Ecosystem
Pilot Pro Configurations + Use Cases
On the Move
Operate Pilot Pro as it ships.
This solution will give you a controller that is light enough to take with you when constantly on the move, but still has everything you need to make it through 6hrs of flight.
Pilot Pro ships standard with a Neck Strap, Handle Grips, Tablet Guard, and a SKB Protective Case.
Capably of being fully charged in 1 hour. (2 hours if Pilot Pro is in use.)
Weight: 1.9Kg
Additional Accessories: 45W charger and USB-C cable
Mobile Station
Add a V-Mount Battery Plate Kit to operate all day long using your choice of V-Lock Battery.
This solution will allow you to swap external batteries
Rig up with lanyard harness, and adjust the monitor into the up position for better view.
Tablet Guard/handle rests on your body for comfort during extended flight time.
Weight: 2.3Kg (w/FXLion Nano One)
Command Station
Set up Pilot Pro as a full ground control station by adding a second screen and mounting to a tripod or Pilot's Station.
This solution will allow you to have the ultimate pilot command center. Connecting to additional tablets, 3rd Party Applications, and computer to suite all your needs.
Weight: Variable based on setup.
Available Accessories:
Radio Modules
Pilot Pro architecture allows radio backpack to be swappable (not hot-swappable). We are working on multiple radio module options. We will update this list as modules pass our integration and testing.
Herelink: This is available for use with Astro. Backpack has a RJ-45 Ethernet connector that allows external devices to directly join the radio network. This enables use cases such as using the ESRI Site Scan on an iPad.
More Radio Options Coming Soon!
Accessories
Mechanical Accessories
| Part Number | Name |
|---|---|
910-00714 | |
910-00716 | |
910-00717 | |
910-00718 | |
910-00719 | |
910-00724 | |
910-00757* | Battery Mount |
910-00758 | V-Mount Battery Plate Kit |
910-00759 | Pilot Pro Spare Parts Kit |
910-00761 | Replacement Neck Strap |
910-00784 |
* Coming Soon
Connectivity
Wifi
Pilot Pro's tablet can connect to external hotspots via wifi as normal.
Use the Android wifi settings screen to select the hotspot.
It is advised to use a 5ghz hotspot rather than a 2.4ghz one, as the 2.4ghz one may work poorly in the presence of the drone's point-to-point radio, and may interfere with the drone's connection to the Pilot Pro
LTE
The tablet can accept an optional nano SIM card from a number of providers and get internet access using cellular networks. This will allow downloading of maps and other data while not connected to wifi.
RJ45 / ethernet cable
NEVER CONNECT TWO PILOT PROS TOGETHER WITH ETHERNET CABLES.
This will cause an ip conflict which will cause networking problems with the drone. Internal networking components use static IP addresses.
The RJ45 connector on the back of the Herelink radio module is used to connect to the drone, not the internet. It is controlled by the ethernet settings in the Android app and is preconfigured by Freefly. They can be changed, but doing so will break the connection to the drone. Should this happen, the steps to restore the connection are:
Go to connection settings in the Android settings menu
Go to more connections
Select ethernet
Disable the ethernet connection (required to make changes)
Go to the configuration screen
Select Static IP (selecting DHCP would allow a user to connect this to an external network and give the tablet internet access, at the expense of comms to the drone)
In the static IP settings, set these in THIS ORDER:
IP address = 192.168.144.11
Netmask = 255.255.255.0
Gateway = 192.168.144.12
DNS = 8.8.8.8
Use the Android back button to hide the keyboard, then select save
Reenable the ethernet slider
Multi-Device Ops
Here are the most common use cases:
Connecting a computer to the drone
Adding a second tablet / iPad
Screen mirroring to an external monitor
Connecting a Computer to the drone
A computer can control the drone by joining the radio network on the Pilot Pro. This opens up possibilities for diverse scenarios, including the operation of a mission control application like AMC on a laptop. The RJ45 port, located on the Pilot Pro radio module, serves as a gateway for the computer to tap into the drone's internal radio network.
This can be potentially dangerous and cause issues with the connection to the drone
Connecting AMC on a laptop to Astro
Ensure the drone is on the ground and disarmed
Connect a laptop to the controller via RJ45 (example accessories: https://a.co/d/06ZZ3kP, https://a.co/d/663glnm)
Change the computer's IP address for the RJ45 connection to:
IP address: any value in the following range 192.168.144.100-150 (this range is not used by the internal components)
Netmask 255.255.255.0
Gateway - do not populate, can use 192.168.144.12 if required
DNS - do not populate
From a command prompt, the computer should be able to ping components in the system:
192.168.144.20 - Aircraft Skynode
192.168.144.10 - Aircraft herelink radio
192.168.144.12 - Pilot Pro herelink radio module
192.168.144.11 - Pilot Pro tablet
To make a connection to the drone,
Open AMC on the connected computer
Go to settings, then Comm Links
Add a new connection with the following properties
Connection type TCP
IP address 192.168.144.20
Port 5790
Save and click connect, and AMC should connect to the aircraft.
Connecting Alta X or Generic Vehicle to Herelink's Serial Port
In this configuration, there is no IP connection to the drone directly. However, it is still possible to connect to the data stream with a computer via the Mavlink router on the herelink. To do so:
Connect to the RJ45 port and configure the network as listed for Astro above.
Open AMC
Go to settings, Comm Links
Add a new connection and edit it as shown
Click connect
AMC should be connected to the drone.
Be careful about data usage in this mode- This stream is going through a 57600 baud serial link and has extremely limited bandwidth.
Adding a second tablet / iPad
Mounting: We have the following set of accessories to make it easy to mount second screen/tablet on top of the pilot pro: Tripod Adapter (Pilot Pro), Freefly Adjustable Accessory Mount, Tablet Clamp Mount.
Cables: If you are using a tablet/iPad, you can have it join the radio network to access data through the RJ45 connector on the Pilot Pro's Radio Module. You'll need accessories like an RJ45 cable, Ethernet adapter.
Connecting: Setup will depend on the software you use. However it will most likely be very close to the following.
Screen Mirroring
Screen sharing is still in development. We are testing a few paths including wireless and wired options.
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