APX4 3.0.5
Please use Auterion Mission Control 1.29 or newer with this version of APX4.
Attention: Default disarmed PWM was changed from 900us to 1000us! See PX4 v1.14 release notes.
Major changes
Improved ROS 2 Interface thanks to uXRCE-DDS. This enables the use the Auterion SDK to build advanced flight control capabilities in ROS 2.
Added helicopter support
APX4 is based on the open-source PX4 release v1.14. See here for detailed release notes for 1.14.
Below are the changes made on top of v1.14.
What's new
General
Mission feasibility checks: check if mission items fit to the current vehicle type
Add magnetometer thermal calibration/compensation
Factory calibration: do not store _PRIO parameters
Arming checks: disallow arming via parameter
Commander: add warning for imminent navigation failure
Enable arbitrary Euler angle for magnetometer rotation
Battery preflight check: add new battery threshold for arming (COM_ARM_BAT_MIN)
Add option to configure action when wind limit is exceeded (COM_WIND_MAX_ACT)
Disarm if battery failure is detected during spool-up
Add option to enable stick gesture to "kill" vehicle
Sensors / State estimation
EKF2: new vision attitude error filter
Add magnetometer inclination check
Add auxiliary global position fusion option
Added support to reset vehicle position based on external position. This can be useful in GPS denied conditions where the operator can recognize the current position by looking for landmarks in the video stream.
Add SF30/D Lightware laser distance sensor
Copter
Helicopter: add tail servo support
Coaxial Helicopter Support
Add "Slow Position Mode" feature. This mode is similar to position mode but allows you to change the speed of the drone. This can be very useful during inspections where the operator wants to make very small maneuvers while inspecting an object.
Add option for throw launch
Fixed-wing / VTOL
Tiltrotor VTOL back-transition: expose tilting time as parameter
Added Performance model for fixed-wing to improve controller stability when flying with varying payload weights or in different altitudes
Optionally disable SF1xx sensor in VTOL fixed-wing flight phase
Rover
Add Roboclaw ESC driver
Differential drive for Rover & Gazebo R1 Rover port
What improved
General
Micro-XRCE-DDS-Client improvements
Fix geofence when changing altitude through reposition
Improvement: Default motor PWM limits minimum 1100 maximum 1900
Documentation can be found here
Attention: Default disarmed PWM was changed from 900us to 1000us!
Geofence: Disable pre-emptive geofence predictor by default
GNSS-denied workflow: Allow auto modes with local position estimate if global origin is set manually
Don't allow external reposition commands without a mode switch, and ensure old reposition commands are not erroneously set
Geofence: if armed, do not allow to upload a fence that would trigger a geofence breach immediately
Geofence: do not allow to upload a fence that doesn't include Home (to ensure that RTL to Home is always possible)
Navigator: prevent race condition when receiving multiple commands at once
Sensors / State estimation
Optical flow: general improvements
Yaw estimator improvements
Improve yaw emergency estimator convergence
Yaw estimator: use gyro bias from EKF2 if at rest
Magnetometer preflight check: report strength and inclination values in case of failure
EKF2: improve resilience against incorrect magnetometer data
Robustify range finder kinematic consistency check
Terrain estimator: handle EKF2 height reset
Improve EKF2 stability by switching to an error-state Kalman filter
Sensors: add parameter to silence IMU clipping (SENS_IMU_CLPNOTI)
Multi GNSS fallback improvements
Copter
Respect spool-up time in Stabilized mode and have zero throttle while still landed
Fix helicopter actuator saturation logic
Fix multicopter altitude change sometimes not linear between two waypoints
Fix FlightTaskAuto: harden line following logic (only do line following if previous and current setpoints are not equal).
