Extended User Manual

Revision 1.3 / October 2015

Copyright © 2015 senseFly Ltd

GENERAL INFORMATION

READ THIS USER MANUAL CAREFULLY BEFORE USING A SENSEFLY LTD PRODUCT.

senseFly Ltd products are intended for professional use only.

Always comply with Civil Aviation regulations, act responsibly and follow the instructions in this User Manual

Applicable Regulations

senseFly Ltd products are subject to Civil Aviation regulations. Regulations may vary depending on the country

where you intend to operate your product.

ANY USE OF SENSEFLY LTD PRODUCTS IN BREACH OF THE LAW OF THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU OPERATE THE PRODUCT

IS UNDER YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY.

INFORM YOURSELF BEFORE USING THE PRODUCT. SOME COUNTRIES MAY HAVE LAWS THAT LIMIT THE USE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT TO ‘LINE-OF-SIGHT’ OPERATIONS AND/OR PROHIBIT THE USE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT IN ALL

OR IN SPECIFIC LOCATIONS.

Privacy

Recording and circulating an image of an individual may constitute an infringement of their image and privacy for

which you can be liable. Ask for authorisation before taking pictures of an individual, particularly if you want to keep

your recordings and/or circulate images on the internet or any other medium. Do not circulate degrading images or

ones that could undermine the reputation or dignity of an individual. Check that your use of the cameras on board

senseFly Ltd products complies with the legal provision on privacy in the country where you operate your product.

Limited Warranty

SenseFly Ltd warrants that the product will be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of twelve

(12) months from the date of delivery. senseFly Ltd further warrants that the product will perform substantially in

accordance with its specification. During the warranty period senseFly Ltd’s sole liability shall be at senseFly Ltd’s

sole option, either to repair or to replace the defective product with another product or a product with similar specifications, at no charge, or to reimburse the purchase price of the product, or if repair or replacement is not possible,

issue a credit note; provided however, that the defect has been confirmed by senseFly Ltd and that the defective

product is returned to senseFly Ltd in accordance with the support and repair form together with all required flight

log files.

Warranty does not apply, without limitation, in case: a) the products are not stored, maintained or used according to

their specifications, b) the products are damaged due to carelessness, negligence, or wrong use by the user, and c) for

defects due to normal wear and tear including, but not limited to, normal degradation, misuse, moisture or liquids,

proximity or exposure to heat, accidents, excessive strain, abuse, neglect, misapplication, repairs or modifications

made by third party other than senseFly Ltd, damage due to manual piloting in RC (remote controlled) or interactive

flight, damage due to take-off or landing location with obstacles, damage due to low altitude or close-object flight,

damage due to relying on visual or/and ultrasonic feedback and in more general terms on any kind of situational

awareness assistance, damage due to using any kind of flight assistance features including but not limited to cruise

control, distance lock and obstacle avoidance, damage due to loss of data radio connection, damage due to strong

wind, rain, water or humidity, or other causes for which senseFly Ltd has no control.

Battery cells are excluded from warranty after first use.

THE FOREGOING WARRANTIES ARE IN LIEU OF ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND OF

ANY OTHER OBLIGATION ON THE PART OF SENSEFLY LTD.
Limitation of liability

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL SENSEFLY LTD BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF DATA, OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF

SENSEFLY LTD HAS BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, AND WHETHER THIS LIABILITY ARISES

FROM A CLAIM BASED ON CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT OR OTHERWISE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF GROSS NEGLIGENCE AND DEATH.

YOU SHALL AT ALL TIMES OPERATE THE PRODUCT IN AREAS OR UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES SO AS TO GUARANTY SECURITY AND SAFETY OF PEOPLE, PROPERTY AND ANIMALS. IN THAT CONTEXT YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT PRODUCT

FEATURES SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, AUTOPILOT, GPS, WIRELESS COMMUNICATION LINK, MULTIDIRECTIONAL

VIDEO FEED, ULTRASONIC SENSORS, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, FLIGHT ASSISTANCE, CRUISE CONTROL, DISTANCE

LOCK, OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE AND GROUND DETECTION CAN FAIL AND THAT YOU SHOULD AT NO MOMENT RELY

SOLELY ON THEM.

Disposal of this product at the end of its life

At the end of this product’s life, please do not dispose of this product in your general household waste.

Instead, in order to prevent possible harm to the environment or human health from uncontrolled waste

disposal, please dispose of this product separately in accordance with your local laws and regulation. For

more information on the separate collection systems for waste electrical and electronic equipment that

are available for consumers, near your home, free of charge, please contact your local municipal authority.

You can also contact senseFly Ltd or the reseller from which you purchased your drone who may provide recycling

services or be part of a recycling scheme.

Copyrights

senseFly Ltd reserves the right to make changes to specifications and product descriptions contained in this document at any time without notice. Please consult www.sensefly.com for the latest release.

Copyright © 2015 senseFly Ltd. All rights reserved. REPRODUCTION, USE OR DISCLOSURE OF ALL OR IN PART OF THIS

MANUAL TO THIRD PARTIES WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF SENSEFLY LTD IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

Acknowledgements

Page 40: Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Address

senseFly Ltd

Route de Gen`eve 38

1033 Cheseaux-Lausanne

Switzerland

Website: http://www.sensefly.com

Technical support

senseFly and our distributors are dedicated to providing you with full professional product support.

To submit a support ticket and/or view your outstanding tickets, please use our customer portal at

my.senseFly.com. Log in with the same account details you used to download your drone’s software

(see the separate software information document in your eXom ’s case).

In addition to support access, my.senseFly includes:

• Details of all your senseFly drones, including their serial numbers.

• The Knowledge Base – packed full of helpful articles, tips, tutorials and webinars.

• Download links for the latest versions of eMotion X and Postflight Terra 3D software.

Welcome to your eXom

Congratulations on your purchase of the eXom. This intelligent mapping and

inspection drone (UAV, RPAS or UAS) offers TripleView imaging, advanced situational awareness, and a choice of flight modes: Autonomous mapping mode,

Interactive ScreenFly mode, plus a Manual RC mode for experienced pilots.

At senseFly we build our products to the very highest standards. Inspired by the

aeronautical backgrounds of our founders, we test both individual components

and finished drones extensively in order to achieve the highest possible level of

safety and reliability.

We hope you enjoy using your eXom.
About this user manual

A complete guide to your eXom comprises:

• A user manual

All you need to get you into the air safely and effectively.

• An extended guide to the eXom

Completes and complements the user manual, giving you a full guide to

using the eXom.

This document contains both. The user manual is also supplied on paper with

your eXom.

Note: This user manual refers to eMotion X version 1.1 and Postflight

Terra 3D version 4. You can always find the latest versions of these on

my.senseFly∗. The eXom requires eMotion X to operate.

∗ http://my.sensefly.com
Package contents

The standard eXom package contains the following items:

• 1x eXom drone

• 1x Interactive ScreenFly Controller

• 1x 2.4 GHz Remote Control (for safety pilots)

• 1x 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz dual band USB radio modem

• 2x SD memory cards (32 GB)

• 2x batteries

• 2x single battery chargers w/power supplies

• 1x wheeled carry case

• 1x User Manual

• 1x USB cable set

• 1x pack of 4 spare legs

• 1x pack of 4 spare screws

• 1x pack of 4 spare propellers

• eMotion X & Postflight Terra 3D software∗

Depending on your order, your package may also include other items. Please verify upon delivery that your package is complete. In case of a missing item, please

contact senseFly or your eXom reseller immediately.

