Beacon Autonomous Drone User Manual

Transcription

1 California University of Pennsylvania Department: Major: Eberly College of Science and Technology Computer Science Beacon Autonomous Drone User Manual CALU 2016

2 i

3 Title: User s Manual Authors: Paul Hahn, Vincent Vitolo, John Derosa Department: Eberly College of Science and Technology Supervisor: Professor Jeffery Sumey, Eberly College of Science and Technology Purpose: The purpose of this document is to instruct the user on the setup, operation and modification of the Beacon Autonomous Drone (BAD) system. This document contains step-by-step instructional guides to perform various operations for this system. ii

4 Contents Table of Contents 3 1 Beacon Autonomous Drone About Essential Features Precautionary Information Notes Warning Additional Information Getting Started First Flight Start up procedure Procedural Instructions First Time Setup Mission Planner Pix-hawk Ground Control Unit Software Flight Start Up Procedures Target Entry UAV Platform Go Pro Intel Edison Flight Data Debug Information Automated Flight Required Setup

5 4.4.2 Build a Mission Adjusting Fail Safes and Safety Precautions Image Collection Retrieving Images From Go Pro Advanced Configurations Custom FTP Settings Adjusting Camera Types Additional Information Mission Planner Intel Edison Go Pro Pix-hawk Reference Information Available HTTP Commands List of Figures 22 List of Abbreviations 23 2

6 1. Beacon Autonomous Drone The Beacon Autonomous Drone is a project created to explore the development capabilities related to autonomous flight and processing algorithms. This project was carried out in an effort to produce an expandable solution that could possibly be used for future endeavors. 1.1 About The BAD project was developed for CSC 492 at California University of Pennsylvania, by Paul Hahn, Vincent Vitolo, and John Derosa as an attempt to create an autonomous vehicle capable of recognizing targets given some basic information with the use of a Pix-hawk Flight Control Unit (FCU) and Mission Planner software. 1.2 Essential Features Some essential features of the project include: Autonomous Flight: Pix-hawk Flight Controller and Mission Planner Software Target Recognition: OpenCV Python Library and Go Pro Camera Simplistic User Interactions: Mission Planner Software and Developed Interfaces This user manual will describe the various interactions required to control some of these components, as well as some basic development information required for expansion of this project. 3

7 2. Precautionary Information This section describes some of the warnings and danger notices that are accompanied with this project. 2.1 Notes It is important to note that due to recent popularity in unmanned aerial vehicles, aerial vehicles must now be registered to the Federal Aviation Administration. This means that anyone who is responsible for the control of this vehicle, autonomous or not, is required to register this vehicle=, or could potentially face significant amount of fines. This registration process can be carried out at: Warning This system is an autonomous system, so proper care must be taken to ensure that all of the surrounding environments are safe and the area is controlled before flight. The autonomous flight portion of this project has been extensively tested through the use of the open-source Mission Planner and Pix-hawk related forums and user bases, but that does not mean the accidents can not happen, so caution must be taken to ensure that all surround areas are safe in regard to the autonomous vehicle flight path. The use of flight boundaries can also be used to restrict flight to safe areas. This fact, in addition to the fail-safe options provide a safe means to guide the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a safe manner, as well as the option regain control in the event of an autonomous system failure. 4

8 2.3 Additional Information The following links will provide additional resources and insight into current safety protocols that should be followed in order to provide the best environments for a safe flight. Recreational Safety Guidelines: 5

9 3. Getting Started This user manual will include a brief tutorial on basic system set up, start up, and operation. Refer to this section to get acquainted with this systems order of operations, as well as view a complete guide to walk through the typical operation of this system. 3.1 First Flight The first flight of the BAD project system requires some additional set up that may not be required in later flights, this is due to the required calibration of hardware components like the Global Positioning System (GPS), compass, Radio transmitter, telemetry and electronic speed controllers (ESC). Refer to the initial setup portion of this document to ensure that all of the required components are prepared so your first flight goes smoothly. Tips Be sure that all components are fully charged (Radio Transmitter, Go Pro, GCU, etc.) A wind free environment is ideal Remove any trim on the radio transmitter, the trim will be handled by the Pix-hawk Mission Planner will set its home position based on where the motors were armed, so keep this in mind when setting up a mission Start up procedure 1. Execute Ground Control Unit Tasks (a) Run b-a-d.bat 6

