Airelectronics U-Camera User manual

U-Camera User Manual -
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1 General System Introduction.............................................................................................4
1.1 U-Camera Elements...................................................................................................4
1.2 Concept of system operation......................................................................................5
2 U-Camera Board................................................................................................................6
U-Camera Gimbal..............................................................................................................7
.1 Mechanical Mounting..................................................................................................7
.1.1 Vehicle considerations.........................................................................................7
.1.2 Mounting positions..............................................................................................7
.1. Vibration isolation................................................................................................8
.1. .1 Combustion engine vehicles / helicopters...................................................8
.1. .2 Electrical multicopters..................................................................................8
.1. . Electrical fixed wing vehicles.......................................................................8
.2 Video Transmitter........................................................................................................8
4 U-Camera Operation..........................................................................................................9
4.1 Powering U-Camera...................................................................................................9
4.2 Pointing modes...........................................................................................................9
4. GPS Configuration......................................................................................................9
4. .1 GPS Antenna position.........................................................................................9
4.4 Vehicle Angles and Velocities...................................................................................10
4.5 Maximum Ratings.....................................................................................................10
4.6 Autoalign Sensors.....................................................................................................10
4.7 FFC Calibration (IR only)..........................................................................................11
5 Communication Protocol..................................................................................................12
5.1 Protocol general description.....................................................................................12
5.2 Packet structure........................................................................................................12
5. Checksum Calculation..............................................................................................1
5.4 Data formats and structure.......................................................................................14
5.5 Protocol Structure.....................................................................................................14
5.5.1 Non Volatile Memory Category (Cat: 0x04)......................................................14
5.5.1.1 Save configuration to NV memory (Cat: 0x04, ID: 0x01)...........................14
5.5.1.2 Save FFC to NV memory (Cat: 0x04, ID: 0x02, IR Only)..........................15
5.5.2 Device Information Category (Cat: 0x08)..........................................................15
5.5.2.1 Report Gimbal Version (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x01)............................................15
5.5.2.2 Request Gimbal Version (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x02)..........................................15
5.5.2. Report Telemetry Data Frequency (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x0 )..........................15
5.5.2.4 Request Telemetry Data Frequency (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x04)........................15
5.5.2.5 Set Telemetry Data Frequency (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x05)................................16
5.5. Gimbal Category (Cat: 0x09)............................................................................16
5.5. .1 Set Mode Packet (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x01).....................................................16
5.5. .2 Report Mode Packet (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x02)................................................16
5.5. . Set gimbal Rates (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x0 ).....................................................17
5.5. .4 Report gimbal Rates (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x04)................................................17
