Airpixel AIR Commander Entire User manual

airpixel.cz
Wired Geotagging r3
Before using this product, carefully read all product documentation and retain it for future reference.

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GeoTagging overview
GeoTagging mode is enabled via MENU -
coordinates into the EXIF of photos in the camera.
No USB camera control is available (only Infra-Red commanding) in geotagging modes.
Direct (EXIF) mode & SD Card mode
-is available in this mode for
newer Sony cameras (A7R3, A7R4, A6600, RX100V, RX100VI). WiFi control will be lost during
USB connection (after takeoff and after landing). Entire will re-establish WiFi connection back
once USB will be disconnected.
-Photo triggering available via MavLink bus for the Pixhawk drones, or via PWM for DJI drones.
-IR commands are also available for cameras with IR port (whole Sony A7 series)
oISO, Exposure correction, MENU (and navigation), Photo review, Zoom, Video start/stop
-No matter if Direct(EXIF) or SD Card mode is selected, text backup version is copied to SD
card of the Entire (if inserted). file is also copied to
SD card of the Camera.
configuration (CONTROL - .
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Capture detection
Accuracy of the exact capture time is highly important. AIR Commander Entire triggers the capture
via multiport USB or IR commands (user selectable). Even the trigger is highly reliable, in the real
world there is still option of failure of camera AF or other system, which causes missing photo in the
log row. Missing photo will cause overrun and wrong information on all next photos. We have two
options for the user.
-mode - suggested option. Additional bracket is used to sense the photo trigger
from the Flash connector on the camera body. Extremely accurate in time precision and also
avoids missed captures.
-mode - less accurate option, which actually does not sense if the real
capture has happen. However especially for the multiport triggering the time accuracy is pretty
good.
GPS / RTK selection
AIR Commander Entire selects automatically the RTK coordinates if they are available at the DJI API input.
If they are not available, GPS is used automatically.
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Wired GeoTagging connection - DJI
For the GeoTagging mode the AIR Commander Entire must be connected to the Camera via Sony
Multiport Cable (this is frequently mismatched, please check photos at the end of the manual), and also must be
connected to the DJI Flight Controller API connector. Cable set for API connection is available at the
Shop. There are few options about triggering of the camera during mission.
a) Using DJI Remote (RSS) (suggested) in this option you MUST use the HotShoe sensor and you can skip lines
marked *.
b) Using the Entire internal functions of timed triggering or distance trigger functions (also suggested). You can skip
lines marked *.
c) Using F port triggering. In this mode you have to follow all lines of bottom process.
-Step 1(DJI) - Wiring
oRemove the top plastic cover of DJI M600 Center Frame
o*Connect SBUS cable to the F3 port of your A3/N3
oConnect API cable to the API connector of your A3/N3
SEE THE PICTURES
-Step 1 (PixHawk) Wiring
oConnect the PixHawk cable to the Cube Telem 1 or 2
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-Step 1a Wiring
oThread the cables down through the body of the drone
-Step 2 (DJI) Wiring
oSBUS and API Cables threaded through the center frame now must be
connected into the Extension BOX. Use UNI-1 for SBUS (PWM) and any
of ports UNI 2/3/4 for DJI API cable.
oDATA port of the Extension BOX needs to be connected by UNI cable to
the Entire
-Step 2 (PixHawk) Wiring
oAt PixHawk you have two options depending on used flight stack
(ArduCopter/PX4).
oFor ArduCopter you need to connect the only the Telem1 or Telem2 to
the Extension BOX. Triggering and camera control can be done via
MavLink or HereLink buttons (Solex app).
oFor PX4 flight stack camera trigger needs to be done via PWM from
flight controller. Use SBUS/PWM Cable for connection to PixHawk.
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-Step 3 - Wiring
oUNI Cable from the Extension BOX DATA port needs to be
connected to the Entire r3 port UNI A, B or C. For the Entire r2 only
PORT A is suggested.
oBecause UNI Cable is usually not long enough to pass the distance
from the drone body to the gimbal, you can use Joining unit to
interconnect two UNI cables.
oJoining units also does a safety guard to avoid wire interruption.
-Step 4 Extension BOX
oRemember to configure PORT A, B or C (depending on your
selection) in the Entire
oOnce Extension BOX is properly connected and configured in the
Entire, STATUS LED of the Extension BOX will start blinking GREEN
and Entire overview page will show selected port highlighted as
-Step 5 HotShoe sync (optional)
oInsert HotShoe connector into HotShoe of your Camera
oConnect HotShoe cable to EXT port of the Entire
oRed wire from the cable connect to the pin of HotShoe connector.
oIR LED should be mounted at the Camera IR sensor. If not necessary, you can
disconnect pins of the LED from the EXT connector and use single red wire only.
o

