Dev Call Oct 8, 2018 2300 UTC

Development Team
1

Issues & Pull Requests













General

  • DShot,
  • Heads-up for possible param reset issue,
  • Access to macos machine for dev team members

Plane Update

Copter Update

Rover Update

2

Attendee count (max): 21

UTC2307 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/9513

  • Start of scripting support

  • Runs on ChibiOS and Linux

  • Not enabled by default

  • Shows basics of getting started

  • Avoids rebase history and merge conflicts

  • Messing with waf and ChibiOS flags and fixes flags for C files

  • Passing CI

  • Pushed in!

  • Documentation time has already been set aside so it’s usable my mere mortals

  • Please do not fly this code!

  • Waf configure --enable-scripting

  • How about a top-level common object with a zero-length substring?

  • So common vehicle parameters are, in fact, common

    • Need to attack the defines/config thing

    • Means all vehicles get new feature at same time rather than as an afterthought

UTC2308 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/9497

  • Blackmagic micro cinema camera controlled via s.bus

  • Talked with the manufacturer

    • They’re likely to continue to support this on certain cameras for integration with drones etc

  • Aperture control via PWM range etc etc

  • Zoom etc etc

  • Iso

  • “Flip channel” to move between various actions

  • Working using SoloLink

  • Integrated with Solex

  • Uses s.bus out

  • S.bus channels used?

    • Defines on this camera

      • you say channel 8 is for this particular feature

  • Could use with the s.bus-out-on-general-uart code

  • Can also take pwm

    • but only four channels

      • Which is quite limiting

  • Doesn’t quite follow out frontend/backend split

    • Probably OK for the time being

  • Camera split

    • Ap_camera_servo

    • Ap_camera_bmcc etc

  • This is clean enough to go in as-is

  • Just needs our code-style thing run against it

  • Rcin passththrough?

    • In case you don’t have a Solo controller

    • Come back for the rc channel stuff

    • Similar to the eliminate-rcmap stuff Peter’s done

UTC2320 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/9470

  • Adjusting slew rates on Copter

  • Whatever we do here is a compromise

    • Anything going in Philip is really happy with

  • If this works properly you should never need the in-air restart

    • They still fall out of the sky with the existing restart code anyway

  • Getting this in is worthwhile to start with

    • Come back later for the in-air restart

  • Get currently running task expected loop rate from scheduler instead of using dts and counters?

    • Current task number

    • Do you really want a dt?

    • A long-term average is probably what most places want

    • A lot of counters should be dts

    • Some places are doing bodgy integrations

    • [10:29 AM] (Channel) rmackay9: yeah, sometimes you want a dt and sometimes you don’t…

    • [10:30 AM] (Channel) rmackay9: dt and loop rate statics

  • Testing is a problem

    • Needs a parachute on the vehicle, really

    • CLI scripting reproduced and allowed fixes

      • Still happened in-air

    • Try to crowd-source reproduction / fixing?

  • Should run this on non-Solo to see what the performance impact are

  • This apparently also happens on KDE ESCs

  • Leonard can explain the tuning effects of this

  • Long-cable ESC testing on the weekend was illuminating for CanberraUAV

    • Motors failed at 80% throttle

    • 55kHz ripple in PWM value corresponding to switching frequency of ESC

      • Interfering with its own PWM input

    • Ferrites on Solo… ask Jeff…

UTC2336 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/9414

  • AP_BatteryMonitor

    • MdB thinks it’s good to come in

  • Moves arming checks around

  • Peter found a pre-existing behaviour

    • MdB wants to track that separately

    • Don’t need to solve all the world’s problems with this PR

  • Tridge thinks we should fix the graphing tools right now to avoid churn

    • Would break existing graphing tools

    • Leaving it up to MdB as to whether he does the instance stuff or not

UTC2336 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/9391

  • Tridge hasn’t gotten back to this stuff

  • Tridge currently hsa 13 things assigned to him

  • Thanks for the reminder!

UTC2343 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/9381

  • Hexacopter redundancy

  • No Leonard

  • Just needs to do a final test

  • Video Randy did made it look really good

UTC2344 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/9369

  • Merged!

