Hovermap Setup on Astro

Mounting ST-X or ST on Astro

The mounting kit for Astro can be purchase from Emesent and includes the mounting bracket, fasteners, dampers, and IO cover, and cable.

Hovermap ST is too heavy for Astro, and can only be flown on Astro Max

Hovermap ST-X and Hovermap ST have different mounting brackets to balanced the CG of aircraft. Ensure you are using the correct bracket. Reach out to Freefly or Emesent support if you have questions

Remove the isolator and payload cable from the lower chassis. Then, screw the Hovermap dovetail bracket using the shoulder screws.

Use a 2.5mm driver and Loctite 222 on the screws. Be sure to tighten them down all the way!

Attach the ZPD connector to the IO panel on Astro.

Then screw the cover over the IO panel, torquing the bolts to finger-tight.
Connect the cable to the back of Hovermap.

Mapping Only - Astro Parameter Configuration

Update your aircraft to the latest firmware to enable Hovermap functionality, at least v1.4.6

Assisted or Autonomous - Astro Parameter Configuration

For assisted and autonomous missions, Astro parameters need to be updated to enable communication with Hovermap and to increase rate setpoint tracking on Astro. See the autonomous section for more details:

Assisted/Autonomous Flight

Pilot Pro and Hovermap Configuration

Live preview and connection is currently only supported with Pilot Pro + Astro

Install the Emesent Commander App on Pilot Pro. You will need to add your Pilot Pro to the Emesent channel of apps to download it.
1. Connect the Pilot Pro tablet to the internet via the wifi settings
2. Open the camera app on the tablet
3. Scan this QR code and copy the link when it pops up

Open the Freefly Updater app
Go to Settings > Repositories
1. Click on + ADD REPOSITORIES
2. Paste the link you copied from the QR code (alternatively type this: http://freefly-updater.freeflysystems.com/v1_third_party/emesent/stable_repo/)
3. Exit the Repository menu
You might need to enable Freefly Updater app in Settings under Install Unknown Apps
Go to Latest > Commander > Install
Open the app once it's downloaded
Permission Commander access pop up messages
Enter

The latest tested version of Commander is 2.1

Check that Hovermap is up to date on Cortex Firmware. If not, follow Emesent's documentation on firmware updates.

Latest Hovermap firmware for Astro is Cortex 4.0

This can be found once connected in the Commander app in the 'Web UI' page

Power on Astro, which should also power on Hovermap. Wait until the lights on the back of Hovermap to turn breathing blue.

Open Commander the app and click on the ethernet icon in the upper left corner. Click Change Hostname and set the IP address to 192.168.144.101

Refresh the Commander app and wait for an ethernet connection to be shown. This may take a few minutes.
You're connected to Hovermap through Astro!

Hovermap Configuration with Pilot Pro (Doodle Radio)

Context (Herelink vs Doodle Labs): On Herelink, standard RC commands are carried over SBUS, so the S2 (Autonomy) switch works with Hovermap with little or no extra setup. On Astro Blue (Doodle Labs radios), there is no native SBUS RC path; Freefly added MAVLink RC_CHANNELS passthrough support in Pilot Pro Firmware 2.2.0+ to enable S2 forwarding. The steps below are required to configure this on Doodle Labs.

Summary: Pilot Pro Firmware 2.2.0+ adds MAVLink RC_CHANNELS support so the S2 (Autonomy) switch can be forwarded from Pilot Pro → Astro Blue (Doodle Labs radio) → Hovermap.

Prerequisites

Hardware: Astro Blue (Doodle Labs), Hovermap payload, Pilot Pro
Software: Pilot Pro Firmware 2.2.0+, compatible Astro firmware, Emesent Commander
Files: HOVERMAP_EMESENT.yaml — input mapping preset

Setup

Configure Astro with Hovermap as normal.
Install & update Pilot Pro - Follow the instructions for Pilot Pro to update Pilot Pro Firmware and App so that you are running Firmware v2.2.0 or above.
Import the input mapping
1. Copy HOVERMAP_EMESENT.yaml to a USB drive; plug into Pilot Pro.
2. Pilot Pro App → Input Mapping → grant file access if prompted.
3. User Presets → Import → select `HOVERMAP_EMESENT.yaml` → Apply. (Controls may freeze briefly while settings are applied.)
If required, Configure AMC to talk to Astro
1. Tablet → open Auterion Mission Control (AMC) → Settings → Comm Links → Add:
  - Name: `Pilot Pro`
  - Type: `TCP`
  - Host: `192.168.144.20`
  - Port: `5790`
  - Save and Connect.
Configure Astro parameters
1. AMC using Advanced Mode, open Parameters and set
  1. MAV_0_FORWARD = Enabled (forwards S2; but increases CPU load)
  2. COM_RC_IN_MODE = Joystick only
  3. SER_EXT_2_BAUD = 500000 8N1
  4. MAV_2_MODE = Custom
  5. SDLOG_MODE = Disabled (reduces CPU; but disables on-aircraft logging, which will make any incident investigation or troubleshooting much more difficult.)
Reboot & verify
1. Reboot Astro and Hovermap.
2. In Emesent Commander, complete the autonomy setup. (The first scan may fail while parameters are set—repeat once prompted.)
Confirm the S2 switch state is reflected in Commander before takeoff.