Raspberry Pi X-Mode

[BagOfArms]

I've tried searching for this using Google and the forum search, but i haven't found any results. Please let me know if there are any existing resources about this.

I used this tutorial to turn my Raspberry Pi into a base station:
http://wiki.bitcraze.se/projects:crazyf ... rasberrypi

Everything works perfectly, but i'm used to flying in "x" mode, and I have been unable to enable this mode. I have tried changing “client_side_xmode” to “true” in “crazyflie-pc-client/lib/cfclient/configs/config.json”, but that doesn't seem to change it. Here's the contents of that config file:

Code: Select all

{
  "writable" : {
    "input_device": "", 
    "link_uri": "", 
    "flightmode": "Advanced", 
    "open_tabs": "Flight Control", 
    "trim_pitch": 0.0, 
    "slew_limit": 45, 
    "slew_rate": 30, 
    "trim_roll": 0.0, 
    "max_thrust": 80, 
    "min_thrust": 25, 
    "max_yaw": 200, 
    "max_rp": 30,
    "client_side_xmode": true,
    "device_config_mapping": {}
  },
  "read-only" : {
    "normal_slew_limit": 45, 
    "normal_slew_rate": 30, 
    "normal_max_thrust": 80, 
    "normal_min_thrust": 25, 
    "normal_max_yaw": 200, 
    "normal_max_rp": 30,
    "default_cf_channel": 10,
    "default_cf_speed": 0,
    "default_cf_trim": 0
  }
}

Does the headless Linux version even support client side xmode? I found this on line 283 of "crazyflie-pc-client/lib/cfclient/ui/tabs/FlightTab.py":

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self.helper.cf.commander.set_client_xmode(checked)

But no corresponding line for the headless (non-UI) version.

Which corresponds to this in "crazyflie-pc-client/lib/cflib/crazyflie/commander.py":

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    def set_client_xmode(self, enabled):
        """
        Enable/disable the client side X-mode. When enabled this recalculates
        the setpoints before sending them to the Crazyflie.
        """
        self._x_mode = enabled

It's looking like the headless version doesn't ever set the xmode, The quick solution is to change commander.py to initialize with xmode set to true (this works), but i would rather not start hacking things if there's an existing solution i'm overlooking. Am i crazy, or barking up the wrong tree?

[BagOfArms]

I just found this issue in the repo:
"The config values for the input device (like max_rp, max_yaw, etc..) is not passed to the input layer until the FlightControlTab is showed. The config values should be loaded when Input is created."
https://bitbucket.org/bitcraze/crazyfli ... fig-values

The resolution of this will probably fix this problem, since both cfclient and cfheadless create Input, but only cfclient loads the FlightControlTab.

[absoloodle37]

Did you ever get this issue resolved? I'm trying to change the max thrust parameter in the headless client from 80 to 99. Is there a corresponding parameter in commander.py I can change?

Thanks

[marcus]

No, there's no solution for this yet. If you just want it working quickly then do what BagOfArms suggested and initialize the xmode variable to true in the commander.

[absoloodle37]

What about changing the thrust limit on the headless client? When I use my RPI to fly my CF, I'm always limited to 80% thrust and the default roll/bank limits. Can I change these parameters in the code?

Thanks

[hsanjuan]

Hello,

for Raspberri Pi perhaps you want to have a look to my alternative Ruby client https://github.com/hsanjuan/crubyflie

I activate xmode by pressing a joystick button (which is configured to :switch_xmode) and the thrust limits are also directly configured in the joystick configuration file (the :output_range option). It also uses less CPU which is a plus on small system like the RP.

[absoloodle37]

hsanjuan, thanks for suggesting your Ruby client. I'm no programmer, but I was able to install your Crubyflie client on my R-Pi using your instructions and some additional tweaking of the file: /root/bin/cfheadless so that it points to crubyflie instead of the python cfheadless client. Now the Crubyflie program launches when I plug in my usb antenna and I can SSH into the R-Pi using my mac to change parameters while I'm flying.

I'll post what I learned on your Crubyflie thread, but I just wanted to let you know the Ruby client is a great solution for flying with the R-Pi because I can modify the control sensitivities/parameters to customize how I like to fly. Thanks! What a great contribution!

[hsanjuan]

Thanks @absoloodle37, feel free to suggest improvements in the github project. Right now my CF is broken and i have been too busy to repair it but hopefully it will be back in the air soon