I’m facing the following problem: a stationary (on the ground) GPS + an arduino MEGA + an RF link at 433MHz configuration, produces, parses, recombines and transmit through the RF its GPS position in the format:
<ID,11.111111,22.222222,33.33,hh,mm,ss,iter\n>
where: ID: a 4-digit identification nr for the transmiting station
: 11.111111,22.222222,33.33 the Lat,Long and Alt respectively for the GPS
:next is the time and then the number of iteration. The RF link is a 3DR, 433MHz with serial and microUSB output for the receiver. The receiver of the RF link is on a drone, using a PIXHAWK uC.
Can someone please suggest me a way to interconnect the RF receiver on the drone to the PIXHAWK in a way that the received information in the above form to be retransmitted as-it-is (or alternatively, after parsing it) to the ground station (A windows 7 PC, running MP) through telemetry? The base station (PC+MP) is located in a different location from the configuration: (GPS + arduino MEGA + RF link). I’m also using python code to control the vehicle through MP.
Dear amilcarlucas, NO! I know that the “follow me” is a capability provided by the MP. I want exactly what I describe: to have available the GPS coordinates (+ID, + the iter nr) of the configuration: (GPS + arduino MEGA + RF link) in the base station (PC+MP), in order - under some circumstances - to direct the drone above it (in order to release some kind of help). This is not a simple “follow me” application! Also, I have forgotten to refer that the base station is located in a different position from the configuration: (GPS + arduino MEGA + RF link)!
Thank you for your interest.
Ioannis.
The first Follow me implementation was done with a piece of SW logic running inside MP that controlled the copter sending guided commands. That version is now deprecated.
There is a new Follow me version where the logic is now done on the PixHawk itself. It uses target position, velocity and heading information from the ground station (MP or Mavproxy) and applies the offsets, rotations, headings in the vehicle FW itself. It has more parameters and has better flight dynamics.
Follow me is a flight mode and you can disable it via a simple mode change.
That said … probably follow me is a good starting point for your needs.
This is only available on ArduCopter master. This is not available in the stable releases.
And yes, of course the ground station or the vehicle you want to follow (a.k.a. target) needs to provide position, velocity and heading information, otherwise the copter can not guess what to follow.
Dear amilcarlucas I have explained above that the base station (PC+MP) is located in a different location from the configuration: (GPS + arduino MEGA + RF link), which is in an unknown location. Sorry if I don’t understand something possibly obvious, but how the follow me will be implemented? How the base station or alternatively the drone (the pixhawk, as you suggest) will “know” the position of the external GPS+uC+RF to implement the follow me operation by simply setting to this mode??