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senseFly swinglet User Manual

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Extended User Manual
swinglet CAM
Revision 12 / September 2014
Copyright © 2010-2014 senseFly Ltd

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  • Page 1 Extended User Manual swinglet CAM Revision 12 / September 2014 Copyright © 2010-2014 senseFly Ltd...
  • Page 2 flight, damage due to loss of data radio connection, damage due to strong wind, rain or humidity, or other causes for which senseFly Ltd has no control.
  • Page 3 ANY OTHER OBLIGATION ON THE PART OF SENSEFLY LTD. Limitation of liability TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL SENSEFLY LTD BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF REV- ENUE, LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF DATA, OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF...
  • Page 4 Address senseFly Ltd Route de Gen ` e ve 38 1033 Cheseaux-Lausanne Switzerland Website: http://www.sensefly.com Technical support If you have questions on your swinglet CAM or accompanying software please consult senseFly Ltd’s Technical support website at the following address: http://www.sensefly.com/support/...
  • Page 5 Welcome to your swinglet CAM Congratulations on your purchase of the swinglet CAM, a complex and powerful yet intuitive autonomous mapping system. We take great care to develop and design the best possible hardware and software tools for quick, high-quality and...
  • Page 6 Package contents swinglet CAM airframe cables and spare propeller propeller attachment remote bands control camera with charger ground EPP glue modem battery packs User manual battery and remote chargers...
  • Page 7 • 1x swinglet CAM User Manual Depending on your order, your package may also include other items, such as additional payloads. Please verify upon delivery that your package is complete. In case of a missing item, please contact your swinglet CAM reseller immediately.
  • Page 8 Top face of the swinglet CAM winglets The swinglet CAM is an autonomous flying drone comprised of the following com- ponents: • Airframe: This is the main structure of the drone, made of durable EPP (Expanded Polypropylene). • Winglets: These structures add aerodynamic stability to the drone while it is in flight.
  • Page 9 • Data Link Antenna: Used by the drone to communicate with the eMotion software through the USB ground modem. • Pitot probe: This is the sensor used by the swinglet CAM to detect airspeed, wind and altitude. It must be kept clean and clear of obstructions to func- tion properly.
  • Page 10 flight and send com- mands if desired. Once your swinglet CAM returns after an aerial mapping flight it is the turn of Post- flight Terra LT to process the captured images fully automatically. While you are still in the field Postflight Terra LT analyses the quality of the captured images and...

  • Page 11: Table Of Contents

    Weather check ......Preparing the swinglet CAM for flight ....
  • Page 12 Advanced functionalities 4 Understanding aerial mapping with the swinglet CAM Waypoints and their properties ....Advanced polygonal mission area ....
  • Page 13 Charging the remote control ....112...
  • Page 14 7 Maintenance and repair of the swinglet CAM Updating the swinglet CAM software ....116 Cleaning and storage ......119 Full airframe and sensor inspection .
  • Page 15 Part I Quick start guide The first part of this document introduces you to the swinglet CAM and contains the basic information you will need to plan and execute a simple mapping project. A typical mapping project can be divided into three main phases: 1.

  • Page 16: Planning And Simulating A Flight

    You can download the latest version of eMotion and Postflight Terra LT at: www.sensefly.com/support/download Use the password provided with your swinglet CAM to access the download sec- tion. We recommend that you download and install Google Earth to take full advan- tage of the features of eMotion.

  • Page 17: The Emotion Interface

    Planning and simulating a flight C:\Program Files\senseFly\eMotion 2\usb driver\ C:\Program Files (x86)\senseFly\eMotion 2\usb driver\ See section ‘Updating the swinglet CAM software’ on page 116 if you have any difficulty with software installation. 1.2 The eMotion interface Thanks to the powerful tools available within eMotion, designing a mapping flight for your swinglet CAM is a simple process.
  • Page 18 The main screen of eMotion is split into four sections: • Map Area: The Map Area of eMotion displays a map with the drone’s cur- rent position, indicated by the symbol. A small Status Panel floats be- side the symbol, indicating important status information including the swinglet CAM’s...

  • Page 19: Creating A New Flight Plan

    • Control Bar: The Control Bar is used to issue various commands to the swinglet CAM while it is in flight, such as starting the mission phase or hold- ing position. It is also used to display and acknowledge warnings that may occur either before or during a flight.

  • Page 20: The Mission Phase Of A Flight

    50 for more information on waypoints and the various symbols presented in the Map Area. A complete flight plan for a swinglet CAM is divided into two separate phases: the setup phase and the mission phase. The mission phase includes waypoints and actions related to mapping and capturing images.
  • Page 21 Planning and simulating a flight Note: For more complex terrain and missions, eMotion has the abil- ity to set polygonal mission areas of any size and shape, and to au- tomatically adjust waypoint altitudes based on elevation data. These powerful features are described in more detail in section ‘Advanced polygonal mission area’...

  • Page 22: Simulating Your Flight

    The final step after you have prepared a flight plan is to save it to a file that you can load into the swinglet CAM when you are in the field. Select the Setup Phase tab from the Sidebar, click on ‘Save flight plan to file... ’ , choose a filename and location and click ‘Save’...

