Hi
Am wondering:
Can a faulty LiDAR module cause the uav to significantly veer off-track?
My taco_delivery script has been working fine. But suddenly, it’s beginning to veer about 20-40 metres away from the delivery destination …
I noticed that one of the LiDAR wires was torn. However, I’m thinking that this shouldn’t be the culprit seeing as the Pixhawk has its own altimeter/barometer, etc., but now I’m not sure …
I Googled this but am not finding any credible info …
Lidar provides accurate altitude/terrain (z axis) information, independent of GPS barometric drift or camera scale errors. This is especially critical near the ground where GPS noise is larger than the required precision.
However, in simulations I have found significant x-y deviations if the lidar is faulty or removed.
Checking with AI, I found:
"If you use optical flow, its pixel rates are converted to m/s using height. If range suddenly drops to 0, freezes, or jumps, the estimator computes the wrong XY velocity → the position controller “chases ghosts” and you see sideways motion.
"Bad Z readings → altitude hold integrator winds up → large thrust corrections. On multicopters, thrust changes alter translational acceleration (via tilt and motor mixing). If attitude PIDs are near limits or the craft is lightly damped, you see sideways “walks” even in still air.
“…inconsistent Z will cause the estimator to reconcile disagreeing measurements by nudging XY…”
Also,
“Rangefinders over shiny/angled surfaces report wrong heights. The controller “thinks” it lost altitude, punches throttle, tilts slightly to correct, and you see XY creep.”
Aside from ensuring good lidar feed, there are methods to deal with this that get rather technical which you can research further with AI.
I can confirm that after fixing the faulty Lidar module wiring, the uav flies as programmed.
Having a HUD camera in Mission Planner would definitely help viewing exactly what the uav’s camera is capturing …
I got this feature working by following the related dojo drone building tutorial. But, the camera feed flashes on and off.
Online sources suggest that: the 5 frames per second that my PiCam Version 1 might be too low, ie: the 5 fps used in the related Dojo Precision Landing tutorial.
But in the related Dojo Drone Building tutorial, 30 fps is used.
Has anyone had any experience with either: fixing the mission planner camera feed from flashing on and off, or: adjusting the frame per second?