LR1 Payload Hardware Overview

Astro + LR1 Payload is designed to fill the needs of enterprise mapping and inspection workflows.

• Learn more about the Astro aircraft here.

• The LR1 Payload consists of a Freefly gimbal with an integrated Sony ILX - LR1 camera. It is developed for use with Astro and other vehicles that use the Freefly Smart Dovetail and the Pixhawk Payload Bus standard.

Installing the Isolator

Installing/Removing the Gimbal from Astro

Updating Gimbal Firmware

Updating Astro and AMC

Mapping Workflow

Inspection Workflow

Video Workflow

The LR1 Payload was primary designed for photography applications (mapping, inspection, scenic photography), but can shoot video as well.

Video Settings

The camera is capable of shooting up to 4K, 60 fps footage in 8 bit or 10 bit, with normal and Slog profiles

The External USB drive isn't fast enough to record high quality video, so videos will save the camera's SD card.

You can switch between taking images and video footage using this button in Photo Mode:

#Protips

• We have been getting good video results with the Sigma 24mm, Sony 35mm lenses, and Sony 50mm. The Samyang 75mm can sometimes have issues with stability during acceleration and deceleration.

• If you are seeing any vibrations in the footage, check:

  • You are using the right vibration isolator

  • The gimbal is balanced properly

Major changes and improvements from A7R4 Payload to the LR1 Payload:

• Decreased weight and increased flight times!

  • At 2cm GSD, Astro + A7R4 can cover 220 acres, Astro + LR1 can cover about 250 acres.

  • We are seeing an increase of 3-5 minutes of flight time

• Easier lens swaps/adjustment

• Better/faster autofocus

• Expansion ports for addition cameras and sensors

• Improved gimbal stabilization

• Improved video quality, video setting controls, color profiles, and frame rates

• Fold-flat design for better storage/travel

Distance Sensor

Mounting

Software Setup

Install the Distance Sensor App on your Astro, which can be found here. Version 1.0.1 is needed to work with the Distance Sensor Module

To install the app:

Turn on Astro with LR1 and the Distance Sensor module. Once connected, in AMC > Settings > Enable 'Show Distance Sensor App Output'. The distance readout should now be displayed on the Fly screen in AMC

Features

• Live distance readout (in meters) in AMC at ~5Hz

• Range up to 100m on objects with >70% reflectivity at +/-10cm

  • Below 10m, we have found the error to be within +/-4cm

  • When mounted, the front of the LRF is 44mm forward the LR1 sensor, which should be accounted for when sizing objects in frame based on the distance sensor data.

• Distance sensor value saved in LR1 image metadata (in meters)

Thermal Module

Mounting

Software

Switching between cameras views can be done by tapping the camera name, or by mapping 'Next Camera' to a button on the controller

Features

• Contrast - Auto, Custom

• Color pallet selection - White hot, Black hot, Ironbow, Rainbow, Rainbow HC, Lava, Arctic, Glowbow, Graded Fire, Hottest

• Zoom - digital up to 8x

• Image capture - Jpeg, Radiometric Tiff, both

• Spot temperature readout

  • Mix/max temperatures of region

  • Adjustable region size

  • Selectable Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin

• Togglable settings - Radiometric settings, Spot Metering, Isotherms

• Auto and manual Flat-Field-Correction (FFC)

• Geotagged photos

Example Data:

Variants

We have shipped two variants of the thermal module. Despite the difference in lens markings, the field of view of the lenses are the same and the image quality/sensor performance is also the same. The mass is different between the two variants, which means a matching counterweight should be used to ensure good gimbal balance and stabilization.

Default Tuning

When power is on, the gimbal wakes in a low-tuning state. The gimbal polls Astro for the lens information about the camera. Then, the gimbal selects the correct tuning parameters for the installed lens. Most uses will not need to change the gimbal settings from this default.

Custom

Users can run Autotune or set custom tuning parameters using AMC.

First, the user must enter Advanced mode by quickly tapping on the triangle icon in the upper-left corner of AMC. Then, the user selects Advanced > Parameters. Scrolling down to the bottom of the parameter groups, the user will find Component 154. Tapping the group expands the gimbal parameters labeled GMBL.

Autotune

GMBL_TUNE_% sets the autotune backoff percentage; 50 is a good starting point. The user starts Autotune by setting GMBL_TUNE_START to 0.

Custom Values

Stiffness, hold strength, and motor filters may be set as required.

Saving Parameters

1. Set GMBL_LENS_ON to turn off lens-based tuning.

2. Set GMBL_PRMS_SAVE to 1 to write parameters to memory.

Reset Parameters

1. Set GMBL_PRMS_RESET to 1 to default all gimbal parameters.

2. Set GMBL_PRMS_SAVE to 1 to write parameters to memory.

3. Reboot Astro.

The reset procedure restores lens-based tuning.

If you have issues tuning your gimbal, reach out to support and we can help!

Changing Lenses/External Modules

If you change the lens or add/remove an external module to the gimbal, go through the following steps to make sure the gimbal is configured to work with the new setup.

1. To balance the gimbal, first remove the lens cap from the lens.

2. Loosen the two finger screws on either side of the payload.

3. Move the camera forward and backward within the gimbal to achieve the correct balance. In general, you'll want to move the camera back for heavier/longer lenses and forward for lighter/shorter lenses. Shift camera foward and backward in the gimbal until the camera does not tip up or down when it is positioned horizontally and released.

4. To ensure the camera is very well balanced, test pointing the camera ~30 deg up/down; a well-balanced camera will not move in either of these two positions.

5. Once you achieve a good balance, tighten the finger screws so your camera stays firmly in place.

1. With the gimbal already connected, power on Astro

2. The gimbal may have weak motor power for up to 30s on bootup, before the gimbal is reconfigured by Astro with different tuning based on the lens.

Default Configuration

By default, the LR1 Payload comes balanced and tuned with the Sigma 24mm F3.5 lens, which covers most mapping applications. However, the gimbal can be re-configured with other lenses and external modules for other use cases!

Supported Lenses

Supported External Modules

The LR1 Payload currently supports two external modules from Freefly:

If you would like to integrate your own module, check out this section below:

The two 4-pin GH connectors are expansion ports for adding thermal cameras, wide cameras, laser range finders, and other custom modules. They are both USB 2.0 connections. Connector: JST GH 3-pin

The 3-pin GH connector provides 5v and 12v power out.

Mapping Payload Hardware Overview

The A7R4 Payload is a fully integrated camera and gimbal system for enterprise mapping workflows.

• Learn more about the

• The A7R4 Payload consists of a Freefly gimbal with an integrated Sony A7R4 camera. It is developed for use with Astro and other vehicles that use the Freefly Smart Dovetail and the Pixhawk Payload Bus standard.

Gimbal Packing Foam

The foam we designed is the safest way to pack and ship your mapping payload. However, it can be cumbersome to figure out how to attach it for the first time. Here is a #protip video showing you how we do it.

Installing/Removing the Gimbal from Astro

The LR1 Payload is a next generation high resolution payload using the Sony ILX-LR1 camera, integrated into a Freefly mini gimbal.

The 61 megapixel image resolution is ideal for mapping and inspections, and the gimbal provides expansion ports for other sensors, allowing the payload to work for a wide range of use-cases. It ships with a 24 mm lens, and are supported.

The payload is optimized for photogrammetry. It also supports inspection and scenic photography.

Performance

The LR1 Payload's high pixel count allows you to cover a large amount of area quickly at low resolution, or collect very high-resolution imagery at lower altitudes. Approximate GSD, coverage per flight, and expected altitude are listed below for reference. This is based on a 70% forward and 65% side overlap, single pass (no crosshatch).

A single Astro flight with the LR1 Payload is typically 25-29 minutes. The exact time depends on the survey area's geometry, the number of turns required, and the flight speed, as well as environmental factors such as wind speed and direction. Note that the time presented in AMC is an estimate, and not adding return or transit waypoints may affect its calculation. A good rule of thumb is to aim for an AMC-calculated flight duration of <23 minutes. This should allow the flight to complete and return before hitting the battery reserve.

Camera Body

Sony ILX-LR1

Weight

Astro's maximum payload weight is 1500 grams.

Ingress

The LR1 Payload is not IP ingress rated, as the ILX-LR1 camera itself is not IP rated. We do not recommend flying in rain or very dusty enviroments.

Gimbal

Lenses

These are the lenses we have tested with, but other lenses and additional modules can work as well. Learn more about configuring the gimbal here:

Lens selection in AMC only matters for mission planning calculations (overlap, photo trigger, etc) and for infinity focus to work properly.

