2024-03-16 Pegasus VTX + Houston Auto Flight Test

Owned by Megan Spee
Last updated: 2024-03-18
5 min read

Sections for requesting team to fill out:

  • Admin preparation

  • Test Cards / Test Plan

  • Mandatory Attendees

Sections for flight test coordinator to fill out:

  • Flightline team

  • Location

  • Status

  • Drone

Sections for flightline team to fill out:

  • EFS to fill out flight test cards

Admin Preparation

Requested By

@Megan Spee

Sub-Team Review

(To be checked once reviewed by sub-team representative)

Mechanical
Electrical
EFS
Autonomy
Operations

Date of Request

2024-03-16

Goal Summary

  • Pegasus Video transmission with different antenna placements, using 5.8GHz

  • OSD configured and MUX functional for front and downwards cameras

  • OFS configured correctly

  • Autolanding on Houston functional

Status?

Waiting for Sub-Team Review

Desired Airframe

Pegasus
Houston

Location + Time

WrestRC

Testplan - to be filled out by requesting team

Video muxing w/ at least 2 cameras.

Test #1: Pegasus VTX, LOS low speed & hover performance

Procedure

Goals / Objectives

Failure criteria

  1. Takeoff manually in Loiter, verify that video is stable during takeoff.

  • Ensure that video signal is maintained during close-range takeoffs.

  • Ensure hover doesn’t negatively impact video switching

  • Ensure OSD elements are correct

Loss of Video Transmission

  • Stop drone movement, attempt to re-establish video link.

Loss of Control

  • Land the drone as soon as possible

Loss of Orientation

  • RTL

Battery

  • Land, RTL if possible.

  1. Attempt switching video sources

  1. IF CONFIGURED: attempt switching OSD screens.

  1. Fly slow passes at varying altitudes / distances (pilot discretion) from the ground station

  • Ensure that video signal is maintained during different maneuvers

  • Ensure that different video sources are functional during different passes

  1. Land normally

 

 

Test #2: Auto Pathing Mission

Procedure

Goals / Objectives

Failure criteria

  1. Connect Houston to Mission Planner

  • Verify connection

  • Mavlink doesn't connect

  1. Run pathing code

  • Go to pathing repository

  • Activate the venv with source venv/bin/activate

  • Run pathing code with python -m path_2024

  • Failed sending waypoints

  1. Check waypoints

  • Verify waypoints added by pathing code are correct in Mission Planner

  1. Takeoff

  • Verify drone flies to correct waypoints

  • Pitch/Roll/Yaw incorrect

    • land, flip in mission planner, re-start test

  • Drone de-stabilizes.

    • Land, evaluate tune, re-start test

 

Test #1: Auto Landing

Procedure

Goals / Objectives

Failure criteria

  1. Connect Houston to Mission Planner

  • Verify Connection

  • Mavlink doesn't connect

  1. Verify auto-landing script is running

  • Check that images are being logged

  • Script isn’t running

    • Start it manually by navigating to the auto landing repository and running python blue_only.py

    • Make note so this can be fixed

  1. Add waypoints in Mission Planner

  • Add a LAND waypoint at the intended landing pad

  • Offset the waypoint by ~5m to test if the auto landing script corrects it

 

  1. Takeoff

  • Verify drone lands on landing pad

  • Drone misses landing pad

 

 

Necessary Preparation

Mechanical

Pegasus cleared to fly (mechanically)
sensor mount ready
Motors + frame rigid
Houston cleared to fly (mechanically)
sensor mount attached
arms + plates rigid

Electrical

Pegasus cleared to fly (electrically)
harnessing secure
Houston cleared to fly
Video System harnessed & Checked

Embedded Flight Software

Autonomy

Attendees

Name

Phone # (opt)

Sub-team

Driving

Role

 

Name

Phone # (opt)

Sub-team

Driving

Role

 

@Megan Spee

 

Director

toyota prius

pilot/organizer

 

@Nathan Green

 

 

rav4

pilot/GSO

 

@Amy Hu

 

Autonomy

 

auto land

 

@Georgia Vachon Westerlund

 

Ops/Mech

 

media

 

@Jane Zeng

 

Autonomy

 

 

 

@Yuchen Lin

 

 

 

GSO/organizer

 

@Neel Patel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flightline Team

Name

Phone #

Role

Reason

Name

Phone #

Role

Reason

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-Flight Preparation

Checklists

  • Motors Tested (directions)

  • Propellers Checked

  • VTX System E2E Checked on Pegasus

    • VTX system works

    • Camera switching works

    • Ground station relay works

    • All monitors & Goggles Work

  • OSD config’d

  • OFS config’d

Incident Procedures

Weather

 

Flight Test Timeline

Date/Time

Action

Notes

Date/Time

Action

Notes

800

Start charging batteries

4x 6s 5000mah (pegasus)

Houston

 

930

Final flight inspections

 

1000

Briefing @ WARG Bay

 

1010

Begin loading vehicles

 

1030

Arrival at Flight Test Location

 

DEBRIEF

Logs: https://uofwaterloo-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/uwarg_uwaterloo_ca/EprwSfOtGeZOom-fAK63e0gBZ2c94HDJ8xIIYBWXcJXheg?e=hJEmC2

Media Ingest: https://uofwaterloo-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/uwarg_uwaterloo_ca/EqjTFLI7eSZHil5CgZ13PYMBk9KPlNMFPESkOseTALivzg?e=tapYW3

 

 

Action items

  • Test the OSD with a multimeter to see why it was cutting out.

    • they do have a common ground.

    • so maybe the noise induces

    • ground is not 0. becomes noise in the ground line, so the difference between high and low voltage is negligible.

    • wires too long, so reduce the interference

    • Shorten wires for entire video system. move things around.

    • new mount that incorporates both the front and bottom video cameras

 

  • LTE system, test in north campus

  • look at forcing it to stay on 1 LTE network and not try switching

  • find LTE map for different towers

 

  • Secure antenna upright harder (tape or something temporary)

 

  • Test autolanding on pegasus

  • Test pathing on pegasus

 

  • check transmitters are on the drones

  • Make sure parameters are ready to fly on after configuration

 

  • calibrate compass on houston

 

  • Change arm switch on houston model to match peggy

 

  • Auto mission

    • integrate auto landing with pathing

    • take all the pathing waypoints from the conops and offset them so they’re at wrestRC

    • make the last waypoint go into auto land mode

 

  • Talk to mech about barbies or equivalent weight simulations

 

  • process the signal RPI data