After months of testing, ArduCopter 3.2 (aka APM:Copter) is ready for widespread use and we invite all users to give it a try. In order to manage the support load at first it will be available only through the Mission Planner and APM Planner2's Beta Firmwares link. This link is visible from the regular "Install Firmware" page if you check the "Advanced View" on the Config/Tuning >> Planner page. On APM Planner2 the "Advanced View" it is under the File menu.
In about two weeks we plan to replace AC3.1.5 with AC3.2 as the default version dispensed by the ground stations.
The full list of changes can be found in the ReleaseNotes but here are the highlights:
Flight Mode Enhancements:
- PosHold flight mode: similar to Loiter but with direct response to pilot input during repositioning
- ACRO mode handling improvement EXPO (for faster rotations)
- Drift mode uses "throttle assist" (similar to AltHold)
- Smoother transitions between flight modes (i..e when entering Loiter or RTL from high speeds)
Mission Enhancements/Fixes:
- Spline waypoints
- Do_Jump, Conditional_Distance, Conditional_Delay fixed
- Do_Set_ROI persistent across waypoints
- Condition_Yaw accepts relative heading (i.e. current heading + 20)
- Reset horizontal position target when taking off in AUTO to avoid lean due to GPS position drift
- Rally points (Pixhawk only)
New Sensors/Devices:
- Lidar-Lite Range Finder, SF02, MaxBotix I2C sonar and Analog sonar (which was missing for Pixhawk)
- EPM Gripper
Safety Features:
- EKF/DCM check will switch to LAND mode if heading error > 60deg for 1 second
- Baro glitch detection
- Pre-arm check for Gyro calibration success
- Pre-arm check that internal & external sensors (gyros, accels and compass) are consistent (Pixhawk only)
- Parachute support (Pixhawk only)
- Feedback to Pilot when taking off in AltHold, Loiter, PosHold (i.e. motors spin up a little as throttle is raised)
- EKF (new attitude and position estimate system only used for reference in this release)
Bug Fixes:
- Pixhawk GPS driver buffer overflow that could lead to missed GPS messages
- Pixhawk I2C bug that could lead freeze up if I2C bus is noisy
Known issues/Warnings:
- Pixhawk users will need to recalibrate their compasses
- PosHold won't show up as option on FlightMode screen if you have an old version of mission planner. Please select Help > Check for Updates
- Landing detector is more strict meaning it may take longer to disarm after RTL, AUTO
- Set THR_MID parameter especially if you have a very powerful copter because "Feedback to Pilot" raises throttle to 1/2 of THR_MID
- Spline twitches slightly as it passes a waypoint especially if WPNAV_SPEED is set > 500.
- Dropped support for NMEA and SIRF GPS on APM boards (ran out of Flash space)
- Dropped ssupport for sonar for MultiCopters on APM1 and TradHeli on APM1 & APM2 (ran out of Flash space)
If you hit issues, please post them in the APM Forum and include a dataflash log file if possible.
Special thanks the Marco and the Beta Testing team from the AC3.2 beta testing thread who put their copters at risk in the pursuit of a smooth, safe release. Here are links to some of their videos: Marco's DJIs900, Holger's Water Tower, Josh's Acro, Ray's TradHeli2&FPV, Raph's Hawaii, PhillS's CommandYaw, Thor's Zombie Run&FollowMe, Phanivyas's Test, Rob's TradHeli, Christian's Test1&Test2, Balloon's Spline, JimJ's FPV, Ultrojo's ROI & Spline&FollowMe1&FollowMe2, Troy's Mission
Thanks also to the code contributors to this release including Tridge, Jonathan, Leonard, RobL, Paul Riseborough, MichaelO, Julien Dubois, David Dewey, Andrew Chapman, Emile, Allyson and many more. If you want to get involved check-out our dev wiki.
Comments
Rob_L, here is the log (bin). There is 1.5 G on the Z axis when going full throttle and some sway in X and Y which is normal (forward flight) (see near the end of the log), however there is also one other occurrence of the 1.5 G on Z about half way through the log but no EKF_check message generated.