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-Step 6 (DJI) Configure SDK
-
oConnect the drone via USB to DJI Assistant
oSelect A3 / N3 unit
o
oConfigure Baud rate 230400 (default)
oAttitude Quaternions 100Hz
oPosition 100Hz
oRTK 100Hz (If RTK is used)
oGimbal Data 100Hz
oFlight Status 100Hz
o
oClick to Enable API if not enabled
-Step 6 (PixHawk) Configure Telem port
-
oConfigure proper Telemetry port to the budrate of
115200bps
oConfigure proper Telemetry port to the MavLink1 protocol
oSee page 11 for optional (suggested) configuration
(GeoTagging conenction Pixhawk)
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-Step 7 (DJI) - *Assign F port for Shutter
o*
o*Switch
o*Select port F3 as Shutter
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-Step 8 (DJI) *Configure Shutter*
-
o*
o*Configure
Shutter Trigger PWM to 1900
Shutter Default PWM to 1000
Shutter PWM frequency 50Hz
Shutter PWM Active 400ms
o*PWM signal connection is suggested to
UNI-1 port of the Extension BOX
*for DJI M300 PWM triggering is not available
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-Step 9 - Check the connection
o
oOpen configuration page
oOpen MENU -> Miscellaneous
oFrom the
oIn the popup you should get similar data if the
GPS / RTK has enough signal.
oData preview popup is real-time and should
change as drone / gimbal moves.
-Step 10 Configure Entire
oSwitch UNI-2/3 or 4 to DJI mode (depending on
your selection of DJI API connection)
o*Switch UNI-1 to PWM mode
o*Open Menu SBUS mapping
o*
o*Assign Cannel to #1 (channel one is PWM
input)
o*Configure trigger to upper half of the range
o*White arrow will move slightly. When shutter
button on DJI Transmitter is pressed, white arrow
should move into blue part of slider and the
Entire should now trigger photo.

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Step 11 - Calibration
oOptionally you can preset the offset of the
camera
oOpen the MENU -> Miscellaneous
oScroll down to GeoTagging features
oAnd insert X, Y, Z offsets.
oWhen GPS is used, offset is counted from
body center (if correct offset is configured in
the FC)
oWhen RTK is used, offset must be counted
from Antenna A
oOffset is in millimeters!
Photogrammetry
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Geotagging overall wiring scheme
(Higher resolution image online)