5.5. .5 Set gimbal Angles (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x05)....................................................17
5.5. .6 Report gimbal Angles (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x06)..............................................17
5.5.4 Camera Category (Cat: 0x0A)...........................................................................17
5.5.4.1 Set Camera Zoom Packet (Cat: 0x0A, ID: 0x01).......................................18
5.5.4.2 Report Camera Zoom Packet (Cat: 0x0A, ID: 0x02).................................18
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U-Camera User Manual -
5.5.4. Report Gimbal Type(Cat: 0x0A, ID: 0x0 ).................................................18
5.5.5 External Feed Category (Cat: 0x0B).................................................................18
5.5.5.1 Send GPS Velocities (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x01)...............................................19
5.5.5.2 Send GPS Position and Velocities (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x02)..........................19
5.5.5. System Position Report (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x0 )..........................................19
5.5.5.4 Configure GPS Feed (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x04)...............................................19
5.5.5.5 Send Vehicle Angles (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x05)...............................................19
5.5.5.6 Send Vehicle Angular Velocities (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x06)..............................20
5.5.5.7 Set GPS Antenna Position(Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x07).......................................20
5.5.5.8 Request GPS Antenna Position (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x08)..............................20
5.5.5.9 GPS Antenna Position Report (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x09).................................20
5.5.6 IR Specific Category (Cat: 0x0C)......................................................................20
5.5.6.1 Set IR Palette Packet (Cat: 0x0C, ID: 0x01)..............................................20
5.5.6.2 Report IR Palette Packet (Cat: 0x0C, ID: 0x02)........................................21
5.6 Periodic Reports Packets.........................................................................................21
5.7 Protocol Summary....................................................................................................21
6 U-Camera electrical connections.....................................................................................2
6.1 U-Camera main connectors pin-out.........................................................................2
6.2 U-Camera Main Harness schematic........................................................................24
Appendix A Mechanical Drawings........................................................................................ 1
Appendix B Change-log....................................................................................................... 6
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U-Camera User Manual - General System Introduction
1
1 General System Introduction General System Introduction
U-Camera is the Gimbal solution provided by Airelectronics, a state of the art, small form-
factor Gimbal designed for small and medium sized UAVs U-Camera can be mounted on
fixed wing vehicles or rotary wing platforms such as multicopters or helicopters
The system uses encoders, magnetometers and GPS information to calculate the pointing
with high precision Four different operation modes are available Mounted camera
provides a 10X optical zoom and an horizontal resolution of 530 TV Lines
Based on the same FPGA technology as U-Pilot flight control system, U-Camera is capable
of precise pointing even when mounted on vehicles with high dynamics As its twin system
U-Pilot, U-Camera is built using a two parallel microprocessor approach:
•One microprocessor takes care of the state estimation, pointing and control of the
gimbal, using hardware acceleration to calculate high speed algorithms
•Another processor handles secondary tasks as managing the camera modules or
the communication with the UAV platform
Due to the fact that those two processors are working in parallel and there is dedicated
electronics taking care of all the serial ports, sensors, inputs and outputs, the system is
capable of recalculating the gimbal position and control faster than any other system,
providing an excellent video stabilization and pointing
Using a standard RS-232 communication interface, U-Camera can be easily integrated with
a wide range of systems available on the market
1.1
1.1 U-Camera Elements U-Camera Elements
A U-Camera system is composed by the following elements:
•U-Camera Board: is the electronic board that computes the gimbal position and
points and stabilizes it
•U-Camera Gimbal: the proper gimbal, contains the video module, motors and
sensors
•U-Camera Harness: connects U-Camera Board and U-Camera Gimbal and provides
the required connections such as power supply, command interface or video output