If you plan a mission with a non-standard lens, make sure that the correct lens is selected in the Survey section of the Plan screen. If your lens isn't on the dropdown, you can enter the details manually by selecting Custom Camera instead of a specific lens.

When changing lenses, select your lens from the Focal Length dropdown in Camera Settings found in the camera settings.

Performance

The A7R4 Payload's high pixel count allows you to cover a large amount of area quickly at low resolution, or collect very high-resolution imagery at lower altitudes. Approximate GSD, coverage per flight, and expected altitude are listed below for reference. This is based on a 70% forward and 65% side overlap, single pass (no crosshatch).

A single Astro flight with the A7R4 Payload is typically 25 minutes. The exact time depends on the survey area's geometry, the number of turns required, and the flight speed, as well as environmental factors such as wind speed and direction. Note that the time presented in AMC is an estimate, and not adding return or transit waypoints may affect its calculation. A good rule of thumb is to aim for an AMC-calculated flight duration of 22-23 minutes. This should allow the flight to complete and return before hitting the battery reserve.

Camera Body

Sony A7RIV-A

Weight

Astro's maximum payload weight is 1500 grams.

Gimbal

Lenses

Lens selection in AMC only matters for mission planning calculations (overlap, photo trigger, etc) and for infinity focus to work properly.

If you plan a mission with a non-standard lens, make sure that the correct lens is selected in the Survey section of the Plan screen. If your lens isn't on the dropdown, you can enter the details manually by selecting Custom Camera instead of a specific lens.

When changing lenses, select your lens from the Focal Length dropdown in Camera Settings found in the camera settings.

If your lens isn't on the dropdown, pick any lens from that menu and use auto-focus.

• Brightness: Adjusts the brightness of the images. Higher values result in a lighter image.

  • Min: 0 Max: 255 Default: 128

• Contrast: Adjusts image contrast. Higher values result in more contrast.

  • Min: 0 Max: 255 Default: 128

• Sharpen: Adjusts the edge sharpening filter to bring out edges within an image. Higher values increase the sharpening effect.

  • Min: 0 Max: 15 Default: 0

• Denoise: This averages the image over time with image-to-image registration to dampen possible disruptive visual effects such as heat shimmer, scintillation, and turbulence.

  • Min: 0 Max: 255 Default: 0

• AGC ROI: Adjusts the region of interest (ROI) when performing automatic gain corrections. This percentage controls the percentage of the frame used for AGC. The default performs AGC on the entire frame.

  • Min: 0 Max: 100 Default: 100

• Manual AGC: This option freezes the current AGC settings.

  • Options:

    • On

    • Off

  • Default: Off

• Gas Detection: This setting controls gas enhancement mode (GEM), which enhances and colorizes gas detectable by the OGI sensor.

  • Options:

    • On

    • Off

  • Default: Off

• Stabilization Mode: Enables digital stabilization.

  • Options:

    • On

    • Off

  • Default: Off

• Enhancement Mode: Two different contrast enhancement modes are available: CLAHE and LAP. Once an enhancement mode is selected, additional settings can be configured to configure it. Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) brings out hard-to-see (low contrast) features in the video, including those with brighter and darker areas.

Local Area Processing (LAP) brings out hard-to-see (low-contrast) features. LAP emphasizes differences from the local image average to provide an increased amount of detail in low-contrast areas of a video or image. The algorithm makes details visible in underexposed or overexposed portions of the image.

• Strength:

  • In CLAHE, the Strength parameter controls the contrast limit. A larger value allows the algorithm to map a larger contrast but can also tend to bring out more noise.

  • In LAP, the Strength parameter controls the kernel size used in the processing. A larger value provides more enhancement. Values are between 0 (minimal enhancement) and 18 (maximum enhancement). For LAP mode, there are no additional enhancement benefits after 18.

  • Min: 0 Max: 128 Default: 0

• Alpha Blend: This allows mixing (alpha blending) the output of the enhancement algorithm with the input to the Enhance Stage. This allows a user to soften the effects of the contrast enhancement stage. Higher values blend more of the enhanced image, while lower values use less of it.

  • Min: 0 Max: 1.0 Default: 0.8

• NUC Table: The OGI has two NUC tables that provide optimum performance for different scene temperature ranges. You may switch between them anytime using the NUC Table radio buttons in WIND Viewer. A shorter integration time is recommended in the overlapping range of 25°C – 40°C (where either table is applicable).

  • Options:

    • Table 0

    • Table 1

  • Default: Table 1

• FFC: The Ventus OGI offers a 1-point FFC (flat field offset correction) using an internal shutter and two 2-point NUC (gain) tables. An FFC should be performed to remove spatial noise and non-uniformities, which may develop as the camera and optics reach a stable operating temperature. Select Run to execute an FFC.

• Color Palette: Various false-color palettes may be applied to the video.

  • Options:
  • Default: None

Mapping Workflow

Inspection Workflow

Video Workflow

A7R-IV payload is primarily intended for photos, but with some minor modifications it can be used to record video.

Data transfer to USB-C is not fast enough to record video at the Sony A7R-IV’s fidelity. As such, video needs to be recorded to the Sony A7R-IV's internal memory card. You will need to purchase a faster SD card in order to record at full quality. We have tested this Lexar Professional SD card, but any full-sized UHS-II SD card should work. You will also need to change the location to which the camera saves videos and images. Press the icon on the right of the screen while in Photo Mode, and change the Image Storage dropdown to Camera.

Once these settings are changed, you can switch between taking images and video footage using this button in Photo Mode:

Camera Settings

AMC provides control of these settings in flight by pressing the icon on the right of the screen while in Photo Mode:

AMC will override these camera body settings:

• Shooting Mode dial, if set to P.

• Exposure Compensation dial, if set to 0.

Other camera body controls and menu options will be honored. For example:

• Focus Mode (e.g. wide, zone).

• Exposure Metering Mode (e.g. spot).

• Exposure Compensation dial, if set to non-0 value.

Saving Photos to Camera and USB Simultaneously

Changing A7R-IV Settings

Astro remembers the settings that you can change within the AMC software. Next time you power on the system and when the camera establishes a connection with Astro, Astro will set these settings.

If a setting is not exposed in the app, we are most likely not overriding this setting. In order for these settings to be changed and saved even if the unit is powered off, follow the below procedure:

• Using the wheel on the controller, tilt the gimbal/camera down at an angle so it's easier to access the buttons on the camera.

• Using the menu or “fn” buttons on the camera, change the desired settings.

• Turn the camera power off by using the rotary switch on top of the camera.

• Wait 10 seconds. The camera takes a while to save settings to its own memory.

• Power the camera back on. Confirm that the settings that you changed have persisted.

Resetting a7R-IV Settings

Resetting Camera to defaults for Astro Mapping

The USB-C connector needs to be disconnected from the left side of the camera to reset the camera settings in Menu > Setup7 > Setting Reset > Camera Settings Reset. Use a thin driver to unplug and connect the USB-C, as it helps with the lack of clearance afforded by the gimbal.

Changing Camera Settings

Here's an example video of the camera settings being changed (switching from JPEG to RAW, in this case).

Balancing Procedure

• Loosen both fasteners in the camera hotshoe as well as the ¼-20 fastener with the washer so the camera is free to slide forward/backward.

• Hold the gimbal by its Pan/Roll arms and ensure the tilt motor can spin freely.

• Shift camera forward/backward in its slot until the camera does not tip up or down when it is positioned horizontally and released.

• To ensure the camera is very well balanced, test pointing the camera ~30 deg up/down; a well balanced camera will also not move in either of these two positions.

• Once the camera balance is correct, tighten the ¼-20 fastener as well as the two fasteners on the hotshoe.

Gas Enhancement Mode (GEM) On/Off may be mapped to a Pilot Pro button for easy GEM toggling. Follow the instructions below to configure your Pilot Pro.

1. Open AMC.

2. To access the Controller settings menu, tap the Auterion logo at the upper left of AMC and then tap Controller.

1. Switch to the Joystick settings and pick Next Custom Action Camera 1 for the button you want to use. In the screenshots below, the button R2 on the right-hand Pilot Pro grip is used. The Joystick screen will show button presses to show Pilot Pro button mapping to AMC buttons 0-14. Press any button on Pilot Pro to illuminate the corresponding AMC button number.

