Software Updates
#protip - Verify all Astro components have their software updated together to the latest by referencing the chart below to make sure there are no compatibility issues.
For instance, Astro software v1.6 is not fully compatible with the previous payload/gimbal firmware v1.6.
Current Firmware Version
Astro v1.7 Release Notes
Astro v1.7.2
Summary: Introduces integration for LR1 Thermal Module [Boson 640R], and various improvements
Release Date: September 2024
Versions in this package:
Astro Skynode: v1.7.2
AMC: 1.32.7
Notes
Read more details here!
New: Integrated LR1 Thermal Module [Boson 640R]. Includes spot metering and digital zoom up to 8x
New: Digital Zoom 1.0 to 4.0x digital zoom on LR1 and A7R4 Payloads for live preview and saved images/videos.
New: Tap to Focus for LR1 and A7R Payloads
New: Payload zoom on Pilot Pro right side rocker. Zoom function is now mapped to the right hand rocker (below R1 button) on Pilot Pro. This works for LR1 Payload, AR4 Payload, Thermal Module for LR1, Wiris Pro Payload
Fixes and Improvements:
LR1 Payload - Fixed an overheat condition on bootup
LR1 Payload - Fixed soft focus in infinity focus mode
A7R4 Payload - Removed incorrect 50mm infinity focus setting
AMC - Removed Structure Scan
AMC - LR1 and Thermal Module appear as EO/IR toggle when both connected
Distance Sensor Module - can now select between ft. and meters
Distance Sensor Module - displays +99m when max range is reached
Added support for up to 3 cameras on Astro
Known Issues:
Slow Mode's zoom rate scaling requires reinstallation. To enable it again, go to 10.41.1.1 Astro settings, find installed applications, and press the settings button on the Slow Mode app to initialize it.
Currently, video can only be recorded on LR1 and one additional camera (ex: LR1 and Thermal) simultaneously. Wiris Pro is treated in the software as one camera
Astro v1.7 Compatibility Table
Astro
SL8 Battery
2.1, 1.10, or 1.9
Pilot Pro
Herelink GCS (Legacy)
AMC App
1.32.7
Check the updates section in the Updater app
Payloads
Hovermap
1.3.2
Sentera 6X and 65R
3.9.2
Previous Firmware Versions
Astro v1.6 Release Notes
Astro v1.6.14 Bundle Release Notes
Summary: Support for Astro Prime, Blue, and LR1 Payload
Release Date: July 2024
Package version number: v1.6
What's New
Integration with Freefly’s Doodle radio modules, an NDAA and Blue approved radio module.
Freefly built firmware with optimized configurations for real-world Astro flights.
Pairing Manager
Channel change settings
Logging option
Firmware updates
Option to enable RJ45
Blue Security features that make Astro an approved Blue UAS
Ability to enable/disable individual security features.
• Ability to add multi-user authentication for admins.
Stealth logging option that removes positional information from logs. (Please note that having this mode turned on will conflict with PPK mapping workflow)
Mapping and Mission
Metadata updates:
See the latest version here
Added coordinate system to JPEG XMP metadata.
Added use of UTC time for date and time in Exif metadata.
Added RTK accuracy tag to XMP.
Fixed camera attitude in XMP tags.
Moved from DJI to Pixhawk XMP block. This is important to note for mapping workflows
Improved error handling when USB storage is disconnected.
PPK processing stability improvements.
New mission manager menu for integration with Auterion Suite Mission Sync.
Increased Corridor Scan max width to 500m.
Payload
Integration with Freefly’s new Sony LR1 payload
Advanced payload parameters in AMC
Automatic tuning profiles based on detected lens.
Video recording settings for A7R and LR1 payloads.
Added JPEG quality setting options to the menu.
Fixed the gimbal angles display in AMC.
AMC now displays payload gimbal firmware version number.
