Dev Call May 14, 2018 2300 UTC

Development Team
2

Attendee count (max): 25

UTC2300 - PR for MAVLink

  • https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/8388
  • Do we try to handle base link latency here or do we add an assumed latency
  • GPS timestamping of incoming messages to reduce jitter?
    • Using a uart-goes-idle callback in the HAL
    • Packaging of messages issues?
      • More book-keeping data would be required
      • AP-IOMCU already has some sort of end-of-interrupt-wake-up-thread
  • PP - need to handle different jitters
    • Camera-sync
      • E.g. 200Hz IMU data decimated to 10Hz triggering a camera
      • Need to sync camera, IMU and transport
      • Serial latency and jitter will be fixed by this but the ROS camera and IMU timestamp have to get into the FCU
    • 120-180ms lag/jitter in camera system
    • This patch reduces jitter
    • Need to measure/add in lag later
  • Confirmed to be working on a Rover firmware
    • Two other users are also testing
    • Also works in SITL

UTC2315 -

  • https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/issues/8387
  • Created yesterday libraries are not dependent on vehicle configuration
  • Current system provides compilation benefits, reuse compilation results between vehicles, few exceptions
  • Problems - one library can’t know if another is present and modify behavior based on that during compiling
  • Add the ability to conditionally compile stuff based on presence of other libraries - ex fence/avoidance
  • Using singletons means it’s easy to get in this situation
  • One solution would be to revert #include “config.h” patch
  • Tridge: AP_Feature, global defines for features
  • Peter: unclear, has to be up to vehicle maintainer to decide which libraries to include or not, ex tridge don’t want ac_fence in plane
  • Peter: break config.h into config and config_libraries.h <- libraries include that from vehicle directory during compilation
  • Peter: https://github.com/peterbarker/ardupilot/tree/config-libs this is me mucking around with reverting the commit mentioned above
  • Tridge: how to make examples work without config.h, maybe a ‘have config h’
  • Limitation of make to include file ‘if it exists’ waf can do this, make can’t
  • Randy: what libraries fall into this? Peter: ap_arming, fence, avoidance
  • Jacob: is this a nice to have or need to have? Peter: it’s a nice-to-have
  • Randy: it will make some builds smaller, Peter: ex if you are only interested in quadcopter motors mixer, you have to hack the library, we can use this new mechanism instead to edit the config in vehicle code
  • Fransisco: ideally this would go in build system instead of config. Peter: agreed, but we have two build systems, and with one it won’t work out
  • Tridge: right now patch only applies to make. Peter: C urrently playing with applying same thing to waf. Tridge: needs to be fleshed out more before evaluating. Peter: want to get go ahead on entire concept
  • Tridge not a huge fan but understand the motivation, think about it some more, continue off call

UTC2338 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/issues/8166

UTC2340 - GSoC update

UTC2351 - ChibiOS

  • F7 support coming along with Mirkix
    • I2c uarts, SPI, bootloader working
  • IO firmware is moving along
  • Close to replacing NuttX-based firmware with ChibiOS on Cube/PixHawk1
    • Safety-switch and one-short support are in
      • Lots of testing needed
      • RSSI input needed

UTC2352 - ESP8266

  • New release out
  • Another one due out today
  • Will be put up on firmware.ardupilot.org
  • web-UI improvements
  • Mavlink2 support
  • Not running ChibiOS
  • Improves firmware update via web interface
  • 1megabyte chip required
  • QGC has a wifi bridge widget
  • Strings are a problem in mavlink
    • Sequences of integers in mavlink parameters
  • Randy’s happy to help with the documentation
  • PlatformIO is a pain
  • Jani has three different models coming
  • Esp04 esp02 conect via usb and normal serial port

UTC2358 - hardware

  • Uavcan flow going out to devs
  • Cube Orange also in prototype
  • Soon will have cube versions of the F7 and H7!

UTC2359 - Rover/Copter update

  • Rover 3.3.1rc2 went out to beta
    • Turn rate limits weren’t being applied
  • User-base isn’t big enough to get thorough testing
    • Not enough caught
  • Motors spinning even when ESC is @1500
  • Linux boards all have different RC output methods
  • Underwater sonar support coming
    • Terrain following for subs?
  • Support for 3.6
    • Mostly good news
      • CO seems happy with new loiter
    • More work to be done
    • Rc2 in a week or two

UTC0013 - [10:14 AM] (Channel) https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/issues/8361

  • Randy supports getting rid of them
  • It will break GCS if they don’t update
  • Battery2 vs battery_status
  • Instance variable problem
    • Lots of work to support this!
  • OSD-updates
  • Send-message-interval PR will be useful before this is done
  • (Channel) JW: patching MP, QGC, and mavproxy is quick and easy and will cover almost all users as far as I know, this is my point idk why we talk about breaking them with so much concern.

UTC0020 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/8383

  • Need a helper function which takes a const-char-* and creates the buffer
  • Sometimes these things are both bytearrays and strings
  • Tridge has commented on issue

UTC0025 - Plane 3.9?

  • No beta yet