1. GEM mode may now be toggled on/off by pressing the assigned button.

Ventus OGI Payload Hardware Overview

Learn more about the Astro aircraft here:

The Ventus OGI Payload comprises a Freefly gimbal and an integrated Sierra-Olympia Ventus OGI camera core. It was developed for Astro and other vehicles compatible with the Freefly Smart Dovetail and the Pixhawk Payload Bus standard. More information about how to interface this payload with another aircraft is available here:

Updating Astro and Herelink

Installing & Removing the OGI Payload from Astro:

Precise Control

Live Inspection

• Astro's flight path is displayed with a red line on the map in AMC, which can help you see the area the aircraft has already covered.

• Live video from the aircraft to the Auterion Suite is possible with a strong LTE connection. Additional information on setting up LTE on Astro is here:

• The Ventus OGI camera provides a 640x480 infrared image with a 1-8x digital zoom. When approaching an object of interest, we recommend keeping the aircraft a safe distance away and zooming in as much as needed to see the detail level required for inspections.

• When using Slow Speed Mode, camera tilt and pan are scaled with the zoom rate, so the control inputs become less sensitive the more zoomed the camera is.

Viewing Media

Images and videos can be previewed in the gallery in AMC during or after a flight.

Images from the camera are saved as JPEGs and opened in most photo software. Video is saved in MPEG-TS format with embedded KLV data.

USB Drive

All media is saved to the USB drive on Astro. To download photos and videos from the USB drive, remove it from Astro and insert it into a computer. Files are organized by flight in time-stamped folders.

First things first

#Protips

Limitations

Gimbal

More details can be found in the isolator section

Troubleshooting

Gimbal tilt controls are reversed

General Info

Flight Time

A single flight with Astro carrying the OGI Payload is typically ~25 minutes. Note that the time presented in AMC is an estimate. The exact time depends on several factors, such as temperature, air density, wind speed, direction, and the aircraft's flight profile.

Ventus OGI Camera Specs

Infrared Camera:

A full list of the Ventus OGI specifications can be found on Sierra Olympia’s website:

Weather

• While Astro can fly in the rain, the Wiris Pro camera does not offer any ingress protection, so we do not recommend flying in any precipitation.

• In cold temperatures:

  • We recommend allowing 3-5 minutes of warm-up time after powering on. This allows the IR sensor inside the Wiris Pro to reach a steady operating temperature for the most accurate temperature measurements. During the warmup time, the gimbal and camera will still work as normal, however the temperature data from the IR sensor may be less accurate.

  • Make sure your Astro batteries don't get too cold. More info can be found in this section of the wiki.

• The Wiris Pro Payload matches Astro's operational temperature range of -20C to +50C

Checks

• Check that the Wiris Pro Payload is secured in the Smart Dovetail mount and that the safety latch is closed.

• When you’re ready to fly, perform the standard preflight checks for Astro (found below).

Example Output

Click the link below to download sample images in all possible formats.

When images are saved to the USB drive, they are geotagged with the GPS lat. and long. Gimbal attitude is visible in the gallery, but is not currently included in the image meta data.

These are viewable in the gallery or in the metadata of the image on a PC

Viewing Media

Images can be previewed in the gallery in AMC during or after a flight.

Images from the EO camera can be saved in JPEG or TIFF format, and can be opened in most photo software. EO Video is saved as an MP4 file, IR video as a .AVI file.

Images from the IR camera can be saved as a Radiometric JPEG or TIFF. Video can be saved as Thermal Encoded or as Radiometric video. Workswell ThermoLab software is required to view thermal video shot in Radiometric mode, and can be downloaded here:

USB Drive

• To download photos from the USB drive, remove it from Astro and insert it into a computer. Then, move the files off

Wiris Pro SSD

• To remove media stored on the SSD, first power the Wiris Pro Payload on the aircraft. Then connect a cable to the micro-USB port on the side of the Wiris Pro. The drive should appear on a computer as ‘Wiris SSD’, with the files organized in folders by date.

• Drag the selected media off the Wiris SSD folder on to your computer.

• Right-click and 'Eject' the Wiris drive, then power off the drone and gimbal

Wiris Pro Payload Hardware Overview

Learn more about the Astro aircraft here:

The Wiris Pro Payload consists of a Freefly gimbal and an integrated Wiris Pro camera. It is developed for use with Astro and other vehicles that are compatible with the Freefly Smart Dovetail and the Pixhawk Payload Bus standard. More information about how to interface this payload with another aircraft is available here:

Updating Astro and Herelink

Installing & Removing the Wiris Pro Payload from Astro:

Swapping out the Wiris Foam Insert

We offer an option foam insert for the Astro hard case. It replaces the insert for the Mapping Payload, so you can store Astro with the Wiris Pro payload installed

• Start by removing the Mapping Payload insert. There is a velcro strip on the bottom of the foam

• Insert the Wiris Pro payload bottom foam. Note the orientation

• Install the upper piece of the foam around the gimbal from the front of Astro

First things first

#Protips

Learn about it under the Precise Gimbal Control section

Limitations

Gimbal

More details can be found in the isolator section

Wiris

Check out the Formatting Media section for more info

Troubleshooting

Video doesn't come up

IR video is black

This can happen if the thermal exposure is set very far off from what the camera is looking at.

Gimbal tilt controls are backwards

General Info

Range of Motion:

Numbers are maximums from a forward-facing and horizon-leveled position.

Flight Time

A single flight with Astro carrying the Wiris Pro Payload is typically 25-30 minutes. Note that the time presented in AMC is an estimate. The exact time depends on a number of factors such as temperature, air density, wind speed, and direction, as well as the flight profile of the aircraft.

Wiris Pro Camera Specs

Thermal Infrared Camera:

Visible Electro-Optic Camera:

SSD capacity: 128GB

A full list of Wiris Pro specifications can be found on Workswell’s website:

Weather

• While Astro can fly in the rain, the Ventus OGI camera requires more stable conditions for leak detection, so we do not recommend flying in any precipitation.

• Sensor cooling:

  • It takes approximately 10 minutes for the camera’s cryocooler to reach a stable operating temperature. During this time, the imager may display a cool-down pattern.

• The Astro's operational temperature range is -20C to +50C.

Checks

• Check that the payload is secured in the Smart Dovetail mount and that the safety latch is closed.

• When you’re ready to fly, perform the standard preflight checks for Astro (found below).

USB Drive

Wiris Pro SSD

Download via PC

• To remove media stored on the SSD, first power the Wiris Pro Payload on the aircraft. Then connect a cable to the micro-USB port on the side of the Wiris Pro. The drive should appear on a computer as ‘Wiris SSD’, with the files organized in folders by date.

• Drag the selected media off the Wiris SSD folder on to your computer.

• Right-click and 'Eject' the Wiris drive, then power off the drone and gimbal

Formatting Wiris SSD

The formatting option for the SSD of the Wiris Pro can be found in the camera settings under Advanced SSD Options - Format SSD

• The will restart the connection to the Wiris Pro and takes about 30-60s to complete. It is normal for video to briefly stop working as the connection is re-established

Connector

Wiris Pro Payload uses the Smart Dovetail interface for power, data, and control. Pinouts for this connector can be found at both links bellow:

The Wiris video and control is passed through over the ethernet pins on the smart dovetail. Info on communicating with the camera can be found in the document bellow.

The gimbal utilizes Mavlink for control from the aircraft over the UART pins.

Power requirements:

The Wiris is powered directly from the gimbal, these specs account for the entire package in operation. Power is drawn from the V_BATT pins on the Smart Dovetail pinout.

Updating Wiris Pro Software:

You shouldn't need to update the Wiris Pro firmware. If you are advised by Freefly support to do so, here is the process:

• First remove the micro SD card from the side of the Wiris Pro and insert it into a computer.

• Download the firmware. The file format is .tar so you may need to enable downloading this format in your web browser. The latest supported version of Wiris Pro firmware is 1.6.42

• Place the firmware file on the micro SD card, then re-insert it into the Wiris Pro.

• Remove the ethernet cable from the back of the Wiris Pro.

• Attach the gimbal to the aircraft; power on the aircraft and gimbal.

• Tilt the gimbal about 45 degrees down to allow access to the cable ports.

  • Use the Herelink tilt wheel to tilt the gimbal

• Attach a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable to Wiris. Attach the HDMI end of the cable to a monitor.

• Attach a USB-A keyboard to the USB-A port.

Watch the output on the monitor. Using the arrow keys and enter keys on the keyboard, navigate through the Workswell menu:

• Press Enter to exit Ethernet mode.

• Press the right arrow to expand.

