Public Beta
You can now compose missions using simple instructions that allow you to control the drone's position, depth, and actions. Requires Blunux v4.0 or newer. This functionality is in beta.
The mission functionality is in beta. You should not rely on this functionality for critical jobs yet. Keep in mind that the drone does not have collision avoidance and you should keep an eye on the video stream while executing your mission.
The mission planning functionality is made available as a public beta. This means that the functionality is ready for you to start testing. We would love feedback on what types of missions you are testing out, and whether the functionality help you with your underwater work. However, you should not rely on this functionality for critical jobs yet. Also keep in mind that the drone does not have collision avoidance, and you should keep an eye on the video stream while executing your mission.
The quality of the position depends on the type of positioning system you use, and how it is configured. See our Help Center for updated information on how to achieve the best possible position for your drone.
How to use the mission planning feature
General instructions applicable for all Blueye ROVs
The mission planner is a module that allows you to create a list of instructions that will be executed automatically on the ROV. The currently supported commands are, go to waypoint, go to depth, wait, take pictures based on distance or time interval, or start and stop recording.
You can still use the mission planner if you do not have any positioning systems on the ROV. But then you will not be able to go to any waypoints. That means you can still go to a certain depth, or take pictures every 10 seconds. Let's say you want to sample the temperature at a certain depth. You can then go to 10 m depth, wait for 60 sec, and then return to the surface. To do this we need to create a mission plan.
The Mission planner can be found inside settings, on the navigation tab, under the “Mission” tab.
Just hit Add instruction, select “go to depth”, and enter the desired depth. Then hit add instruction, select “Wait for”, and enter 60 seconds. At last, add the go-to surface instruction.
You can also rearrange the order of the instructions in the list by dragging on the bars to the right. Once you are happy with your mission plan you simply hit “Start mission”. The mission is then sent to the drone and started right away.
The current mission will always be saved as you make changes to it, so when you open the app the next time the mission will still be there. So you can create the mission in the app in your office before you head outside and run it.
When the mission is running you can see the status will change to "Running", and how far you have come in the mission. You can always abort the mission by pressing the Pause button on the map, or under the “mission planning” tab.
If the ROV cannot complete its current instruction it will abort the mission and go into a fail-safe mode. This can happen if the vehicle hits a wall, the tether is too tight, or if it hits the seabed. You can always start the mission again by pressing Resume.
If you would like to create a new mission, you have to clear the current mission before you can create a new one.
When a go-to-depth instruction is running, you will see a new icon for go-to-depth on the depth control mode button. You can always press this button if you want to cancel the autopilot and go back to auto-depth or manual mode. You can also control the other degrees of freedom, forwards, sideways, and turning, when the depth auto-pilot is active. To reactivate the auto-pilot you have to go back into the navigation tab and resume the mission.
Go-to waypoints with an positioning system or a DVL
If you do have an external positioning system or a DVL, you can also add “go to waypoint” instructions. The easiest way to create a mission with waypoints is to create a set of POIs under the “POI” tab and select the ones you want to include in the mission. With the desired POIs selected, you tap the “Add to mission” button.
You will now be transferred to the “Mission” tab with a set of new waypoint instructions. You can still add more instructions and rearrange the order as you like. A waypoint can also hold a desired target depth. Click on the edit symbol to change the desired depth or altitude.
You can now see the planned mission in the "Map" tab.
Start with a short mission and increase the complexity as you get more comfortable.
NB! Before you start the mission, make sure you have a good position estimate of the ROV that correlates with your environment. Read the guide on “How to get the most accurate position” here.
When running a go-to waypoint instruction, you’ll get a new icon on the heading mode button. You can always press this button to cancel the auto-pilot. The depth and heading autopilot can be disabled individually. That means if you have an instruction with a go-to waypoint with a depth set point, and you see that the depth is wrong, you can simply disable the depth auto-pilot and adjust the auto-depth, while the ROV is still cruising towards the waypoint target.
When both auto-pilots are inactive the mission will be aborted, and you are back in control. The mission can then be resumed from the Navigation→Map tab. You can always see the current status of the mission at the bottom bar in the app.
Tip! Always watch the the video when you dive automatically, and remember that you can always abort the current mission by pressing the auto-heading and/or auto-depth buttons (depending on the instruction running).
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