Optionally, U-Camera system can include the following extra elements:
•GPS Antenna: if the embedded GPS chip is to be used, an external GPS antenna
must be connected Otherwise, GPS velocities can be externally provided
•ideo transmitter: in order to send the video feed from the vehicle to the ground
station, a video transmitter and receiver is required
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U-Camera User Manual - General System Introduction
1.2
1.2 Concept of system operation Concept of system operation
The basic system operation concept is shown in Figure 1 When correctly placed, U-Camera
Gimbal, Harness and Board act as a single element, U-Camera The interface with other
elements (FCS, Video transmitter) is done via U-Camera Harness
The vehicle Flight Control System (FCS) is in charge of managing the gimbal, commanding
the required mode/angles/rates
The power supply must be in the absolute range 9-28V, and U-Camera will internally
regulate the tension level In order to provide a power supply for the Video Transmitter, U-
Camera has a 12V supply available for this purpose For more information read the section
3 1 3 3
5
Figure 1: System concept

U-Camera User Manual - U-Camera Board
2
2 U-Camera Board U-Camera Board
U-Camera Board is the electronic board that handles the gimbal pointing and control It is
designed as a separate item from the gimbal itself This architecture allows the board to be
placed anywhere inside the vehicle, allowing a more efficient distribution of masses when
working with small vehicles
U-Camera Board contains the following integrated elements :
•Power regulators for video, electronics, and motors
•Main FPGA containing the two processors along with multiple logic
•GPS receiver
•ADC for voltage monitoring
•Thermal sensor
•Main DB-26 main connector
This board must be placed on the vehicle If the on-board GPS is to be used, receiver
antenna should be located on the upper part of the vehicle to obtain the best view of the
sky
2.1 Manipulating U-Camera Board
2.1 Manipulating U-Camera Board
The manipulation of U-Camera Board must always happen with the device disconnected
from the power supply in order to avoid permanent damage
To allow an easy fixation of U-Camera Board, it has four mounting holes described in
Appendix A
6
Figure 2: Mainboard schematic

U-Camera User Manual - U-Camera Gimbal
3
3 U-Camera Gimbal U-Camera Gimbal
The Gimbal of the U-Camera system contains the IMU sensors, motors and encoders along
with the video module U-Camera Gimbal is designed to have a small factor and low
weight (<500grams), so its suitable for small vehicles
The gimbal provides a DB-26 high density connector to interface with U-Camera Board and
the rest of the system A standard analog video output (PAL) is available on this connector
along with a 12V supply for the video transmitter
3.1
3.1 Mechanical Mounting Mechanical Mounting
U-Camera can be easily mounted on multiple types of vehicles as described in the current
section
3.1.1
3.1.1 ehicle considerations ehicle considerations
U-Camera gimbal is designed to be mounted on both rotary and fixed wing vehicles
Although there is not a vehicle limitation, mounting position and orientation considerations
are described in Section 3 1 2
3.1.2
3.1.2 Mounting positions Mounting positions
U-Camera gimbal is designed to be mounted facing the ground from the airframe An
example of correct mounting position is shown in Figure 3 Other mounting options (Roll-
Tilt configuration or upside down) will not work properly
The mounting scheme is referred to U-Camera gimbal, U-Camera Board can be mounted
anywhere on the vehicle The harness connecting U-Camera Board and Gimbal can be
provided by Airelectronics or manufactured by the client following the guidelines described
in the Section 6
Mounting points are described in the Appendix A Other mounting options are available
upon request
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U-Camera User Manual - U-Camera Gimbal
3.1.3
3.1.3 ibration isolation ibration isolation
In order to obtain a satisfactory video experience, it is recommended to isolate the gimbal
from the vibrations that may be present in the vehicle This is specially important in
vehicles powered by internal combustion engines or helicopters Regarding vibration
isolation, we can consider 3 types of vehicles:
•Combustion engine vehicles and all kind of helicopters
•Electrical multi-copters
•Electrical fixed-wing vehicles
3.1.3.1
3.1.3.1 Combustion engine vehicles / helicopters Combustion engine vehicles / helicopters
If U-Camera is to be mounted on this type of vehicles, the use of silent blocks is
mandatory If the Gimbal is not isolated from the vibrations from the vehicle, the images
provided by U-Camera may not be satisfactory and the gimbal may suffer permanent
damage
3.1.3.2
3.1.3.2 Electrical multicopters Electrical multicopters
When mounted on electrical vehicles, specially on multicopters, the use of silent blocks is
highly recommended to obtain high quality images, although damaging the gimbal is less
likely
3.1.3.3
3.1.3.3 Electrical fixed wing vehicles Electrical fixed wing vehicles
U-Camera can be mounted on electrical fixed vehicles without vibration isolation, although
