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Manual and Autonomous Flight

  • Updated

DroneSense supports manual and autonomous flight, and allows you to switch between these modes at any time.

Manual Flight

As with other flight control software, you can begin flying the drone using the remote control. Because DroneSense connects using the hardware's SDK (software development kit), all physical controls will respond the same. Note, however, that some custom button configurations might not be recognized in the flight control app.

You can switch to an autonomous flight plan at any time. Simply get the drone to a safe place to hover (or land) and load the flight plan (or create a new one). Once the flight plan is loaded, begin autonomous flight as describe below.

Autonomous Flight

Using the Flight Planning tools, you can set up, modify, and initiate autonomous flight plans from the flight control app.

Complete the following steps to start an autonomous flight.

  1. To start a plan, tap Play. The first action on the flight plan is highlighted green. You can choose a different action in the flight plan to go to by tapping it on the map.
  2. Tap Go Now to start automated flight.
  3. To pause the plan to perform another action, tap Stop. Once stopped, you can manually fly, change action settings, reorder actions, or load another flight plan.
  4. To return to any part of the flight plan, tap Play.
  5. Choose one of the actions on the flight plan by tapping it on the map.
  6. Tap Go Now to resume automated flight.

Map Coloration

Flight plans on the map clearly indicate what will be and will not be flown:

  • Before takeoff, the path for all actions that will complete are light blue.
  • Once you start flying, your drone's path is drawn as dark blue.
  • If you switch to manual flight, all flight paths and actions turn gray. Your flown path remains dark blue.
  • When you resume automated flight, the selected next action point is green, with the remaining flight path displaying as light blue. Previous actions or actions you skip are displayed as gray.

Stopping and Resuming a Flight Plan

There are many reasons why you might need to pause an autonomous flight plan, such as performing a battery swap, changing situations on the ground, and so on.

  1. To stop an automated flight, tap Stop. From here, you can fly manually.
  2. When you want to resume automated flight, tap Play.
  3. Select the action you want to go to next by tapping it on the map. You can choose the point you stopped or any of the other actions in your flight plan. You also can load a different flight plan.
  4. When you are ready to go, tap Go Now at the bottom of the map.

 

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