Developer

Arducopter 2.2 beta

I just pushed Arducopter 2.2 to the Mission planner. This version went through extensive testing by a brave group of flyers and with both HIL and SIL testing.

See this link for more:

http://www.diydrones.com/forum/topics/arducopter-2-1-1-alpha

If you run into any problems please let me know here. If you find a reproducible bug, please add it to the issues list.

tuning tips:

If you run into Loiter issues, try adjusting LOITER_P. It's 2.0 right now which may or may not be to aggressive for your copter. Nav is no longer used in Loiter control, which should make tuning easier.

If you run into a circling issue, try lowering LOITER_I to 0 and see if it goes away. If not, check your compass declination. A negative error will produce CCW rotations, a positive error CW.

If you have issues with alt hold, try lowering your THROTTLE_P, it may be too high for higher thrust copters.

If you have wobbles and can't seem to get rid of them, there is a new term called STAB_D, which is a derivative term used to tune out the wobbles. You can increase it until they stop, but just like driving a cadillac, you loose some performance and handling. In the CLI "tune 16" in setup will let you control this in flight, and "tune" in test menu will let you see the value printed out interactively before flight. See the wiki for more detail.

Many testers gave me a thumbs up on the code, so if you have an issues please post the flash log from the copter. The tLog isn't that much help to me for debugging as it doesn't capture the needed values at high enough rates.

(Remember, if you'd rather pull the code from the repository and load it with Arduino, you must use the "relaxpatch" version of Arduino in our downloads section.)

 

Update 2.2b2

I believe I found the simple mode error. It was a bug that was working OK until Tridge fixed it so it was declared properly. Then the bug became active. I made the Simple mode function internal variables static and this should fix it hopefully.

I updated alt hold to not use dampener for now until we get more testing. Some folks saw a latency induced oscillation which was pumped up by the D term.

I added the automatic throttle cruise or hold value as a compile time option for testers. This basically looks at your throttle and climb rate while in stabilize or acro and determines your optimal hover value. This means you can enter any autopilot mode and not have to worry about your throttle position. It should make alt hold more reliable if it works. This is off by default until we get good field tests back.

Update pushed to GIT.

Update 2.2b3

Just some refinements. I added JLN's throttle curve mod for landing. Hopefully that's correctly implemented. 

Made the landing delay from RTL user settable

removed the ADC gyro filter, I was doing a lot of testing and determined it wasn't worth it.

Enabled the auto-throttle control by default. Please test in the sim

Altitude no longer resets when flying in Loiter mode

Pitch and roll dampening is smoother now. try values up to .08 for very dampened flight.

Mavlink can now trigger auto-land

I'll push a hex when I hear some good news from HIL testers.

Update 2.2b4

Flew today and saw the WP speed governor wasn't quite working right. It was going down to 0 rather than the minimum.
Made internal switch to CM for distance calcs. This should not make any change to gains or MP.
Modified a few default gains for jDrones frame based on AP test flights of this code in some heavy wind on my roof.
Fixed an issue with the landing code not kicking in right away.
Decreased the slowdown near WPs
Added a limit to the amount the pitch compensation can effect the throttle if the throttle input is really high or maximum

 

Update 2.2b6

This is a rollup of all the code that's been flying around for the last week as well as a few bug fixes. I'll be posting it saturday night after reviewing all of my logs.
A dampening term called STAB_D has been refined. A D term for all of the Rate based control loops has been added based on Igor's work. Landing for Baro and Sonar has been refined based on JLN's work. A slightly new approach to Loiter and Navigation is being used to try and linearize the pitch and roll for rate control. It tends to use lower gains, yet has a more assertive response in the air.
I have one small loiter control issue to sort out tonight based on my logs, then I'll post to GIT.
Here is the auto-landing code in action. 

OK, 2.2b6 is on GIT. The Mission planner is going to be out of sync until the release code. until then you can use the APM_Config.h or the parameters list in the Mission planner. 

STAB_D : This is the gyro accretion dampener. This can remove small wobbles during sharp changes in angle commands. Making this too high can have a negative effect in performance and add a memory effect that can cause temporary loss in control. The in flight tuning is ranged so you are just below that effect.

