Exponetial Ramp of Control?

[OBjuan]

Are there any hacks out there, or some one who would know how to program it, to ramp the control of the joysticks? I feel like most of the time my Anafi's controls are too responsive. If I set them to the slowest response, I like it better, but then you often cant turn or move fast enough.

What I would like, is if the first 80% of joystick motion from the center adjusted the drone very slowly, but then the last 20% to the edge of the joysticks bumped it up significantly. Ideally with some sort of adjustable slider on each. Same goes for the Tilt Trigger. Zoom I'm mostly pretty happy with.

Any ideas?

Cheers

 

[MustangPhil]

I’m on the same boat... but didn’t dare to report to Parrot.. too afraid of what they could understand / ask for firmware and version of FreeFlight 6...

I think that if they added this ‘Responsiveness’ slider, they must be aware there is a problem...
I’ll try to report this request when they ‘stabilize’ the actual version of the software/firmware. They must concentrate now in making a reliable and flyable drone before fine tuning or adding new features...

when you produce a 4K flying camera, you should test it in slow movements, turns... the ‘jerky’ motion it features actually when flying slow is not a good thing to promote professional style movies....

 

[zandoli]

Have you tried adjusting 'Global reactivity' in the Presets?
There is also a mod which uses 3D printed parts to extend the paddles and sticks
It appears to effectively solve this issue.

Parrot Anafi - Skycontroller 3 - Stick & slider extensions by alessandroame

Use tpu for the extensions and pla or other material for the holder. Test flight:https://youtu.be/ZlH6v0RDBKg

www.thingiverse.com

 

[MustangPhil]

In the above video, the Anafi’s motion is fast and in a ‘wide’ area, what we mean is in case of slow motion, and in a ‘tight’ environnement, even when you tweak the ‘Global reactivity’ parameter, the movements remains too much responsive. It ‘stops and go’ instead of ‘sliding’.
Try to Film a ‘zigzag’ or a ‘slalom’ circuit in slow motion between poles that are 2 meters appart and you’ll understand what we mean....

 

[MustangPhil]

I started to make stick extensions... with what I have in my garage (I don’t have access to a 3D printing machine).
So it’s not very ‘elegant’ but should do for the next part of the experience (tweaking the flight parameters in FF6).
... at least I can remove my extensions and place them on the stick in 3 seconds...

 

[MustangPhil]

The next part is to understand an isolate the flight parameters that can influence ‘precise flight control’ in a ‘tight environment’
So I play with the 4 first parameters that are described in the manual that can have an effect on the ‘flight sensibility’, I guess ‘Global Reactivity’ is the one acting on the ‘acceleration ‘ parameter of the stick (Expo Value)

The user’s manual states (in italic font)

The Presets preferences allow you to adapt the flight behavior of for each of four modes (“Film”, “Sport”, “Cinematic” and “Racing”). Tap an item option to select it.

Items related to ‘Flight reactivity parameters’ :

1. Global reactivity: 1% to 100% - Default Values : 15% for FILM & CINEMATIC; 20% for SPORT; 30% for RACING
2. Inclination 1°/s to 40°/s - Default Values : 10°/s for FILM; 20°/s for CINEMATIC; 25°/s for SPORT & RACING
3.Vertical speed 0.1m/s to 4m/s - Default Values : 1m/s for FILM; 2m/s for SPORT; 2.5m/s for CINEMATIC; 3m/s for RACING
4. Rotation speed 3°/s to 200°/s - Default Values : 10°/s for FILM; 20°/s for SPORT & CINEMATIC; 40°/s for RACING

Items not related to flight reactivity

Horizon FIXED / DYNAMIC - Default Values : FIXED for FILM & SPORT; DYNAMIC for CINEMATIC & RACING
Camera tilt speed : 1°/s to 180°/s - Default Values : 10°/s for FILM & CINEMATIC; 20°/s for SPORT & RACING
Banked turn NO / YES - Default Values : YES for FILM, CINEMATIC & RACING; NO for SPORT
About Horizon and Banked turn: refer to in-app information for details about these features.
Note that “Global reactivity”, “Inclination”, “Vertical speed” and “Rotation speed” values are the ones which carry the biggest impact on ’s acceleration and general flying behavior. (Personal Note : That’s why I sorted them in this order for the sake of ‘reaction test’ and flight parameters).
Corresponding sliders turn to orange instead of green to warn users the settings they have selected require extreme care, superior piloting skills, or both, when flying.
Your drone will always remain outstandingly responsive, but with extreme settings, it will accelerate much more rapidly than you can imagine: you have been warned!