  • Page 23: Getting Ready For A Mission

    You can set the take-off location of the swinglet CAM by clicking on the icon and placing the point on the map. This simulates the action of switching on the real drone and letting it acquire GPS signals. You can test your flight plan by click- ing the icon, simulating a take-off...
  • Page 24 Status status LEDs To charge a swinglet CAM battery pack, connect it to the battery charger as illus- trated above. Make sure that the main power cables of the battery are left dis- connected. During charge, the status LED on the charger is solid red. Charging is complete when the status LED turns green.

  • Page 25: Executing A Flight

    CAM in flight. 2.1 Weather check Before each flight, you should be aware of the weather conditions. The swinglet CAM is a small drone that cannot fly in heavy rain or strong wind conditions. In case of doubt, make sure to check a weather bulletin including wind estimations in the flight area.

  • Page 26: Preparing The Swinglet Cam For Flight

    Quick start guide 2.2 Preparing the swinglet CAM for flight The swinglet CAM’s simple design means it can go from the box to being ready for flight in minutes. We recommend that you perform the following 5 steps before every flight to ensure that the platform is best prepared for flight.
  • Page 27 Note: A general inspection should be performed before every flight. It is also good practice to perform a full airframe check regularly to keep your swinglet CAM in good shape. See section ‘Full airframe and sensor inspection’ on page 119 for more details.
  • Page 28 Quick start guide motor propeller propeller attachment rubber bands Step 2: Install the propeller Mount the propeller on the motor axis. Secure the propeller using two attach- ment rubber bands as illustrated above. Ensure that the propeller is lying flat against the motor mount, and that the rubber bands do not show cracks or any other sign of aging.
  • Page 29 Step 3: Install the camera Install the camera into the payload bay⁵ within the swinglet CAM and secure it with the attachment strap. If the camera connector is not already connected, plug it into the connector with the icon on the swinglet CAM.
  • Page 30 Quick start guide Step 4: Install and connect the battery Lay the swinglet CAM horizontally on the ground outside in the vicinity of the take- off location, with the top face up. To install the battery, begin by connecting the power cables to the battery, making sure to match the colours of the cables to each other.
  • Page 31 Connection window. Select the swinglet CAM connec- tion profile, choose the corresponding FTDI port and click ‘OK’ . Note: Every swinglet CAM is paired with the ground modem it is deliv- ered with, and will only work with that particular modem. The name of the FTDI port corresponding to the ground modem is labelled as ‘MaxStream PKG-U’...
  • Page 32 Quick start guide indicating the current state of the drone. If the swinglet CAM has not yet detected its location the Status Panel will appear in the top right corner of the Map Area with the text ‘GPS: Waiting for signals... ’ . During this time the status LED on the drone will pulse blue.

  • Page 33: The Setup Phase Of A Flight

    2.3 The setup phase of a flight The setup phase of a flight includes the waypoints and actions related to the take- off and landing of the swinglet CAM and includes the following locations: • Take-off location: The point from which the drone is launched, automat- ically set to the location calculated from GPS signals by the drone when it is launched.
  • Page 34 It is important to carefully select the take-off location, the Start waypoint and the Home waypoint to ensure your drone remains at a safe distance from obstacles. The swinglet CAM should always be launched against the wind. Select a take-off location clear of obstacles (buildings, rocks, power lines, hills, trees, etc.) within a distance of at least 40 m in the upwind direction.

  • Page 35: Take-Off

    2.4 Take-off Once you’ve planned your mission and the swinglet CAM status LED is solid green you can launch it using the procedure on the following pages. Caution: Make sure to keep the propeller area free of all obstructions at all times during the launch procedure.
  • Page 36 Quick start guide Not horizontal! green blue status LED: status LED: solid pulse Step 1: Orient horizontally and against the wind Orient yourself against the direction of the wind, and confirm that the take-off direction in front of you is free of obstacles. Firmly grasp the drone with both hands, one hand on the front of each wing as shown in the figure.
  • Page 37 Step 2: Switch the motor on Shake the swinglet CAM back and forth 3 times longitudinally (within approx. 3 seconds) to begin the motor power-up sequence. The status LED will pulse blue until the motor is at full power and ready for take-off.
  • Page 38 ¹⁰ see section ‘Flight Parameters tab’ on page 102 to change this parameter ¹¹ The swinglet CAM may also be programmed to wait at the Start waypoint for a command before starting its mapping mission. See section ‘Setup Phase tab’ on page 82 for more information.

  • Page 39: In-Flight Monitoring And Control

    flight. A small arrow and infobox show the speed and direction of the wind as measured by the swinglet CAM. The Status Panel that follows the position of the drone displays basic flight information including battery charge, flight time and altitude, both above the take-off...
  • Page 40 The estimated area captured on the ground is displayed in the form of a continuously-updating polygon in the Map Area. Note: The swinglet CAM will not take a picture unless it is in the cor- rect location and altitude. Some reasons for not taking an image are strong head wind, large off-track distance or incorrect altitude.

