Complete (hacked) setup for being able to load a Waypoint in the air.

I'm posting this for those that didn't catch it in the comments of Varun's last post.

Between Varun's modified Ardupilot code, and my modified LabView Ground Station code, there is now a complete setup available to those that have been looking for in-the-air waypoint updates.

Setup of the hardware from Varun's post: "The XBee's TX pin is hooked up to analog4 (one of the few pins we foundwas not in use) via NewSoftSerial and runs at 57600 baud. If it has a valid packet, it replaces the ArduPilot's next waypoint value with the one from the packet. After it hits this new waypoint, it loads the old next waypoint back in from EEPROM and continues on its original path."

Operation of the GCS is simple. With Google Earth already setup on a good view of the area, click 'Capture Point' on the GCS, then click somewhere on the Google Earth globe. The point's coordinates will be captured in the GCS, add an altitude, and click 'Send Waypoint'.

Since I don't own a Ardupilot (yet) I have not been able to test it. One person has successfully tested the complete setup, but please report any bugs you find.

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Comments

Greg Fletcher July 16, 2010 at 6:44pm

I developed a method to send data to the plane a while ago. I am using the Ardustation with modified firmware to send PI settings and other commands. I am not using soft serial, but the same serial port as the GPS. How do I do it? Time sharing and some minor hardware and big firmware mods. I added code to 2.4 and an early version of 2.5. There are no guarantees it will work,but it is working for me. It's for educational only. Wiki and code is here.
Tomtom Express July 16, 2010 at 5:47pm

I am starting to work on a system that can switch from FPV to UAV mode and back. A small Linux box with a camera and serial port combined with a long range TDMA radio and Ardupilot. Still need to work some things out. Changing the flight plan from the ground station is very important as is being able to slip into FPV mode. One thing that just came to mind is how many RS232 ports are there on Ardupilot? Need one for the GPS and one to communicate with the Ardupilot.
lionel July 16, 2010 at 6:46am

hey cool :-)
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson July 15, 2010 at 10:22pm

Cool--thanks for sharing that! I'll pass it on to Automatik, who is incorporating similar functionality in the official APM GCS.

This reply was deleted.