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Look of the new Ardupilot GCS

Posted by automatik on March 14, 2010 at 6:41pm

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Hi all,
please critique new look of the upcoming Ardupilot GCS. Functionality will be discussed elsewhere, so for now please provide constructive criticism for the "look and feel".


Thanks
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Comments

  • Developer
    Jason Short March 14, 2010 at 9:21pm
    gs.png

    Here is the full size version...
  • Developer
    Jason Short March 14, 2010 at 9:20pm
    The two gauges on the left and the servo output react in real time. The little planes rotate and the white really stands out in the sun.
  • Developer
    Jason Short March 14, 2010 at 9:18pm
    Here is what I use. If you want any of the graphics let me know. I built it in Flash and it's not really easy to setup. That's why I've never rolled it out, but I love using it. I am a total novice when it comes to traditional gauges, so I just made this up with what felt right.

    I send out the Roll and Pitch sensor values as well as the IR_max values for debugging
    In the center is a compass with a representative Waypoint.
    You can see the output of the Servos in the bottom and right sides
    The needle at the top is for outputting turn rate.
    The lower half is for reading at a distance.
    The GPS button shows the KML file.
    There is a light next to the GPS button that blinks every time we get a GPS message.
    The Google Maps section expands to show full screen.

  • Ron Jacobs March 14, 2010 at 8:48pm
    How about a round attitude dial instead of a square box? And have the indicator stationery and the dial "globe move, like a real one? Could still do the ghost airplane deal, maybe?
  • Developer
    Doug Weibel March 14, 2010 at 8:04pm
    The desired versus actual attitude isn't an IMU versus thermopile issue. We can provide the date in either case. It is just more accurate with an IMU. If a user is using an older firmware version and the ghost stayed fixed flat and level it might look just fine depending on its color. I was thinking a grey without too much contrast.

    Altitude will be in meters. 0-200 is probably good.

    Airspeed will be in meters/second, so 0-200 is too large. Perhaps 0-50. That is 111 mph or 180 kph which is probably adequate for 99% of users
  • David Ankers March 14, 2010 at 7:40pm
    That rocks! I find the dial debate a bit religious as some people love 'em some don't. Anyway, all I wanted to say is excellent work automatik!
  • Miles March 14, 2010 at 7:30pm
    I am not sure what everyone elses opinion is but do you need large dials displays. Why don't we just have numerical values just like the bottom right hand corner. That way we can display more information that is relevant, such and mission planning, waypoints enter etc.
  • automatik March 14, 2010 at 7:17pm
    @Doug
    Thanks for the input !

    - "..get a small area displaying the raw serial data stream.." - yes, that's in debug tab

    - .."..ghost airplane" - yes it's possible. I was postponing this for later. Not all data is available in current ArduPilot code releases, so supporting (2.4), 2.5, and 2.5.1 might be tricky. But something I think we can work out between developers of 'thermopile" and "IMU" versions of the code in the (near) future.

    -"..add a text box into the altitude, airspeed, and course dials..." will do

    -"..What is the scale for the altitude and airspeed?.." whatever ArduPilot firmware provides :) . I think it's in meters and will add labels. Actually can you confirm units for the data you mentioned?

    -"What will the map background be if internet is not available? - This version is based on Google Earth so you don't need an internet. However, if you visited location of the flight before ( with internet connection) ground images will be better..

    "Is the yellow "thumbtack" a waypoint? " - No :) it's just a placemark in my local GE dile. However, I was thinking of adding wayoints as placemarks on the image ( and "ArduPilot IMU" version provides data suited for that - it'll be future improvement, once this comes out
  • Developer
    Doug Weibel March 14, 2010 at 6:59pm
    Would it be possible to get a small area displaying the raw serial data stream. This would be useful for seeing messages during start-up and also for debugging. Maybe this is under the debug tab?

    Maybe this is too wild an idea, but could we get a ghost airplane on the AHRS so that the ghost shows the desired attitude and the orange shows the actual. It will be easy to add the appropriate variables to the serial output stream.

    Could you add a text box into the altitude, airspeed, and course dials that will give the numeric value. It is nice to be able to see the actual value as well as getting a quick look indication with a needle.

    What is the scale for the altitude and airspeed?

    What will the map background be if internet is not available? Is the yellow "thumbtack" a waypoint?
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