∗ download from my.senseFly at no extra cost
Hardware features

Top

Motor mount

Motor

Ultrasonic transmitter

Ultrasonic receiver

Left navcam

Shrouding

Propeller

TripleView head

Leg

Cap

Power button/

status LED & top strobe

Left sensor module Right sensor module

Rear sensor module

Navigation light

Top cover

Leg clip

Front arm

Main camera

Head sensor module

Port access cover

Motor

cooling fins

Rear arm

Left Right
TripleView Head

Ultrasonic transmitter

Ultrasonic receiver

Head navcam

Main camera

Headlamp

Flash*

Thermal camera

Head sensor

module

* will be activated in a future firmware update
Bottom

Bottom strobe

Battery

Battery release tabs

TripleView head

Bottom sensor module

Maintenance cover

Battery

level

indicator
Ports

Maintenance port*

Autopilot port

SD card slot

*Do not use

Battery

Battery release tabs

Battery level indicator

Battery level button
• Central body: The core of the eXom, housing its autopilot, photo processing logic and communications.

• Arms: Carbon fibre composite arms provide a lightweight and sturdy structure.

• Power button/status LED & strobe: Power button with built-in LED that

indicates the current state of the eXom when on the ground and flashes

brightly in the air.

• Top cover: Light yet durable cover to protect the drone’s electronics.

• Sensor modules: Composed of high-speed ultrasonic sensors and navcams, the 5 sensor modules (head, left, right, rear and bottom) are used for

navigation, landing and situational awareness.

– Navcam: High-speed optical sensor that constantly analyses the eXom’s

surroundings.

– Ultrasonic transmitter: Emits ultrasound which is then picked up

by the ultrasonic receiver.

– Ultrasonic receiver: Detects the ultrasound emitted by the transmitter, allowing the eXom to measure its distance from a surface.

• TripleView head: Stabilised head equipped with:

– Main camera: Capable of capturing high-resolution video and photos.

– Thermal camera: Capable of capturing thermal video and stills with

edge overlay.

– Flash: Provides high-intensity flashes of light.

– Headlamp: Provides lighting for video and navigation.

– Head sensor module: Contains an ultrasonic transmitter, ultrasonic

receiver and navcam for navigation, landing and situational awareness.
• Propeller: Used to generate thrust. The eXom’s propellers are detachable

so that they can be easily replaced.

• Motor: Powers the propellers.

• Motor mount: Houses the motor and connections and supports the legs

and shrouding.

• Motor cooling fins: Provide air cooling for the motors.

• Shrouding: Made of durable carbon fibre composite, it protects the propellers and surfaces with which the drone might come into contact.

• Navigation lights: Indicate the drone’s position and orientation. The light

on the left-hand (port) side shines red and the one on the right-hand (starboard) side shines green.

• Legs: Supports the eXom on the ground.

• Caps: Provides protection for the surface on which the drone lands.

• Battery: The eXom is powered by a LiPo (Lithium Polymer) battery stored

within the battery compartment.

• Battery compartment: Holds the removable battery.

• Battery release tabs: Squeeze the tabs to remove the battery.

• Battery level indicator: Press the button and a series of LEDs indicate the

battery level.

• Bottom strobe: Positioned on the bottom of the drone, it indicates the

drone’s location when viewed from below.

• Port access cover: Protects the eXom’s ports:

– SD card slot: Holds the SD card on which videos, photos and flight

logs are stored.

– Autopilot port: Used for upgrading your drone’s firmware.

– Maintenance port: Only for use by senseFly support.

Software features

Your eXom requires eMotion X∗to fly.

X

eMotion X is an integrated software package that allows you to interact with your

eXom. Its easy-to-use interface allows you to pilot your drone intuitively. Once the

drone is in the air, you can use eMotion X’s wireless connection with your eXom to

track its position, assess its surroundings via its video feeds and ultrasonic sensor

displays, monitor the progress of your flight and send commands.

You can also download and use Postflight Terra 3D∗at no extra cost.

Once your eXomreturns after an inspection or a mapping flight, PostflightTerra3D

can be used to process captured photos fully automatically. Postflight Terra 3D

is a full-featured mapping solution: with just a few mouse clicks it can create

high-quality photogrammetric georeferenced 2D and 3D outputs such as Point

Clouds, Orthomosaics and digital elevation/surface models (DEM/DSM). For mapping projects, Postflight Terra3Dcan analyse the quality of the reconstruction and

generate an easy to understand report in the field, letting you know immediately

if the data you captured meets your requirements.

∗ software access terms and conditions apply

Contents

I Getting Started 1

1 Installing the software 2

2 Safety precautions 4

2.1 In-flight Warnings and Critical Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3 About eMotion X 8

3.1 About eMotion X’s Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3.2 About eMotion X’s Bottom Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3.3 About the Control Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3.4 About coordinates and altitude references in eMotion X . . . . 15

3.5 How to connect eMotion X to your drone . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4 Preparing to fly the eXom 19

4.1 Pre-flight checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4.2 General inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.3 Weather check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

4.4 Flying conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4.5 About the working area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4.6 Take-off and landing conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4.7 The eXom’s battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

4.8 How to power the eXom on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

4.9 Audible messages and alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4.10 About the Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

19
5 Flying the eXom 34

5.1 About eXom missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

5.2 About waypoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

5.3 How to move waypoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

5.4 About the Start and Home waypoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

5.5 About the communication link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

5.6 About lift generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

5.7 About take-off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

5.8 Landing the eXom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

5.9 Powering the eXom off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

5.10 How to remove the drone’s battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

6 In-flight Monitoring 48

6.1 Choosing what to display in the Main Viewer . . . . . . . . . . 48

6.2 Selecting the head feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

6.3 About the head-up display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

6.4 Choosing a navcam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

6.5 About the ultrasonic sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

6.6 About the background & custom maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

6.7 Navigating around the map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

7 Processing 57

7.1 Obtaining your photos, videos and flight data . . . . . . . . . 57

7.2 In-field quality check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

7.3 Creating mapping products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
II Your first autonomous mapping mission 63

8 Autonomous missions 64

8.1 Opening, creating and saving missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

8.2 About mission blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

8.3 How to create mission blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

8.4 Autonomous mission example: Horizontal Mapping . . . . . . 69

8.5 Readying your drone for the mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

8.6 After the mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

III Your first interactive ScreenFly flight 77

9 The ScreenFly Controller 78

9.1 How to activate and deactivate the ScreenFly Controller . . . . 82

10 Flying the eXom interactively with ScreenFly 83

10.1 How to take off using ScreenFly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

10.2 How to land using ScreenFly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

10.3 How to fly left, right, forward and backward with ScreenFly . . 84

10.4 How to turn the drone using ScreenFly . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

10.5 How to climb and descend using ScreenFly . . . . . . . . . . . 85

10.6 How to hover using ScreenFly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

10.7 How to set a constant speed (cruise) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

10.8 About Distance Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

11 Capturing photos and video 87

11.1 How to capture single photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
11.2 Automatically capturing photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

11.3 Focussing the eXom’s Main Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

11.4 Focussing the navcams and Thermal Camera . . . . . . . . . . 89

11.5 Recording video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

11.6 How to turn on the Headlamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

11.7 About the Main Camera zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

11.8 How to move the eXom’s cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

11.9 About the Thermal Camera feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

11.10 Temperatures in the Thermal Camera feed . . . . . . . . . . . 93

11.11 Thermal Camera calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

IV Extended guide to eMotion X 97

12 eMotion X’s Monitor tab 97

12.1 About the Monitor tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

12.2 How to change units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

12.3 3D mapping in eMotion X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

