{"id":1037,"date":"2018-08-23T20:59:21","date_gmt":"2018-08-23T20:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uavrt.nau.edu?page_id=1037"},"modified":"2019-07-22T12:26:37","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T19:26:37","slug":"using-mission-planner","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uavrt.nau.edu\/index.php\/docs\/control\/using-mission-planner\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Mission Planner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This section will discuss using Mission Planner to visualize vehicle data during flight and will describe how to create autonomous flight plans specific to vehicle tracking. For information regarding what Mission Planner is, reference Ground Control Station Background<\/a>. The documentation below is specific to creating flight plans for wildlife tracking but broad Mission Planning documentation<\/a> is available.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Flight Data Screen<\/h3>\n
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The Mission Planner (MP) flight data screen can be utilized by the pilot to obtain vehicle information during flight. The vehicle first needs to be connected over the 3DR Telemetry Radios (SiK Radio) using the Mission Planner connect feature<\/a>. Once connected the live terminal can provide current GPS location, artificial horizon, and a variety of other features. The figure below from the Arducopter website showcases some of the data present on the flight terminal. For detailed usage reference the GCS Flight Data Screen documentation.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Flight Plans<\/h3>\n
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The following section details two flight plans that can be\u00a0utilized for telemetry data collection. For the differences between a Flight Plan and Flight Modes reference Flight Modes vs Flight Plans<\/a>.\u00a0 The first flight plan is more frequently utilized by the team for tag localization and takes advantage of the range and directionaliity of an H-antenna. The second method provides an example of performing a search using an omni-directional antenna. Both tests involve using the custom drone described in The Vehicle<\/a>. These flight plans include utilizing a drone outfitted with a directional and omni-directional antenna and seeks to maximize and minimize the telemetry signal respectively. Both flight plans use Mission Planner\u2019s autonomous flight mode interface, and again detailed information for creating autonomous flights can be found on\u00a0Arducopter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Yaw Flight Plan<\/h3>\n
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The first flight pattern uses the VHF antenna (shown below) and a series of yaw flight plans to locate the direction where a signal is maximized. By determining at what heading the maximum signal is detected the likely direction of arrival (DOA) can be computed and hence the estimated direction of the tag\u2019s location is determined (for detailed information on this processing read Radio Telemetry<\/a> documentation). This flight plan includes 3 complete yaw rotations at two various altitudes as shown in the bottom right figure.\u00a0 As described in the introduction, this flight plan is created using Mission Planner\u2019s autonomous flight mode and although this flight plan demonstrates creating only two waypoints, a similar method can be used for multiply waypoints.\u00a0To build this flight mode, you will need to follow these steps listed below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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STEPS TO CREATE YAW FLIGHT PLAN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1:<\/strong>\u00a0Select the Flight Plan tab, located at the top left of the Mission Planner interface.<\/p>\n

Step 2:<\/strong> Find the location you wish to build your flight plan on the map (note: sections of google maps can be pre-fetched and accessed in the field when an internet connection is unavailable example below)<\/p>\n