  • Use the down arrow to go to Advanced Mode.

  • Use the right arrow to expand.

    • Press the down arrow to go to Memory.

    • Press the right arrow to select and then click Enter on Update.

    • Ensure that the UI detects the correct firmware version to upgrade to and press Enter on Confirm.

• Once the update is complete, power off Astro/Wiris Pro.

• Remove the USB and HDMI cables.

• Be sure to reinstall the ethernet cable from the gimbal in the back of the Wiris Pro.

For temperature and ingress protection info, please refer to the technical specs section:

Hot swapping:

Max Speed:

We have tested this payload up to a speed of 15m/s, climb rate of 4m/s, and descent rate of 3m/s. There has been no significant performance testing past these limits. Refer to the performance section of the Astro wiki for more information.

Integrated payloads developed by Freefly share much of the same information for updating gimbal firmware, isolator configurations, workflow tips, and formatting storage devices. Payload specific workflows, information, and settings are covered in the above sections.

Workflows

Maintenance

Updates

Precise Control

Search and rescue

• The flight path of Astro is displayed with a red line on the map in AMC, which can be useful for looking at the area the aircraft has already covered

• Setting an isotherm to show colors between a specified temperature range can help with identifying areas of interest quicker

• Streaming live video from the aircraft to the Auterion Suite is possible with a strong LTE connection. Additional information on setting up LTE on Astro is here:

Inspections

• The Wiris Pro EO camera provides 1920x1080 images and 1280x720 video from a 1-10x zoom lens. When approaching an object of interest, we recommend keeping the aircraft a safe distance away and zooming in as much as needed to see the detail level required for inspections.

• When using Slow Speed Mode, camera tilt and pan are scaled with the zoom rate, so the control inputs become less sensitive the more zoomed the camera is.

Mapping

• The Wiris Pro Payload currently does not support mapping missions.

Mounting

The Wiris Pro Payload uses the Smart Dovetail/Pixhawk Payload Bus Quick Release mechanical mount. An overview of the Smart Dovetail, including a 3D CAD model of the Smart Dovetail male and female sides is available here:

You are encouraged to use this model to integrate the Smart Dovetail design into your own UAV! Conversely, you can purchase a Smart Dovetail mount with a 32 x 32mm M3 mounting bolt pattern from Freefly for easy installation:

Refer to the specs section for mass, dimensions, and other information.

Vibration Isolation

For information on the vibration isolation system shipped with Astro Thermal, refer to the section linked bellow.

Isolation systems are aircraft specific and a different system may be optimal for your aircraft, however we offer a couple of options in our store:

Connecting to the Wiris Pro

After installing the Wiris Pro Payload in the dovetail mount on Astro, power on the aircraft. Powering on the aircraft automatically powers on the gimbal and camera. It typically takes about 1 minute for the camera controls and video feed to appear in AMC.

Storage/Recording settings

• In AMC, select your media storage option. You can save to the internal Wiris SSD, a USB flash drive installed in the USB-C port on the Astro IO panel (on the bottom of the aircraft), or both.

  • The USB flash drive storage option is not fast enough to support video recording. Video can only be recorded to the SSD.

• Select different image/video capture options to save photos and videos from the EO camera, IR camera, or both.

Thermal camera

You can configure the thermal camera using the following settings in the Auterion Mission Control (AMC) app for Astro.

• IR Pallet - How temperatures are mapped to a color.

• Exposure Settings - these adjust the range of temperature values that can be measured, similar to shutter speed and dynamic range on a traditional camera.

  • Manual, incremental adjustments

  • Custom, specifying the min and max temperature

  • Auto

• Isotherm Modes

  • Isotherm ‘Alarm’ modes can be set to show a solid color when objects in the frame are within a temperature range. The options are Off, Below, Between, Outside, and Above.

  • We recommend using a grey IR pallet when using Isotherms for better clarity

• Video/Photo Settings

  • Video can be saved in two methods:

    • Thermal encoded - this outputs a 512x640px 30 frames per second .avi file that can natively be played in most video software. The IR pallet (color map) is baked into the image and cannot be changed later. Similarly, the temperature information of each pixel is not recorded. We recommend this mode when qualitative data is the most useful, such as looking for hotspots or searching for animals and people.

    • Radiometric - this outputs a .WSEQ file that can be opened in Workswell’s ThermoLab software. This consumes more storage but saves the temperature information of each frame. The IR pallet can be adjusted later and the temperature data of each pixel can be retrieved in post-processing. This is most useful when quantitative temperature measurements are needed.

• Photo Settings

  • Radiometric JPEG - 640 x 512 px

  • Radiometric TIFF - 640 x 512 px

  • Super Resolution - 1266 x 1010 px image

• Lenses
• EO Zoom Camera

  • Video/Photo Settings

    • Auto-exposure

    • 1-10x zoom range (93.5 degrees to 11.92 degrees HFOV), incremented at 1x, 1.5x, 3x, 6x, and 10x settings

    • 720p 20 frames per second video saved in a .MP4 format

This payload is an integrated package that combines the EO and IR camera capabilities of the Wiris Pro with Freefly Systems gimbal stabilization, tuning, and testing. The payload uses the Smart Dovetail open-interface for PX4. The payload has been extensively tested and is natively integrated with the Freefly Astro drone, but it is certainly possible to integrate this payload on to other UAV platforms.

EO / IR

EO and IR refer to types of photographic sensors.

• EO stands for "Electro-Optical", and functions as a standard camera for capturing visible light, just like any smartphone camera.

• IR stands for "Infrared", and functions to capture thermal data in a video stream. Temperatures are mapped to colors with a variety of ranges, color pallets, and thresholds available depending on your specific use.

FOV

FOV stands for "Field of View", and is represented by an angle, typically in degrees. Think of it as a cone expanding out infinitely in front of a lens with the width defined as an angle. Anything within this cone is visible in your image.

• HFOV and VFOV are commonly used to describe the horizontal and vertical field of view, respectively.

Pan, Roll, Tilt

These refer to the axis on which your gimbal can rotate.

• Pan controls left-to-right rotation. It uses the motor at the very top of your gimbal and is controlled via the direction of your aircraft. Pan may be adjusted using the yaw control on your aircraft.

• Roll controls the horizon of your camera. The motor is located at the back of your gimbal, behind the camera, and it is updated automatically to keep your camera level to the horizon.

• Tilt controls the angle of the camera vertically, allowing you to point down, up, level, or anything in between. The aircraft operator can control tilt using the tilt wheel on the top left of the Herelink controller.

Gimbal logs by connecting a USB-C cable to an unpowered gimbal and a computer, navigating to freefly > movi > logs, and copying the latest file. Share with support to expedite any gimbal-related ticket issues.

The standard workflow for mapping with Astro takes photos from the camera, geotags them, and writes them to the attached USB stick. The usb stick will contain data from each flight in separate folders.

Directory structure on the USB drive is as follows

Folder name

Naming: <SequentialFlightNumber>_<DATE>_<TIME>

There may be multiple folders that start with the same <SequentialFlightNumber> if photos were taken on the ground but without a flight.

Each folder will contain the following:

Observation file: <SequentialFlightNumber>_<DATE>_<TIME>.obs

This file contains the GNSS observations from the aircraft's RTK GPS, and is used in conjunction with the base station data to precisely locate the astro in space. The file also includes RTKlib-style "marker" entries at the timestamp when each photo was taken

Photo capture information file: <SequentialFlightNumber>_<DATE>_<TIME>-sequence.json

This JSON formatted file includes the precise timestamp and gimbal angle for each photo captured.

Aircraft capture state information file: imagelog.json

This JSON formatted file includes the aircraft position, attitude, timestamp, and capture url for each photo taken.

Photo capture information file

Name: YYYY-MM-DD-[SequentialNumber matching directory].json

Photos

File type: JPG

Naming: per camera settings

Geotags: Each photo is geotagged in its EXIF header, including geographic position and altitude in WGS84 (GPS) coordinate frame. The altitude in the aircraft geotags is based on the EGM96 geoid.

Note that additional tag information may be written later when post processed by a PPK app.

thumb

This folder contains small 512x341 thumbnails of the photos taken. They are geotagged as well, and are sometimes useful to upload to a photo photogrammetry site such as ESRI sitescan to ensure that photos are geotagged as expected. They can even be used to create a quick, coarse map.

Example output

Link to example datasets. These datasets have been copied from the USB drive attached to Astro.

Note that Base Station observation files are also included in separate folders in case you'd like to perform PPK.