Would like to know what causes this as it is repeatable.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5v74e9dfmrq0md3/3_2_EKF.BIN?dl=0
Yves, yes, please post the logs. I wonder if the problem is vibrations under full throttle?
Rob, I'm flying a quad rotor (small 450) and simply going forward with throttle at 100%. Get the check error about 2 seconds into the forward flight then I back off the throttle.
I don't know what this is exactly other than it is related to the GPS glitch detection algorithm somehow. The EKF is currently left disabled (as default) so don't know why these wold show up. I can post the log if it would help identify what is going on.
The platform doesn't react to these errors and flies as it should when DroidPlanner audibly reports it.
@Chim: I'm not sure on the change of units, you are probably right. But I think that even if you had tried it, it wouldn't have gone zipping off. I actually experimented with really big circles a couple weeks ago, and found that it seemed to obey the Loiter Speed setting.
@Yeves, how exactly are you flying? I fly my helis quite hard and fast, and don't regularly get EKF errors. I only get them if I spin for too long. It doesn't take too much, maybe 5 fast rotations. But I don't get it from forward flight, or bank and yank at high speeds.
Just finished my third flight, ran through all modes including Drift which is much better with the Throttle Assist. Love the PosHold.
A few things, flew the Follow Me but though I configured the camera tilt properly. Used RC9 output on Pixhawk and configured the Gimbal Tilt section plus set the RC6 input to control the Tilt. Tilt works fine when NOT in Follow Me however, camera tilt just stays put when Follow Me turned on. Plus, can no longer use Tilt manually through the radio.
Any write-ups about configuring this somewhere?
One more thing, doing forward flying aggressively in STAB mode or ALT Hold results in generating multiple EKF_check errors in the log. DroidPlanner 2 for Android also blurts out some audible message but can't make out what it says. Let me know if you want the log form this.
thanks again for a great release !!
@Euan Ramsey,
Re the high frequency wobbles you seen during a really hard acceleration: yes, totally agree that we need to adjust the gains based on the throttle level. Basically the ESCs don't provide a linear thrust output vs the pwm we send them. Leonard Hall is looking to implement this for AC3.3.
Thanks for the feedback!
@lakeroe,
some of what you're looking for is availble in AC3.2.
battery alarm: http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/failsafe-battery/
frsky telemetry: http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-frsky-telemetry/
Some is in the works for AC3.2 including the take-off from moving platform.
Feel free to add enhancement requests to the issues list. There are about 350 items on the list already so if you add one we may close it as a duplicate but who knows..
I have enjoyed about a dozen flights over the past 3 days and my experience with 3.2 has been wonderful. Position Hold mode is just fantastic. Thank you so much to all who had a hand in this latest release.
It has been blowing a gale though, so I have not been able to do an autotune yet. Even so, my APM powered IFly-4 is flying immaculately in high winds on standard parameters. I can't wait to try some more complex missions when conditions improve.
I am interested in learning more about the external outputs for LEDs and buzzer.
On 3.1.5 I ran the following Configuration:
A4: AUX LED - Front Left Arm LED (RED)
A5: Beeper - 5V Buzzer
A6: GPS - Front Right Arm LED (GREEN)
A7: Motor LED - Rear Right Arm LED (BLUE)
A8: Motor LED - Rear Left Arm LED (BLUE)
Configured based on this page.
Since Upgrading to 3.2 I have swapped things around to the following configuration based on advice for 3.2 users on this page:
A4: Motor LED - Rear Right Arm LED (BLUE)
A5: Beeper - 5V Buzzer
A6: GPS - Front Right Arm LED (GREEN)
A7: Arming LED - Front Left Arm LED (RED)
A8: ???Appears to be extra motor output??? - Rear Left Arm LED (BLUE)
Have I got that set up in the optimal way? Is A8 the same as A4, or should I control both rear (BLUE) LEDs from A4? Is there anywhere I can go to read more about how the LEDs report things like waypoints, failsafes, etc?
I believe others like the naze32 use a bit of code to reduce the PID loop above a certain throttle.
All mine now on 3.2 looking forward to seeing how they run. Has any "mini quad" code made it in? Something to stop the oscillations that start at 70% throttle for example.
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