10 (b) Use target selection window to specify target (c) Continue with mission parameters if needed with Mission Planner 2. Create and write a mission to the Pix-hawk using Mission Planner and the Mission Planner documentation included in the procedural instructions Mission Planner. 3. Place the UAV on a level surface and connect the battery. Do not move the UAV until the Pix-hawk indicator light begins flashing red/blue, this signifies that the gyroscopes have been initialized. 4. Arm the motors for flight by following the arming procedures in the procedural instructions section. Proceed with caution, any radio transmitter input could cause the UAV to respond. Once armed, the flight can begin manually or in auto mode. Continue with steps to begin image capturing methods. 5. Connect the power supply connector from the main battery to the Intel Edison 6. To fly manually you can simply control the UAV from this point as a normal UAV. 7. If auto mode is needed, switch the Pix-hawk into auto mode by moving the flight mode switch into the position you determined to be auto mode during the initial setup procedures. 8. Once in auto mode, the UAV will execute all of the specified mission commands. If at any point control must be regained, switch the flight mode switch back into manual/stabilize mode. 7

11 4. Procedural Instructions This section will provide step-by-step directions on how to assemble, set up and operate the BAD system. These instructional guides are targeted for the components developed for BAD system, but will also include brief information and links to more detailed collections on the Mission Planner and Pix-hawk components as well. Additional information related to these extra components can be found through the addition information section. 4.1 First Time Setup This section contains information related to the initial set up of the BAD system components Mission Planner Mission Planner is an open source application that provides utilities to follow in-flight data, organize automated flight, as well as many other options. This software can be downloaded from the ardu-pilot web page at: html Visit the above web page and install the Mission Planner software according to the Mission Planner documentation. Mission Planner supports both Linux and Windows platforms, so be sure to choose the correct version according to your system Pix-hawk The Pix-hawk FCU requires the most initial set up; Due to its autonomous abilities many parameters must be initialized before the first flight. Before flight can begin the following procedures must be completed. These first time set up 8

12 procedures can be found on the Pix-hawk web page at the following URL address: Follow the procedures listed on the linked URL web page to completely set up the Pix-hawk firmware, Mission Planner specifics, as well as all information relating the mandatory hardware configurations Ground Control Unit Software 1. Install Mission Planner 2. Download Beacon Autonomous Drone Package 3. Run b-a-d.bat Installing Mission Planner The ground control unit (GCU) software requires very little initial setup to execute. The only required set up is that the Mission Planner software is installed according to the Mission Planner web page via the Mission Planner installation guide: html Install Beacon Autonomous Drone Package The BAD system is an open-source repository hosted on GitHub, so this system can easily be obtained by cloning the repository via git commands: git clone On a windows based platform, this package can also be downloaded as a compressed folder by visiting the repository and selecting download ZIP. 9

13 Once downloaded, simply extract the package to a preferred directory and follow the remaining steps. Run Package In addition to the Mission Planner software, the user must also have access to the target collection application developed for this project. This application is included in the package, so its only a matter of running the application when the time comes. Once the Mission Planner software has been downloaded,this system can be ran by simply executing the b-a-d.bat execute batch file, which will start all required software for the user. 4.2 Flight Start Up Procedures The BAD system has a few procedures that should be completed before flight execution begins. The following sections will discuss these procedures in some detail Target Entry The target entry application allows the user to specify what they want their ground target to look like. The user can specify this, FTP parameters, and camera types within this application window. Notes Transparent background PNG images provide the fastest processing times Test any FTP parameters before upload to ensure that the image is received correctly. 10

14 Procedure 1. Run b-a-d.bat 2. Move to the target collection window labeled B.A.D. 3. Make any required minor adjustments (a) Adjust any FTP parameters as needed (b) Adjust camera type (c) Test FTP connections 4. Select target image by selecting the browse button and searching for the target image you would like. (See notes for image type preferences) 5. once and image is selected, choose the add target button 6. Preview any images you would like to verify correctness 7. Select continue when you are ready to upload the image to the shared server. 8. Close application when successful output is received UAV Platform The UAV platform will required the most start up interactions. These interactions include the arming of the motors, pre-arm safety check, as well as multiple advanced configurations and safety options are available. The UAV start up procedure can be viewed in a more detail form on the Pix-hawk APM web page: Go Pro The Go Pro is controlled via HTTP commands, which means that the only prerequisite to flight for the Go Pro is to turn on the Go Pro s independent wireless networking signal. This can be done by doing the following procedure: 11