If you haven't noticed before the control loops are in two stages. The first is a PI stage that converts some sort of position or angle error into a desired rate. These generally do not need to be tuned. They are more of a user preference on how fast you want the copter to perform a motion. 

The second stage is the actual PID loop that needs to be tuned for the copter. This converts the desired rate into a motor command of some sort. I added a D term based on Igor's recommendation to the PI's for each rate controller. These should show up soon in the mission planner for the release. I cannot give you a concrete answer for how to tune the D terms, because they each depend on their function such as alt hold or loiter, etc.

Still, the absolute most important term is always the Rate_P term for each loop. Start tuning here.

The default PIDs are in the what flies great for a stock jDrones/3DR Quad with the purple motors in X mode.

Thanks,

Jason

 

 

 

 

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Replies to This Discussion


DeveloperPermalink Reply by Jean-Louis Naudin on January 22, 2012 at 1:04pm

Hello Rui Manuel,

No, this is my 1st try with this DJI  quad frame. It is made with a strong plastic a very rigid and very well manufactured. Less flexible than my previous custom frame made with a common U shaped aluminum. I have used all the motors, ESC, propellers, receiver, Ubec from my previous quad. The only difference is that I have used a X configuration Vs the + and also I have used a new APM v2 Vs the previous APM v1.

The wide of the two frames is similar, but with the same PIDs, I am not able to get a good STABILIZATION in spite of a full afternoon of tuning. If I shall not succeed in the next days, I shall swap the APM v2 with my old APM v1 to compare the results with the samfe firmware...

Regards, Jean-Louis

Permalink Reply by Mark Slater on January 22, 2012 at 9:17am

Wow, here in the UK we have winds 25-30mph at the moment but I've just had two test flights using this version without changing any parameters at all.

Tested various elements including Loiter,RTL and Simple mode. Yet to try waypoints. 

Just one word  STUNNING  !   Thanks Jason and all those testing the betas.


DeveloperPermalink Reply by Jean-Louis Naudin on January 22, 2012 at 10:26am

Hello Marco and Jason,

I have found the problem with the v2.2 b3 in HIL mode on AeroSIM-RC which as set the quad completly unsteerable in HIL mode, now I have succeed to get it work !!

The bug is located in the GCS_Mavlink.pde, so you may download and use the version attached and simply put it instead of the B3 version... Lets me know if it is OK for you.

Back to HIL tests on AeroSIM and Xplane now...

Regards, Jean-Louis

Attachments:

DeveloperPermalink Reply by jasonshort on January 22, 2012 at 10:32am

Nice post to wake up to. I will patch this right away.

Jason


DeveloperPermalink Reply by jasonshort on January 22, 2012 at 10:35am

I pushed the fix. Michael Oborne added those lines with this note:

AC fix attitude level hil
I'm not sure what it was for actually.
BTW, I've ben trying to get the spirit of your landing code up and running on b3. I flew a few landings and found some issues preventing it from working. B4 should be a lot closer.
Jason

DeveloperPermalink Reply by Marco Robustini on January 22, 2012 at 11:09am

Thanks Bro! Please read my previous post about the ß3, I did 12 flights today...


DeveloperPermalink Reply by Marco Robustini on January 22, 2012 at 11:07am
I'd say it was a bug in the code, but are not heard (LOL)... :-))))
Nice shot, THANKS JL!
Permalink Reply by Duran - SteadiDrone on January 22, 2012 at 11:58am

Here'sa quick clip of our octo and the new firmare, very good as usual, still need to fine tune gps. More info on the video text.

Permalink Reply by Johann Van Niekerk on January 22, 2012 at 12:12pm

nice video Duran , can see you have been flying for while nice control of copter.!

Permalink Reply by Duran - SteadiDrone on January 23, 2012 at 11:32pm

Thx Johann, been flying for about 5 months, love it :)


DeveloperPermalink Reply by Marco Robustini on January 22, 2012 at 12:20pm

Excellent results Duran! I make him want to retry my octo... : P

Permalink Reply by Alex on January 22, 2012 at 12:57pm
I have one question, how adjust speed RTL,  For sample Quad 300-400 meters away I switch from stabilize to RTL
Quad very fast back to point of take off  Can I adjust this speed to 4-5 m/sec?

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