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


3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on January 13, 2012 at 11:05am

Let me the first to say congrats on this milestone and thanks to all the the 2.1.1Rx alpha testers. The collective work, testing and input on this version was amazing (see the 800+ comments on the previous thread!) and have led to big improvements in this version. There will be more updates over time and the code will continue to improve, but this was a big one. Many thanks to Jason for leading this so well and handling so much input without melting down--it was a monumental task.


DeveloperPermalink Reply by Adam Rivera on January 13, 2012 at 11:37am

I just had the opportunity to fly 2.1 and I noticed an enormous increase in stability for my large octo. I am very excited to try this new version out. Thanks for all the hard work!


DeveloperPermalink Reply by Adam Rivera on January 13, 2012 at 11:39am

Any chance you could throw this in the Downloads section of the Arducopter wiki?


3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on January 13, 2012 at 11:50am

Adam: done.


DeveloperPermalink Reply by Adam Rivera on January 13, 2012 at 12:13pm

Thanks Chris!


DeveloperPermalink Reply by R_Lefebvre on January 13, 2012 at 12:02pm

Thanks Jason, can't wait to try it.

Do you know of any reason why it won't work with a trad.heli?  I flew 2.1.1r8 in Stability and it was fine so...  Anything to worry about with this one?

Permalink Reply by Rui Manuel Cravo Marques on January 13, 2012 at 12:54pm

Thank you for all the hard work, I can't wait to have my Stats exam done so I can try this new version. Jason you mention STAB_D for tune 16, but at the defines.h  it's assigned to DAMP, is it the same ? Regards.


DeveloperPermalink Reply by Marco Robustini on January 13, 2012 at 1:23pm

Mmmm...I think this release has been a little hasty... testing now V2.2 ßeta HIL with AeroSim:

- Loiter it doesn't work weel like R10, it is as if there was a problem in the GPS, moving constantly to different locations

- RTL and Auto have same problem of Loiter, not maintain the position or the waypoint, check the "moved GPS routines to 50hz loop to avoid delay. " or "Added Ryan's GPS lag filter"

- In all the automatic mode (Loiter/RTL/AUTO) i see some little "shots" in the "ale/ele" stick (i use mode 2 tx)

- Autolanding doesn't work, the quad kissing the ground and drift, but need to check in the reality


For security i tried again R10 with HIL, maintaining the position and trajectories very well.
Too bad, it's a downgrade! :-/

Jason, all the log attached...

Marco

Attachments:

DeveloperPermalink Reply by jasonshort on January 13, 2012 at 1:49pm

Found a GPS bug that snuck in the last second. Reposted.

Jason


DeveloperPermalink Reply by Adam Rivera on January 13, 2012 at 2:00pm

Happens to the best of us.... is this also posted in the Downloads section of the Arducopter wiki?


DeveloperPermalink Reply by jasonshort on January 13, 2012 at 2:01pm

Yes, egg on face... I reposted quickly the fix.

Jason

Permalink Reply by Don Brooks on January 13, 2012 at 2:12pm

Don't wanna be a pain, but was that change made only in the zip? I don't see anything on GIT.

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