 

[Lizio]

Have you viewed any of the Stick and Slider Extenders other You Tube videos ?

 

[Gipsz Jakab]

Have you viewed any of the Stick and Slider Extenders other You Tube videos ?

The point is here:
US $14.59 35% di SCONTO|1 PZ Nuovo Arrivo Assi di Plastica Per Joystick Potenziometro per JH D400X R4 10 K 4D con Filo Pulsante|joystick potentiometer|potentiometer joystickpotentiometer wire - AliExpress searchweb0_0, searchweb201602_, searchweb201603_
The remote control is too big and fat, I don't like it ...

 

[Gipsz Jakab]

In the above video, the Anafi’s motion is fast and in a ‘wide’ area, what we mean is in case of slow motion, and in a ‘tight’ environnement, even when you tweak the ‘Global reactivity’ parameter, the movements remains too much responsive. It ‘stops and go’ instead of ‘sliding’.
Try to Film a ‘zigzag’ or a ‘slalom’ circuit in slow motion between poles that are 2 meters appart and you’ll understand what we mean....View attachment 4045

I understand what you are trying to explain:
I have a DJI Spark that made my problem exactly the same. Even in tripod mode, where its flight is slowest, its movement was such that it was not possible to turn and look around slowly, because even when moving carefully, the arm was as if it had only two positions:
1.the drone does not move
2. moves at full speed
In the case of Mavic pro, in the DJIGo4 application it was possible to set the sensitivity of the bots (expo) to set a function value, which it also showed graphically.
For Spark, such a menu and setting does not exist, but ...
I found a description for hacking the DJI assistant (windows drone utility) and was able to refine the same expo setting in that Spark firmware. So it’s part of the Spark firmware in the same way, only the DJI didn’t allow access through the DJGo4 app.
The little Spark has been moving very nicely since the setup. I get a low speed for a small stick detour, moving even further exponentially faster.
This should somehow be achieved for Anafi as well.
In my opinion, Parrot should indicate that there is a need for this and then they could incorporate such an option into another FF6 in the speed setting menu because I am sure the firmware now has fixed values.

 

[MustangPhil]

Thanks for pointing to this very interesting video.
To obtain a smooth motion, he has not only added extensions to his joystick, but he changed the joystick part with potentiometers of this reference below (links in his YouTube nice video)
I try to do longer extensions for the original Parrot SkyController 3 and tweak the parameters.
... the only solution may end in the complete change of the controller’s components as he did but I prefere to avoid that...

 

[MustangPhil]

In his extension proposition, he has 2 heights of green 3D manufactured plastic extenders. The short version and the longer version.
I’m trying to experiment with a ‘FX’ version (F..ckin’ Xtended)..

His first attempts :


and my (much less elegant) FX attempt :

(Edited for scale purpose)

Check there is no contact of the bolt with the SkyController 3 surface at maximum displacement :

 

[Liger 1956]

It would be interesting to find out what the resolution of the SC3 gimbal potentioneters are. If they are very coarse then it would explain why we cannot get smooth movement.

 

[MustangPhil]

Yes, you maybe right. I think we can still make it better with parameters tweaking...
For today’s test, my best bet for zigzagging was with the following :

Global Reactivity : 6% (default value was 15% for film settings)
Inclinaison : 3°/s (Default Value was 10°/s for Film settings - Ok at high altitude when horizontal speed is needed)
Vertical speed : 0,3 m/s (default value was 1 m/s for film)
Rotation speed : 35°/s (default value is waaayyy too slow 10°/s) but should be fine at high altitude and fast horizontal speed for ‘movie’ effect.