  • The EKF variance thing is interesting….

  • Straight-forward enough

  • Writing tests is getting much, much easier

  • [10:46 AM] (Channel) rmackay9: we discussed this last week…

  • [10:46 AM] (Channel) rmackay9: as long as it passes SITL… I’m happy

  • [10:46 AM] (Channel) rmackay9: I just asked last week that it be tested in SITL… and tha’s been done now…

UTC2347 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/9167

  • Another on tridge’s plate…

    • He’ll get to it…

UTC2348 - https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/9066

  • Tridge will get to it

UTC2349 - refactoring rangefinder management

UTC2351 - vesca protocol

UTC2353 - more on tridge’s list

  • https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/8175

  • https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot/pull/7493

    • Related to tricopter yaw issue?

    • Wing twist while transitioning issue?

    • Interesting aerodynamic effects if trying to yaw during transition

      • Late transition as well – MdB

      • And in assist

    • Something in-between level-transition and no-level-transition

      • E.g. constrain height gained in forward transition until we’ve gained some initial speed

        • E.g. down gain 10m of height until we’ve met initial transition speed

          • We met 70m on QuadPorter in the OBC

          • Would have been better if that had been constrained…

        • Possibly same with yaw

    • Tridge needs to PR the timeout change from OBC

      • If you reach half the altitude after a timeout expires then transition

      • You could force landing instead

      • Three airframes in OBC2018 were marginal on climb

      • Even a small amount of forward speed helps

        • Different power sources for vertical/horizontal really, really helps

        • Single battery for both can be very, very bad

          • Tridge has seen 2.5V/cell

          • ESCs can hit their low-voltage cut-out and then the aircraft is dead

  • On tridge’s plate….

UTC0001 - d-shot param reset

  • Serious bug

  • Missing lock in d-shot code

  • Simple to fix

  • One user had a reproducible case

    • Lockup after 10 seconds

    • Particular parameter set

  • 3.9.2 will be going out shortly with this fix in it

  • Copter rc is already out with fix in it

    • Rc12

  • Had potential to cause crash

    • Not sure it ever did, however

UTC0002 - Reverse-throttle with d-shot is coming

  • Reverse-thrust landings initially

  • Copter fun-and-games after that

UTC0003 - virtual MacOS machine

  • Thanks to funding committee for approving this!

  • Grant has also given tridge a MacMini

    • If anyone wants remote access poke tridge

  • Really just to make sure the dev tools work OK

  • Tridge’s OS is quite recent

  • Jani thinks many people are using older OSs

UTC0005 - Plane update

  • Iampete’s stuff probably won’t go into 3.9.2

    • But 3.9.3

  • Some pending changes for some boards may go in

  • Testers for new IO firmware would be appreciated!

    • Much done in last week with thanks to Sid

  • Servo voltage reporting doesn’t work

  • S.bus output doesn’t work

  • Mixer stuff doesn’t work in current stuff anyway

  • Safety ignore stuff should all be correct

  • Testing on Rover would be appreciated

    • Rc input servo output

    • One-shot

    • Peter can help test here

    • Latency of one-shot needs to be tested

  • Navio2 will also need testing

    • Uart-connected

    • Luis was volunteered

    • Navio+

      • I2c to pwm chip

      • But MdB has some stuff he’d like tested on this

  • Raspilot too

UTC0015 - Copter and Rover updates

  • Randy has no audio and is between trains…

UTC0016 - upcoming conference

  • Good luck!

UTC0016 - talking with CMAC about conference next year

  • Any thoughts on dates, please ping tridge soon

  • Avoid the hot Sunday thing

    • A little later in the year this time

    • Late March, early April

FF: Did you say late March/early April?

[11:17 AM] (Channel) CB: Avoid school holiday :slight_smile:

[11:17 AM] (Channel) MdB: Do you have a propsal into build in a pool for swimming and boat testing? :smiley:

[11:17 AM] (Channel) FF: I’ll likely be travelling. Not sure I can make it anyway

  • Concentrate on sailing boats?

  • There’s an airshow around that time that might be good to be close to

    • Avalon airshow