Fixed gimbal tilt drift caused by AMC
Exposed the option to set COM_RC_OVERRIDE behavior in AMC safety tab. When this setting is enabled moving the RC sticks immediately gives control back to the pilot by automatically switching to Position mode and if position is unavailable, then to Altitude mode.
Known Issues
A7R4 and Wiris payloads need their gimbal firmware updated to v1.7 or above. Not doing so will result in compatibility issues in performance.
Hovermap ST-X payload requires two parameter changes to work with 1.6 FW.
Set MAV_2_MODE = Normal
Set COM_RC_IN_MODE = RC Transmitter Only
Hovermap is not yet compatible with Astro Blue/Doodle variant.
Astro v1.5 Compatibility Table
Astro
Software
1.5.18
SL8 Battery
1.10 or 1.9
Pilot Pro
Firmware
1.1.4
App
1.1.11
AMC App
1.26.15
Herelink GCS (Legacy)
OEM
FFARU01231123
AMC App
1.26.15
Payloads
A7R4
1.6.2
Wiris Pro
1.6.2
Hovermap
Sentera
Astro v1.5.18 Release Notes
Summary: Remote ID Support, Astro FPV integration, ESRI Site Scan and other bugfixes
Release Date: March 2024
Versions in this package:
Astro Skynode: v1.5.18
AMC (Android): v1.26.15
Notes
New: Astro FPV Support
New: Added Sentera 6X and 65R options to AMC
ESRI Site Scan is now compatible with Astro v1.5 and above
Mission and Surveying Fixes:
Fixed a bug in the execution of missions with altitude changes. There was an issue with aircraft not always following the intended vertical flight trajectory between waypoints.
Fixed a bug where geotagged altitudes could be wrong when using a USB camera
Improved the Sony A7RIV triggering consistency during surveys. The jitter between triggers is now significantly reduced
Improved RTK geotagging. Previously, the vehicle's location was used to geotag images onboard the vehicle. Although the PPK workflow corrects for any shift during post-processing, accurate RTK geotagging must occur onboard for optimal precision.
Improved the speed in generating the necessary onboard PPK files by over 3 times
Fixed an issue with PPK process writing the same capture event twice in the Rinex file
Fixed issue that would cause the PPK status in AMC to be incorrect. In some cases the processing popup would never show up while in other cases it would show up but never go away
Fixed the 200 feet constrain on corridor width limit
Known issue: Site Scan Reality Engine does not correctly process the gimbal attitude, resulting in poor output maps. Current workaround is to use the Legacy Engine
More
Optimized video streaming to the GCS by reducing the number of data spikes over the radio link
Added VEHICLE_MANUFACTURER and MODEL for XMP metadata for easy ingestion by Trimble Business Center
Updated max yaw rate to 75 deg/s for more precise control
Added a guard to battery emergency logic. If a battery reports a sudden jump to 0% state of charge, Astro will do additional checks to see if this might be a faulty report, then it will initiate an RTL instead of a direct Land action.
Fixed and issue where slow mode intermittently using wrong camera for scaling
Improved data usage by not uploading photos to the suite that are taken while the drone is disarmed
Optimized photo storage on external USB stick. Depending on the usb stick write speed there could be situations where the photo storage would slow down the rest of the payload operations.
Fixed an issue that would cause the payload to never be detected after a brief payload disconnection
Added ability to center map on vehicle, on payload Center Field of View or both
Added software compatibility check between AMC and AuterionOS
Astro v1.4.6
Summary: Introduces the Pilot Pro integration
Release Date: November 2023
Versions in this package:
Astro Skynode: v1.4.6
Notes
(Read more details here)
New: Pilot Pro Integration
New: Velocity Control (aka Slow Speed Mode)
Operational Behavior Changes
Herelink GCS Updates
User Interface (UI) Enhancements
Status and Monitoring Improvements
Photo Gallery Updates
Mapping and Mission Planning Updates
Auterion Suite Integration Updates
Fixes and Improvements
Known Issues:
ESRI Site Scan Flight for ArcGIS is not supported with this software bundle.