  • Page 41: Landing

    Disconnect the battery from the drone before picking it up. We recommend you immediately import the images and flight data after each flight (see section ‘Im- porting images and flight data’ on page 43) before putting the swinglet CAM back in its case for storage.
  • Page 42 Critical failure until the moment it reaches the ground. Its position’s coordinates can aid in finding it afterwards. Instructions on how to find a lost drone can be found in section ‘Losing and locating your swinglet CAM in the field’ on page 146.

  • Page 43: Processing Image Data

    The file is required for assigning location information (geotags) to the im- ages taken by the drone. The file is also required and must be sent to senseFly Ltd in case an issue occurred during the flight¹³. A similar eMotion Flight Log file is created within eMotion during a flight and serves as a backup in case the Drone...
  • Page 44 Quick start guide select Flight Data Manager click OK Follow these steps to import data from the drone: • Step 1 - Select a flight: If the flight was monitored from the computer you are using to import images then the flight is saved within the local database.
  • Page 45 • Step 3 - Prepare data for import: To import the Drone Flight Log, con- nect the supplied USB cable to the swinglet CAM’s autopilot, marked with icon. Connect the battery to the drone if it is not already connected.

  • Page 46: In-Field Image Quality Check

    Postflight Terra LT for further processing. 3.2 In-field image quality check Postflight Terra LT software¹⁴, available as a free download with the swinglet CAM package, can be used to rapidly create a Quality Report directly in the field. The Quality Report that is automatically generated as well as the orthomosaic provide immediate feedback on the quality of the images gathered during your mission.
  • Page 47 Processing image data Top Toolbar Project Summary Layers Local Processing panel Automatic Reconstruction Map Area Report generation Step 1: select ‘1. Initial project processing’ , ‘Rapid’ Step 2: click ‘Start’ To create a Quality Report while in the field bring up the local processing panel by selecting ‘Local processing’...

  • Page 49: Advanced Functionalities

    Part II Advanced functionalities...

  • Page 50: Understanding Aerial Mapping With The Swinglet Cam

    flight. 4.1 Waypoints and their properties The swinglet CAM uses a flight plan consisting of a list of waypoints to navigate. A waypoint essentially consists of a circle about a given position and information that defines how the drone should behave when reaching them.
  • Page 51 Understanding aerial mapping with the swinglet CAM can store up to 50 mission waypoints. Setup phase waypoints (Start and Home) do not have an ID. • Active: Indicates whether the waypoint is active or not. Deactivating a waypoint by clicking the checkbox beside its ID will remove it from the cur- rent flight plan.
  • Page 52 (clockwise or counter-clockwise). • Radius: The distance at which the drone circles around the waypoint. Note: The swinglet CAM has a limited turning radius. Setting this pa- rameter lower than 20 m may cause the drone to significantly deviate from its desired flight path.
  • Page 53 Understanding aerial mapping with the swinglet CAM If a waypoint’s Auto-next parameter is disabled, the path directly after it will be dashed, indicating that a command must be sent for the flight to continue. Clicking a waypoint in the Map Area will display its characteristics (waypoint ID for mission waypoints or name for setup waypoints, altitude, radius and action) and will select it for modification.
  • Page 54 Advanced functionalities • Altitude: Hold down the ‘Ctrl’ button while left-clicking on the waypoint and moving the mouse up or down to increase or decrease the altitude of the waypoint, respectively. • Create new waypoint: Right-click anywhere in the Map Area that does not contain a symbol to bring up the context menu, then select ‘Add waypoint here’...

  • Page 55: Advanced Polygonal Mission Area

    Understanding aerial mapping with the swinglet CAM 4.2 Advanced polygonal mission area The mission area defines the area of interest where the swinglet CAM will take pho- tos. It appears as a grey rectangle when you select the ‘Mission planning’ tab and to calculate the flight plan of the drone.

  • Page 56: Mission Planning Using Elevation Data

    Improved SRTM elevation data will be downloaded as tiles from senseFly Ltd servers and overlaid above the map as a colourmap¹⁶. You can ad- just the scale and opacity of the colourmap by using the associated buttons in the bottom-right corner of the Map Area.
  • Page 57 Understanding aerial mapping with the swinglet CAM Activate the 3D mission planning feature by selecting the ‘Use elevation data to set absolute waypoint altitudes’ parameter in the ‘Mission Planning’ tab. Elevation data is used to adjust every mission waypoint altitude as follows: 1.

  • Page 58: Flight Visualization In Google Earth

    Advanced functionalities Note: It is recommended to visually compare imported elevation datasets with the default Improved SRTM elevation layer of eMotion in order to detect possible mismatches. This comparison should be done with a colourmap opacity value of 100%. More advanced controls of imported datasets are available in the ‘Elevation data’ panel of the Preferences pane of the menu.
  • Page 59 flight plan and the terrain. ¹⁷ While checking flight plans in Google Earth is a good safety practice, senseFly Ltd provides no guarantee regarding the accuracy and completeness of the Google Earth terrain model.