Did 3 batteries With the last FF6 to date and firmware upgrade (batteries were already updated, 3 of them from full charge to 10%, no problem occurred).
Still need some tweaking and some training to be satisfied... but to me it’s a good start...

Extended sticks are certainly a good option for me.

last flight with this set of parameters :

 

[Gipsz Jakab]

It would be interesting to find out what the resolution of the SC3 gimbal potentioneters are. If they are very coarse then it would explain why we cannot get smooth movement.

An analog device has no resolution. Resolution as a concept is a property of digital devices.
The sticks are analog devices with a specified maximum resistance. There are no steps between 0 and Maximum.
Firmware error or incomplete setting if initial displacement is too linear with speed. This should be more exponential: In the initial range, the stick deflection should cause less displacement (drone), and then another stronger displacement would accelerate the drone to a greater extent.
This would allow a more precise execution of the slow movement of the drone.

Smoother Movements: How to Fine Tune Your DJI Drone's EXPO Settings -

Tutorial showing drone pilots how to adjust the EXP settings inside the DJI Go App which controls how smooth or aggressive the drone's movements are.

fromwhereidrone.com

 

[OBjuan]

Hmmm... Extenders is an interesting idea, but I cant imagine it would help with what I think we are really wanting, being an exponential increase of speed at the edge of the control. I am mostly pretty happy with all of my controls set to the minimums (though even slower would be nice) but then you cant bump it up when you need some extra speed.

I think this is more a programming fix than a hardware job. Where is Hackerman when you need him?

Still though, maybe I will try to 3d print some joystick extenders (you said it was a good size)... I already designed and made these little 3d printy guys, I glued the base onto my controller and then you can insert the grips and twist them to lock. helps to hold the controller with your lower fingers... and then you can remove them to fit it into your case. Grippy Twister by OBjuan on Shapeways

 

[Zigzag84]

[QUOTE = "OBjuan, poste: 33615, membre: 2714"]
Hmmm ... Extender est une idée intéressante, mais je ne peux pas imaginer que cela aiderait ce que je pense que nous voulons vraiment, étant une augmentation exponentielle de la vitesse au bord du contrôle. Je suis surtout assez satisfait de toutes mes commandes réglées au minimum (bien que même plus lent serait bien), mais vous ne pouvez pas augmenter la vitesse lorsque vous avez besoin d'une vitesse supplémentaire.

Je pense que c'est plus un correctif de programmation qu'un travail matériel. Où est Hackerman quand tu as besoin de lui?

Cependant, j'essaierai peut-être d'imprimer en 3D des rallonges de joystick (vous avez dit que c'était une bonne taille) ... J'ai déjà conçu et fabriqué ces petits gars imprimés en 3D, j'ai collé la base sur mon contrôleur et ensuite vous pouvez insérer les poignées et tournez-les pour verrouiller. aide à tenir le contrôleur avec vos doigts inférieurs ... puis vous pouvez les retirer pour l'adapter à votre boîtier. Grippy Twister de OBjuan sur Shapeways
[/CITATION]
Can you post a pic whith your hand ? Thk

 

[OBjuan]

 

[Zigzag84]

View attachment 4145

Ok !! I see now ?

 

[S.C.C.]

It would be interesting to find out what the resolution of the SC3 gimbal potentioneters are. If they are very coarse then it would explain why we cannot get smooth movement.

By playing with the horizontal speed on a calm day, we may get a hint of the potential precision of these joysticks, as the speed value is displayed on the app (I suppose both right and left joystick are the same, and that they each use the same system for both directions, front-back vs left-right).
How many different stabilized speeds can you get by flying straight forward and moving the joystick with the smallest increment possible ? are there any steps ?
I'm saying this because I get the impression that I often see the same speed values - despite the fact that GPS and accelerometer precision and wind speed also factor on the value displayed.
I don't know how the Skycontroller3 potentiometers are built, but I remember the speed controller on my first electric RC car was a simple flat coil, and the position of the electric contact on this coil changed the resistance, so the number of steps was equal to the number of turns on the coil... Of course all potentiometer's resistance are not coils, often more proportional, but the precision/softness/resolution is clearly limited in the Skycontroller3...