15 Enable Go Pro Network 1. Locate WiFi button on the side of Go Pro camera. 2. Press the button 3. The blue led light on the front of the camera will begin blinking when the WiFi signal is active Intel Edison The Intel Edison is a standalone system that requires nothing but power from the UAV platform. Once powered the Intel Edison will begin initialization procedures. In addition to the initialization procedures, the Intel Edison s other functions will be completed in an automated fashion, requiring no user input. 4.3 Flight Data If the user has chosen to use the telemetry data transmitter, they will have access to in-flight data, including flight altitude, ground speed, GPS location, etc. In order to ensure that the previous information is view able you can follow these steps: Telemetry Data 1. With Mission Planner, connect the Mission Planner software to the Telemetry COM port, as you normally would for a USB connection. 2. Once connected, you should now have full control over Pix-hawk parameters, etc. 3. Simply select the Flight Data Tab located at the top left corner 4. The in-flight data will be visible via the dashboard on the left hand side of the screen. 12

16 4.3.1 Debug Information Debug information for the current flight is visible in the head up display (HUD) on the Flight Data tab. This HUD will show any errors with pre-flight checks, and data errors in red. Additional error message and logging can be performed using the Mission Planner command line interface. 4.4 Automated Flight In order to begin an automated flight, the user must first ensure that all of the required parameters are set. Once the required parameters are collected by Mission Planner, it is safe to build your first mission. This section will discuss the full circle of creating and implementing a flight mission Required Setup There are a few required components before a mission can be executed. These required items are: GPS module for automated flight Flight modes are initialized Radio transmitter is calibrated Pre-flight safety checks all pass The appropriate GPS modules, flight mode configurations, radio transmitter calibration, and pre-flight safety checks are all described in depth on the APM web page. 13

17 4.4.2 Build a Mission This project revolves around Mission Planner s ability to construct an automated mission of way-points, altitudes, speeds, etc. A basic flight mission can be constructed fairly easily with the use of Mission Planners Flight Planner functions. The below list outlines the general order and format needed to construct a flight: Build the Mission 1. Connect Pix-hawk via USB or telemetry transmitter 2. Once connected, select the Flight Plan tab near the top left hand side of the window. Once the flight plan window is displayed, the user can add and remove way-points and adjust way point parameters, such as loiter time, or speed of ascent for example. 3. Once the user is happy with the mission plan, select the Write WPs button to save the mission way-points to the Pix-hawk. Execute the Mission 1. Arm the UAV motors 2. Wait for the GPS module to lock onto the location (LED lights will blink red and blue) 3. Move the flight mode switch into the position chosen as the AUTO mode. 4. UAV should now begin auto flight. 5. If at anytime flight control needs to be regained, move the flight mode position switch back into the MANUAL or STABILIZE mode. Once again, these procedures are covered in a much more detailed way at the APM web page. 14

18 4.4.3 Adjusting Fail Safes and Safety Precautions Fail safes are what dictates what type of action the UAV will complete if any unsafe conditions are met, such as low battery levels, loss of connection and boundary exceptions. These pre-defined safety settings can be adjusted using the section within Mission Planner s initial setup tab. Define Safety Precautions 1. Select the Initial Setup tab 2. Expand the Mandatory Setup Section 3. Select the FailSafe item to adjust available Fail Safes 4.5 Image Collection Images at this time are not visible in real-time form, but they are available to view after flight has completed, or even during flight by selecting the image files you are interested in. This section will discuss how to collect the flight images collected during flight Retrieving Images From Go Pro The images captured during flight while using the Go Pro camera are stored locally by the Intel Edison, as well as on the Go Pro independent Cherokee web server. This section will discuss viewing the collected images from the Intel Edison, due to the Cherokee servers ability to use Go Pro related applications to simply view those images easily as is. An alternative to the available Go Pro applications is to directly access the Go Pro Cherokee server by visiting the appropriate address, or by using FTP software to transfer and view files. The address that is typically assigned to the 15

19 Go Pro cameras is: urlhttp:// :8080/videos/dcim/ By visiting this address, the user will have access to the videos and images captured by the Go Pro, and stored onto the Cherokee server. A typical visit to this address may warrant a site similar to the below image (figure 4.1). Figure 4.1: Go Pro Cherokee Server Collecting Images from Intel Edison The images that are stored on the Intel Edison are guaranteed to have been processed and placed in their respectable folders. These images are available by viewing the image folders files on the ground control unit (GCU) user interface, under the collected images menu item. It is important to note that these files will not be available until the flight is complete. Images will be collected based on number of matched key points. Images with a large amount of matched key points (likely target image) will be added to the hits directory, while images with less than the necessary to be considered will be added to the img directory. 16