the use of silent blocks may improve quality of the images
3.2
3.2 ideo Transmitter ideo Transmitter
U-Camera Gimbal connector provide a power supply at 12V (1A max) for a video
transmitter supply The pins providing the 12V and ground are described in the main
connection Section 6 Using this power supply the transmitter can be connected directly to
the gimbal without external regulators, while maintaining the transmitter isolated from the
rest of the system
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U-Camera User Manual - U-Camera Operation
4
4 U-Camera Operation U-Camera Operation
4.1
4.1 Powering U-Camera Powering U-Camera
Before powering U-Camera, all the harness and wiring must be connected U-Camera
system is not ready for hot-plugging, and powerup without all the harness connected may
damage the electronics
U-Camera accepts input voltages from 9 to 28V IMPORTANT: if the power supply is above
17V, active cooling of U-Camera Board is highly recommended to avoid permanent
damage
Upon power-up, the camera will point momentarily to Pan 0º and Tilt 0º and then will start
to stabilize in Angles Mode (Defined in Section 4 2)
4.2
4.2 Pointing modes Pointing modes
U-Camera accepts different modes in order to satisfy various pointing operations:
•Angles Mode: Angles Mode will point the gimbal to the angles provided by Set
Gimbal Angles Packet (Section 5 5 5) Note that the Gimbal will try to stabilize the
camera while maintaining the Pan-Tilt angles This will stabilize the image less
accurately that the Rates Mode
•Rates Mode: Rates Mode will completely stabilize the camera The Gimbal will
keep the camera pointing to a fixed direction in the space The stabilization point
can be modified using the Set Gimbal Rates Packet (Section 5 5 5 3)
•STOW: The mode will protect the camera lens pointing it to the angle tilt = +90°
and pan = 0°
•Pilot: The pilot mode will point the gimbal to tilt = 0° and pan = 0° to provide the
front view from the vehicle This mode has a soft stabilization
4.3
4.3 GPS Configuration GPS Configuration
U-Camera can work with and without GPS input However, it is recommended to work with
GPS input to provide the maximum pointing accuracy
The GPS source can be selected according to the protocol description in section 5 5 5 4,
being the following options available
•Internal GPS: U-Camera will use the onboard GPS receiver to get the position and
velocities In this case, the GPS antenna must be placed correctly on the vehicle
and connected to U-Camera Board
•External Feed: U-Camera will use the position and velocities send from the
controller as described in the communication protocol (Sections 5 5 5 1 and
5 5 5 2)
If no antenna is connected and no external feed is provided, U-Camera will continue
working but pointing accuracy may decrease in high dynamics vehicles
4.3.1
4.3.1 GPS Antenna position GPS Antenna position
In order to obtain the most accurate pointing, the GPS antenna position relative to the
gimbal position should be provided to U-Camera If this information is unaccurate, pointing
9

U-Camera User Manual - U-Camera Operation
errors may appear The packet that the GPS antenna position is described in the
communication protocol (Section 5 5 5 7) The position is measured in millimeters and
referred to the Gimbal fixed frame
The gimbal fixed frame is defined:
•X axis: Camera pointing direction when Pan=Tilt=0
•Y axis: Tilt motor rotation axis when Pan=0
•Z axis: Pan Motor rotation axis directec to the video module
4.4
4.4 ehicle Angles and elocities ehicle Angles and elocities
In order to provide the best pointing accuracy, U-Camera accepts the Euler Angles of the
vehicle (Yaw, Pitch, Roll) and angular velocities (p, q, r) as inputs The packets providing
these angles and velocities are described in the communication protocol (Section 5 5 5 5
and 5 5 5 6)
If this packet is received, U-Camera will use the provided angles as vehicle angles If the
packet is not being received U-Camera will calculate the vehicle angles from the GPS
source
Depending on the type of vehicle and Flight Control System used, externally provided
vehicle angles will provide better performance
4.5
4.5 Maximum Ratings Maximum Ratings
Input Characteristics
Minimum Maximum
Input Voltage 9V 17V / 28V (with cooling)
Operating Temperature -15 ºC +70 ºC
4.6
4.6 Autoalign Sensors Autoalign Sensors
U-Camera devices are precisely calibrated during manufacturing, but small perscusions
may introduce bias into the sensor readings To remove this bias, the user can command
the autolignment of the sensors
Autoalign can be commanded using two modes:
•Gyro autoalign: U-Camera will remove the bias from the gyroscopes
•Full autoalign: U-Camera will remove the bias from the gyroscopes and
acelerometers
The gimbal should be positioned horizontally prior to the Autoalign command Once the
command is received, the camera will position itself with zero pan and tilt, and then it will
monitorize the sensor reading for several seconds
During the whole process U-Camera will report Gyro autoalign / Full autoalign mode When
the process finishes, the gimbal will switch to Angles mode
IMPORTANT: during the autoalign process, the camera must be still Any movement will