  • Page 60: Autonomous Controller And Modes Of Flight

    Manual Position During a typical flight the autonomous controller on the swinglet CAM will switch between various modes depending on its flight plan and the commands that it receives from the Control Bar¹⁸. The controller changes between modes during a typical mission as shown in the figure above, and as described in more detail in...
  • Page 61 Understanding aerial mapping with the swinglet CAM three times initiates the take-off procedure¹⁹ and changes to the Take-off mode. • After take-off the drone climbs with level wings²⁰, gaining altitude until it reaches the take-off transition altitude, by default 20 m²¹ above the take-off...
  • Page 62 Emergency Land- ing mode. ²² see section ‘Manual control of the swinglet CAM’ on page 106 for information on the various manual control modes ²³ see section ‘Troubleshooting’ on page 126 for a full list of In-flight warning and Critical failure con-...

  • Page 63: Flying Multiple Drones At The Same Time

    Understanding aerial mapping with the swinglet CAM 4.6 Flying multiple drones at the same time Operating multiple drones at the same time enables the coverage of larger areas in a shorter amount of time. This can be useful when the mission time must be kept short, for example because of varying lighting conditions.
  • Page 64 Advanced functionalities selected drone second drone connected to this computer drone shared through network Multi-drone panel Sidebar One advantage of flying multiple drone drones at once is to cover more area in less time. eMotion can automatically upload a multi-flight mission to all connected drones in a single click.
  • Page 65 Understanding aerial mapping with the swinglet CAM Clicking on the icon in the Multi-drone panel allows you to either connect a new drone or to bring up the Multi-drones preferences pane. Multi-drone coordination Traffic control Network sharing eMotion provides Multi-drone coordination options to synchronise various way- points and parameters among connected drones: •...
  • Page 66 Advanced functionalities for all connected drones. A stack will also be created to avoid collisions between multiple drones circling the Home waypoint. Caution: As eMotion defines the Start and Home waypoints in ATO. It is therefore critical for all drones to take off from the exact same location to achieve altitude separation and collision avoidance over these two waypoints.
  • Page 67 Understanding aerial mapping with the swinglet CAM Caution: All collision avoidance mechanisms are implemented by eMotion on the ground computer. The drones’ autopilot do not com- municate between themselves and do not have knowledge of each other’s positions. It is therefore critical to keep all drones connected to eMotion at all times and remain well inside communication range.

  • Page 68: Individual Photo Targets And Oblique Imagery

    Advanced functionalities • Share simulators on my local network: If this box is checked, all Network sharing options apply to both real and simulated drones connected to your computer. In unchecked, they only apply to real drones. 4.7 Individual photo targets and oblique imagery In some cases it may be interesting to take oblique photographs of objects, for example to provide a nice image for documentation or to increase the quality of 3D models that contain vertical facades and surfaces.
  • Page 69 ‘Begin sequence’ button in the Camera tab at any time to begin taking the images. The swinglet CAM will fly to the location of the first photo lo- cation, measure the wind above the location, and perform a dive (pitching down) manoeuvre to take the oblique photo.

  • Page 70: Emotion In-Depth Guide

    5 eMotion in-depth guide Goal of this section: eMotion is a powerful tool designed specifically to work with your senseFly Ltd mini-drones. This section includes a comprehensive guide to all the functionalities in eMotion to help you plan, simulate and monitor your next mapping flight.

  • Page 71: Toolbar

    The main eMotion interface is composed of a Map Area, a Toolbar and a Sidebar²⁵. The Map Area displays the current location of the swinglet CAM, a Status Panel with important information on the drone’s current status, and a Control Bar used to send commands to the drone (section ‘Control Bar’...
  • Page 72 ‘Generate Google Maps tiles and KML’ from the ‘Process’ menu within Postflight Terra LT. Whenever the swinglet CAM takes a picture, eMotion records the location and ori- entation of the drone and computes the approximate span of the photo on the...
  • Page 73 eMotion in-depth guide ground (or ‘footprint’). All the footprints taken by a drone are added to a shaded polygon outlined with the drone’s colour and displayed in the Map Area. This polygon represents an estimate of the area that has been photographed by the drone.

  • Page 74: Simulator

    Toolbar and the various tabs of the Sidebar in eMotion to see their effect on the swinglet CAM while it is in flight. Also be sure to explore the effects of the various buttons in the Control Bar on the behaviour of your drone. Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries! Aborting a flight or causing an emergency landing in the...
  • Page 75 flight. Note: this is a simulated action that is not possible with the real swinglet CAM. Instead of pausing while in flight we recommend that you use the ‘HOLD POSITION’ function to better simulate real flight conditions.

  • Page 76: Control Bar

    Clicking this button will instantly recharge the bat- battery tery of the drone. Note: This is a simulated action that is not possible with the real swinglet CAM while it is in flight. Wind speed and These fields are used to input a simulated wind speed direction and direction.
  • Page 77 eMotion in-depth guide Table 2: Control Bar Buttons Button Available Action WARNING²⁸ Active For yellow In-flight warnings, button text warning changes to ‘ACK WARNING’ and clicking will acknowledge the current warning. For red Critical failures, button text changes to ‘CRIT- ICAL FAILURE’...
  • Page 78 Advanced functionalities LAND NOW Anytime Initiate a Circular landing around a 20 m ra- Click 3x dius waypoint at the current location. Must be clicked 3 times in quick succession to be engaged. ABORT During Circu- Circular landing: abort current landing pro- LANDING lar Landing or cedure, return to the altitude of the Home...