12.4 Using a custom elevation model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

12.5 Using custom map sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

12.6 About photo footprints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

12.7 About eMotion X’s data folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

12.8 Enabling advanced functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

12.9 Advanced connection options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

V Extended guide to mission planning 109

13 Around POI (point of interest) mission blocks 110
14 Custom Route mission blocks 113

15 Disabling security actions 116

VI Extended guide to interactive and manual flight 119

16 Manual and interactive flight modes 120

16.1 About the eXom’s dual autopilots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

16.2 Flight control modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

17 Flying without GNSS signals 126

17.1 About GNSS signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

17.2 About the magnetometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

17.3 No GNSS mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

18 Manual flight with the Remote Control 129

18.1 About the Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

18.2 Using the Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

18.3 Manual take-off and landing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

18.4 Motor cut-off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

18.5 Manual flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

18.6 Returning control to eMotion X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

18.7 How to change the Remote Control’s batteries . . . . . . . . . 139

18.8 Controller and Remote Control command modes . . . . . . . . 139

VII Maintenance and Repair 141

19 Maintenance and repair of the eXom 142
19.1 Upgrading the eXom’s software and firmware . . . . . . . . . 142

19.2 Full inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

19.3 About your eXom’s propellers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

19.4 Changing a leg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

19.5 Changing a leg cap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

19.6 Changing the shrouding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

19.7 Changing a ground modem antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

19.8 Cleaning the eXom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

19.9 Storing the eXom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

19.10 Repairing the eXom airframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

19.11 Proper battery care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

20 Troubleshooting 160

20.1 Take-off vetoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

20.2 In-flight warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

20.3 Critical failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

20.4 Locating a lost eXom in the field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

20.5 Reporting a problem with your eXom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

20.6 Maintenance schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

VIII Specifications 177

1 Software requirements 178

2 Drone specifications 179
Part I

Getting Started
Getting Started

1 Installing the software

Download the latest senseFly software from:

http://my.sensefly.com

Install eMotion X

To fly your eXom you must install eMotion X. The software runs on Microsoft Windows1 and installs the required device drivers automatically.

To install, launch the installer and follow the on-screen instructions. As with most

applications, once installation is complete, you will find eMotion X in the Start

menu.

If necessary, the drivers can be installed manually. The installation file is available

in the following directory:

C:\Program Files\senseFly\eMotion X\usb driver\

Install Postflight Terra 3D

To process your eXom’s datasets and create 3D models, orthomosaics and DSMs,

install Postflight Terra 3D.

To install, launch the installer and follow the on-screen instructions. Once installation is complete, you will find Postflight Terra 3D in the Start menu.

eMotion X and Postflight Terra 3D updates

When software updates are available from senseFly, a message will pop up when

you launch eMotion X or Postflight Terra 3D (if you are connected to the internet).

1 see Software requirements on page 178

2
Installing the software

You can also find updates on http://my.sensefly.com.

See Upgrading the eXom’s software and firmware on page 142 for more information.

3
Getting Started

2 Safety precautions

• Keep clear of the propellers

The propellers spin at high speeds and can be dangerous if they come into

contact with exposed skin. Always keep all objects and all parts or your

body clear of the propellers when the battery is installed in your eXom.

• Power the drone off before handling it

Switch the eXom off before picking it up. Never attempt to pick the eXom

up while the propellers are turning.

• Never attempt to fly without the legs and shrouding

The eXom’s legs and shrouding are integral parts of the drone, providing

stability and structural integrity.

• Never fly with the port cover open

The port cover protects the drone’s ports and electronics. If left open, the

drone’s internal sensors will not function correctly.

• Only use the batteries provided

Only fly with a senseFly battery. Flying with any other battery risks causing

a malfunction and will void your warranty in case of an incident.

• Only use approved senseFly SD cards

Only fly with SD cards that have been approved by senseFly. Flying with

any other SD card risks causing a malfunction and will void your warranty

in case of an incident.

• Always take off and land on a stable, level surface

Do not attempt to land on a steep slope or an area covered with large rocks,

debris or holes. Do not land on a wet surface, soft sand, thick snow, dust,

or mud.

• Know how to, and be ready to abort take-off or landing if necessary

There are buttons in eMotion X’s Control Bar, on the ScreenFly Controller

and the Remote Control that do this. See About the Control Bar on page 12,

4
Safety precautions

Flyingthe eXominteractivelywith ScreenFly on page 83 andUsingtheRemote

Control on page 131.

• Do not fly above people or animals

Pay close attention to the legal restrictions at the location you are flying.

• Do not fly in high winds

The eXommust not take off at all if thewind speed exceeds 10 m/s(36 km/h,

22 mph, 19 kts). See Drone specifications on page 179 for details.

• Do not fly in bad weather

Do not fly in rain, snow, hail, fog, a sandstorm or dust storm.

• Avoid collisions

Always make sure there is enough space between the drone’s trajectory

and any obstacles. Always double check waypoint altitudes and elevation

data against the real terrain.

• Propellers must be locked on and in excellent condition for flight

SeeGeneral inspection on page 21 andAbout your eXom’spropellers on page 146.

• Check battery charge level

Make sure you have more than enough for your flight. Land well before the

battery is empty. See The eXom’s battery on page 30.

• Set an appropriate working area

Set a working area that prevents your drone from flying outside communications range, above the legal altitude limit, into prohibited airspace such

as private property or a nearby airport, or into a hazardous area. See About

the working area on page 25

• Always fly with eMotion X connected

If flying using the Remote Control, connect your drone to eMotion X to provide situational awareness, extended communications range and a means

of controlling your drone and initiating a landing in case of incident.

• Always keep the Remote Control to hand

It can be used as a fallback means of flying the drone in case there’s a problem with your computer or its communication link to the drone.

5
Getting Started

• Leave eMotion X as much computing power as possible

Do not run memory- or processor-intensive software on the same computer as eMotion X while flying. For example, do not process photos with

Postflight Terra 3D while flying.

2.1 In-flight Warnings and Critical Failures

If the UAV detects an issue while in flight it will:

• Raise an In-flight Warning and, if necessary, automatically carry out a Security Action, or

• Signal a Critical Failure.

In-flight Warnings are raised when a dangerous situation is detected, for example,

low battery or strongwinds. If your eXomraises an In-flightWarning, theWARNING

button on the toolbar turns yellow and the text changes to ACK. WARNING.

If no Security Action has been triggered, acknowledge the warning by clicking

ACK. WARNING and carry out the action recommended in In-flight warnings on

page 161.

Critical Failures occur if the UAV’s ability to fly is severely compromised, for example, the battery is empty. The WARNING button will turn red and read CRITICAL

FAILURE. A critical failure cannot be dismissed. If a critical failure arises, the UAV

immediately performs an emergency landing.

Caution: We recommend that you familiarise yourself with the inflight warnings to have a better understanding of what happens if

they occur in the field. See Troubleshooting on page 160 for a list of

In-flight warnings and Critical failures and the UAV’s reaction to them.

6
Safety precautions

Note: It is important to keep track of the location of the UAV during

a Critical Failure until the moment it reaches the ground. Its coordinates can aid in finding it afterwards. See Locating a lost eXom in the

field on page 173.