result in a bad autoalign and bad stabilization performance
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U-Camera User Manual - U-Camera Operation
4.7
4.7 FFC Calibration (IR only) FFC Calibration (IR only)
In order to the obtain the maximum image quality, thermal calibration is recommended
To calibrate the infrared sensor, command the FFC Calibration mode using the command
mode packet (Section 5 5 3 1) U-Camera will point itself to the Pan=0º, Tilt=90º and
perform the calibration
When the process finishes, the gimbal will switch to Angles mode
IMPORTANT: this action may be commanded while flying althouth perform it on the
ground is encouraged maximize the quality
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U-Camera User Manual - Communication Protocol
5
5 Communication Protocol Communication Protocol
5.1
5.1 Protocol general description Protocol general description
U-Camera communicates using the U-Camera Serial Protocol, UCSP UCSP is a serial
protocol that allows the controller (indicated as CTRL in this document) to command U-
Camera Gimbal (GMB in this document)
Source Destination Main Function
CTRL(Controller) GMB(U-Camera) Command and configuration
GMB(U-Camera) CTRL(Controller) Status Report and Answer
UCSP is a standard serial protocol at 115200 bps, 1 stop bit and no parity The
communication messages are based on a standard packet structure defined in the next
Section 5 2
UCSP
Configuration
Serial Speed Stop bit Parity
115200bps 1 None
The downstream flow (CTRL GMB) is controlled by the master, which decides the packets→
to be sent and when to send them Although not required, it is recommended to send
periodically (~10Hz at least) packets regarding the command mode and desired
angles/rates
The upstream flow (GMB CTRL) is handled by U-Camera sending periodically reports of→
its status When CTRL sends a request, GMB replays to the request before sending more
periodic reports The periodic report packets are described in the Section 5 6
5.2
5.2 Packet structure Packet structure
The UCSP protocol is based on packets with variable length The packet structure is
described in the following tables
0 1 2 3 4 ... N+3 N+4 N+5
SYNC BYTE CATEGORY ID LENGTH PAYLOAD1 PAYLOADN CHK_A CHK_B
Position Name Description
0 Synchronization Byte 0xCC Synchronization Byte
1 Category number Upcoming Packet Category
2 Id number Upcoming Packet ID number
3 Packet Length(N) Upcoming data Length
[4, N+3] Payload Payload Content
N+4 Checksum A
N+5 Checksum B
Note that the Packet Length Number is referred to Payload, meaning that the complete
packet is composed by N + 6 bytes
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U-Camera User Manual - Communication Protocol
5.3
5.3 Checksum Calculation Checksum Calculation
As described in the previous section, the UCSP packets have two checksum bytes to
determine the integrity of the packet
This checksum is the 8-bit Fletcher algorithm, which is used in the TCP standard (RFC
1145)
Checksum A (CK_A) and Checksum B (CK_B) must be initialized to zero (0x00)
For each byte of the payload the byte is added to CK_A and then CK_B is the result of
adding the previous CK_B value to CK_A
When adding to CK_A and CK_B, values overflowing the 8 bits should be trimmed to 8 bit
with a 0xFF mask if the data type is wider than 8 bits
The checksum involves all the packet bytes except for the checksum bytes themselves
The packet is valid if the calculated CK_A and CK_B values are identical to the last two
bytes of the packet
A pseudo-code for checksum calculation is provided in the following figure:
For testing purposes, the following test packet is provided:
13
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 CK_A CK_B
0xCC 0x01 0x02 0x09 0x01 0x02 0x03 0x04 0x05 0x06 0x07 0x08 0x09 0xFC 0x74
Figure 5: xample Packet
Figure 4: Pseudo-code for checksum calculation
unsigned char CK_A, CK_B
CK_A = 0,CK_B = 0
For ( I = 0; I<N; I++)
{
CK_A = CK_A + Buffer I]
CK_B = CK_B + CK_A
}
Pseudo-code for check sum calculation

U-Camera User Manual - Communication Protocol
5.4
5.4 Data formats and structure Data formats and structure
The data used in UCSP protocol is always sent using little endian scheme The following
table shows the order for the different data types used in the U-Camera protocol The
position indicates the order used for sending the bytes, meaning that Position 0 byte is
sent before Position 1 byte and so on
Type Position 0 Position 1 Position 2 Position 3
Integer (int) Int [7:0] Int [15:8] Int [23:16] Int [31:24]
Unsigned Int (uint) Uint [7:0] Uint [15:8] Uint [23:16] Uint [31:24]
Float (float) Float [7:0] Float [15:8] Float [23:16] Float [31:24]
Short Int (int16) Int16 [7:0] Int16 [15:8]
Unsigned Short Int (uint16) Uint16 [7:0] Uint16 [15:8]
Byte/Char (byte) Byte [7:0]
5.5
5.5 Protocol Structure Protocol Structure
As described in section 5 2, the protocol packets are defined by a category and Id byte
Categories are meant to group multiple commands related to the same element, the
available categories in the protocol are listed in the following table
Category Byte Category Name Brief
0x04 Non Volatile Memory Commands related to the saving of the current configuration
0x08 Device Information Device Information