  • Page 79: Flight Monitoring Tab

    Advanced Instruments The Flight Monitoring tab can be used to monitor the swinglet CAM during a map- ping mission and is the default tab that is displayed when you click anywhere on the map area that does not have a symbol. The tab is split into the following sec- tions: •...
  • Page 80 flight, including ground speed, altitude Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL) and the absolute position detected by the GPS on-board the swinglet CAM. ²⁹ see section ‘Troubleshooting’ on page 126 ³⁰ see section ‘Proper battery care’ on page 123...
  • Page 81 The column on the left displays the current air speed of the swinglet CAM as well as the desired air speed, in metres per second. The column on the right displays the drone’s current altitude over take-off...

  • Page 82: Setup Phase Tab

    Advanced functionalities 5.5 Setup Phase tab Take-off parameters Start waypoint After mission and take-off actions Home waypoint Landing Setup phase reset Flight plan actions The Setup Phase tab is used to define the setup phase of a flight plan. This phase includes the definition of the Home and Start waypoints and the actions to be taken before and after the mission phase of the flight plan.
  • Page 83 eMotion in-depth guide altitude. To enable this feature, expand the ‘Take-off parameters’ box and check the ‘Activate directional take-off’ check box. A new arrow is now dis- played on the map. This arrow defines the take-off heading, the drone will try to stay on the track defined by the arrow.
  • Page 84 • After mission: Use this panel to select the action you wish the drone to execute once it completes the mission phase. The swinglet CAM can either automatically go to the Home waypoint and land, go to the Home or Start waypoint and wait for a command or to restart the mission phase.
  • Page 85 XML file for later reuse. You can also save the current flight plan to the swinglet CAM’s on-board memory by clicking the ‘Save flight plan in drone’ button. Once a flight plan is saved in the drone’s memory, it will become the default flight plan the next time the drone is started and appear in eMo-...

  • Page 86: Mission Planning Tab

    Note: If there is no flight plan overlaid on the mission area rect- angle then the mission is too large and cannot be flown by the swinglet CAM. This can be for two reasons: either the distance be- tween two waypoints is too long for the drone to cover in a single flight, or the waypoints are too far from the Take-off...
  • Page 87 eMotion in-depth guide Mapping and mission parameters Advanced parameters Mission plan actions Resulting flight characteristics The Mission Planning tab is divided in several panels. The first panel, Mapping and mission parameters, contains the parameters that define the requirements of a particular mission: •...
  • Page 88 Advanced functionalities relatively low image overlap. Note: The preset values are recommended settings that have demonstrated good results when images are then used in Postflight Terra LT to create orthomosaics. Do not hesitate, however, to mod- ify these parameters to suit the particularities of the terrain you are mapping or the local regulations and airspace constraints.
  • Page 89 Note: swinglet CAM has a minimum distance between images that depends on wind strength and direction. The maximum longitudinal overlap depends on this minimum distance as well as the calculated altitude and the camera model. If the calculated altitude is too low the drone may not be able to achieve the required longitudinal over- lap.
  • Page 90 Default value: 1 • Wind estimate: The estimated wind speed and direction. Incorrectly set- ting the windspeed affects the estimated flight time of the swinglet CAM and may cause it to return to Home before completing the desired flight plan. Clicking the ‘Use current wind estimate’ button will copy the wind speed currently estimated by the drone to the Wind estimate field.
  • Page 91 flight individually. Caution: Clicking ‘Upload’ will directly modify the waypoints re- quired for the flight plan in the swinglet CAM. If the drone is flying towards or around one of these waypoints, its navigation will be af- fected to reflect the new waypoint parameters.
  • Page 92 Advanced functionalities all mapping and mission parameters to their last saved default values³⁶. • Restore factory settings: Click to restore all the parameters of this tab to their default settings. The last panel of this tab displays the characteristics of the flight(s) resulting from the selected image parameters: •...
  • Page 93 Ground resolution and Camera model parameters. The wind also has an influence as the ground speed increases with back wind. Note: The swinglet CAM has a minimum distance between photos that depends on the wind speed and direction. If the calculated dis- tance that is too short will be indicated with a icon.
  • Page 94 Advanced functionalities image, based on the Altitude over take-off location parameter (assuming flat terrain). • Number of waypoints: The total number of waypoints to cover the mis- sion area. • Elevation data sources: The elevation data sources being used to calcu- late the altitudes of the waypoints.

