Does anyone here successfully use QGroundControl for autonomous flights with an AR Drone?

Is there a site with better info than the QGroundControl site?

I have an AR Drone 2.0, Flight Recorder, etc., and I'm trying to run the QGroundControl software.  The first snag I found is that, you have to power the drone and let it initialize, THEN plug in the Flight Recorder and let it settle, and connect via WiFi, before running QGroundControl!  This should have been obvious, since you have to plug in a thumbdrive after initialization too, but it took a while for me to ignore the instructions and do what works.

Then, in QGroundControl, there are all sorts of ambiguous issues.  When you set "home", they ask for altitude, but is that in meters, or feet? And if the GPS is drifting, is it better to enter a lower or higher altitude as "home"? The flight data screen shows the GPS readout in meters, so I wondered why it doesn't just enter that as a default.

I've read that only some of the QGroundControl operands are recognized by the Flight Recorder, but no hint of which ones -- no list.

When I set waypoints, I am prompted to enter the altitude as either absolute, or relative.  If I haven't set the absolute altitude of home, does relative work better, worse or not at all?

Basically, I've tried a simple test:

-Take off

-Rise to 3 meters and loiter for 45 seconds

-Descend to 1 meter waypoint and loiter for 45 seconds (I thought, to defeat letting go of a GPS lock and drifting, as happened to Kyle Tarpley in a video)

-Land

It is very difficult to drop multiple waypoints at the exact same coordinates.  I've had to edit the lat lon entries to make them all the same, after dragging distant waypoints back to origin.

The problem I've run into is that the quad will take off and ascend, but then stay there until the battery dies (drifting quite a bit, despite a good GPS lock).  And while I use the right-arrow "play" button to engage autonomous flight and start the "program", it never advances to the next waypoint, and the "stop" button does nothing -- the thing will not land until it runs out of power. In fact, there is no way to stop it short of pulling it out of the air by hand and unplugging the battery WHILE THE PROPS SPIN!

I'm sure I just didn't emerge from the womb with the knowledge of how to steer QGroundControl!  The documentation is roughly as sparse as most we've all seen.  There is some setting that makes the difference between success and failure, and I just don't know what it is.  I've found no YouTube video that goes into detail on it either.

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  • I bought the Parrot Flight recorder for the AR Drone 2.0, and I now realize that the software support for this product "is not ready for prime time;" even a year after it was released. With the Parrot "BeBop" 3.0 Drone coming on to the market later in 2014, I am afraid that Parrot will drop software support for the AR Drone 2.0 Flight Recorder. If this happens, I will have waisted $140, plus tax. Anyways, you have created a great thread idea. You should have been started this thread over a year ago. I will follow-it this thread with the hope of mastering the Flight Recorders capabilities and get some use out of it. Also, Parrot should somehow make the new Flight station and range booster for the Bebop 3.0 back-compatible with the Parrot AR Drone 2.0.
    • If they put GPS inside the BeBop by default, they should just integrate the guts from the Flight Recorder, then future firmware should apply to both internal and USB-external GPS units.

      My comments were specific to QGroundControl, which isn't a Parrot product, but an open source effort.  I consider the software from Parrot to be next to useless as it will not fly the drone beyond WiFi range. which is around 50 meters. (I'm routinely getting less than 30 meters)

      People are having successful flights with QGroundControl, but there is no step-by-step guide that documents how that software works.  There are all sorts of questions -- what is "guided mode" vs. auto-guided mode?  How do you setup "home" and base altitude?  How do you get it to actually RUN the flight...

      • I don't think jury-rigging the AR Drone 2.0 for extra flight range is worthwhile anymore because Parrot has already announced a 1-2 kilometre-range FPV solution for the Bebop (aka AR Drone 3.0) for later in 2014. And I agree; flying the AR Drone 2.0, using the built-in WiFi in the iPAD 4, as a flight controller, beyond 30-40 meters, is far, far too risky. I really think it is just easier to re-start with the Bebop when it becomes available in the Fall of 2014... and chalk-up the AR Drone 2.0 as "a learning experience."
        • I now have three other quads besides the Parrot, so I'm not buying another Parrot product (most likely ever).  The 2.0 will do whatever it's capable of, and I'll leave it at that.

          I just want to achieve the same success others have with the 2.0, Flight Recorder and QGroundControl.  I think the GPS in the Flight Recorder is probably adequate, and most problems people have had come from a poor GPS fix, or obstructed sky view.  After using an actual radio to fly something, I would rather not use a phone or tablet again in my life.  So it's autonomous success or a suicide mission for this 2.0!

          • Given that Parrot is charging $150 for its GPS "Flight Recorder," I would expect Parrot to provide better firmware and software support for this unit, at some point. After all, it is a common industry practice to ship hardware with no software, or, crappy software, with the goal providing updated and upgraded software, after the hardware is in the market: much the same way NASA launches a satellite first, and then develops and uploads the software to the satellite, while the satellite is en route to its destination. Parrot seems to be unaware of this practice.

            • I agree.  If cars were sold like technology, they'd limp off the lot and you'd be mailed parts for years.

              There are enough pre-Bebop Parrots out there and Flight Recorders, that I think some clever geeks will try to implement firmware improvements at some point.

              • I hope you are right. I would like to eventually be able to get some proper use out of my $150 Parrot Flight Recorder and GPS waypoint guidance system.

                • I have found that using a WIFI range extender (EDIMAX EW-7416AP) on a 30 foot tower makes a huge difference in range so I would highly recommend that. No jerry rigging. The GPS guidance provided by FreeFlight works within the 3 meter error of the GPS to a tee. Note: 3 meter radius of course. I agree the GPS fight recorder  is expensive and absolutely should be built in which all in all should reduce the price. But back to the subject of this thread. Hugh did you ever get answers to you questions?

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