Planning an Automated Mission

The P3 payload can automatically be triggered at regular intervals to capture images in automated missions. This guide shows the steps for planning a mission on the Herelink version of QGC, but it will be nearly identical if planning the mission on the PC version of QGC.

Follow this guide to plan an automated survey mission.

Click the “Plan” icon in QGC.
Click the “File” and then the “Survey” option.
On the “Mission Start” tab, set your desired waypoint altitude (AGL) and your estimated hover speed for the mission (this can be changed later on).
Drag the takeoff location on the map to the anticipated takeoff location of the mission. In the Takeoff tab on the right, make sure you enter the altitude to which you want to drone to reach on takeoff.
Click the Survey tab on the right and then click “Basic” for the polygon type. Drag the polygon edges around to cover the region you want to scan. You can add polygon corners by clicking the “+” icon between existing polygon corners. Once you have established your polygon shape, click “Done With Polygon”.
In the “Camera” section, select “Custom Camera” and enter the following parameters: Sensor Width: 43.9 mm Sensor Height: 32.9 mm Image Width: 11664 px Image Height: 8750 px Focal length: 63.0 mm
In the “Grid” tab, select the desired Front Lap and Side Lap for your particular use case, select either the Altitude or the Ground Resolution that you desire, and optionally, adjust the angle of the flight plan.
You can adjust the Turnaround distance and select various options, such as whether the camera captures images during the turnarounds or not. You’ll also see the area, photo count, photo interval, and trigger distance for this particular mission.

You want to keep the Photo Interval greater than 0.5 seconds in order for the P3 to capture without skipping or losing images. You can adjust a variety of factors in the flight plan to increase the interval, such as the flight speed. Decreasing the flight speed will increase the photo interval.

If you want to save this flight plan for later (it is saved on the Herelink - or the PC if you are planning on the PC), click the “File” button and click “Save As”
Enter a name for the mission and click “Ok”.
Once you are ready to use the mission on the X55, you will have to upload the mission. The X55 will have to be powered on and the Herelink will have to be connected first. When you are ready to upload the mission, click on the “Upload Required” button from within the mission planning tab.
For whatever speed you set in the mission plan, you should accordingly adjust the WPNAV_SPEED parameter to be the same. For example, in the above case we used 6 meters per second as our mission speed. Here, we want to set the speed to match that, but it will be in cm/s. Simply multiply the flight speed by 100. Set this parameter and click “Save”.
Once the mission is uploaded to the X55, the system is ready to begin the automated flight. Make sure you follow all of the steps in the X55 (and Hybrid Module) Operation Manuals for preparing the system for flight, and follow all of the pre-flight checklist items before proceeding. It is recommended to take off in Loiter mode first and manually check that the controls are working properly before initiating the mission. To start the mission, from the Fly View of QGC, slide the slider bar to the right. Alternatively, you can press the “C” button on the Herelink controller, which is set up to trigger Auto mode by default.

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Last updated 1 year ago

Follow this guide to plan an automated survey mission.

Click the “Plan” icon in QGC.
Click the “File” and then the “Survey” option.
On the “Mission Start” tab, set your desired waypoint altitude (AGL) and your estimated hover speed for the mission (this can be changed later on).
Drag the takeoff location on the map to the anticipated takeoff location of the mission. In the Takeoff tab on the right, make sure you enter the altitude to which you want to drone to reach on takeoff.
Click the Survey tab on the right and then click “Basic” for the polygon type. Drag the polygon edges around to cover the region you want to scan. You can add polygon corners by clicking the “+” icon between existing polygon corners. Once you have established your polygon shape, click “Done With Polygon”.
In the “Camera” section, select “Custom Camera” and enter the following parameters: Sensor Width: 43.9 mm Sensor Height: 32.9 mm Image Width: 11664 px Image Height: 8750 px Focal length: 63.0 mm
In the “Grid” tab, select the desired Front Lap and Side Lap for your particular use case, select either the Altitude or the Ground Resolution that you desire, and optionally, adjust the angle of the flight plan.
You can adjust the Turnaround distance and select various options, such as whether the camera captures images during the turnarounds or not. You’ll also see the area, photo count, photo interval, and trigger distance for this particular mission.

If you want to save this flight plan for later (it is saved on the Herelink - or the PC if you are planning on the PC), click the “File” button and click “Save As”
Enter a name for the mission and click “Ok”.
Once you are ready to use the mission on the X55, you will have to upload the mission. The X55 will have to be powered on and the Herelink will have to be connected first. When you are ready to upload the mission, click on the “Upload Required” button from within the mission planning tab.
For whatever speed you set in the mission plan, you should accordingly adjust the WPNAV_SPEED parameter to be the same. For example, in the above case we used 6 meters per second as our mission speed. Here, we want to set the speed to match that, but it will be in cm/s. Simply multiply the flight speed by 100. Set this parameter and click “Save”.
Once the mission is uploaded to the X55, the system is ready to begin the automated flight. Make sure you follow all of the steps in the X55 (and Hybrid Module) Operation Manuals for preparing the system for flight, and follow all of the pre-flight checklist items before proceeding. It is recommended to take off in Loiter mode first and manually check that the controls are working properly before initiating the mission. To start the mission, from the Fly View of QGC, slide the slider bar to the right. Alternatively, you can press the “C” button on the Herelink controller, which is set up to trigger Auto mode by default.