ArduCopter 3.2.1-rc2 (release candidate #2) has completed beta testing and has been released as the official version available through the mission planner and other ground stations.
Changes from AC3.2 are listed below and in the ReleaseNotes:
1) Enhancements:
a) reduced twitch when passing Spline waypoints
b) Faster disarm after landing in Auto, Land, RTL
c) Pixhawk LED turns green before arming only after GPS HDOP falls below 2.3 (only in flight modes requiring GPS)
2) Safety Features:
a) Add desired descent rate check to reduce chance of false-positive on landing check
b) improved MPU6k health monitoring and re-configuration in case of in-flight failure
c) Rally point distance check reduced to 300m (reduces chance of RTL to far away forgotten Rally point)
d) auto-disarm if vehicle is landed for 15seconds even in Auto, Guided, RTL, Circle
e) fence breach while vehicle is landed causes vehicle to disarm (previously did RTL)
3) Bug Fixes:
a) Check flight mode even when arming from GCS (previously it was possible to arm in RTL mode if arming was initiated from GCS)
b) Send vehicle target destination in RTL, Guided (allows GCS to show where vehicle is flying to in these modes)
c) PosHold wind compensation fix
d) prevent infinite loop with do-jump commands pointing at each other
e) pixhawk memory corruption fix when connecting via USB
f) vehicle stops at fence's alt limit in Loiter, AltHold, PosHold (as it did in AC3.1.5)
g) protect against multiple arming messages from GCS causing gyro calibratoin failure
Thanks to Raph for the video. This is actually a video from AC3.2 until we have one specific to AC3.2.1.
Replies
@William,
Thanks very much for testing and helping us to find any issues.
If you could provide a log file that would be best, without a log it's mostly guesswork. If the issue appears around arming, then setting the Log-Bitmask to All+Disarmed helps us as well.
Randy,
To test your hypothesis that the flatlining of the MPU6k is a latent hardware bug, I went back and looked at my 3.1.5 dataflash logs.
Unfortunately, I never see the IMU.Acc* flatlining like it now does on 3.2 . My hunch would be that this is a firmware bug introduced in the HAL changes that went with 3.2 . While monitor and reconfigure can be used as a quick bandaid, I'd go look for the root cause of the problem, most likely in the firmware code.
See also my other thread http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/what-the-3-2-crash
Arducopter is great btw, keep up the good work!
FYI, I'm using an original 3DR pixhawk.
Alex I had a look at your log. What you are seeing is not a bug, but an actual failure of the MPU6000. Please contact help@3DRobotics about getting an RMA for the board.
Craig,
Thanks, I've started the RMA procedure.
Not to doubt your information here, but why did this not happen with 3.1.5 then? It only started happening to me when I switched to 3.2 (and judging from some other threads this happened to a number of other people too).
This is the IMU1 that 3.1.5 was using (not IMU2 which if I understand correctly was ignored before 3.2). Wouldn't we have seen this behavior before as well?
Best,
--Alex
It is a intermittent sensor failure. It could have happened at any time. You could fly again for another 500 hours and never see it happen or it could happen every 5 minutes. Today was just your lucky day.
Ok, I have the RMA going and I overnighted another one so that I'm not grounded during the duration of the RMA (Always good to have a spare anyway). If this is not covered during your manufacturing test, is there a good burn-in to run to see if the new pixhawks are susceptible to the same problem?
Copter falling out of the sky is one hell of a way to find out (again said with extreme sympathy, I know how difficult these problems are).
Best,
--Alex
Swapped in the new Pixhawk today, it flew like it's on rails.
I wonder now how much of the past couple of months I spent fighting windmills given the IMU issue.
Well it's great now. Thanks again.
Tested today AC3.2.1rc1 on APM2.6...so far my copter was flying nice with no issues in Stab, alt hold, pos hold and other flight modes. However, these are some of my observations:
1. I did autonomous flight with take off at 20m and several spline waypoints at 40m. I did not notice any twitching when passing spline waypoints as viewed from HUD. I had RTL at the last waypoint however, RTL occurred at the 2nd to the last waypoint.
2. Again, i did another autonomous flight. My 2nd to the last waypoint altitude was 30m and the last waypoint was at 10m. I observed that the copter did not descend to 10m final altitude but maintained the 30m altitude.
Other than those observations, the beta firmware is simply great!
Do you have the log from this?
Hi Rob, thanks in advance...Her'e's my latest flights:
1. Flight #1: Take off at 20m several spline waypoints at 40m, last waypoint is RTL. However, RTL occurred on the 2nd to the last waypoint. Log is attached below.
2. Flight #2: The copter did not descend to 10m which is the altitude of the last waypoint. It stayed at 30m which the alt of the 2nd to the last waypoint. Log is also attached...The auto flight is shown on the first part of the log.
2015-01-24 08-24-32.log
2015-01-24 08-46-02.log
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