Important Note for Herelink users -> Switching to Freefly Updater
Astro v1.3.2
Summary: Astro Software release that introduces the Wiris payload integration
Release Date: June 2023
Versions in this package:
Astro Skynode: v1.3.2
Herelink OEM build number: FFARU01230623
Notes
Introducing the Wiris Payload Integration. Read the manual here!
New service provider for terrain follow with v1.17.18. (AMC v1.17.17 or earlier will no longer have the terrain follow working starting July 2023)
Bugfix for a rare issue where orbit start commands would get delayed for multiple minutes
Known Issues:
Herelink suggests that you should update the Air unit as well. However you don't need to update the air unit.
ESRI Site Scan Flight for ArcGIS soon to add support for this firmware
Astro v1.2.10
Summary: Major Astro Software release that includes new Compassless flight mode, and dozens of new features and improvements
Release Date: May 2023
Versions in this package:
Astro Skynode: v1.2.10
Herelink OEM build number: FFSRU01230515
Known Issues:
v1.2.10 may display itself as v1.2.9 in AMC or in the Auterion Suite
Herelink suggests that you should update the Air unit as well. However, you don't need to update the air unit.
ESRI Site Scan Flight for ArcGIS soon to add support for this firmware
AMC Photo Gallery doesn't always load. This will be fixed soon
Download here
Read more details here
Astro v1.1.18
Summary: Several hotfixes that address safety critical issues
Release Date: February 2023
Versions in this package:
Astro Skynode: v1.1.18
Herelink OEM build number: FFARU010624
Notes
Several hotfixes that address SD Card driver and priority issues that caused an Astro to crash
Hotfixed SD Card driver to eliminate a possible hang when the SD card is disconnected during a wait for write to complete. This was the initial cause of the crash that triggered grounding
Removed PX4’s emergency logger priority boost mechanism which could hang the system if the logger or log_writer thread was already hung (possibly due to the above issue). This priority boost is what promoted the stuck logging thread to max priority, with the intent of capturing what was wrong, but instead caused the processor to hang in the high priority loop.
Increase semaphore holder slots so that there is no situation where it could run out during a resource contention. This can happen during shutdown where multiple modules write parameters at the same time.
Hotfixed px4io module to ensure DMA is properly closed and restarted in case of a transfer failure
Hotfixed px4io module to ensure that in case of corrupted SBUS data, the input processor can’t try and process more than the valid data
Hotfix for GPS dropouts affecting Astro functionality
Default GPS configuration now disables Beidou constellation processing on the F9P GPS. There is a suspected weakness in the GPS firmware where bad SBAS data may cause added CPU load on the GPS and it becomes overloaded, which may cause GPS lock to drop for a few seconds.
Known issue: During testing, a Freefly Engineering aircraft failed to fully complete the disarm process. The motors shutdown, but the system hung. This has happened 3 times to this specific aircraft, including on older firmware. It is still being investigated, but we don’t believe this was added in this firmware. It has only happened to one vehicle, and failed safely each time.
Testing for this release included
Hotfix specific test plan for the new changes
Full software validation testing
50+ hours of functional flight time across over 10 pilots and Astros
Read more details here
Astro v1.1.14
Summary: Introducting ESRI Site Scan for ArcGIS integration
Release Date: September 2022
Versions in this package:
Astro Skynode: v1.1.14
Herelink OEM build number: FFARU010624
Notes
New Feature: Integration with ESRI Site Scan for ArcGIS!
Complete solution - Freefly Astro integrated with Site Scan for ArcGIS provides a complete end-to-end drone mapping solution. From drone hardware, automated flight planning and execution, online and offline, to imagery processing on the cloud or on desktop, to advanced analysis in ArcGIS…
New Feature: ExFat support. You can now use USB drives with any memory size, and format them using a Windows computer. Simply select ExFat format.