  • Page 95: Mission Waypoints Tab

    eMotion in-depth guide 5.7 Mission Waypoints tab Selected mission waypoint parameters Remaining mission waypoints Add or reset waypoints The Mission Waypoints tab contains a list of all mission waypoints currently on the drone autopilot. It can be used for finer control of individual waypoints in the current mission.
  • Page 96 Advanced functionalities Caution: Any change to the waypoints or their parameters are di- rectly sent to the drone and may therefore impact its flight behaviour. We recommend that you take great care before modifying waypoints while the drone is in flight. You can add new waypoints by clicking the button or by right-clicking on the Map Area and selecting ‘Add waypoint here’...

  • Page 97: Camera Tab

    eMotion in-depth guide 5.8 Camera tab Camera model Photo sequence control Photo targets Individual photos New photo target increment Camera control Camera parameters for mapping The camera tab is an advanced tab that can be used to precisely control the func- tioning of the camera.
  • Page 98 Advanced functionalities The ‘Camera model’ section is used to define the camera or payload currently con- nected to the swinglet CAM. The list contains all payloads currently supported on the swinglet CAM. The ‘Photo targets’ section allows you to program a set of photo targets that the drone will capture with an oblique angle.
  • Page 99 eMotion in-depth guide – Pitch: The pitch angle with respect to vertical of the photo target. – Altitude reference: The altitude reference of the photo target alti- tude, either ATO or AMSL. – Target altitude: The altitude of the photo target. –...
  • Page 100 The ‘Camera parameters for mapping’ section is used to define detailed parame- ters related to the camera and has the following functions: • Pitch angle: By default the swinglet CAM takes images at a default esti- ◦ mated pitch angle of 10 relative to the horizon.
  • Page 101 • Save parameters as default in drone: Saves the currently-set camera pa- rameters to the swinglet CAM’s autopilot’s memory. • Restore factory parameters: Returns the parameters to their default val- ues and automatically send them to the drone’s autopilot.

  • Page 102: Flight Parameters Tab

    Advanced functionalities 5.9 Flight Parameters tab Flight parameters General information The Flight Parameters tab includes some advanced functions that govern the over- all behaviour of the drone while in flight. It is separated into two sections: ‘Flight parameters’ and ‘General information’ . The ‘Flight parameters’ section includes the following items: •...
  • Page 103 Security action (return to Home waypoint) related to poor GPS ³⁷ see section ‘Manual control of the swinglet CAM’ on page 106 for more information ³⁸ see section ‘In-flight warnings’ on page 131 for more information on Security actions related to...
  • Page 104 • Restore factory parameters: Returns the flight parameters to their de- fault values and automatically sends them to the drone’s autopilot. The ‘General information’ section displays information specific to your swinglet CAM. This includes the current firmware and bootloader versions loaded into the au- topilot, the serial numbers of the airframe and the autopilot, the total number of flights performed by drone and the total time spent in the air.
  • Page 105 Note: The flight counter is incremented every time the take-off pro- cedure is initiated by shaking the swinglet CAM back and forth 3 times, even if take-off is subsequently aborted. Clicking ‘View flight database... ’ will bring up a window that presents a summary...

  • Page 106: Manual Control Of The Swinglet Cam

    The top left switch of the remote control is used to enable manual control of the swinglet CAM, provided that the remote control is turned on. When the switch is pulled towards the user, the drone will function fully autonomously in one of the autonomous operation modes.
  • Page 107 Manual control of the swinglet CAM can be achieved at any time if the drone is within range of the remote⁴¹.

  • Page 108: Pre-Flight Testing Of The Remote Control

    6.2 Pre-flight testing of the remote control If you plan to use the remote control during a flight we recommend that you first test it on the ground. Ensure that the swinglet CAM is set to Full Manual mode⁴² and follow these steps: 1.

  • Page 109: Full Manual Mode

    Ltd website⁴³. 6.3 Full Manual mode Full Manual mode allows you to have direct control over the swinglet CAM’s actua- tors, overriding all control from the on-board autopilot. The left stick controls the thrust.

  • Page 110: Assisted Manual Mode

    3. Firmly grasp the swinglet CAM horizontally with level wings using both hands, one hand on the front of each wing. Shake the drone back and forth 3 times longitudinally (within approx.
  • Page 111 Assisted Manual mode when in a large open space with no obstacles and low wind. In this mode the left stick is used to set the desired speed of the swinglet CAM. Setting the left stick between 10% and 100% sets a desired speed between 9 and 16 m/s.
  • Page 112 6.5 Charging the remote control When switched on, the remote control provided with the swinglet CAM displays the battery voltage. A voltage of 4.8 V or below indicates a low battery charge.
  • Page 113 Manual control of the swinglet CAM Note: The remote control is equipped with Ni-MH batteries that are subject to the ‘memory effect’ . To ensure optimal performance and battery life, recharge the remote control only when the batteries are fully discharged. Leaving the remote control on until it beeps can...

  • Page 115: Maintenance, Repair And Troubleshooting

    Part III Maintenance, Repair and Troubleshooting...

