Warning #1: an issue has been found with Tower's Pause button which can cause the vehicle to fly to an old position if the vehicle has not sent a position update to Tower in some time.
Warning #2: Copter-3.3.2 fixes a bug found in Copter-3.3.1's desired climb rate initialisation which could lead to a sudden momentary drop when switching from Stabilize or Acro to AltHold, Loiter or PosHold.
Warning #3: Copter-3.3.2 fixes an issue found in Copter-3.3.1 which could lead to hard landings in RTL or AUTO if the WPNAV_SPEED_DN was set too high (i.e. >400 or 4m/s) and/or the WPNAV_ACCEL_Z was set too low (i.e. <100 or 1m/s/s).
Warning #4: a bug was found in Copter-3.3 which could cause a sudden crash if you abort a Take-off initiated from a ground station. Video description is here. The bug is fixed in Copter-3.3.1 so we recommend upgrading.
Note #1: AC3.3-rc8 corrected a long standing bug in the HDOP reporting. HDOP values will appear about 40% lower than previously but this does not actually mean the GPS position is better than before.
Note #2: if upgrading from AC3.2.1 the vehicle's accelerometer calibration needs to be done again.
Note #3: set SERIAL2_PROTOCOL to "3" and reboot the board to enable FrSky telemetry like in previous versions.
Note #4: the wiki will be updated over the next few weeks to explain how to use the new features
Copter-3.3.1 is available through the mission planner. The full list of changes vs AC3.2.1 can be see in the ReleaseNotes and below are the most recent changes since AC3.3.
Sadly this version (and all future versions) will not run on the APM2.x boards due to CPU speed, flash and RAM restrictions.
Changes from 3.3:
1) Bug fix to prevent potential crash if Follow-Me is used after an aborted takeoff
2) compiler upgraded to 4.9.3 (runs slightly faster than 4.7.2 which was used previously)
Changes from 3.3-rc11:
1) EKF recovers from pre-arm "Compass variance" failure if compasses are consistent
Changes from 3.3-rc10:
1) PreArm "Need 3D Fix" message replaced with detailed reason from EKF
Changes from 3.3-rc9
1) EKF improvements:
a) simpler optical flow takeoff check
2) Bug Fixes/Minor enhancements:
a) fix INS3_USE parameter eeprom location
b) fix SToRM32 serial protocol driver to work with recent versions
c) increase motor pwm->thrust conversion (aka MOT_THST_EXPO) to 0.65 (was 0.50)
d) Firmware version sent to GCS in AUTOPILOT_VERSION message
3) Safety:
a) pre-arm check of compass variance if arming in Loiter, PosHold, Guided
b) always check GPS before arming in Loiter (previously could be disabled if ARMING_CHECK=0)
c) sanity check locations received from GCS for follow-me, do-set-home, do-set-ROI
d) fix optical flow failsafe (was not always triggering LAND when optical flow failed)
e) failsafe RTL vs LAND decision based on hardcoded 5m from home check (previously used WPNAV_RADIUS parameter)
Thanks for your testing!
Replies
Paul, what about GPS Glitch and Baro Glitch are they active in EKF and will they also trigger for manually modes like stabilise ?
For me it is tipical that the Home Position is there were the GPS signal is gained. This will be the same for all other brands. So every pilot should know this.
if home position is important for the operator, he should only take off when GPS is already gained. This can be also set for pre-arm checks which will only allow the motors spin in case GPS is gained..
Hello friends.
I've been testing COPTER 3.3 rc1, and I detected two problems.
The first problem is the continuous variation notice EKF, although in three hours flying this BETA version, had no problems or faults with the EKF filter.
The problem was flying in drift mode when landing, and disarm engines, quad leaned over and touched the ground.
I am very satisfied with this version and very grateful for your work.
best regards
Yeah, I also noticed EKF warnings. On ground, immediately after arming I get "EKF variance". Do you get the same?
I am also getting EKF Variance when arming. I was still able to arm and do a short flight in Stabilise.
@Randy Is it ok to fly with this warning? Are the tolerances too tight or is it indicating I need to change my setup?
Glenn,
I think it will be safe while you're in stabilize but it won't let you go into autopilot modes like Loiter, RTL. So in case of a failsafe it will likely switch to pilot controlled Land.
I'm pretty sure we have some thresholds set too tight so we're not letting the user into the autopilot modes when we probably could. All those thresholds changed when we moved from inertial nav to EKF and it also seems like we're not giving as much information about what the EKF is waiting on (it's normally for the EKF estimated velocity to fall).
I'm also interested
Yes
Paul, as i understand the EKF is needed for GPS supported flight modes and for Home position. But like it is now, it is also active for manual modes like Stabilize and Acro where the GPS signal is there but not needed correct ?
I think it's clear for all that accuracy of Home position is given by better gps signal. Could the quality of signal be displayed by flashing the LED faster or slower ? Fast Led flash means GPS but not so accurate and slow LED flashing would be high accuracy.
Tested rapid ascents and descents with an over powered 650 quad. It has 3508 580 kv T-motors and a dampened mobius cam (no gimbal). No question 3.3.1 is way more better. The video proves it. The first two descents were very unstable and the wind was light. With 3.3.1 loaded 2 days later the wind was out of the NNE, and pretty strong. Up high in clean air the descents were very stable. The second descent in 3.3.1 was actually in stabilize mode(the caption was wrong) at ~ 8% throttle not touching the right stick, and it was the most stable. Well done Leonard!!!!
http://youtu.be/n4Bcq2ImsHI
Thanks Greg,
It is nice when things work the way they are supposed to :)
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