Setpoint_raw/target_attitude usage with mavros

Hi guys,

I have Arducopter firmware (3.7.1-dev) running on a Pixhawk cube and I am trying to figure out how to properly utilize setpoint_raw/target_attitude. It is my understanding that I can command desired pitch/roll angles to the aircraft with this message. Right now I use a companion computer, running Ubuntu with MavRos, which connects to the FCU through a USB. Mavros seems to be working well so far. However, at this point I am trying to send a setpoint_raw/target_attitude message to control the aircraft by setting a quaternion and then sending the message, but the aircraft seems to be ignoring it and this is why I am hoping someone could point out something that I might be missing.

I currently fly indoors with a VIO camera - which works well. My current way of testing rc override and setpoint_raw/target_attitude is to arm the drone, motors spinning and holding it down on the ground. I am trying to avoid testing while flying unless I have a good understanding of what is expected to happen because I have a huge thrust/weight ratio and very little room for recovery in case of an unexpected behavior indoors. I can confirm that rc override works through mavros because the motors react to my commands, but as soon as I send a setpoint_raw/target_attitude the FCU seems to ignore it. I have also tried it in different modes (while holding it on the ground): STABILIZE, ALT-HOLD and LOITER, but I see no reaction from the drone.

  1. Do I have to be in any specific mode for setpoint_raw/target_attitude to work?
  2. Does ArduCopter 3.7.1 support this feature? - that is what I currently use
  3. Do I need to specify orientation AND thrust always?
  4. How do I properly use the IGNORE FLAGS in the message?
  5. Is there any way I can see from Mission Planner if the setpoint_raw/target_attitude message is being received? I would like to be able to trace and confirm the problem better

Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks.

I have just seen this topic so I am sorry for the super-late reply. Does MAVROS even publish on /mavros/setpoint_raw/ on apm? See:

Reference: http://wiki.ros.org/mavros#mavros.2FPlugins.setpoint_raw

I need data from the /mavros/setpoint_raw/target_local topic for my application and I am wondering if that is available somehow else.