  • Page 116: Maintenance And Repair Of The Swinglet Cam

    7.1 Updating the swinglet CAM software Occasionally, senseFly Ltd releases a software upgrade for the swinglet CAM to provide additional features to our users or to correct potential issues. As of ver- sion 2.0.2, eMotion will check for new versions during start-up⁴⁶ and will display a message with update instructions if a new version is available.
  • Page 117 1. Connect the battery to the drone. 2. Connect the USB cable between the computer on which you installed eMo- tion and the autopilot of the swinglet CAM as shown in the figure. The con- nector is beside the camera connector and is marked with a icon.
  • Page 118 USB cable to autopilot 3. Click the icon and select ‘Updater swinglet CAM... ’ ⁴⁷. 4. Click ‘Update’ to begin the updating process. Wait until the process is com- plete, which is indicated by the text ‘File downloaded successfully’ .

  • Page 119: Cleaning And Storage

    102). 7.2 Cleaning and storage Use a damp cloth to wipe off dirt from the swinglet CAM. In order to avoid struc- tural deformation of the wing, it is recommended to store the drone either in its transport case or on a flat surface at room temperature.
  • Page 120 The inspection includes the following checks: Check 1: Motor and Servos The swinglet CAM uses a brushless DC motor to turn its propeller and generate thrust. The servos are the two actuators connected with carbon fibre rods to both ailerons. Damaged actuators can prevent the drone from flying correctly and thus it is important to ensure their proper functioning.
  • Page 121 CAM’ on page 147 for advice. Check 2: Inertial sensors ⁴⁸ see section ‘Manual control of the swinglet CAM’ on page 106 for details on using the remote control ⁴⁹ see section ‘Flight Parameters tab’ on page 102 for more details on these settings...
  • Page 122 Flight Monitoring tab of eMotion. To check the inertial sensors, follow these steps: 1. Switch the swinglet CAM on by connecting the battery and connect to eMo- tion. 2. Put the drone on a flat surface (typically an office floor) and check that the artificial horizon is level.

  • Page 123: Repairing The Swinglet Cam Airframe

    Caution: Never fly your swinglet CAM if it has cracks in the airframe. 7.5 Proper battery care Proper care of your swinglet CAM’s battery is important to prevent damage to your drone and to maximize flight time. With a fully charged battery, the drone will fly...
  • Page 124 Batteries perform better at medium or high air temperature and it is normal to observe shorter flight times in cold weather. The swinglet CAM is powered by a Lithium Polymer (LiPo) battery composed of three cells connected in series. A single LiPo cell can have a range between 3 V (empty) and 4.2 V (full) in its normal operating range.
  • Page 125 Maintenance and repair of the swinglet CAM Caution: If any of the cells of your battery pack are overly discharged the battery may be irreversibly damaged and becomes dangerous to charge. If the battery grows beyond its regular size or if any of the cells are punctured it is also likely damaged and should be discarded.

  • Page 126: Troubleshooting

    Goal of this section: This section describes the various error messages that may be displayed during start-up or while the swinglet CAM is in flight and provides some tips on solving the sim- plest problems. In the case of a more serious problem, this section describes how to prepare the required data on the problem and re- port it to your swinglet CAM reseller.

  • Page 127: Pre-Flight Errors

    The start-up process is described in detail in section ‘Preparing the swinglet CAM for flight’ on page 26. If an error oc- curs during these pre-flight checks the status LED will blink red and a description of the error will appear in eMotion.
  • Page 128 If the problem per- sists, perform Check 4 in section ‘Full airframe and sensor inspection’ on page 119. If this does not solve the problem contact your swinglet CAM reseller. High current A too high current was detected, which may be caused by an internal problem.
  • Page 129 If this does not solve the problem contact your swinglet CAM reseller. Invalid flight There is an error with the firmware in the drone’s au- controller gains topilot. User action: Re-connect the battery. If the problem persists, contact your swinglet CAM reseller.

  • Page 130: Take-Off Vetoes

    After successfully completing pre-flight checks the status LED becomes a solid green to indicate that the drone is ready for take-off. At this point the swinglet CAM continues to monitor its sensors and battery level. If at any point the drone detects a condition that prevents it from beginning the automatic take-off...