Camera Calibration Parameters

This is a set of example calibration values for the Sony A7R-IV with Sigma 24 mm lens, which can be used for photogrammetry initial conditions. The LR1 also matches this specification with the 24mm lens. Each lens is slightly different, but these values are good initial values if the software in use can't solve them directly.

General Steps Before PPK Process:

If you are not able to follow these steps exactly, there is more guidance below.

1. Set up your base station (list of tested stations are below) and get it recording

2. Fly your mission with Astro, then wait for it to finish processing photos after landing

   1. Shutoff Astro

3. Pull USB-C stick, and insert into iPad (if accessing base-station data from iPad)

4. Go to Files app, browse to USB drive, and determine which folder has the files from this scan. i.e. folder 58

5. If using EMLID REACH:

   1. Open EMLID app:

      1. Stop logging all 3 logs (position, raw data, base correction)

      2. After they are zipped, download all 3 files to the usb stick in the same directory as the scan

Freefly PPK

Freefly PPK Desktop Application takes photos and GPS data generated by Astro during a Mapping mission, as well as data from a GNSS base station, and applies the Post-Processing Kinematics (PPK) algorithm to tag photos with highly accurate geotags.

Download the software from https://freeflysystems.com/support/astro-support

Current PC Version: v1.1.0 - Released 08/2024

Current Mac Version: v1.1.0 - Released 08/2024

Table of Contents:

1. Compatible Devices, Download Links

2. Input, Output, Workflow

3. Debugging tips if you encounter errors

Compatible Devices

Operating Systems

• Windows PC - Tested on Windows 10

• macOS - Tested on M1 only

  Note, for the current app version, you will need to override current mac security settings through instructions provided here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202491

GNSS Base Stations

• Trimble R2,10,12

• Emlid RS2

• Generally, any device that can output RINEX (Observation and Navigation data files)

Input

• Output folder from High Res Mapping Payload.

• RINEX files (OBS and Nav Data files) from GNSS base station (that was actively recording GNSS data for the full duration of the time that the Astro mission was running).

• GNSS base station coordinate

  • Using pre-surveyed point as reference coordinate

  • Using Reference Network calculation (i.e. NOAA's CORS, Washington state's WSRN)

  • For very basic results, averaged value from base station rinex file

Output

Photos in PPK_Photos folder with corrected geotags.

Workflow

PRE-PPK CHECKS

1. As summarized above, to start PPK-ing your photos to get centimeter level geotag accuracy, you need to:

   • Complete an Astro Map mapping mission that writes photos, imagelog.json, *capture.obs, and *capture.json file into a mission folder (see Fig 1 below) into the USB-C thumb-drive. This is a simple and streamlined process, and you will generate this folder if you follow with the instructions in Astro Mapping Payload: Quick Map Workflow.

Fig 1. Here is what the mission folder generated by an Astro Map mission might look like:

• Have a GNSS base-station running and recording satellite data throughout the duration of the flight that can produce (Observation and Navigation data files). Grab the RINEX data files (usually ends with .<##>O - for OBS or .<##>P for NAV, sometimes just .RNX for both file types). If the file names are ambiguous, you can inspect the files and look at the first few lines to see if they contain the keywords Observation (for obs file) or Navigation (for nav file) data file. IMPORTANT - Ensure that the NAV data file is a "MIXED NAV" data file that contains nav data for all constellations.

1. Grab the Observation and Navigation data files (either individually) or the folder that contains them and place it into the Astro Map mission folder that contains the photos and the other mapping mission artifacts (imagelog.json, *capture.obs, and *capture.json).

Placing base station file into the folder shown below:

Fig 2. Placing base-station files into the folder shown above. The file types might be different

Pre-PPK Notes:

• Do not close any pop-up cmd prompt or terminal windows (this is due to the application running a subprocess necessary for PPK-ing)

• It's a good habit to check to ensure that the original geotags on a couple of the photos somewhat correspond to the image location.

  • To do this: Use an exif inspection tool, grab the geotag from an image, search up coordinates on Google Earth, compare to see if the photo content somewhat matches up with coordinates on Google earth

  • If the images do not align, it might be a good idea to get the flight log (.ulog) file from the mission and use the Use ULOG workflow in the Freefly PPK app to get proper alignment.

Freefly PPK Processing:

1. Open FreeflyPPK application.

2. Click on browse at the top to choose the Astro Map mission and select the folder.

3. The application should browse the folder and search for the requirements and automatically fill in all of the requirements.

4. If you know where the base station ground coordinate was, then enter it. This can be done using a GNSS reference network processing provider (i.e. in Washington state you can use Washington State Reference Network, in the U.S. you can use NOAA CORS and upload your base RINEX files) You can use either DMS or Decimal coordinates (Click the DMS Coordinates check-box.)

5. If you don't know the base station coordinate, by changing from MANUAL on the drop down to AVERAGE FROM OBS you can get a very rough estimate of the base station. It applies single point positioning to the base station RINEX files. The averaged postion will be displayed on the status bar once the project processing begins.

6. Go ahead and select how high you placed the receiver from the ground (usually your base station tripod pole will have a marking to let you know). The application will take care of antenna phase center variation based on the base-station type detected from the base-station OBS file.

7. If you are rerunning the same mapping mission folder, checking the Overwrite Output check-box will overwrite the output folder with the current processing output. It is set to overwrite on default since the application can otherwise keep on making copy of the photos and take a lot of space on your computer. If the Overwrite Output check-box is not checked, then the application will rename the previous folder and save the output of the current processing to PPK_Photos. *TIP: you want to explore output with multiple settings (i.e. different base station coordinates or base station files), it might be beneficial to rename the PPK_Photos folder to something more useful*

8. Once all of the project requirements are met, you will be able to click the Process button and the application will correct the geotags on your photos after it conducts PPK on them. It will output them into the PPK_Photos folder and keep your original images untouched. Monitor the output and ensure all or most of the photos are tagged with Q=1 quality. The Q value corresponds to the quality of the corrected geotag. Q=1 is great. Q=2 is ok. Anything higher is not accurate.

9. Once your images are PPK-ed, you can use a map generation provider like ESRI Sitescan (which is recommended and we have tested on) and upload the images from the PPK_Photos folder. In the Advanced Processing Settings:

• If you completed the PPK process with a surveyed point or reference network, use the +/- margin of error they provided to you in the base station location for the geolocation accuracy.

• If you use the AVERAGE OBS FILE option in the FreeflyPPK app, use +/- 100 cm. Note that it is not recommended to run AVERAGE OBS if you want high fidelity maps.

Debugging Tips:

• Known Issue: If drone is flying below sealevel or drone is flying at negative altitude in the chosen base-station coordinate system, then the application will fail the geotagging process (status list error). This will be fixed in a future release.

• If you entered base station coordinates in Degrees, Minute, Second format, make sure you use the correct sign. i.e. If the coordinate you are entering is 122° 09' 7.93789" W, on Freefly PPK, you should enter -122 09 7.93789

• If the correct base station file is not be detected correctly, remove all of the base files from inside of the project path folder. Then, individually go into modify the selected base and rinex files using the modify buttons below the status box. Check content inside the base files for "Observation" and "Navigation" to ensure you are choosing the correct files.

• One of the first debugging things you can do is to close the application and reopen it. More advanced users can go in and delete the .ppk_history file in their home directory to remove application cache file.

• Check to see if the rtkdata_events.pos in the working directory has been generated properly. If everything looks good there, but there is an issue with photo tagging. (i.e. "Issue with abc.jpg tagging" alert, then there is likely an error with your filesystems (see common file systems error).

• Common file systems errors: Not enough space on your hard drive. Make sure the project path has plenty of space. A bunch of 25MP images can fill up your storage device quickly. Again, as previously mentioned, you will get much better performance if your project folder is in your local hard-drive instead of an extenal drive.

• If you have any issues with Freefly PPK and have questions for Freefly Support team, it would help if you sent as many of your files as you are able to (i.e content of working directory, capture.obs, sequence.json, and base-directory folder). It helps to include a screenshot of the application during an error, but ensure you expand the status list so that the whole error is visible in the photo. Since this is our first release of Freefly PPK software, we are actively working to improve the user experience based on feedback.

Precise Flight

Precise Flight by Auterion is an alternative option for the PPK workflow. It can be downloaded from the App Store.

