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Autonomous_Control
Navio2 is a hardware shield that attaches to a Raspberry Pi. It provides the sensors (gyroscope, GPS, barometer), radio interfaces and servo interfaces needed to build an autonomous device.
1/17/2020 Upgraded to Ardurover 4.0 (latest binary version) Ardupilot (Emlid image 2019-02-27) Note: the 3.5 custom binary was tried, and while it was nice to have the rudder Arming, there appears to be a bug that shuts off the status OLED; hence the downgrade to 3.4.2
The configuration is ArduRover (2.4.2). By lowering the servo midpoint, we are able to fake out non-reversing servo/motors and have functional differential thrust.
Ardupilot is the software that runs on the Raspberry Pi, taking information from the sensors and controlling the motors and servos. Ardupilot comes in three 'flavors':
- Arduplane - for fixed wing aircraft
- Arducopter - for helicopters and quad-copters (drones)
- Ardurover - for land vehicles
If you can use the stock version, and possibly not the latest version; the Emlid image is the easiest way to go.
For custom binaries, use the following documentation:
At this time (5/2019) I am shifting from working with Arduplane to Rover. Hopefully the 3.5 version By setting the throttle mid-point to the minimum value, it effectively changes reversable motors into one-directional motors with the full throttle range.
Make sure to enable the SiK radio correctly.
Ardurover already has a 'boat' mode, but Ardurover assumes features of a car: primarily reversible motors (which we do not have) and the use of 'skid steer'. This would be a simpler software option, but require a major change to the current hardware (ie, trolling motors a bigger boat).
- Mission Planner Ground Station
Mission Planner software runs on a PC (or cell phone) and interacts with Ardupilot. This is the 'interface' for setting up Ardupilot and creating missions. This is the easiest software for configuration and set-up, but working with a lap-top in the field is less than optimal (screen visibility, etc).
For field work, I am using QGroundControl which is available for all platforms. The easiest platform is an old Android cell phone. Use an OTG cable to connect the Sik radio to the phone. This gives easy touch-screen control for arming and starting a mission. All functionality could be done from the phone, but screen size is not the most convenient, and processing speed can be an issue. QGroundControl has a virtual joystick that can control the motors in place of a transmitter, but at this time I cannot get it to start the throttle below midpoint (ie, the motors start running the moment the boat is armed); for now I am using the phone for arming, and the transmitter for navigation. Battery life (with the Sik radio) is also an issue.