  • Page 131: In-Flight Warnings

    Troubleshooting 8.3 In-flight warnings While it is in flight the swinglet CAM can generate two types of errors: warnings and failures. In-flight warnings occur when there is an event that requires user attention but does not compromise the drone’s ability to continue flying.
  • Page 132 (failure Critical failure has occurred even if it is no longer ac- description) tive⁵¹. Security action: The swinglet CAM flies towards the Home waypoint at an altitude defined by the Home waypoint’s Change altitude parameter (by default, set to ‘Highest’).
  • Page 133 Change altitude parameter (by default, set to ‘Highest’). User action: Land as soon as possible and re-start the drone. If the problem persists, contact your swinglet CAM reseller. Camera sync There is a problem with the wiring of the on-board malfunction camera.
  • Page 134 Maintenance, Repair and Troubleshooting Camera power The camera is no longer responding, most likely be- malfunction cause it is no longer powered. Security action: If required parameter set in the Flight Parameters tab, the drone flies towards the Home waypoint at an altitude defined by the Home waypoint’s Change altitude parameter (by default, set to ‘Highest’).
  • Page 135 Home way- point’s Change altitude parameter (by default, set to ‘Highest’). User action: Land as soon as possible and re-start the drone. If the problem persists, contact your swinglet CAM reseller. ⁵² see section ‘Critical failures’ on page 141...
  • Page 136 Maintenance, Repair and Troubleshooting Airspeed The differential pressure sensor used to measure air- malfunction speed is registering invalid values. This may be due to a damaged sensor or to a clogged pitot probe. Security action: The drone flies towards the Home waypoint at an altitude defined by the Home way- point’s Change altitude parameter (by default, set to ‘Highest’) at a constant thrust value instead of con-...
  • Page 137 Troubleshooting Temperature out The temperature sensor on the drone is registering ◦ of working levels internal temperatures of less than -50 C or more ◦ than 90 C. This may occur in extremely hot or cold environments or if the on-board autopilot is dam- aged.
  • Page 138 User action: Keep track of the location of the drone during landing. If the drone lands outside of view fol- low the instructions in section ‘Losing and locating your swinglet CAM in the field’ on page 146.
  • Page 139 ∗∗ Data uplink lost This warning occurs if the swinglet CAM does not re- (if enabled) ceive any data from eMotion for more than 30 s. This can be due to a large distance between drone and ground station, a problem with the USB ground mo- dem, antenna positioning or interference.
  • Page 140 Maintenance, Repair and Troubleshooting ∗ Strong wind The wind is too strong for the swinglet CAM to navi- gate safely. Security action (if enabled): The swinglet CAM flies towards the Home waypoint at an altitude defined by the Home waypoint’s Change altitude parameter (by default, set to ‘Highest’).

  • Page 141: Critical Failures

    flight. This is the most serious type of error that can occur with the swinglet CAM, and is indicated in red in eMotion. The ‘WARNING’ button in the Control Bar changes to ‘CRITICAL FAILURE’ , becomes red and cannot be acknowl- edged.
  • Page 142 Maintenance, Repair and Troubleshooting known position in the air and in eMotion if possible and follow the instructions in section ‘Losing and locating your swinglet CAM in the field’ on page 146. Table 6: Critical failures eMotion text Description and Emergency action...
  • Page 143 Troubleshooting Failure: motor The motor is not working even after an attempted malfunction re-start commanded by a Motor malfunction In-flight warning. Emergency action: The drone orients itself in the di- rection of the Home waypoint and glides towards the ground while continuously trying to re-start the mo- tor.

  • Page 144: Resetting Default Camera Settings

    Maintenance, Repair and Troubleshooting 8.5 Resetting default camera settings The configuration of the included camera is critical for the acquisition of qual- ity images. In case of unwanted configuration changes, the camera can be re- configured to a suitable state using the following procedure. 1.

  • Page 145: Improving Radio Signal Communication

    30 s you will see a ‘Data uplink lost’ In-flight warning appear in eMotion. If for safety reasons you would like the swinglet CAM to automatically return to the Home waypoint when this warning appears, select the corresponding option in the Flight Parameters tab⁵⁵.

  • Page 146: Losing And Locating Your Swinglet Cam In The Field

    8.7 Losing and locating your swinglet CAM in the field We recommend that you write your address and phone number on your swinglet CAM (by putting your business card on top of the camera for example) in case it gets lost and subsequently found by a third party.

  • Page 147: Reporting A Problem With Your Swinglet Cam

    8.8 Reporting a problem with your swinglet CAM If there is a problem with your swinglet CAM, whether it is a software malfunction, damaged airframe or any other problem, we recommend the following actions: 1.

  • Page 149: Specifications

    Part IV Specifications...

  • Page 150: Software Requirements

    Specifications 1 Software requirements eMotion has the following minimum software requirements: Operating system Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 Hardware 1.6 GHz processor 2 GB RAM 500 MB free storage space Screen recommended resolution: 1920×1080 visible outdoors Postflight Terra LT has the following minimum software requirements: Operating system Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 Hardware...

  • Page 151: Drone Specifications

    Troubleshooting 2 Drone specifications Size Wingspan: 80 cm Wing area: 0.22 m Weight without camera and battery approx. 0.31 kg Nominal take-off weight (approx.) 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs) (with standard camera & battery) Maximum take-off weight 0.55 kg Material EPP foam, carbon structure & compos- ite parts Battery 3-cell Lithium-Polymer (0.10 kg)
  • Page 152 Specifications Communication devices Ground modem: • Frequency: 2.4 GHz • Range⁶²: approx. 1.5 km • Certification: CE Remote control: • Frequency: 2.4 GHz • Range: approx. 1 km • Certification: CE, FCC Navigation Up to 50 waypoints Carry case dimensions 55 x 45 x 25 cm (21.6 x 17.7 x 9.8 in) ⁶²...
  • Page 153 Troubleshooting Glossary AMSL Above Mean Sea Level Your swinglet CAM’s altitude can be shown and set in eMotion using ATO or AMSL. Your drone uses the EGM96 mean sea level standard for navigation. ATO Above the Take-off Altitude Your swinglet CAM’s altitude can be shown and set in eMotion using ATO or AMSL.

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