Yaw handling improvements/simplifications, e.g. remove waypoint yaw acceptance requirement if weather vane is enabled
Beginner/tuning friendly Acro mode defaults
Fixed-wing / VTOL
Replace old implementation of "uncommanded descend quad-chute" (VT_QC_ALT_LOSS and VT_QC_T_ALT_LOSS)
Fixed-wing: Always establish loiter around current position when switching into Hold mode
VTOL: scale transition airspeed threshold with configured vehicle weight and air density
Fixed-wing/VTOL: High wind controller hardening
Rework figure eight joining logic
Add guidance fallback for corner cases without valid wind estimates
Make airspeed sensor configuration easier and consistent with other sensors
VTOL Tailsitter: add automatic pitch ramps in transition also in Stabilized mode
TECS throttle gains renames and defaults reduction
VTOL: treat Descend mode like Land mode for pusher/tilt assist
Fixed wing autotune improvements
Parameter Changes Compared to APX4 2.7
Removed Parameters
| Parameter name | Affecting | Reason |
|---|---|---|
CBRK_RATE_CTRL | All | Deemed not necessary anymore. |
CBRK_VELPOSERR | All | Deemed not necessary anymore. |
COM_ARM_ARSP_EN | VTOL, FW | Deemed not necessary anymore after airspeed preflight check changes. |
COM_ARM_WO_OBLOG | All | Allow arming without onboard logger being enabled and in ready state. |
COM_OBL_ACT | All | Commander state machine rewrite. |
COM_RC_DARM_A_H | All | Disarm gesture rework. |
EKF2_REQ_MAG_H | All | Required mag health time rework. |
FD_BAT_EN | All | State machine rewrite: now battery health is always checked. |
FW_ECO_AD_THRLD, FW_ECO_ALT_ERR_O, FW_ECO_ALT_ERR_U, FW_ECO_ALT_MIN FW_THR_MAX_E FW_T_ALT_TC_E FW_T_CLMB_R_SP_E FW_T_SPDWEIGHT_E | VTOL, FW | Removal of ECO flight mode (deemed not necessary anymore). |
FW_L1_DAMPING FW_L1_PERIOD FW_L1_R_SLEW_MAX FW_USE_NPFG | VTOL, FW | Replace L1 guidance with NPFG, deprecate L1. |
FW_T_SPD_OMEGA FW_T_TAS_R_TC | VTOL, FW | TECS rework, params not required anymore. |
GF_ALTMODE GF_COUNT | All | Remove outdated features during a general geofence rework. |
LNDMC_ALT_MAX | MC, VTOL | Not deemed necessary anymore. |
MAV_ODOM_LP | All | EKF2: EV overhaul and position fusion |
MIS_DIST_WPS | All | Deemed not necessary anymore. |
MNT_MAV_SYSID | All | Mavlink System ID of the mount: not needed anymore |
PWM_AUX_RATE PWM_MAIN_RATE SYS_CTRL_ALLOC VT_FW_MOT_OFFID VT_IDLE_PWM_MC VT_MC_ON_FMU VT_MOT_ID MOT_ORDERING | All | Deprecated with switch from static mixing to control allocation. |
TF_TERRAIN_EN | All | Removed feature (terrain follower in RTL). |
VT_B_DEC_FF | VTOL | Not needed functionality, P gain is enough. |
VT_B_REV_DEL VT_B_REV_OUT | VTOL | Not needed functionality, not implemented with new control allocation. |
RTL_HDG_MD | MC | Deemed not necessary anymore. |
SYS_USE_IO | All | Not needed anymore. |
New Parameters
| Parameter name | Affecting | About |
|---|---|---|
CAL_MAGx_ROLL/PITCH/YAW | All | Enable arbitrary Euler angle for Mag rotation. |
COM_ARMABLE | All | Disallow arming via a parameter. |
COM_ARM_ODID | All | Enable Drone ID system detection and health check |
COM_THROW_EN COM_THROW_SPEED | MC | MC throw launch |
EKF2_AGP_CTRL, EKF2_AGP_DELAY, EKF2_AGP_GATE, EKF2_AGP_NOISE | All | Aux global position (AGP) sensor aiding. |
EKF2_GRAV_NOISE | All | Gravity observation. |
EKF2_GYR_B_LIM | All | Gyro bias limit |
EKF2_OF_QMIN_GND | All | Optical flow data quality metric threshold. |
FW_ACRO_YAW_EN | FW, VTOL | Parameter to enable yaw rate controller in Acro |
FW_AT_MAN_AUX | FW, VTOL | Enable/disable auto tuning using an RC AUX input |
FW_MAN_YR_MAX | FW, VTOL | FW attitude controller: add option to disable yaw rate input |
FW_PR_D, FW_RR_D, FW_YR_D | FW, VTOL | D gains for fixed-wing rate controller. |
FW_T_SPD_DEV_STD, FW_T_SPD_PRC_STD, FW_T_SPD_STD | FW, VTOL | TECS rework |
IMU_GYRO_DNF_MIN | All | IMU gyro dynamic notch filter minimum frequency |
