The DroidPlanner team, led by Arthur Benemann, is pleased to announce the next version of its Android-based UI. DroidPlanner 2.0 offers a completely redesigned interface for controlling 3DR multirotors over Mavlink. The UI/UX has been rethought with an emphasis on simplified workflows, glanceable information, and reliability for the most common user actions.
DroidPlanner 2.0 centers around two screens: Telemetry and Planning. The telemetry screen allows users to quickly assess the state of the aircraft and perform quick actions, like loiter and land. The planning screen allows users to create missions on the fly, as well as edit them easily in the field. Other features, particularly those different from the original DroidPlanner, are listed below. The DroidPlanner 2.0 UI was specifically targeted at multirotors, but full plane support and all the features of the original DroidPlanner are coming soon!
Features:
- Completely redesigned graphical user interface
- Specifically designed for 3DR multirotors and Iris
- New telemetry screen showing quick glanceable info: HUD, battery, RSSI, distance
- Easy to use Home, Land, and Loiter buttons
- New guided mode with changeable altitude
- Quick mode switching
- New planning screen for quick mission generation
- Easy and powerful mission editing tools
- Basic radio TX setup
- Preflight checklist
Coming soon:
- Survey tools in the mission planning screen
- FollowMe 2.0 with advanced control options
- New flight tuning screens
- Improved radio configuration
The app is still in a beta release, bugs can be reported on Github.
For additional support check out the DroidPlanner forum.
If you like the app consider making a donation to support the development.
Comments
@TheMightThor: Follow-me has been in the beta for a long time now, and we are going to release it as production in a week or two.
wow this is a great redesign!!! how long before follow me is added? i see alot of Google Search Results that say its available as of Ver 2.3.x, i recently downloaded Ver. 2.4.2 for Google Play but i cannot find a Follow Me Button? is it only in BETA? i did sign up as a beta testor.
@Arthur: I used to program macros for ImageFX on my old Amiga; I came up with one macro that would automatically draw a U.S. flag properly scaled to the requested image size (the flag specs are all mathematical relationships). I also wrote a macro that would use a text file as input and ImageFX would automatically create an animation of movie credits "beaming in" against a background of moving stars. But that was in ARexx, which is a lot like BASIC.
I don't think well in SI units, but I heartily approve of them. It's a much simpler system to work in.
Looking over your source code reminds me a bit of programming in C; it also shows me that I have a LOT to learn about Java.
But maybe I could write some of the simpler modules: I have a computer, some time, and Google is my second best friend in the whole world. I'm much more skilled as a beta-tester, though: I can break anything. [grin]
I think I will leave the programming to the experts and merely admire their work. (Time to start saving my money for that big-kids 'copter so I can use the Planner to fly.)
@Joseph: It isn't all that difficult, but since it wasn't been planed from the beginning we need to rework a lot of stuff (and check to not break anything on the way). An analogy would be to changing wiring on a finished house.
@John: I disagree, in the way we cooperate having more people normally means less problems (since the code is reviewed by more eyes).
The way we are doing is: We are changing all units to objects instead of simple variables. That means that for instance a length is stored as a object with behavior, instead of storing it as a meaningless numerical variable. So you are able to "ask" that length for it's valueInMeters or valueInFeets, without never handling how the value is stored inside (under the hood we store everything in SI units, just like the grow-ups). And hopefully to catch bugs that could be introduced by future modifications to the code are starting to cover things with unit testing.
Here is the source for the Length class:
https://github.com/arthurbenemann/droidplanner/blob/DroneRefactor/C...
And it's unit test:
https://github.com/arthurbenemann/droidplanner/blob/DroneRefactor/C...
It may not be as hard as you think. All you need is a computer, some time, a objective, and some will Google stuff when you hit a wall.
It gets even more complicated when you have multiple people writing the software.
There was a Mars probe that crashed because the European team was doing its calculations in meters and the American team was calculating in feet. So, when the European software modules sent their data to the American software modules, they weren't using the same units. And if you think you should fire your engines at an altitude of 10 meters and you fire them at 10 feet instead, the landing is going to be a bit harder than anticipated. [wry smile]
I haven't seen their code, and I was never a very good programmer to start with, but if it were me, I would consider creating a module at the front end of the UI. The sole purpose of that module would be to convert the numbers to the units the users want before displaying them. That way, I wouldn't have to change the code on any other modules. If I made a mistake on the conversion, I'd only have to correct it in one place, not every module in the program that played with numbers.
Undoubtedly, they already have an idea of how they want to do it, and it will be more efficient than anything I could come up with. I could never have written even one of the modules in this program, let alone the program itself.
Arthur,
I really had no idea that it was so difficult. Thanks for all the hard work. I will hopefully give my new nexus a try this week end with DP2.
Thanks
Joe
@Arthur: Until I get a big-kid 'copter, DroidPlanner2 is a video game on my phone. But an interesting one. [grin]
@Joseph @AKRCGUY: Here is the issue:
https://github.com/DroidPlanner/droidplanner/issues/121
You can subscribe to receive notifications on that page. That way when it there is some development you'll know, also you can offer yourself to test it.
I second Josph's request for the ability to change from metric to imperial.
@Joseph: We are finishing a restructuring on our code that will allow us to do that. But I hope you understand that's somewhat difficult to change everything, and ensure it still works correctly.
The Nexus is a great device, I use the 2gen (2013) for development (gift from 3DRobotics :).
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
of 11 Next