0x09 Gimbal Gimbal Command and Report
0x0A Camera Camera Module Command and Report
0x0B External Feed External information provided to the gimbal
0x0C IR Specific Specific commands for the IR payload
5.5.1
5.5.1 Non olatile Memory Category (Cat: 0x04) Non olatile Memory Category (Cat: 0x04)
This category allows to save the current configuration to the non-volatile memory using
the “Save Configuration” packet
Packet ID Byte Packet Name Source Destination Brief
0x01 Save Configuration CTRL GMB Save configuration to Non Volatile Memory
5.5.1.1
5.5.1.1 Save configuration to N memory (Cat: 0x04, ID: 0x01) Save configuration to N memory (Cat: 0x04, ID: 0x01)
To save the current configuration ton the non volatile memory, just send this packet with
no payload During the process of saving the configuration, the gimbal will not send
telemetry or respond to commands, although the stabilization and pointing will work
normally This process usually takes around one second
Sync Byte Category Byte ID Byte Length Byte CK_A CK_B
0xCC 0x04 0x01 0x00 0xD1 0x3E
DO NOT use this command during flight and remember to use a stable power supply A
loss of power during the saving process may cause permanent damage to the unit
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U-Camera User Manual - Communication Protocol
5.5.1.2
5.5.1.2 Save FFC to N memory (Cat: 0x04, ID: 0x02, IR Only) Save FFC to N memory (Cat: 0x04, ID: 0x02, IR Only)
To save the FFC calibration to the non-volatile memory of the video module, just send this
packet with no payload Note that this command is only effective for IR cameras More
information about the FFC calibration is available in the section 4 7 The saving process
may took up 10 seconds, and a power loss during the process may cause damage to the IR
module
Sync Byte Category Byte ID Byte Length Byte CK_A CK_B
0xCC 0x04 0x02 0x00 0xD1 0x3E
5.5.2
5.5.2 Device Information Category (Cat: 0x08) Device Information Category (Cat: 0x08)
Device Information category contains the packets required to request and report the
firmware version and the serial number of the unit
Packet ID Byte Packet Name Source Destination Brief
0x01 Report Version GMB CTRL Report Gimbal Software Version / Serial Number
0x02 Request Version CTRL GMB Request Gimbal Software Version / Serial Number
0x03 Report Data Frequency GMB CTRL Report Data Frequency for telemetry data
0x04 Request Data Frequency CTRL GMB Request Data Frequency for telemetry data
0x05 Set Data Frequency CTRL GMB Set Data Frequency for telemetry data
5.5.2.1
5.5.2.1 Report Gimbal ersion (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x01) Report Gimbal ersion (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x01)
The payload of the gimbal version report uses the following structure:
Payload Position Data Type Data Description
0 int16 MB Serial Number
1 int16 SB Serial Number
2 int32 CPU0 Version
3 int32 CPU1 Version
4 int16 Non-Volatile Memory Version
5.5.2.2
5.5.2.2 Request Gimbal ersion (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x02) Request Gimbal ersion (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x02)
To request the gimbal version information an empty packet is required
Sync Byte Category Byte ID Byte Length Byte CK_A CK_B
0xCC 0x08 0x02 0x00 0xD6 0x4C
5.5.2.3
5.5.2.3 Report Telemetry Data Frequency (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x03) Report Telemetry Data Frequency (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x03)
This packet contains information about the frequency used to provide the telemetry data
in Hertz For example, 50Hz means that each one of the periodic packets will be
transmited 50 times per second
Payload Position Data Type Data Description
0 uint16 Data frequency in Hertzs
5.5.2.4
5.5.2.4 Request Telemetry Data Frequency (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x04) Request Telemetry Data Frequency (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x04)
To request the gimbal version information an empty packet is required
Sync Byte Category Byte ID Byte Length Byte CK_A CK_B
0xCC 0x08 0x04 0x00 0xD8 0x50
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U-Camera User Manual - Communication Protocol
5.5.2.5
5.5.2.5 Set Telemetry Data Frequency (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x05) Set Telemetry Data Frequency (Cat: 0x08, ID: 0x05)
The user can configure the data rate by sending this packet providing the desired data
frequency
Payload Position Data Type Data Description
0 uint16 Data frequency in Hertzs (1 to 200 Hz)
5.5.3
5.5.3 Gimbal Category (Cat: 0x09) Gimbal Category (Cat: 0x09)
The Gimbal category refers to the control of the pointing system itself This category
contains the packets regarding mode selection/report and rates/angles command and
report
Packet ID Byte Packet Name Source Destination Brief
0x01 Set Mode CTRL GMB Set Gimbal Mode
0x02 Report Mote GMB CTRL Report Gimbal Mode
0x03 Set Gimbal Rates CTRL GMB Set Gimbal Rates
0x04 Report Gimbal Rates GMB CTRL Report Gimbal Rates
0x05 Set Gimbal Angles CTRL GMB Set Gimbal Angles
0x06 Report Gimbal Angles GMB CTRL Report Gimbal Angles
5.5.3.1
5.5.3.1 Set Mode Packet (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x01) Set Mode Packet (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x01)