20 4.6 Advanced Configurations The user has the ability to adjust some of the available parameters within this project. These parameters can be adjusted to change the file transfer protocols (FTP) settings used throughout execution, to adjust the type of camera being used on this system, as well as various start-up procedure parameters adjustments that are available Custom FTP Settings The user has the opportunity to adjust FTP parameters that are used to transfer files between the GCU and the Intel Edison. This can be easily done through the GCU user interface (UI). The image below (figure 4.1) shows the available FTP settings section available on the main user interface, the B.A.D. window. Figure 4.2: Custom FTP settings windows The user has the option to adjust the FTP specific login parameters, such as user name, password and FTP server address. 17

21 4.6.2 Adjusting Camera Types This system has also made an attempt to adapt to multiple camera types. One available alternative to the Go Pro is a USB controlled camera, which can be specified on the user interface main window. By selecting the camera type you are using, the system will adapt to that input to provide similar results regardless of camera type. This can be done by selecting the camera type radio button that relates to your available camera type from the area highlighted in the image below (figure 4.2). Figure 4.3: Adjusting Camera Type 4.7 Additional Information Mission Planner Mission Planner is an enormous software application that can be used to control many types of vehicles in an autonomous fashion. This document only scratches the surface of the possibilities this system is capable of in combination with Mission Planner software. If you are interested in researching the capabilities of 18

22 the Mission Planner software, or just mastering the procedures mentioned in this user manual, visit the Mission Planner web page to view tutorials and mission related information Intel Edison The Intel Edison is an invaluable component of this system. The Intel Edison provides much more processing power than other systems of the same size, which makes it a very flexible and powerful hardware components. If you would like to view any of the hardware specific details, or continue research into this component visit the Intel web page for tutorials, hardware diagrams Go Pro The Go Pro camera is a very powerful consumer level camera that has the ability to communicate via HTTP commands. This functionality allows for a list of other possible project ideas, as well as expansions that can be added to this existing project. For further information on the Go Pro camera, and all of the available applications and accessories visit: Pix-hawk The Pix-hawk flight controller is a high level flight controller capable of many autonomous functions, in addition to manual control. Visit the Pix-hawk web page for all of the available information on this module: 19

23 5. Reference Information reference information, but only up to a certain point. For example, if there are numerous commands, a separate book for commands is necessary. Reference information in user guides is often presented in tables: columnar lists of settings, descriptions, variables, parameters, flags, and so on. 5.1 Available HTTP Commands The Go Pro camera is controlled using the Go Pro HTTP commands, also referred to as bacpac commands by the Go Pro documentation. These various commands were combined in a library to provide a way to communicate to the Go Pro in a way that could provide any easy route to expand this software in the future. A command consists of multiple items: the device, IP, application, command, and password. These components are formed into a URL and requested via terminal commands. When the commands are executed, the Go Pro will respond to the request address with the specified action. The commands used within the current system are listed below. BACPAC COMMAND start capture stop capture enable camera mode enable photo mode get photo get image id Action Begin capture sequence Stop capture sequence Set current mode for video Set current mode for photos Retrieve most recent photo from Cherokee server Return the most recent image downloaded id string Figure 5.1: Common BACPAC HTTP Commands There are many more commands available in the existing system that are capable of modifying configurations like resolutions, or adjusting shutter speeds and time lapse photos. The above include commands are only the building blocks needed to understand the current systems interactions with the Go Pro via HTTP 20

24 commands. For further information on these commands, view the source files of the BAD system, the HTTP commands are defined within URLCommands.py and used frequently within captureimage.py. 21

25 List of Figures 4.1 Go Pro Cherokee Server Custom FTP settings windows Adjusting Camera Type Common BACPAC HTTP Commands

26 List of Abbreviations BAD GCU GPS ESC FCU HUD FTP GCU UAV UI HTTP URL Beacon Autonomous Drone Ground Control Unit Global Positioning System Electronic Speed Controller Flight Control Unit Heads Up Display File Transfer Protocol Ground Control Unit Unmanned Aerial Vehicle User Interface HyperText Transfer Protocol Uniform Resource Locator 23