Compatible Devices:

iOS devices - primarily useful with iPad

Precise Flight by Auterion Workflow

• Set up base station and get it recording

• Fly mission with astro, wait for it to finish processing photos after landing

  1. Shutoff astro

• Pull usb stick, and place into ipad

• Go to files app, browse to usb stick, and determine which folder has the files from this scan. I.e. folder 58

• Open emlid app

  1. Stop logging all 3 logs (position, raw data, base correction)

  2. After they are zipped

  3. Download all 3 files to the usb stick in the same directory as the scan

• Extract data

  1. Go to files app

  2. Browse to the folder with the photos in them

  3. Click once on the zip file with the emlid raw RINEX data in it to unzip

  4. It will create a folder in that directory

• Delete old data?

• Go to preciseflight app

  1. Select base station folder, will be the RINEX directory inside of the flight folder

  2. Select the vehicle folder- it is the folder with your mission number such as “58” that has the photos in it

  3. Decide if you want to set base position manually, enter as desired

  4. Enable compensate camera offset

  5. Hit process, wait the 30-60 seconds for processing

  6. When processing is complete, the files will be located in the Auterion Precise Flight app on the ipad (not on the USB stick).

  7. When working properly, Sitescan app can be pointed at that folder to upload the photos

  8. I’ve been using files app to copy the PPK’d photos into a new folder on the usb drive and then transferring to computer.

To install the gimbal:

• Orient the gimbal under the aircraft so that it is facing forward and the Smart Dovetail is facing upwards.

• Slide the gimbal Smart Dovetail into the Isolated Dovetail receiver that is on the underside of the aircraft. Slide until you hear an audible click of the safety latch and the connector is fully seated.

• Close the dovetail locking lever until tight and the gimbal is secure.

To remove the gimbal:

• Open the dovetail locking lever so that it is loose.

• Hold the safety latch so that it is disengaged.

• Slide the gimbal dovetail towards the front of the aircraft to fully disengage from the Smart Dovetail Mount and remove the gimbal.

The mapping workflow is largely the same between the LR1 Payload and A7R4 payload. The same lens and camera settings are recommended for both payloads, and the same tips for maximizing efficiency are shared between them. The PPK process and output specification are also the same.

Esri Site Scan

Astro is integrated with Esri's Site Scan, allowing for a very clean end-to-end mapping process that we cover in the Site Scan section of our wiki. We strongly recommend using Site Scan if your primary use case for Astro is mapping.

Flying

From AMC Fly view, use the confirmation slider to begin a mission.

During a mission, you can take control of the aircraft pressing the Flight Mode buttons on the controller (Position, Altitude, and Manual). The aircraft will switch to the selected flight mode and begin responding to your commands.

Verify that the camera is oriented correctly (downward when taking photos and forward when landing to avoid ground strikes).

Verify that the aircraft is taking photos by looking for photo icons on AMC Fly view map or the incrementing photo counter on the live video camera control panel.

Landing

When the aircraft lands, do not immediately power down. The aircraft will automatically perform post-processing operations like creating the RINEX observation files. AMC will show a progress bar. When the process is complete, the drone may be powered down. The drone can be folded and moved while it is doing its post-processing, but it is suggested to disconnect ONE battery as an added safety measure. Do not disconnect the payload while the aircraft is powered on.

Post Processing

Astro Map output is compatible with modern stitching software that can accept normal JPEG EXIF Geotags. In general, if it can use the files generated by a DJI Phantom 4 RTK, it will work with Astro photos. Freefly has tested the following for compatibility:

• ESRI Site Scan

• Pix4D

• Drone Deploy

• Propeller.aero

High Accuracy Workflow

This section focuses on tools and techniques to improve accuracy.

Relative Accuracy describes the quality of measurements between points within a map (e.g. object size, shape, and separation). The map may not be aligned with the real world, but it is self-consistent (lengths of objects are accurate).

Absolute Accuracy describes the quality of measurements between points on a map and points in the real world.

GSD

Ground Sample Distance (GSD) is the photo or map's "resolution" typically given in units of distance per pixel, e.g. cm/px. GSD is the size of the camera's pixels on the ground.

Functionally, GSD is the upper limit of precision for measurements extracted from a photo/map/cloud/mesh. For example, if a measurement precision of 1 cm is needed, the mission should be planned so that GSD is 1 cm or less.

GSD can be chosen as a survey input in AMC's Plan tab, but it will adjust the altitude of the mission using the given overlap requirements. It is important that the operator verify the resulting altitude that AMC calculates is safe to fly.

Coordinate Systems

The cheapest accuracy available is in eliminating coordinate system errors. It's not always easy, but it is free.

Post-processing software is designed to accept input in a variety of coordinate systems, but each piece of software has its own peculiarities in handling coordinate conversion. Here are a few tips:

• Astro outputs photos geotagged in WGS84 latitude/longitude, and EGM96 elevation in meters. This is what is found on the USB stick plugged into the aircraft.

• When working with PPK, coordinate systems become much more complicated. The coordinate system the photos are in after PPK will be the SAME as the coordinate system used by the base station. For example, if the base station was placed on a pre-surveyed marker, and you know the coordinates of that marker in NAD83(2011) geographic coordinates, and those are what you enter as the base station position in the PPK app, then all the resulting geotags from the PPK app will ALSO now be in NAD83(2011).

• A common error is when the base station location is corrected using an online service such as OPUS. Those services accept the base station observation file and solve for the position of the unit with high accuracy. However, the reported position coordinate system may not match the desired output at the survey site. OPUS reports back in IRTF2014 and NAD83(2011). Use the base coordinates that apply to your site. If your site is not using any of those, Tools like NOAA's VDatumWeb can convert between them.

• The FreeflyPPK app or Precise Flight PPK app does not include vertical datum settings. (Look for these in a future version.) The resulting vertical reference will match the coordinates of whatever height is used for the base station.

Geotag Corrections

The photos created by the Mapping Payload are geotagged when they are stored on a USB drive (not the SD card in the camera).

Geotags are metadata attached to photo files that capture the camera's location in the 3D space and the direction vector of the camera when the photo was taken. These pieces of information allow post-processing software to quickly perform an initial alignment of the photos. More accurate geotags make processing time shorter and improve the quality of the output.

Astro will geotag the photos with whatever level of accuracy is available to the aircraft. The onboard GPS provides absolute accuracy down to 1-3 meters. The relative accuracy will be much higher, but it depends on the GPS constellation, mission duration (it drifts over time), and other factors.

The accuracy of GPS systems can be improved by strategies involving multiple receivers.

If a Freefly RTK Base Station is connected, the geotag absolute accuracy does not improve (unless placed on a previously known location), but relative accuracy is refined to the centimeter range.

Astro stores onboard GNSS observations and the geotag accuracy (both relative and absolute) can be improved further by post-processing after the fact. This process is known as "PPK". Freefly and Auterion both have apps that can correct the photos via PPK and improve their absolute accuracy to as good as 1-3cm.

PPK processing can be performed with a variety of base stations and software. The next section gives more detail.

PPK

The easiest way to increase absolute accuracy is to use a GNSS Base Station with Astro's free PPK Software. PPK Software uses GNSS Base Station output to improve photo geotag accuracy through a process called Post Processed Kinematic (PPK) correction. Accurate geotags give your post-processing software a better starting point, improving output map/cloud/mesh accuracy.

How accurate is PPK? Relative accuracy typically is less than 1cm. Absolute accuracy is more complicated:

If no other corrections are used (i.e. no GCPs) absolute accuracy is the same as that of the base station. PPK essentially solves position offsets by comparing the aircraft's position to the base station, so if the base station position is known globally accurate to 2cm, the resulting PPK geotags will be similar.

These are a few ways to determine base station location, ordered from highest to lowest accuracy:

• Place GPS base station precisely on a known ground control point survey marker using a high-accuracy tripod with tribrach. A survey pole and tripod can also be used, but accuracy might suffer depending on how accurately the pole in question can be leveled.

• Place the GPS in a clear view of the sky and leave it running for an hour or more. Then use an online post-processing tool such as NGS OPUS or Trimble Centerpoint RTX if you have a Trimble base station. This will take all the observations from the GPS and do its own PPK processing to determine the location of your GNSS unit very accurately. The downside is often having to wait hours or days for the underlying GPS data to be updated in OPUS before it will process your file. (Pay attention to the coordinate system that is returned)

• Average the position file generated by your GPS unit- if it's been stationary for over an hour, reasonable accuracy can be achieved, although GPS can vary slowly over many hours so this still may have sub-meter errors.

• Survey-in the GNSS; this usually integrates for a few minutes when it's powered on, then writes its averaged position to the RINEX headers. This value is better than nothing.