The packet allows to set the pointing mode of the gimbal
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int16 Mode Number Mode number described in the next table
Available Modes are:
Mode Number Mode Name Mode Description
0 Angles Command Gimbal Angles
1 Rates Command Pointing Rates
2 Safe Mode Protect the Lens
3 PIlot Front View
4 Init Mode Initialization Mode
5 Gyro Autoalign Performs Gyro Autoalign
6 Gull Autoalign Performs Gyro and Accelerometers Autoalign
7 FFC Calibration Performs FFC thermal calibration (IR only)
5.5.3.2
5.5.3.2 Report Mode Packet (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x02) Report Mode Packet (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x02)
This packet is reported periodically from the gimbal containing the operative mode
number
The packet structure is the following:
Data Position Data Type Data Mode Description
0 int16 Mode Number Mode number described in the previous table
The mode definition is the same described in the previous section
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U-Camera User Manual - Communication Protocol
5.5.3.3
5.5.3.3 Set gimbal Rates (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x03) Set gimbal Rates (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x03)
The gimbal rates are the angular velocities commanded to the gimbal when the mode
“Rates” is set Note that unless this mode is active, the commands in this packet will take
no effect
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int16 Pan Rate degrees/Second * 100
1 int16 Tilt Rate degrees/Second * 100
2 int16 Roll Rate Not Implemented, fill with Zero
5.5.3.4
5.5.3.4 Report gimbal Rates (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x04) Report gimbal Rates (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x04)
The reported gimbal rates are the actual angular velocities of the gimbal around its axis
Note that these values do not necessarily match the commanded rates
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int16 Pan Rate degrees/Second * 100
1 int16 Tilt Rate degrees/Second * 100
2 int16 Roll Rate Not Implemented, report is always Zero
5.5.3.5
5.5.3.5 Set gimbal Angles (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x05) Set gimbal Angles (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x05)
The gimbal angles are the position of the gimbal referred to its axis Note that unless the
mode angle is active, the commands in the packet will take no effect
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int16 Pan Angle degrees * 100
1 int16 Tilt Angle degrees * 100
2 int16 Roll Angle Not Implemented, fill with Zero
5.5.3.6
5.5.3.6 Report gimbal Angles (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x06) Report gimbal Angles (Cat: 0x09, ID: 0x06)
The reported gimbal angles represent the current position of the gimbal referred to its axis
Note that these values do not necessarily match the commanded angles
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int16 Pan Angle degrees * 100
1 int16 Tilt Angle degrees * 100
2 int16 Roll Angle Not Implemented, report is always Zero
5.5.4
5.5.4 Camera Category (Cat: 0x0A) Camera Category (Cat: 0x0A)
The camera category contains all the communications related to the video module and its
configurations
Packet ID Byte Packet Name Source Destination Brief
0x01 Set Zoom CTRL GMB Set Camera Zoom
0x02 Report Zoom GMB CTRL Report Camera Zoom
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5.5.4.1
5.5.4.1 Set Camera Zoom Packet (Cat: 0x0A, ID: 0x01) Set Camera Zoom Packet (Cat: 0x0A, ID: 0x01)
This packet allows to set the camera optical zoom level
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 uint16 Zoom Value Zoom Command (0 - 16383)
Where 0 is the minimum zoom (wide) and 16383 is the maximum (tele)
5.5.4.2
5.5.4.2 Report Camera Zoom Packet (Cat: 0x0A, ID: 0x02) Report Camera Zoom Packet (Cat: 0x0A, ID: 0x02)
The reported zoom represents the current value of the camera optical zoom In some
situations the reported zoom may differ from the commanded zoom
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int16 Zoom Value Zoom Report (0 - 16383)
5.5.4.3
5.5.4.3 Report Gimbal Type(Cat: 0x0A, ID: 0x03) Report Gimbal Type(Cat: 0x0A, ID: 0x03)
This packet reports the type of gimbal of the U-Camera device
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int16 Gimbal Type Gimbal Type
The gimbal types are:
Gimbal Type alue Gimbal Type Description
0x00 Invalid / Undefined
0x01 IR Gimbal
0x02 Daylight Gimbal
5.5.5
5.5.5 External Feed Category (Cat: 0x0B) External Feed Category (Cat: 0x0B)
The External Feed category contains all the communications related to the use of the
aircraft GPS instead of the gimbal one
Packet ID Byte Packet Name Source Destination Brief
0x01 Send GPS Velocities CTRL GMB Provides the GPS Velocities to be used in estimation
0x02 Send GPS Position
and Velocities
CTRL GMB Provides the GPS Position and Velocities to be used in
estimation and pointing
0x03 System Position
Report
GMB CTRL Reports current GPS Latitude, Longitude and Altitude
0x04 Configure GPS Feed CTRL GMB Switch between onboard GPS and aircraft GPS