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GeoTagging conenction Pixhawk - Connection issues
The Entire needs GPS data stream from the Pixhawk for geotagging purposes. Entire is able to request GPS data stream from the PixHawk
automatically per each session. This process is however sometimes problematic. Instead of automatic communication establishment, you can
setup GPS data stream manually. This is most reliable solution for Entire GeoTagging.
Connect your PixHawk to PC and connect it via Mission Planner
Open Settings Bookmark
From left MENU select FULL PARAMETER LIST
Re-configure baudrate to 500 000 bps (SERIALx_BAUD value 500)
500 000bps.
Find item named SR1_POSITION or SR2_POSITION depending on telemetry port of
your choose and enter value of 50 *
Find item named SR1_EXTRA1 or SR2_ EXTRA1 depending on telemetry port of your
choose and enter value of 10
All other SR1_xxx or SR2_xxx items must be set to 0 for reliable communication
Confirm by enter and click to WRITE VALUE on the right
From this time, GPS stream is enabled for all future flights
Optionally you can check your MavLink connection by manual action Trigger Camera
if all wiring and
configuration is OK. (Camera trigger is not GPS data stream dependent). If you have
proper GPS coordinates in the Entire, but no trigger, check if port is configured as
MavLink1!
* (Mission Planer can give you warning that value is out of range, confirm that by OK)
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GeoTagging process
Once all setup is done, you are ready for first tests. You can use a Simulator feature in the DJI Assistant application to check
if all works all expected.
1. Presumptions:
a. Sony Camera is connected to the Entire via Multi-Port cable ->
b. Control Mode is set up to USB
c. Logging Mode is configured as Direct (EXIF)
d. Camera is turned into Mass Storage USB connection mode.
e. If the camera has two memory card slots, use only one.
f. Configure the camera for saving JPG or RAW, Not both.
2. Default STATUS LED color in this configuration is BLUE and camera disconnected.
3. Immediately after takeoff, Entire will start blinking WHITE Active GeoTagging session
initialization.
4. Entire will automatically trigger photo capture and connect the via USB to scan actual SD
folder/files order
5. Once the process of starting GeoTagging session is correctly done, STATUS LED will start blinking
GREEN slowly, camera will be disconnected and you are ready to go. If RED blinking appears,
GeoTagging has failed.
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6. During the flight:
a. You can trigger photos automatically (in planned Mission mode) or manually via DJI
trigger (PWM) or via AIR Commander Link or via SBUS. If you use HotShoe sync, you can
also trigger camera by any other third-party trigger (DJI Remote RSS).
b. Received command makes STATUS LED blink shortly white
c. Recognized camera capture is signalized by short blink of blue.
7. In the moment of landing, Entire STATUS LED will start blinking GREEN fast -> Process of
Coordinates download has begun.
8. Camera will be connected via USB and new photos will be tagged by appropriate coordinates /
gimbal angles.
9. Once process is done successfully, STATUS LED turns into BLUE solid. This means, that there were
no errors during the flight or download. If STATUS LED turns to blink RED, there were one or
more errors.
10.
of the GPS log file is:
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GeoTagging accuracy
Accuracy of whole process has been kept in each step of the creation process.
Capture sensing accuracy
HotShoe sensor has maximum delay of 5ms. If the drone flies at speed 5m/s, error will be
approx. 2,5cm (1 inch).
GPS / RTK receiving
RAW RTK or GPS update is received by drone only 5-10 times per second. Drone Flight
controller uses smart algorithms to estimate drone position in time between real
measurements. We are reading data from the Flight controller 100 times per second (each
10ms). Also Entire applies smart post process using history positions and future positions
(positions received after the capture) to estimate real capture coordinates.
EXIF accuracy
EXIF is written with extremely high accuracy of 0.00000001 degree, which is approx. 1mm
accuracy in the distance. Altitude is saved with 0.1mm accuracy.
Real-time GPS post process
Our filtering methods is available in three stiffness steps. Post process is aimed to linearize all
the movement of drone. Algorithm uses history GPS positions and future positions (measured
after the capture) to estimate real capture position. Higher stiffness is good for long straight
flights without changing of flight direction. High stiffness is also great for flights, where
photographs are made while drone is hovering. For flights in rounds with small radius or other
non-straight flight please use low stiffness or disable the filter.
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MavLink control
Instead of AIR Commander Link system and SBUS input for controlling of the Entire you can also use MavLink.
If you have PixHawk as drone flight controller, you can use MavLink telemetry channel for remote commanding of the Entire (and Camera). Our
plugins are compatible with QGroundControl and Mission Planner application.
Aperture and Shutter-Speed control are not accessible during geotagging session. ISO is available only as custom key shortcut mapped to the
arrows Left/Right/Down. Once GeoTagging is disabled all features can be used for camera control.
QGroundControl
1. Download our QGroundControl plugin (supported up to v3.5.6)
2. open QGroundcontrol application
3. in the top menu click to "Widgets"
4. select "Custom commands"
5. at the bottom of new window select "Load Custom Qml file"
6. select file "entire_qgc.qml" included in this ZIP
7. Plugin will be loaded as per image, click to the button will now
be executed on your camera.
The Entire must be updated to the minimum FW 1.079 for this feature.
Photogrammetr
y

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Mission Planner
1. Download our Mission Planner plugin
2. Unzip and copy all files to Mission Planner program path
3. open Mission Planner application
4. in the left bottom part of program select tab named
5. click to " camera_control.py
6.
7. our camera control console will pop up in few seconds
C the console will be always
visible. You can also set the console semi-transparent to see information under.
The Entire must be updated to the minimum FW 1.079 for this feature.
Photogrammetr
y

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Cables for wired geotagging
DJI API cable PixHawk cable UNI cable (4pin) EXT cable (3pin) SBUS/PWM cable (4pin)
(only 3pin connected) (only 3pin connected) (two lengths available)
HotShoe connector Multiport USB cable
(Entire connector is fully connected at Multiport cable!)

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FAQ
GeoTagging starts properly ( Entire is blinking green slow), however after landing the Entire turns to error (red blinking)
This kind of issue is mostly related to the file name and folder naming in the camera. The Entire is prepared to the default setting with folder name
DCIM/100MSDCF se
reconfigure it back to the default.
If previous suggestion does not help, check if the SD card is formatted (sometimes SD cards contains files from another cameras which makes troubles).
WiFi hotspot disappear after few minutes
is extremely sensitive to input power stability. If you have issues with hotspot disappearing, your power input is most probably too weak.
You have to take in mind, that once USB is connected to the camera, power consumption of the Entire can be as high as 1.8A! (depending on your camera
model) If you have no other option to power the Entire, you can disable the USB camera charging (via the Camera menu).

In the geotagging mode, the camera is disconnected for most of time. Camera is shortly connected via USB multiport only after takeoff and after
(MENU/arrows/OK) and LANC
commands (ZOOM/video trigger), because these are enabled by default for all the cameras.
GeoTagging works, but some photos has wrong GPS or missing GPS information at all.
This issue is mostly caused by wrong API SDK configuration in the DJI Assistant. Double check if all fields remarked at page 6 are configured properly
ing situation.
Most of users checks the GPS
FAQ