• Read out the instantaneous position of the GNSS after you've set it up and it has achieved a stable lock. This is the least accurate, and will only be accurate to GPS's normal accuracy of 1-3m.

An example PPK workflow:

1. Arrive at the site where you intend to fly.

2. Set up base station, ideally, on a known survey marker. Otherwise, find an open space with a clear view of the sky (to the best of your ability).

3. Start observation file logging on the base station. Many can be configured to start at power on, but it is usually worth checking that the base station is recording before takeoff.

4. Prepare Astro and fly missions.

5. When you are done, log into the base station and stop recording.

6. Download the RINEX files from the base station and put them on the USB drive from Astro.

7. Geolocate the base station. If it was on a known point, you're ready to go. If you are using an online processing tool, wait until the base station has enough data from nearby CORS sites to process (1-2 hours minimum), then get the processing report. Acquiring this report varies depending on your hardware and location, so consult the user manual of your base station for more info.

8. Use the FreeflyPPK app or the Auterion PreciseFlight app to post-process the photos.

9. Take the resulting high-accuracy geotagged photos to whichever photogrammetry tool you choose (ESRI sitescan, pix4d, DroneDeploy, propeller.aero, Agisoft, etc).

GCPs - Ground Control Points

Ground Control Points (GCP) are pre-surveyed points that are marked to be visible in aerial photos. GCPs are used by the post-processing algorithm to correct distortion and align the map with the real world.

PPK allows you to achieve high-accuracy maps that do not require GCPs. GCPs can require significant effort to survey and process. However, they tend to be the most accurate, even with poor initial coordinates in the photos.

GCPs can be used in a number of ways:

• A base station can be placed on a single GCP and used as high-accuracy positioning for PPK processing. This is the method that gives great results for the lowest amount of effort.

• A few GCPs can be used, one with the base station. This allows high-accuracy PPK, and the additional GCPs can be used as an accuracy check on the PPK results.

• a large quantity of GCPs (5+) can be surveyed and used in combination with or in lieu of PPK. This is the most costly as it requires surveying all the points, and then running the tagging process.

Maps using GCPs will generally be as accurate as the GCP can be marked in the photos and how accurate the GCP coordinates themselves are known (usually reported by your surveyor).

GCPs are used like this: Before flying, ensure that the mission will overfly multiple GCPs and ensure their clear visibility in aerial photos. After flying, enter GCP coordinates into your post-processing software. Use your photogrammetry software's workflow to mark the locations of the known coordinates in the photos. Then there will be a processing step. Afterward, you can overlay the GCP checkpoints and measure the distance from their coordinates to the marker in the output.

GCPs can be established by a surveyor, or with your GNSS base station.

• Propeller: https://www.propelleraero.com/blog/how-to-optimize-your-ground-control-point-placement/

Astro is compatible with Propeller Aeropoints.

Flight planning

Choose a survey flight path angle that minimizes the number of turns (or in other words, think about maximizing long, straight flight paths). For example, if surveying a complex next to a road that runs at a 30-degree angle, rotating the survey lines to match may reduce the maneuvering Astro has to do and will result in shorter missions and better pictures.

Rotate the survey entry/exit points to start and end at logical places. It is usually more efficient and safe to start at the furthest point from your takeoff location, as your mission will likely end closer to the home point when battery levels are most critical.

Use overlap and sidelap settings suitable for your processing software and output type. AMC's defaults (70%) are reasonable starting places, but reducing these values can allow faster flight and more area coverage. Lower front overlaps will allow Astro to fly faster in a mission, but be sure the value is acceptable for whichever processing software is in use.

Tips for Large Projects

Astro can cover areas greater than 200 acres in a single flight at 2cm GSD. Some tips for flying these types of missions:

• Uncheck the "refly at 90°" option at the bottom of the Survey settings while planning a mission. This will cause Astro to only fly over the ground in single-direction passes as opposed to a cross-hatch pattern.

• If possible, fly from the center of a large survey to reduce the distance between the Herelink and Astro. The maximum telemetry distance is shown in AMC during mission planning if you're at the takeoff location. Being able to have a line of sight to the vehicle at all parts of the survey is important for safety as well as maintaining a solid data link.

• Fly at 10-12m/s. The aircraft can fly up to 15m/s, but the flight time will actually increase if flying above 12m/s and result in a longer flight.

• A "typical" large area survey might have the following parameters: 12m/s speed, 120m altitude, 70% front overlap, 65% side overlap, and the gimbal angle pointing down (90°).

• Astro defaults to limiting the distance between waypoints to 900m. This is intended as a safety check to ensure that an accidental waypoint doesn't send the drone out of range to an unintended location. However, this may limit the length of a reasonable survey in some edge cases. This value can be increased by changing the parameter MIS_DIST_WPS. Do not set it larger than necessary to maintain the safety benefit.

Tips for Small Projects

Smaller areas can be covered the same as a large project, but usually higher detail is desired. In these cases, a crosshatch pattern can be used with gimbal pitch to get better detail on the sides of vertical objects. This gives better 3D reconstructions.

• Check the "refly at 90°" option at the bottom of the Survey settings while planning a mission.

• Set the gimbal angle to around 70 degrees to get better imagery on the sides of objects.

• Fly lower (60m or less) depending on the situation. Lower altitude will result in higher-density photos; just make sure that safety is the highest priority and that no obstacles intersect with your flight path.

• Make sure to fly well beyond the boundaries of the object being surveyed when the gimbal is tilted to ensure that it can be seen from all sides.

• Generally speaking, slower flights will provide more accurate results.

AMC on a computer

It's possible to plan missions and monitor flights from AMC on a computer or tablet. Here's the procedure to connect another device to the Herelink.

The LR1 and A7R4 can easily be configured to perform inspections on power lines, wind turbines, and other infrastructure!

Gimbal Setup

For inspection use cases, we recommend using a long lens to maintain a safe distance from your subject. We have found that both the Sony FE 50mm F1.8 and Samyang 75mm F1.8 (LR1 only) work well.

After changing the lens, make sure to balance the gimbal, covered in this section:

Camera Setup

We recommend the following camera settings for sharp, detailed images:

All of these parameters can be setup in AMC, accessed by the 3 lines under the shutter button Additional settings we recommend:

• Focus: Auto or Tap-to-focus

• Focus mode: Center or Zone (if not using tap to focus)

• Overlay: Reticle

#protips

• Download the offline maps for the area you will be flying in

• Check the vibration isolators are in good condition before each flight

• Check the gimbal is balanced and the thumbscrews are tight

Latest gimbal firmware

How to check gimbal firmware

Gimbal firmware versions are also included in gimbal log files

Gimbal firmware release notes

v2.1.0

• Initial Release for OGI Payload

• Updated 75mm tuning for LR1 on Astro with large motors

v2.0.2

• Initial release for LR1 Payload

v1.7.2

• Change: baud rate to enable reliable parameter forwarding

• Bugfix: now handles mavlink forwarding turned on

This is a required firmware update for Astro's running firmware 1.6 or later. This gimbal firmware will only work on Astro FW 1.6 and later

v1.6.2

• Bugfix: Fixed the SD card corruption issue, preventing the gimbal from powering on

• New: Added tilt limits to mongoose of -90 and +30 degrees tilt

• Improvements:

  • Improved heading control

  • Calibration and process updates to improve attitude performance

  • Added GPS date time as supplied by Astro to log

v1.0.1

• Initial Release

Updating Gimbal Software

1. Download the firmware package.

   • Extract the .zip folder contents.

   • Open the extracted folder- the top level folder that you will need to copy onto the gimbal will be called "freefly". Do not copy the folder that states the firmware version.

2. To upgrade Gimbal firmware, connect the gimbal to a laptop using a USB-C cable.

   • The USB-C connector is located on the Smart Dovetail of the gimbal

   • Ensure the gimbal is not powered by the aircraft

   • The gimbal will show up on the computer as an external drive called "FREEFLY"

1. Open that drive and you will see a folder named "freefly". This is the current firmware file that you need to replace.

   • Delete this folder and replace it with the new firmware folder "freefly' that you downloaded in Step 1

1. Remove the USB-C cable from the gimbal and connect the gimbal to an Astro using the Smart Dovetail to power on the gimbal.

2. Insert 1 SL8 Battery into the aircraft and fully latch the battery, but do not power on the aircraft at this time.

3. Use a paperclip or small screwdriver to hold down the Firmware Load button on the gimbal- this button must be pressed and held for 10 seconds while powering on the aircraft.