7
Getting Started

3 About eMotion X

Navcam

selection

Control

bar

Navcam feed

Toolbar

Ultrasonic sensor feedback Bottom Bar Viewer

Bottom

bar

Main

viewer

Mission

panel

Drone

panel

The main screen of eMotion X is split into several sections:

• Main Viewer

Here, eMotion X can display a map with the drone’s current position, or the

feed from the TripleView Head cameras.

• Toolbar

Use the toolbar to access eMotion X’s main functions and control the content of the Main Viewer. The toolbar adapts to your choice of Main Viewer

content. When viewing the map, you’ll find buttons on the toolbar to switch

between a 2D or 3D map, to control the layers, sources or map information

and other display options related to the Map Area. When viewing the feed

from the eXom’s TripleView Head, you’ll find buttons to switch between

head feeds and to capture photos and video.

• Control Bar

Use to issue commands to the eXom while it is in flight, such as starting the

mission phase or holding position. Warnings raised either before or during

a mission can be acknowledged here. See About the Control Bar on page 12

for details.

8
About eMotion X

• Mission panel

Plan autonomous missions and set their parameters here:

– Mission Planning

Use when setting up an autonomous flight to create missions, add

mission blocks to them and assign them to your drones.

– Transitions

Set up the take-off and landing phase of a mission.

– Parameters

Use this tab to set mission planning options.

• Drone panel

When you connect a drone to eMotion X, tabs to view its status and control

its cameras and parameters appear here.

– Monitor

Use to monitor the drone while in flight.

– Cameras

Use to configure the drone’s cameras and how it will capture photos.

– Parameters

Use this tab to set drone flight options.

• Bottom Bar

Use to monitor the drone’s position and activate the feeds from the eXom’s

sensors:

– Navcam selection

Choose the navcam feed you want to view.

– Navcam feed

The feed from the selected navcam.

– Ultrasonic sensor feedback

Indicates the drone’s distance from surrounding objects.

– Bottom Bar Viewer

If you have the map in the Main Viewer, the head camerafeed appears

here, otherwise the map appears here.

9
Getting Started

Showing, hiding and resizing the Bottom Bar and side panels

To resize a panel, click and drag the edge of the panel, marked > .

To show or hide one of the panels:

• Click the edge of the panel, marked > .

• Click and drag the edge of the panel to make it smaller until it disappears.

3.1 About eMotion X’s Toolbar

You can always find the following buttons on the toolbar:

Open the File menu

Put the map in the Main Viewer

Toggle full-screen mode

10
About eMotion X

You’ll see these buttons if you have the map in the Main Viewer:

Choose your background map source

Select map layers

Toggle between 2D and 3D map

Automatically keep the drone in the centre of the map

Centre the map on the drone once

Move the map to a specific place or coordinate

Zoom out of the map

Zoom in on the map

Toggle photo footprints on/off

Clear current photo footprints

You’ll see these buttons when you are connected to your eXom:

Put the head’s navcam feed in the Main Viewer

Put the head’s HD video feed from the Main Camera in the Main Viewer

Put the head’s thermal camera feed in the Main Viewer

You’ll see these buttons if you have a head camera feed in the Main Viewer:

Zoom out (Main Camera)

Zoom in (Main Camera)

Reset the head’s position to pointing forward

Trigger autofocus

Toggle video recording on/off

Toggle automatic photo trigger on/off

11
Getting Started

Take a photo now

You’ll see these buttons if you have the Thermal Camera feed in the Main Viewer:

Toggle thermal edge overlay on/off

Toggle temperature range lock to scene

Calibrate Thermal Camera pixels

3.2 About eMotion X’s Bottom Bar

You’ll see these buttons if the Bottom Bar is visible:

View head navcam feed in Bottom Bar

View left navcam feed in Bottom Bar

View right navcam feed in Bottom Bar

View bottom navcam feed in Bottom Bar

View rear navcam feed in Bottom Bar

Switch ultrasonic feedback sound effects on/off

Select ultrasonic beam

Turn on beam pulse cycling

3.3 About the Control Bar

The Control Bar appears when connected to a drone. Use the Control Bar buttons

to send commands to the drone. Use the first button (WARNING) to acknowledge

12
About eMotion X

any warnings. Some buttons are only active when needed or appropriate.

Button Action

WARNING/

ACK. WARNING/

CRITICAL FAILURE2

Acknowledge a warning if one has been raised (ACK.

WARNING displays).

INTERACTIVE Toggle ScreenFly on/off

START

MISSION*

Send the UAV towards the first waypoint in the mission block and start the mission.

RESUME

MISSION

Send the drone to the last position reached during an

interrupted mission and continue the flight plan.

GO TO

START*

Send the UAV to the Start waypoint, where it will

hover and wait for the next command.

GO TO

HOME

Send the drone to the Home waypoint, where it will

hover and wait for the next command.

GO LAND

Send the drone to the Home waypoint, where it will

land.

Land if already on the Home waypoint.

HOLD*

Put the UAV into a hover, where it will wait for the next

command.

The UAV creates a waypoint at that point.

13
Getting Started

LAND NOW Click 3x

Immediately land at the current location.

Use this button to abort take-off.

Click 3 times in quick succession (triple-click) to

engage.

ABORT LANDING

Abort the current landing (unless its an emergency

landing). The drone returns to the Home waypoint

and hovers, waiting for a command.

TAKE OFF Take off.

* these actions can only be carried out once you have acknowledged and dealt

with any warnings

14
About eMotion X

3.4 About coordinates and altitude references in eMotion X

EGM96 geoid

Local elevation

data

Local ellipsoid

ATO AMSL AED

WGS 84 ellipsoid

This schematic represents a local elevation dataset that references a standard local

ellipsoid being usedfor AED values. As long as eMotionX recognises the projected

coordinates, it transforms them to WGS 84 on import using the GDAL3 library.

Altitudes in eMotion X

eMotion X displays altitudes in different ways according to the situation:

• Above the Take-off Altitude – metres (m/ATO) or feet (ft/ATO)

ATO altitudes are relative to the place your eXom started its motor just before taking off.

• Above Mean Sea Level – metres (m/AMSL) or feet (ft/AMSL)

AMSL altitudes are relative to a standard mean sea level geoid. Your drone

3 The Geospatial Data Abstraction Library – www.gdal.org.

Note that eMotion X cannot convert manually defined references in non-standard coordinates.

15
Getting Started

uses the EGM96 mean sea level standard. 0 m/AMSL (0 ft/AMSL) on land is

very close to where the sea level would be if the land was absent.

• Above Elevation Data – metres (m/AED) or feet (ft/AED)

AED altitudes are relative to the currently active elevation data model. If,

for example, you are using the supplied SRTM elevation data, this is approximately the altitude above the ground4.

Terrain height and altitude can be given relative to a geoid or an ellipsoid. A geoid

represents the shape of the earth in a way that takes into account local changes

in gravity. A geoid is not a regular geometric shape.

An ellipsoid is a geometric shape, whose cross-section is an ellipse, that closely

follows the earth’s surface, but does not take local changes in gravity into account.

Note: If you are using the SRTM elevation dataset supplied with eMotion X, terrain height is relative to the EGM96 geoid.

Note: Altitudes below take-off, sea level or below 0 m (0 ft) in the

current elevation dataset are expressed as negative values, for example, if the drone is at -10 m/ATO (-33 ft/ATO) it means that it is 10 m

(33 ft) lower than the point it took off from.

Caution: SenseFly Ltd cannot guarantee the accuracy of the elevation data supplied. It is the operator’s sole responsibility to ensure a

safe flight trajectory and altitude.

Coordinates you enter into eMotion X’s user interface

eMotion X assumes that any coordinate you enter is in the WGS 84 reference

frame.

