request #19364 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • D-shot on L4 was broken
  • No PWM and d-shot if only 1 or 2 pwm pins
    • Actuator_id against HAL_PWM_COUNT
      • Different nunmerical spaces
      • Actuator id may be 7 but may only have 1 pwm pin
        • And it might be actuator id 7
  • Merged!

UTC1123 - Plane: update plane aerobatics example by tridge · Pull Request #19399 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • Update plane aerobatics
  • Need more parameters
  • Tridge also merged the OO programming examples
  • Subtables for parameters are coming at some stage
  • Use a subtree within SCR?
    • All parameters would end up as SCR
    • 4-character string for subtree you want
    • Make them unique
  • Merged!

UTC1133 - Added logging of crash_dump.bin by tridge · Pull Request #19409 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • Log of crash_dump.bin into log
  • Backtraces and whatnot available if we get this
  • Log sizes getting too large?
  • Will write the crash dump on every log
  • We don’t tell the user we’re actually writing the crash log out?
    • Will fix
  • Write a file to SD card too?

UTC1146 - AP_Periph: Userhooks implementation by mpetrasinovic · Pull Request #19413 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • Userhooks for AP_Periph
  • Who actually likes userhooks?!
    • Rebasing avoidance
    • Needs to access variables
      • Variables get renamed?
    • Does stuff move from userhooks to real code and benefit the project?
    • Tridge would prefer people to PR an optional feature…
  • Maintenance cost of having the userhooks?
    • Bytes cost?
  • ArduPilot is a scary large project?
  • Tridge wouldn’t accept this in for Plane
  • A crutch for us and them
    • We need to make our code more easy to understand
    • A crutch for them in that they don’t understand the code and can make mistakes
  • We have alternatives like LUA
  • closed

UTC1156 - Rover: control turn rate while stopping, Guided stops initially by rmackay9 · Pull Request #19416 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • Control turn rate while stopping, guided stops initially
  • So doesn’t center steering, attempts for zer oturn rate
  • Will be merged

UTC0000 - Plane: check for VTOL takeoff in AUTO by tridge · Pull Request #19426 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

UTC0008 - Cube Black, Purple, Solo: Set EKF_IMU_MASK_DEFAULT 7 by hendjoshsr71 · Pull Request #19431 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • Last week we changed the default mask on the Cubes to use all IMUs on other things
  • All three lanes on by default?
    • Not enough RAM!
    • Out of CPU?
  • If the IMU is enabled it will fall back
    • Even if you don’t have the lane
  • It will fail over to the third IMU we don’t need the core
  • Loose connector

UTC0019 - AP_Notify: Notification of alarm patterns to GCS by muramura · Pull Request #19433 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • Great idea
  • Peter will help this one move forward

UTC0020 - Plane update

  • New beta coming out
  • The 16-bit timer fix is more important than we thought
    • It’s going to come back to the stable branches
    • High thrust/rotation rate
    • Will be Copter 4.1.3
  • Problem with yaw
    • We’re not using EKF-learned biases in the yaw controller
      • Can have a lot of side-slip
        • 5 or 6 degrees
    • Similar issue in TECS and soaring

UTC0022 - Move LogOriginType into AP_AHRS/LogStructure.h by peterbarker · Pull Request #19437 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • Move an enumeration
  • Try to be consistent in a file about how we group things
  • Mergeable

UTC0027 - Guided corner fix by lthall · Pull Request #19448 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • Strong winds things start to overshoot?
  • Tries to account for controller saturation in guided
  • Leonard would like to backport this to 4.1

UTC0029 - Copter: 4.1.0 issues list · Issue #16478 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

UTC0034 - Rover: 4.1.0 issues list · Issue #17116 · ArduPilot/ardupilot · GitHub

  • Partner would like pause mode to work in guided for Rover
    • External avoidance
    • Boats drifting?
  • Be careful about adding new arming checks in Rover
    • E.g. large lawnmowers
    • In shed with no GPS lock
    • Drive out in manual mode
    • Please don’t add checks that apply to manual mode
    • There’s a loophole or two still in Copter
  • User request for Copter such that you must pass position checks even when in stabilize
    • Work around is to enable the fence
    • But it’s only a workaround

UTC0038 - Jeff and remoteID

  • FAA sent out information on requirements
  • Phone-based or tablet-based GCS
  • ASTM standard
  • Document laying out requirements in easy-to-understand way
    • Some sorts of hamronization too
  • Interim correct ot allow practical solutions to be supplied that don’t cost a ridiculous amount of money
  • Intent is to have something to go to ASTM process as well as Means of Compliance (MOC) document
  • Previous requirement required a really, really good vertical height estimate
  • Government body is actually being very good about all this for once
  • Timeline
    • 2023 (Jan1 or Sep1)
      • New aircraft operating in airspace must have a broadcast setup
        • Wifi or bluetooth ATM
    • 2024
      • All aircraft must be compliant
      • Glued-on or something is acceptable
    • Groundside positioning requirement
      • E.g. phone with location services
      • Wide area augmentation service?
      • Laptop would need to know where it is e.g. GPS dongle
      • If your taranis is your ground control station?
      • OpenTX understanding GPS data?
        • Jeff isn’t aware
  • Sizes?
    • 250g and above
  • Several people making hardware and software already
  • Opendroneid has software available for esp32 and several other bluetooth devices
  • Hard part of hardware is antenna placement
  • No numeric value on range requirements
    • “Shall be maximised”
  • “Tamperproof” means “average user can’t screw it up” apparently
  • Requirements as-written by FAA don’t prescribe specific device
    • bluetooth/wifi
    • Esp32 with wifi radio will work
    • Ti cc2640r2f bluetooth SoC or Nordec 52840 SOC will all do the job
  • Standard for getting data into the device?
    • Mavlink input
      • OpenDroneID message set
    • There may be others but Jeff hasn’t studied them
  • 11:48 AM] rmackay9: It makes sense to use wifi and bluetooth 'cuz those are pretty much globally consistent bands… Maybe?
  • Should really get support for OpenDroneID in sooner rather than later
  • Proficnc have hardware
  • Jeff is looking at making some
  • DJI have a line in the sand they won’t support really old vehicles (by rumour)
  • OpenSolo could be back-fitted by creating a second wifi network
  • French standard has been useful
  • European regulatory body has been having their say
  • Other countries are also paying close attention
    • E.g. Japan and Korea
    • Pre-built firmware available for esp8266?
      • Most just go with esp32
      • Needs a specific feature on the WiFi radio
  • Bluetooth is a better solution in Jeff’s opinion
    • Spectrum bandwidth usage

UTC0056 - close