0x05 Send Vehicle Angles CTRL GMB Provides the Vehicle Euler Angles to be used in
estimation and pointing
0x06 Send Vehicle
Angular Velocities
CTRL GMB Provides the Vehicle Angular velocities (p, q, r in the
vehicle body frame)
0x07 Set GPS Antenna
Position
CTRL GMB Set the GPS antenna position information
0x08 Request GPS
Antenna Position
CTRL GMB Request the GPS antenna position information
0x09 GPS Antenna
Position Report
GMB CTRL Reports the position of the GPS antenna
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5.5.5.1
5.5.5.1 Send GPS elocities (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x01) Send GPS elocities (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x01)
Provides the GPS velocities for the gimbal calculations This packet is ignored if on-board
GPS is used
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int32 GPS Vel North meters/second * 1e2
1 int32 GPS Vel Est meters/second * 1e2
2 int32 GPS Vel Down meters/second * 1e2
5.5.5.2
5.5.5.2 Send GPS Position and elocities (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x02) Send GPS Position and elocities (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x02)
Provides the GPS velocities and positions for the gimbal calculations This packet is ignored
if on-board GPS is used
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int32 GPS Pos Lat degrees * 1e7
1 int32 GPS Pos Lon degrees * 1e7
2 int32 GPS Pos Alt meters * 1e5
3 int32 GPS Vel North meters/second * 1e2
4 int32 GPS Vel Est meters/second * 1e2
5 int32 GPS Vel Down meters/second * 1e2
5.5.5.3
5.5.5.3 System Position Report (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x03) System Position Report (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x03)
This packet reports the last system position calculated in the gimbal Note that this
position is not strictly the same as the GPS position
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int32 System Pos Lat degrees * 1e7
1 int32 System Pos Lon degrees * 1e7
2 int32 System Pos Alt meters * 1e5
5.5.5.4
5.5.5.4 Configure GPS Feed (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x04) Configure GPS Feed (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x04)
This packet allows to configure the GPS source for the gimbal, which can be the internal
GPS module or an external feed via serial port
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Mode Description
0 byte gps feed config 0: use internal GPS Module
1: use data from serial feed
5.5.5.5
5.5.5.5 Send ehicle Angles (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x05) Send ehicle Angles (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x05)
Provides the vehicle Euler angles for the gimbal calculations
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int32 Yaw degrees * 1e4
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1 int32 Pitch degrees * 1e4
2 int32 Roll Degrees * 1e4
5.5.5.6
5.5.5.6 Send ehicle Angular elocities (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x06) Send ehicle Angular elocities (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x06)
Provides the vehicle angular velocities in the host vehicle body frame (p, q, r) used to
improve the attitude calculations
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int32 Yaw Degrees / s * 1e4
1 int32 Pitch Degrees / s * 1e4
2 int32 Roll Degrees / s * 1e4
5.5.5.7
5.5.5.7 Set GPS Antenna Position(Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x07) Set GPS Antenna Position(Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x07)
This packet sets the GPS Antenna position Note that if the configuration is not saved to
the Non-Volatile memory after sending this packet, the GPS Antenna position will be lost
upon system restart
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int16 X position Meters * 1e3 (mm)
1 int16 Y position Meters * 1e3 (mm)
2 int16 Z position Meters * 1e3 (mm)
5.5.5.8
5.5.5.8 Request GPS Antenna Position (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x08) Request GPS Antenna Position (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x08)
Sending this packet with no payload causes U-Camera to report the GPS Antenna position
on memory using packet described in 5 5 5 9
5.5.5.9
5.5.5.9 GPS Antenna Position Report (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x09) GPS Antenna Position Report (Cat: 0x0B, ID: 0x09)
Reports current GPS Antenna position
The packet structure is:
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 int16 X position Meters * 1e3 (mm)
1 int16 Y position Meters * 1e3 (mm)
2 int16 Z position Meters * 1e3 (mm)
5.5.6
5.5.6 IR Specific Category (Cat: 0x0C) IR Specific Category (Cat: 0x0C)
The IR Specific category contains all the communications related to the IR camera
Packet ID Byte Packet Name Source Destination Brief
0x01 Set IR Palette CTRL GMB Sets the IR color scheme
0x02 Report IR Palette GMB CTRL Reports the IR current color scheme
5.5.6.1
5.5.6.1 Set IR Palette Packet (Cat: 0x0C, ID: 0x01) Set IR Palette Packet (Cat: 0x0C, ID: 0x01)
This packet sets the color scheme for the IR camera
Data Position Data Type Data Data Description
0 uint16 Color scheme
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