   • This small button is recessed into the gimbal housing and is located next to the USB-C connector on the Smart Dovetail.

4. Power on the aircraft by double clicking the button on the SL8 battery.

   • Ensure that the Firmware Load button is held down during this time for 10 seconds while the new firmware is loaded onto the gimbal.

5. When firmware is successfully updated, the gimbal should stabilize correctly and video feed will show on the controller.

Camera Software

We have tested LR1 cameras on 1.00 FW. We do not recommend any updates to the camera as it may cause compatibility issues with Astro and AMC.

Gimbal Logs

With Astro off or with the gimbal removed from the aircraft, connect a USB-C cable between a computer and the USB-C port on the payload side of the dovetail. A drive will mount on your computer. The logs are located under "freefly\movi\logs".

Mapping Sample Data

Installation

• Mount the FPV module to the front of Astro with two M3x12 FHCS fasteners, which are included in the FPV kit. These use the red hex driver, included with Astro.

• Plug the cable into the USB-C port on the Astro IO panel

• Upgrade your Astro firmware to 1.5 or later

USB-C Thumb Drive Port

• Plug in your USB-C thumb drive to the port on the front of the module

• Under camera settings, you should see the thumb drive icon light up and the storage change to the available space on the drive.

FPV Module Variants

We offer two variants of the FPV module for Astro, you can identify which variant you have have by the small notch on the front cover below the lens:

Tilt Control

The payload's tilt rate scales with zoom. This means that as the digital zoom level is increased, the gimbal's tilt rate will decrease to provide pointing control.

Yaw/Pan Control

By default, the aircraft's yaw control is unaffected by the camera's zoom level; however, zoom rate scaling can also be applied to yaw/pan through Slow Speed Mode.

For even more control, the global yaw rate of Astro can also be adjusted if desired. The default global yaw rate of Astro is 75 degrees/second.

• The max yaw rate can be adjusted by going to Advanced Mode (tap the Auterion logo in the upper left-hand corner seven times). Then click on the Auterion logo again and click through Vehicle Setup -> Parameter -> MPC_MAN_Y_MAX. The units are in degrees/second.

Slow Speed Mode

Slow Speed mode is a togglable flight mode that affects the sensitivity of the aircraft's yaw when the camera is zoomed in.

• Slow Speed mode can be toggled on and off when Astro is in Position mode. It's active when the icon is lit, and you view the video stream.

  • Slow Speed mode will automatically deactivate when viewing the IR stream

  • Slow Speed mode is turned off by default

Weather

Weather is a big driver of how good the resulting maps will be. Because of lens limits and the requirement for high shutter speeds to reduce motion blur, maps are best when taken with bright light. The best results are around noon when the sun is directly overhead and casting few shadows; a bright, overcast day also works well for similar reasons.

When ambient light is low due to heavy clouds or in the evenings, the camera will expose the scene but will have to increase ISO to get reasonable exposure. Beyond ISO 1000, noise and blur from the denoising filter in the camera will start to impact photo quality.

If light conditions are low, the shutter speed can be reduced. However, the drone will need to fly slower to ensure no motion blur. The camera lens is sharpest above f/5, but the aperture can be opened up to provide more light. Some lens artifacts and blurring around the edges may be present with a wider aperture/lower f-stop.

Additionally, flying over wet surfaces may cause problems for photogrammetry workflows. It tends to make asphalt very dark, which can cause stitching software to have a hard time, and reflective surfaces can't be used to stitch photos.

Download Maps for Offline Use

AMC caches recent maps. To make certain that maps for a specific location are stored on your remote controller before you go to a site with no internet, download them while the remote controller is connected to wifi.

Plan a Mission

1. Figure out the minimum safe flying altitude at your site (i.e. above obstacles and giving a good line of sight). Enter this value in AMC > Vehicle Setup > Safety > Return Altitude.

3. Open AMC Plan view, and select "Pattern" in the left sidebar (creates flight path that covers the site and automatically triggers photos). Choose a pattern type and shape and it'll appear on the map. Don't detail the shape yet- We'll come back to that.

4. In the Pattern/Survey waypoint settings, open the Camera tab, and select Preset: Sony ILX-LR1 - 24 mm SIGMA.

5. Set Altitude. Start in Pattern waypoint settings and enter the minimum safe value from step 1. Check the Ground Sample Distance (GSD) value at the bottom of Pattern Waypoint settings. If GSD is smaller than your needs, increase altitude to increase GSD. Then go to Mission Waypoint settings and enter the same altitude.

6. Turn on Terrain Display by selecting the square T button in the bottom-left corner. Check the heightmap to make sure the flight path clears the terrain by a comfortable margin.

7. Set speed. Check the Photo Interval value at the bottom of Survey settings along the right. This interval needs to be 2 seconds or more. If it's less, decrease the mission flight speed or increase forward overlap (if this is acceptable for your mission). If the photo interval is larger than 2 seconds, you can optionally increase your flight speed.

8. Adjust the Pattern area. Make sure the green area (the area to be flown and photographed) is larger than the map you need. Make the green area larger on every side by at least the width between flight passes. Note the estimated flight duration at the top of the screen. If the duration is longer than 23 minutes, it's likely to require a second flight.

9. Add a Return waypoint command if you want the aircraft to come home and land when finished. This is optional but recommended. If the mission's last command is a Pattern or Waypoint, AMC will not notify you that the mission has ended. The aircraft will hover at the last waypoint, likely until the battery failsafe is triggered and Astro returns home automatically.

If these instructions are unclear or if you have any additional questions, you can learn more about planning in the AMC docs or contact us at support@freeflysystems.com.

Coverage

To get high-quality results, every area of interest in the map should appear in 5 or 6 overlapping photos. Obtaining this much coverage along edges or in corners requires that the area to be flown is larger than the area to be mapped. Also consider that if the gimbal is not pointing straight down (for crosshatch surveys and such), the drone will need to fly PAST areas that need to be seen in images because the image is looking in front of the drone.

USB Setup

The USB flash drive included will be formatted to work with Astro. In the event that you encounter issues or would like to use a different USB flash drive with Astro, follow the instructions in the USB formatting section. Be sure enough space is available; you will need at least 16GB for a single mission.

Included USB Flash Drive

Astro Map and the mapping payload both include a Samsung 64GB flash drive. If you want to replace or purchase additional flash drives, we recommend trying to get the same model as we have tested this drive thoroughly. It will also help our support team troubleshoot any issues you might encounter.

Camera Setup

Camera body and 24 mm lens settings

• Body Exposure Compensation Dial: 0, and the lock button engaged

• Lens Aperture ring: A

• Lens Focus switch: AF

AMC camera settings (tap slider icon below on-screen shutter button)

• Focus: Auto (infinity does work as well)

• Exposure Mode: Manual

• ISO: Auto

• Aperture: f/5 - f/11 depending on lighting conditions

• Shutter: 1/1000 or greater (can go as low as 1/500 but aircraft needs to slow down to prevent blur.

• Storage: USB Drive

The Astro Isolator is recommended for all payloads, including the LR1, A7R4, Wiris Pro, and OGI Payload.

• The Astro Isolator is available in our store. Instructions on how to install the isolator on Astro are below:

This isolator has the Smart Dovetail connector attached and allows swapping between the OGI Payload, LR1 Payload, Wiris Pro Payload, A7R4 Payload, and other payloads that use the Smart Dovetail standard.

Check all the dampers are in good condition before each flight, as these can wear out over time. We recommend replacing all dampers on the isolator every 6-12 months. 30A durometer damper replacements are included in the Astro Isolator Kit and are available through our store:

Recommended USB-C Flash Drive

• The LR1, A7R4, and OGI Payloads ship with this

• We recommend a USB 3.1 drive with a write speed above 50 mb/s.

USB Setup

The USB flash drive included will be formatted to work with Astro. If you encounter issues or would like to use a different USB flash drive with Astro, format using the instructions below.

Formatting the USB Drive

Mac

1. Open Disk Utilities and click on the flash drive in the sidebar.

2. Select the Erase option at the top of the window.

3. In the Format dropdown, select MS-DOS FAT and click Erase.

4. Once that completes, click the Eject arrow near your flash drive on the sidebar.

Windows

1. Open This PC to show all connected drives.

2. Locate the USB drive you want to use with Astro, right-click on the image, and select "Format...". A small window should open.

3. Select ExFat under the File System dropdown and click Start.

4. Once that completes, right-click on the USB drive in This PC again and select Eject.