MAN_KILL_GEST_T | ALl | Stick gesture to kill |
MPC_YAWRAUTO_ACC | MC | Heading acceleration. Only applies to Goto Setpoints atm. |
MPC_LAND_RADIUS | MC, VTOL | Landing nudging radius |
RTL_APPR_FORCE | VTOL | RTL force approach landing |
SENS_IMU_CLPNOTI | All | IMU notify clipping |
UXRCE_DDS_DOM_ID UXRCE_DDS_KEY UXRCE_DDS_PTCFG UXRCE_DDS_SYNCC UXRCE_DDS_SYNCT | All | Micro XRCE-DDS configuration |
Features with Renamed Parameters
| Old name | New name | Related feature | Auto translation |
|---|---|---|---|
COM_DR_EPH | COM_POS_LOW_EPH | GNSS-denied navigation (feature has been re-worked) | No |
EKF2_HGT_MODE EKF2_BARO_B_EN | EKF2_HGT_REF | EKF2 multiple height sources fusion | No |
EKF2_RNG_AID | EKF2_RNG_CTRL | EKF2 multiple height sources fusion | No |
EKF2_AID_MASK | EKF2_DRAG_CTRL EKF2_OF_CTRL EKF2_GPS_CTRL EKF2_IMU_CTRL EKF2_EV_CTRL | EKF2 multiple height sources fusion | Yes |
FW_DTRIM_P_FLPS FW_DTRIM_P_SPOIL FW_DTRIM_R_FLPS | CA_SV_CS${i}_FLAP CA_SV_CS${i}_SPOIL | Flap & Spoiler Handling rework | No |
FW_L1_PERIOD | NPFG_PERIOD | Replacement of L1 by NPFG | No |
FW_L1_R_SLEW_MAX | FW_PN_R_SLEW_MAX | Replacement of L1 by NPFG | Yes |
POSSLOW_DEF_HVEL POSSLOW_DEF_VVEL POSSLOW_DEF_YAWR POSSLOW_MAP_HVEL POSSLOW_MAP_VVEL POSSLOW_MAP_YAWR POSSLOW_MIN_HVEL POSSLOW_MIN_VVEL POSSLOW_MIN_YAWR | MC_SLOW_DEF_HVEL MC_SLOW_DEF_VVEL MC_SLOW_DEF_YAWR MC_SLOW_MAP_HVEL MC_SLOW_MAP_VVEL MC_SLOW_MAP_YAWR MC_SLOW_MIN_HVEL MC_SLOW_MIN_VVEL MC_SLOW_MIN_YAWR | Rework of MC slow mode | No |
RWTO_L1_PERIOD | RWTO_NPFG_PERIOD | FW runway takeoff | No |
VT_FW_DIFTHR_SC | VT_FW_DIFTHR_S_P VT_FW_DIFTHR_S_R VT_FW_DIFTHR_S_Y | VTOL differential thrust in FW | No |
VT_PSHER_RMP_DT | VT_PSHER_SLEW | Pusher throttle ramp up slew rate | Yes |
VT_QC_HR_ERROR_I | VT_QC_ALT_LOSS | Quad-chute uncommanded descent threshold | Yes |
COM_RCL_ACT_T COM_BAT_ACT_T | COM_FAIL_ACT_T | Commander state machine rewrite | No |
NAV_FT_ALT_M NAV_FT_DST NAV_FT_FS NAV_FT_RS NAV_MIN_FT_HT | FLW_TGT_ALT_M, FLW_TGT_DST, FLW_TGT_FA, FLW_TGT_HT, FLW_TGT_MAX_VEL, FLW_TGT_RS | Rewrite of flight task follow target | No |
COM_PREARM_ODID | COM_ARM_ODID | Open Drone ID | Yes |
FW_ARSP_MODE | FW_USE_AIRSPD | Rework airspeed configuration | Yes |
CBRK_AIRSPD_CHK | SYS_HAS_NUM_ASPD | Rework airspeed configuration | Yes |
FW_T_THR_DAMP | FW_T_THR_DAMPING | TECS rework | No |
FW_T_I_GAIN_THR | FW_T_THR_INTEG | TECS rework | No |
Parameters with Changed Defaults
| Parameter name | Old value | New value | About |
|---|---|---|---|
COM_ARM_HFLT_CHK | 0 | 1 | Enable hardfault log check |
COM_ARM_MAG_ANG | 45 | 60 | Relax threshold for magnetic field inconsistency between units that will allow arming |
COM_LOW_BAT_ACT | 0 | 2 | Automatic return/land in battery empty case |
COM_RC_STICK_OV | 12 | 30 | Increase threshold for stick override |
EKF2_EVA_NOISE | 0.05 | 0.1 | Increase measurement noise for vision angle observations |
EKF2_MAG_YAWLIM | 0.25 | 0.2 | Reduce yaw rate threshold for 3D magnetometer fusion |
EKF2_WIND_NSD | 0.02 | 0.05 | Increase wind process noise |
FW_AIRSPD_MAX | 20 | 25 | Increase max airspeed limit |
FW_WR_IMAX | 1 | 0.4 | Reduce max integrator value of wheel controller |
GF_PREDICT | 1 | 0 | Disable predictive geofence feature |
MC_ACRO_EXPO MC_ACRO_EXPO_Y | 0.7 | 0 | Disable Acro stick expo |
MC_ACRO_P_MAX MC_ACRO_R_MAX | 720 | 100 | Reduce max Acro roll/pitching rate |
MC_ACRO_SUPEXPO MC_ACRO_SUPEXPOY | 0.7 | 0 | Disable Acro stick super expo |
MC_ACRO_Y_MAX | 540 | 100 | Reduce max Acro yawing rate |
MPC_ALT_MODE | 0 | 2 | Set default to terrain following |
SENS_GPS_MASK | 0 | 7 | Use speed, hpos and vpos accuracy for multi GPS blending logic |
SENS_MAG_AUTOCAL | 0 | 1 | Automatically initialize magnetometer calibration from bias estimate |
SENS_MAG_MODE | 0 | 1 | Publish primary magnetometer |
VT_B_TRANS_DUR | 8 | 10 | Increase max VTOL backtransition duration |
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