4 see 3D mapping in eMotion X on page 100

16
About eMotion X

If you are using a local or national geoid (MSL) or geodetic coordinate system, you

must convert coordinates into WGS 84 before entering them into eMotion X.

The way you do this conversion depends on the geoid and the tools available

to you. Online or downloadable conversion tools may be available, for example,

from a national geodetic society.

3.5 How to connect eMotion X to your drone

1. Connect your ground modem to your computer using the USB cable provided and allow it to start up.

Note: It takes approximately 30 s for your computer to recognise the

ground modem as a USB device. It takes about another 30 s before

your ground modem can detect your drone.

2. Insert the SD card and battery then power on your drone. You can do this

while the modem is starting up.

3. Launch eMotion X. When your drone has been successfully detected by the

ground modem and recognised by eMotionX, its serial number5will appear

in the Drone pulldown menu of the Connect dialog and your computer will

make a sound.

4. In the Connect dialog, click the eXom button to select it, then click OK.

When a connection is established eMotion X will display the Drone panel and the

drone’s status will be visible in its Monitor tab.

Once your drone has set its position using satellite signals, an eXom symbol will

appear at its location on the map. If you cannot see the drone on the map, click

on the Toolbar to centre the map on the drone.

5 printed on a label inside the eXom’s battery compartment

17
Getting Started

Note: To set connection parameters manually, click Advanced... on

the Connect dialog. To return to the simple connection screen, click

Advanced... again.

Note: Every eXom is paired with the ground modem it is delivered

with, and will only work with that ground modem. The name that

appears in the Drone pulldown menu of the Connect dialog is the serial number of the drone that the ground modem is paired with.

Note: If you want to process flight data you already created, click to

select FLIGHT DATA MANAGER on the Connect dialog then click OK.

18
Preparing to fly the eXom

4 Preparing to fly the eXom

Goal of this section: This section describes how to prepare your

eXom for flight.

The eXom’s advanced yet simple design means it can go from the box to being

ready for flight in minutes. We recommend that you perform the procedures in

this section before every flight.

Note: Remove any warning labels from the drone before your first

flight.

19
Getting Started

4.1 Pre-flight checklist

General inspection complete

Weather conditions checked

Flying conditions checked

Appropriate working area set

Maps downloaded

Take-off and landing conditions checked

Charged eXom battery installed

Drone powered on

Drone connected to eMotion X through the ground modem

Computer’s sound enabled and audible

Remote Control with fresh batteries within reach

See the following sections for a guide to each check.

20
Preparing to fly the eXom

4.2 General inspection

A general inspection should be performed before every flight. It is also good practice to perform a full airframe check regularly to keep your eXom in good shape.

See Full inspection on page 144 for more details.

Visually inspect the drone

The sensors and lenses must be clean and unobstructed for them to work correctly.

Remove the battery from the drone and pick the drone up to carry out these

checks.

• Check that the arms are solidly attached.

• Visually inspect each of the 5 vision sensors.

• Visually inspect the 5 ultrasonic transmitters and receivers.

• Visually inspect the main camera.

• Visually inspect the thermal camera.

• Check that all propellers are properly locked on.

• Check that the legs are in good condition and properly attached with their

caps in place.

• Check that the shrouding is in good condition and properly attached at the

leg clips.

• Check that the top cover is attached and in good condition.

• Ensure that nothing is at risk of touching the spinning propellers.

• Check that the eXom’s main body is in good condition.

• Check that the eXom’s head is undamaged and turns freely on both axes.

• Check that all LEDs and strobes are clean and free of obstacles.

21
Getting Started

Visually inspect the propellers

To prevent vibration and remain safe, only fly with propellers that are in excellent

condition.

New propeller:

OK to fly

Worn propeller:

Replace

Damaged propeller:

Replace

Cracked propeller:

Replace

• Replace cracked propellers. Check carefully for cracks, especially near the

hub.

• Replace worn propellers.

• Replace propellers that have any indentations on their leading edge.

Stress mark

• Replace propellers that have a white stress mark in the plastic near the hub.

These propellers have been overstressed.

22
Preparing to fly the eXom

Locked on Not locked on

• Make sure that all propellers are properly locked on.

• Replace propellers that are not firmly fixed onto the motor, despite being

properly locked on.

See About your eXom’s propellers on page 146 for further details.

Check sensor and camera operation

• Insert the drone’s SD card then insert the battery.

• Place the drone on the ground and power it on.

• Launch eMotion X and connect to your drone using the ground modem.

23
Getting Started

• In eMotionX check theirfunctionalitywith the headfeed in the Main Viewer

using the control bars and the head-up display.

• Check the vision sensors.

Select the different Navcams and view the resulting video feed.

• Check the main camera.

View the main camera’s video feed.

• Check the thermal camera.

View the thermal camera’s video feed.

4.3 Weather check

Before each flight, you should be aware of the weather conditions. The eXom is

a small drone that cannot fly in heavy rain or strong wind conditions. In case of

doubt, make sure to check a weather bulletin including wind estimations in the

flight area. Note that wind is often stronger at higher altitudes and that the wind

perceived at the surface is not always a good reference to estimate the wind at

flight altitude. Cloud velocity or tall tree movements can help you to estimate the

wind speed once you are out in the field.

Weather forecasts may use various units to measure wind speed. As a reference,

1 m/s = 3.6 km/h = 2.24 mph = 1.94 kts.

Caution: Do not fly eXom missions if the wind speed exceeds:

Autonomous flight: 8 m/s (29 km/h, 18 mph, 16 kts)

Manual flight: 10 m/s (36 km/h, 22 mph, 19 kts)

24
Preparing to fly the eXom

Caution: The eXomis not designed to operate in temperatures above

40◦ C. Avoid exposing the drone to high temperature for prolonged

periods of time. In particular, leaving the drone exposed to the sun

or in a hot vehicle should be avoided.

4.4 Flying conditions

Avoid flying the eXom in the following conditions:

• In high winds.

• In gusty conditions.

• When there is precipitation, for example, rain, snow or hail.

• In heavy mist or fog.

• If air density is low, for example, at high altitudes, if air temperature is high,

air pressure is low, or a combination of these factors.

• In very dusty conditions or in a dust storm.

• If there is a lot of sand in the air, or in a sandstorm.

• In very low light conditions.

4.5 About the working area

The cylindrical volume of space in which the drone is allowed to fly is known as

the working area.

If the drone leaves this area (gets pushed or flies out of the circle or above the

ceiling) it will raise a warning and carry out a security action. The eXom will not

take off if it detects that it is outside the working area.

25
Getting Started

Working area ceiling

Working area limit

Outer security limit

3D 2D

A working area positioned on the side of a hill

During an autonomous mission:

• If the drone leaves the working area or flies above the ceiling, it will abandon the mission and try to fly to the Home waypoint.

• If it passes the outer security limit, 50 m (164 ft) beyond the working area

limit, it will perform an emergency landing.

During an interactive ScreenFly flight:

• It will raise a warning if it leaves the working area or flies above the ceiling.

You should take action to bring the drone back or carry out an emergency

landing.

• If it passes the outer security limit in ScreenFly mode it will immediately

carry out an emergency landing.

26
Preparing to fly the eXom

Note: An emergency landing cannot be aborted, but you can still

take control of the drones horizontal positioning (pitch left, right, forwards and backwards) using either the ScreenFly Controller or the Remote Control.

Setting the working area

You set the working area in the Mission panel’s parameters tab.

How to set the working area’s size

• Click the Parameters tab in the Mission panel.

