Drone Setup - First Steps Tutorial Unboxing and Initial Configuration Connecting to the Command Line Setting up a microSD autostart script Sensor and Parameter Calibration RC Calibration with QGroundControl RC Calibration with Mission Planner Sensor Calibration with QGroundControl Setting up a PWM-interfaced Multirotor Auto-Starting the Quad Control Software incorporate all information that is still useful into other pages! This tutorial explains in-depth how to unbox, set up and configure a PX4FMU autopilot with or without an additional carrier board like PX4IO or PX4IOAR - AR. It is important that the steps in this section are followed in order. If you have the PX4 Toolchain installed (most users won't) there is no need to install the drivers separately. Windows: PX4FMU and PX4FLOW Windows driver installer (32/64 bit) (Alternative: ZIP file, manual installation) Mac OS: Comes with in-built drivers, no additional driver for the micro USB port, but you need the VCP drivers (32/64 bit) on MacOS X Lion or above for the FTDI connection

PX4FMU is on delivery equipped with a recent (not the most recent) version of the PX4 OS. If it is not connected to a carrier board and has no microSD card plugged in, it will boot into the command line (NuttShell) and show a solid blue led. Windows: If it fails to install the correct driver, install the driver manually: Follow the instructions on the downloads page. Mac OS: Your operating system is not as broken as Windows and does not need a special driver. Download and install QGroundControl (QGroundControl Downloads) for your OS. This step will soon be replaced by an USB COM port. Right now (November 2012) this setup is however required. Plug your radio modem into the socket in the front of the board. The onboard applications will later be started from the SD card and the command line does not need to be accessed for normal flight operation. For this tutorial we will however start the applications manually. The instructions how to open up the terminal connection are taken from this page: serial_connection.

Download and install TeraTerm (if you have the PX4 Toolchain installed, it will already be installed on your system). Hit enter in TeraTerm. You should see the NSH prompt:On Debian / Ubuntu: Mac OS does already come with screen installed. Start it in the terminal with: Hit enter, you should see the NSH command prompt. Starting MAVLink and connecting it to a GCS is very easy: This starts MAVLink on USART2 (remember, all *nix systems count from ttyS0 upwards, and since UART3 and UART4 are not configured on PX4FMU: USART1 = ttyS0, USART2 = ttyS1, UART5 = ttyS2, UART6 = ttyS3). Connect now QGroundControl or Mission Planner on the UART / COM port where the second FTDI adapter is connected to. You should see heartbeats. Now close screen (press Ctrl+Alt, then press \. Then press Y) or TeraTerm. Fire up QGroundControl or Mission Planner and connect it to the port where TeraTerm was connected before. The instructions here are taken from this page: auto_starting_apps.

To start a very basic setup that does not actuate any servos, just gives sensor readings and basic GCS connectivity, create a folder etc on the microSD card and put a text file named rc in it (so the absolute file name is /etc/rc on the microSD card): If the same port is used for NSH / NuttShell and MAVLink, the start script needs an additional exit command on the last line to quit the shell. Also, you will (usually) be using UART1. The calibration includes the sensor calibration and the setup / calibration of the remote control. ar drone flight recorder with hullThe remote control can either be controlled manually via QGroundControl or automatically via Mission Planner.ar drone 2 koffer Connect mission planner and then choose the RC calibration dialog as shown in the video. parrot ar drone cyprus

Proceed through the dialog as shown in the video. First get and install the calibration widget for QGroundControl: Download the PX4 Calibration Widget: px4_calibration.qgw Enable the communication console, it will interactively guide you through the calibration. Select from Tool Widgets → Communication Console. Now perform first the static calibration: Place the FMU or vehicle on a surface and keep it still. Click on gyro to calibrate the gyro offsets. parrot ar drone ubuntuThen in the Calibration and Parameters widget, click on Write ROM to save them. ar drone 1 mainboardNext (if the FMU is mounted on a quad rotor) place the vehicle as level as possible and click on the ACCEL button. parrot ar drone autonomiaAgain click on Write ROM to save the offsets.

The last step is the magnetometer calibration. Click on MAG and then rotate the vehicle for 45 seconds around all its axes, so that optimally each arm reaches each point on a sphere once. PX4FMU will print a text message once its done. Again click on Write ROM. Reboot the unit to be initialized with the new offsets. If you place your vehicle level on the ground, it should show a level attitude. If you point it north (and there are no strong magnets or iron objects nearby), it should show north. Check the PX4FMU connectors page for details. Most users will want to use the MULTI connector. The same pins are also available on the EXP connector. Instructions mostly taken from here: auto_starting_apps. Put the script below onto a microSD card into the etc folder. The script should be named rc, so the full path is /etc/rc. ARM the quad with the throttle stick put to the lower right corner. Give it 30% thrust. Tilt the quad and check that the motor speeds change.