Improvement: auterionOS and AMC now uses a global counter for the pictures taken
Bugfix: Fixed the camera pre-flight check fails
Astro v1.1.11
Summary: Astro Map initial release
Release Date: May 2022
Versions in this package:
Astro Skynode: v1.1.11
Herelink OEM build number: FFARU01220425
Notes
Operational Behavior Changes
New Feature - Failsafe change: Before executing critical and emergency battery failsafes, Astro now switches to “hold” mode for 10 seconds and shows an alert on the AMC. This allows the pilot to have an opportunity to take any manual action, such as aborting the RTL incase vehicle is operating below obstacles. RTL can be be cancelled by selecting any other flight mode.
New Feature - Initial mode behavior change: Astro will now boot into PENDING mode, and will transition to Position mode when GPS accuracy requirements are met. This prevents accidentally taking off before the Position mode is available and being confused as to why position hold and RTL failsafe is unavailable. If the pilot wants to takeoff before this (without GPS), they can switch to Altitude or Manual mode.
New Feature: Astro will now go through a 3 stage landing for a smoother touchdown. This autoland is available within 50m horizontally and 30m vertically from the takeoff location. Outside of these bounds, Astro will autoland using the 2 stage touchdown, as it did in v1.0.21.
Improvement: Mission pause and resume actions will resume the mission from the last completed waypoint
Improvement: Mission and cruise speed defaults are set to 10 m/s
Improvement: Default mission altitude is set to 50m
System and Other Changes
New Feature: Astro will now GPS geotag the photos with high accuracy and move them any attached USB storage device. High accuracy is achieved with the integration of camera hotshoe signals, and 1PPS time synchronization
New Feature: Astro will automatically write GPS observation files to any attached USB storage device at end of flight for use in PPK processing of flight path or photos. If the aircraft is powered off before observation file writing is complete, it will be placed in a recovery folder on the USB drive at next boot.
New Feature: Herelink runs an additional app (Skyway) to route telemetry and video to hotspot devices. This allows connection of multiple devices to Herelink hotspot and stream data and video from Astro
Improvement: Astro prevents flashing non-Astro firmware releases to Skynode
Improvement: Astro requires a magnetometer calibration after firmware update and parameter reset
AMC Changes
New Feature: AMC will display estimated flight time remaining in minutes as a bar at the top of the screen
New Feature: Herelink radio signal strength indicator in status bar
New Feature: Support for Astro Map system
New Feature: Progress indicator after landing to let users know when GPS observations are done processing. You can set aircraft parameter GPS_DUMP=0 to silence this notification (which will also disable writing data necessary for PPK processing).
Improvement: AMC now runs in background. Minimizing AMC app won’t trigger datalink failsafe
Improvement: Auterion suite pilot login
Improvement: Terrain collision calculations are improved when planning a mission
Improvement: UI for maximizing video window is improved
Bugfix: Performance impact of capturing hundreds of photos during a survey is reduced
Bugfix: Corridor scan will now trigger photos on all flight legs
Developer/advanced user Changes
New Feature: 1PPS pulse is available on the IO board ZPD connector
New Feature: Support for Mavlink Gimbal protocol V2 - https://mavlink.io/en/services/gimbal_v2.html
New Feature: Camera trigger and feedback is enabled
Improvement: External serial port is renamed from TELEM4 to PPB. Baud is now configured with SER_PPB_BAUD. Default baud rate is now 921600
Improvement: Astro now requires Smart batteries with firmware v1.9 and above (this should only impact beta testers, v1.9 was the initial public battery release firmware).
More Details
Astro v1.1.11 is based on AuterionOS 2.5 and APX4 2.5. Here are the detailed base image release notes
Known Issues
Switching from photo to video mode will work, however AMC will display an incorrect warning that it failed.
Herelink v1.0.1
Summary: Herelink bugfix release
Release Date: September 2021
Versions in this package:
Herelink OEM build number: FFSRU01210809
Notes:
Bugfix: This version fixes an issue with the wifi hotspot intermittently stopping to work.
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