• Set the working area radius.

• Set the working area ceiling.

How to set the working area’s position

• Click the Parameters tab in the Mission panel.

• Move the map so that the place you want to put the centre of the working

area is in the centre of the map. To centre the map on the drone, click on

the Toolbar.

• Click on the Parameters tab.

4.6 Take-off and landing conditions

It is important to carefully select the place you take off from, the Start waypoint,

the Home waypoint and landing location.

5 see Troubleshooting on page 160 for a full description of In-flight warnings and Critical failures that

may occur

27
Getting Started

Once the drone has taken off it will go to the Start waypoint.

The Home waypoint is both the location under which the drone will land in when

flying autonomously and as safety position in case of an in-flight warning.

See About the Start and Home waypoints on page 36 for more details.

Do not take off:

• If it is legally prohibited to fly a drone, for example, close to an airport.

• If there is a risk of collision with other aircrafts, for example, other drones,

helicopters or low-flying airplanes.

• If there is risk of disturbance, for example, to the local population or to

wildlife.

• If there is risk of damage, for example, to an historical monument or sensitive natural habitat.

How to select a take-off & landing spot

Select a take-off and landing spot that is clear of obstacles (buildings, rocks, power

lines, hills, trees, etc.) within a distance of 5 m (16 ft) in all directions. This is to account for the possibility of drift after take-off and to give the drone enough space

to land. Behaviour after take off and the precision of a landing will depend on the

satellite positioning accuracy, lighting conditions, the ground’s visual texture and

the wind.

Select a take-off and landing spot that is flat, level and free of objects that could

prevent the propellers from spinning freely or prevent the drone from taking off.

Do not attempt to take off from or land the eXom on the following:

• Surface that does not allow all 4 feet to contact the ground.

• Muddy, wet, dusty or sandy area.

• Water or deep snow.

28
Preparing to fly the eXom

• A steeply inclined surface.

Caution: If the eXom accidentally gets wet, remove the battery immediately .

Caution: Choose the altitude of your Home waypoint carefully. Set

it high enough to clear any obstacles. Do not set it too high; there is

a risk of higher winds at altitude.

Calculating take-off location

If the eXom is able to detect and process plenty of high-quality satellite signals, it

can set its take-off location precisely. If not, the accuracy of its position calculation

will drop.

• If it can set its position before taking off, it will do so.

• If the eXom cannot set its position, it cannot reliably fly an autonomous

mission. It will not take off.

Note: If you need to take off, for an interactive or manual flight, and

satellite positioning signal reception is poor, you can enable No GNSS

mode in the UAV’s Parameters tab 6.

Abort your landing:

• If there are obstacles, for example, vehicles, people or animals in the landing zone.

6 see No GNSS mode on page 127

29
Getting Started

• If there is a risk of a moving vehicle, person, animal or other object entering

the landing zone.

4.7 The eXom’s battery

Battery charge level indicator

Press the battery level button and the LEDs will indicate the level of charge:

LEDs lit: 1 2 3 4 5

Charge level: 0 - 30% 30 - 55% 55 - 75% 75 - 90% 90 - 100%

How to charge the eXom’s battery

Before leaving for the field to perform a flight, be sure to fully charge all your eXom

batteries.

Note: Upon delivery, the eXom’s batteries are charged to a level of

70% and therefore have to be fully charged before the first flight.

To charge an eXom’s battery pack, connect it to the battery charger provided. Plug

the charger into a power socket using the adapter provided. Slide the charger

onto the battery so that the battery’s connectors slot into the charger.

During charge, the status LEDs on the battery indicate the charge level:

LED blinking: 1

st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Charge level: 0 - 30% 30 - 55% 55 - 75% 75 - 90% 90 - 100%

The LED for the current charge level blinks during charging. When all the LEDs go

out, the battery is charged.

30
Preparing to fly the eXom

The charger provided independently balances the voltage of each of the cells contained in the battery pack to ensure optimal performance and battery life.

Charging can take up to 1.5 hours, depending on the charge level of the battery

and whether any cell balancing is required. See The eXom’s battery on the preceding page for more information on maintaining your drone’s batteries.

How to install the eXom’s battery

Place the eXom on the ground or on a level surface in the vicinity of the takeoff location. With its senseFly label up, slide the battery firmly into the battery

compartment, making sure that it clicks into place.

Caution: Take great care not to get anything trapped by the battery

as you push it in, or push anything into the battery compartment with

the battery, for example, the surrounding vegetation.

Caution: Keep clear of the propellers in case they unexpectedly start

spinning.

Note: To avoid using up battery power unnecessarily, insert the battery only when you are ready for take-off.

4.8 How to power the eXom on

1. To reduce the risk of data corruption, insert the SD card before powering

the drone on.

2. Press the power button.

The eXom will perform an automatic self-check of its sensors and acquire satellite

signals. Do not move the drone during these tests. It is important that the drone is

31
Getting Started

not inclined more than 10 degrees in order to start up properly. Pre-flight checks

may last from a few seconds to several minutes depending on satellite signal reception.

While the drone is starting up, running pre-flight checks and gathering satellite

positioning signals, its status LED will shine blue.

Once the pre-flight checks are complete and the drone is ready to fly, the status

LED will shine green.

Note: Satellite positioning signals are not required to fly the drone. If

the satellite check fails, you can still fly with No GNSS mode, but some

capabilities will be missing. See No GNSS mode on page 127

Note: You can connect the drone to eMotion X at any time during

startup and view the status of the checks in the Monitor tab.

Note: If there were any problems during the pre-flight checks a preflight error will be raised and a message will appear in eMotion X. The

eXom’s status LED will shine red.

4.9 Audible messages and alerts

eMotion X will generate audible alerts and warnings throughout your flight:

• A sound when the ground modem successfully detects the drone.

• Continuous beeping if an object or surface is detected close to the drone.

• Vocal warnings, for example, battery level.

We recommend turning your computer’s sound on and turning the volume up.

32
Preparing to fly the eXom

4.10 About the Remote Control

The Remote Control can be used as a fallback means of flying the drone. It is also

the only means of triggering a motor cut-off in case of emergency.

When flying autonomously or with ScreenFly, we recommend you keep the Remote Control close by, with fresh batteries installed.

33
Getting Started

5 Flying the eXom

You can fly the eXom:

• Autonomously

Ideal for aerial mapping. The drone follows the flight plan you have set up,

autonomously managing its position, stability and photo capture.

• Interactively with the ScreenFly Controller

Idealfor inspection, capturing photos and video. Fly your eXomsemi-automatically

using the ScreenFly Controller and eMotion X. Only basic piloting experience is required. The drone looks after flight stability, flies where you direct

it to fly and looks where you direct it to look. You can ask it to cruise at a

fixed speed or lock its distance from a surface. Commands are passed to

the eXom through its ground modem.

• Manually with the Remote Control

Only for situations where you need to use advanced piloting skills. Commands go directly to the drone from the Remote Control.

5.1 About eXom missions

A typical mission can be divided into the following phases:

• Preparing to fly

Every mission begins with careful preparation, whether it is a quick inspection or a multi-stage mapping mission over complex terrain.

See Preparingto flythe eXomon page 19 to learn how to prepare your drone

for flight.

Autonomous missions on page 64 describes how to use eMotion X’s Mission

Planner to quickly generate a flight plan for autonomous flight.

• The flight

Once planning and preparation is complete, it’s time to fly. The eXom can

34
Flying the eXom

follow a flight plan without intervention from take-off to landing, you can

control the drone with ScreenFly, or use the Remote Control. You can modify a flight plan or take control at any time during a planned mission.

Flyingthe eXominteractivelywith ScreenFly on page 83 describes how to use

ScreenFly to take control of your drone.

See Manual flight with the Remote Control on page 129 for a guide to using

the Remote Control.

• Processing

The next step is to view and process photos and video, converting the photos taken by your eXom into valuable products such as precise georeferenced orthomosaics or 3D models. Processing on page 57 leads you through

the process of obtaining the video and photos the drone has recorded,

checking if the project quality suits your needs while still in the field and

producing advanced 2D and 3D maps.

Note: You can find supporting documentation and technical FAQs in

our Knowledge Base, part of my.senseFly7.

5.2 About waypoints

Waypoints are points in 3D space at which the drone is instructed to carry out

an action such as capturing photos, carrying out a manoeuvre, proceeding to the

next waypoint or landing.

An autonomous mission is made up of a series of waypoints. eMotion X automatically calculates the best place to put the waypoints for your autonomous mapping

mission.

7 http://my.sensefly.com

35
Getting Started

5.3 How to move waypoints

Once you have assigned a mission block to a drone8, you can move the Start, Home

and mission waypoints on the map.

Note: Changes to the Start and Home waypoints are immediately

transferred to the connected drone. Changes to assigned mission block waypoints are also immediately transferred to the drone,

changing the mission even if it is already in progress.

• To change a waypoint’s position with the map in 2D, click the waypoint to

select it, then click and drag it to a new position.

• To change a waypoint’s position with the map in 3D, click the waypoint to

select it, then click and drag the base of the waypoint (the point on the

ground directly under the waypoint) to a new position.

• To change a waypoint’s altitude, switch the map to 3D. Click the waypoint

to select it, then drag the waypoint itself up and down.

Caution: When the map is in 3D and you are viewing your mission

from above, a small change in the on-screen position of a waypoint

can result in an unexpectedly large change in the waypoint’s altitude.

Always check your flight plan carefully before take-off.

5.4 About the Start and Home waypoints

The eXom uses satellite positioning signals to calculate its position and accuracy.

Soon after it is powered on it starts processing satellite signals so that it is ready

to record its position when it takes off. It will refer to this take-off altitude as 0 m

(0 ft) above take-off (m/ATO or ft/ATO).

8 see Readying your drone for the mission on page 72

36
Flying the eXom

If all is well, a simple autonomous mission will go like this:

1. You power on the eXom and connect it to eMotion X. While it is powering

on, it calculates its position using satellite positioning signals.

2. You click the TAKE OFF button in eMotion X.

3. The UAV takes off and calibrates its compass.

4. The UAV heads to the Start waypoint.

5. The UAV carries out its mission.

6. The drone heads to the Home waypoint.

7. The drone lands directly under the Home waypoint.

The Start waypoint is therefore the first point that the drone goes to when it starts

an autonomous flight.

The Home waypoint is the point that the UAV will head to at the end of an autonomous mission. It is also the point it will head to if it encounters a problem

during flight9.

Unless you have moved it10, eMotion X will automatically place the Start waypoint

20 m (66 ft) directly above the take-off location. It will place the Home waypoint

10 m (33 ft) directly above the Start waypoint.

Caution: Always make sure that your Home waypoint is well clear of

the ground before flying.

Flying to the Home waypoint

Whenever the eXomflies autonomously to the Home waypoint (for example, after

a mission or if you click GO LAND):

9 see In-flight warnings on page 161

10 see How to move waypoints on the previous page

37
Getting Started

HOME

START

MISSION

If Home is higher

HOME

START

MISSION

If Home is lower

• If Home is higher than the drone, it will first climb, then fly to Home.

• If Home is lower than the drone, it will first fly to a point directly above

Home, then descend.

38
Flying the eXom

Flying to the Start waypoint

HOME

START

MISSION

When flying an autonomous mission, the eXom will fly in a straight line from the

take-off location to the Start waypoint.

Make sure there are no obstacles between the take-off location and the Start waypoint. If there are:

• Move the Start waypoint, for example, place it above the take-off location

at the same altitude as the first mission waypoint.

• Place the Start waypoint near the drone, then create a Custom Route

mission block to guide the drone to the mission. See Custom Route mission

blocks on page 113.

5.5 About the communication link

Your eXom must be in contact with eMotion X through the ground modem at all

times. To maintain this connection the ground modem’s signal must be able to

reach the eXom.

You may occasionally lose the data connection between eMotionX and your eXom

while in the field. Whether there is a loss in uplink or downlink communication,

the drone will continue its mission and should re-establish the connection as it

flies closer to the ground modem or changes direction.

39
Getting Started

If the drone stops receiving messages from eMotion X for more than 30 s an inflight warning will be raised. If, for safety reasons you want the eXom to automatically return Home if this happens, activate that security action in the Mission

panel’s Parameters tab.

The strength of the connection between the drone and eMotion X is indicated in

the Monitor tab.

Maintaining a good communication signal

A straight line between the ground modem antenna and the drone is called the

line of sight. For a strong ground modem signal to reach the drone, the line of

sight, and a zone a few metres wide around the line of sight, must be clear of

obstacles.

Tree too close to line of sight

To prevent loss of contact with the drone:

• Position the ground modem above the ground, or any other surface by at

least 1.6 m (5.2 ft).

• Do not sit the ground modem on a metal surface such as the roof of a vehicle.

• Bend the antennas at their hinge by 90° so that are vertical and parallel.

• Do not position the modem with the antennas lined up along the line of

sight. Instead, have them perpendicular to the line of sight:

40
Flying the eXom

Note: The modem is equipped with a 1/4 inch screw mount and can

be attached to some models of camera tripod. senseFly can recommend the Manfrotto Nano Black stand, which comes with a 1/4 inch

screw mount adapter.

5.6 About lift generation

As altitude and air temperature increase, air density decreases. The lower the air

density, the more power the eXommust use to maintain its altitude. As the battery

empties, the power that it makes available for flight also lowers.

When flying horizontally, the drone is tilted, and in addition to countering the

wind, some of its available thrust is being used to move the drone. It must therefore use more power to maintain altitudewhen tilted thanwhen flat and hovering.

High wind causes the drone to use some available power to counter its effects.

Caution: If the eXomdetects that it is using nearly all available power

to maintain altitude, it raises an Insufficient performance warning.

Abort your mission, return home if possible and land your drone.

Caution: High winds can cause your drone to lose altitude. If the

eXom raises a Wind too strong warning, abort your mission, return

home if possible and land your drone.

41
Getting Started

5.7 About take-off

Note: Carefully review the position of the Start and Home waypoints

before taking off. See Aboutthe Startand Homewaypoints on page 36.

Immediately after take-off the drone will climb to an altitude of approximately

1 m and turn around once to calibrate its compass.

To allow it complete effectively, only manoeuvre11 during calibration if necessary.

Caution: Be ready to abort the take-off in case of emergency.

If there are mission blocks assigned to the drone, it pauses briefly then flies to

the Start waypoint.

Use the After take-off setting in the Mission panel’s Take-off and landing tab to

tell the drone what to do next. You can tell the drone to:

• Don’t wait – immediately resume the assigned mission from where it

left off

Set After take-off to Resume mission.

Missions that have never been flown will be started from the first waypoint.

• Wait at the Start waypoint

Set After take-off to Stay on Start Waypoint.

• Don’t wait – immediately start the assigned mission from the first

waypoint

Set After take-off to Start Mission.

Partially completed missions will be restarted from the first waypoint.

If there are no mission blocks assigned, it pauses briefly then flies to the Start

waypoint and waits there for your command.

11 only pitch and roll are available during calibration

42
Flying the eXom

See Creating mapping products on page 63 for more information about missions

and mission blocks.

Caution: The drone’s ability to maintain its position in a hover depends on the conditions. There must be good lighting conditions and

good satellite positioning signal reception. Be ready to take control

of the drone with the Controller or Remote Control, or land if necessary.

5.8 Landing the eXom

You can land the eXom in different ways, depending on the circumstances.

Landing after a completed autonomous mission

Your eXom can land itself after an autonomous mission.

Set the After mission options in the Mission’s panel’s Take-off and landing tab to

Land at Home Waypoint.

Landing after an interactive flight

After an interactive flight, you can ask the drone to fly home and land autonomously,

or you can pilot the drone to the landing location, then ask it to land.

To fly home and land autonomously, click GO LAND on eMotion X’s control bar.

Alternatively, position the drone above the place you want to land, then:

• Press the button (G) on the ScreenFly Controller.

• Rapidly click the LAND NOW button on eMotion X’s Control Bar three times

(triple-click).

43
Getting Started

Abort autonomous mission, return to home and land

If you need to abort an autonomous mission and land, click GO LAND on eMotion X’s control bar.

The drone will immediately fly to the Home waypoint12, then descend vertically,

land and power off its motors.

Land immediately at current location

If you need the drone to land immediately without first returning to the Home

waypoint, do one of the following:

• Rapidly click the LAND NOW button on eMotion X’s Control Bar three times

(triple-click).

• Press the button (G) on the ScreenFly Controller.

• Switch on the Remote Control and pull back on the Take off/land slider.

Hands-on interactive landing

If you need to, you can land the drone ’hands-on’, that is, pilot the drone down to

the ground.

Caution: Hands-on landings are not recommended.

1. Activate Interactive mode and pilot the drone to the ground using the ScreenFly Controller.

2. Once safely on the ground, press the button (G) on the ScreenFly

Controller. After a short pause the motors will stop.

12 see About the Start and Home waypoints on page 36

44
Flying the eXom

Emergency landing

If the drone encounters a critical failure, it will immediately start descending and

land. You can influence the drone’s trajectory with the Controller and Remote

Control, but you cannot abort the landing. It might not slow before reaching the

ground. There is a risk of damage to the drone and collision with any objects or

people that are directly under the drone.

Stopping the eXom’s propellers

In some situations the eXom may not detect that it has landed. The propellers will

continue to spin.

This can happen when:

• The drone landed on a very soft surface

• High winds forced the drone down to the ground

• You piloted the drone ’hands-on’ down to the ground

If this happens, in order to stop the propellers, first carry out one of the following:

• Rapidly click the LAND NOW button on eMotion X’s Control Bar three times

(triple-click).

• Press the button (G) on the ScreenFly Controller.

• Switch on the Remote Control and pull back on the Take off/land slider.

If, after 2 s, the propellers have not stopped, trigger a motor cut-off:

1. Power the Remote Control on by pressing its power button. After a short

pause (approximately 1 s), the Remote Control will emit 5 rapid beeps to

confirm that it has taken control of the drone.

45
Getting Started

2. Press the left stick on the Remote Control down until it clicks and hold it for

1 s. The eXom’s motors stop.

If, and only if the motor cut-off fails to stop the propellers, attempt with extreme

caution to power the drone off using its power button.

5.9 Powering the eXom off

Wait for the propellers to stop spinning, and wait for eMotion X to finish copying

the flight logs13, then press and hold the power button on the top of the eXom.

After 1 s the eXom powers off.

To reduce the risk of data corruption, only remove the SD card once the drone has

powered off.

Caution: Never attempt to power the drone off using its built-in

power button while the propellers are spinning. If you need to stop

the propellers, power on the Remote Control, allow it to connect to

the drone, then press and hold the left stick14.

Note: When you power the eXom off, its servos stop holding the

head in position. When powered off and placed on a level surface,

the eXom’s head will turn down (cameras pointing down) . This is

normal and does not indicate a malfunction.

5.10 How to remove the drone’s battery

1. Grip the battery release tabs and squeeze them together.

2. Pull the battery out.

13 a message appears in the Drone panel’s Monitor tab

46
Flying the eXom

Caution: Never try to remove the battery while the propellers are

spinning. If you need to stop the propellers, power on the Remote

Control, allow it to connect to the drone, then press and hold the left

stick14.

14 see Manual flight with the Remote Control on page 129

47
Getting Started

6 In-flight Monitoring

You can monitor while in-flight through eMotion X using the map, video feeds,

ultrasonic sensor readouts and the Drone panel’s Monitor tab.

6.1 Choosing what to display in the Main Viewer

Double-click

You can display either the head feed in the Main Viewer, or the map. The one that

is not displayed in the Main Viewer appears in the Bottom Bar, if the bar is visible.

To change the content of the Main Viewer:

• Click to select the map or select a head feed camera type using the

toolbar buttons , , .

• Double-click the Bottom Bar Viewer to swap between them.

Note: To change the head feed in the Bottom Bar Viewer, first put the

feed in the Main Viewer by double-clicking the Bottom Bar Viewer,

change head feed, then swap them back.

48
In-flight Monitoring

6.2 Selecting the head feed

You can choose to display the following head camera feeds in the Main Viewer:

• Navcam feed

Click to put the head navcam feed in the Main Viewer.

• Main Camera feed

Click to put the Main Camera feed in the Main Viewer.

• Thermal camera feed

Click to put the Thermal Camera feed in the Main Viewer. The feed is

overlaid onto the Main Camera feed.

6.3 About the head-up display

A head-up display appears over the camera feeds. The head-up display changes

according to the camera you are using.

320 330 340 350 N

4

10 20 30 40 50

Ground

speed

Bearing

Altitude

Main camera

field of view Head angle

Main camera settings

The image above shows the head-up display you’ll see when using the head navcam.

49
Getting Started

How to read the head-up display

• Ground speed

The ground speed is indicated in m/s (1 m/s is equal to 1.94 kts).

Read the ground speed from the white box in the centre of the scale. For

example, the ground speed indicated above is 0 m/s (0 kts).

• Altitude

The altitude above take-off (m/ATO or ft/ATO) is indicated.

Read the altitude from the white box in the centre of the scale. For example,

the altitude indicated above is 0 m (0 ft).

• Head angle

The scale indicates the angle (up/down) of the head.

0

◦

indicates that the head is pointing straight forwards. Positive angles indicate that the head is pointing up. Negative angles indicate that the head

is pointing down.

• Bearing

The scale indicates the compass bearing of the drone in degrees.

0

◦

indicates that the UAV is pointing in the direction of magnetic north,

90◦indicates the east, 180◦the south and 270◦the west.

• Main camera field of view

The dotted lines indicate the field of view of the main camera feed, which

it currently displays.

Note: If you have zoomed in with the main camera, the solid rectangle indicates the smaller field of view you see now with the main

camera. All photos captured with the main camera are, however, fullframe.

50
In-flight Monitoring

• Camera settings

The following main camera settings are shown, if space allows:

– Zoom level (for example, 1.0x)

– Exposure time(for example, 1/250s)

– Aperture (for example, F2.0)

– Camera sensitivity (for example, ISO 100)

Note: Camera settings are given in the way that is standard for digital

cameras, that is, exposure is expressed as a fraction of a second, aperture is expressed as an f-number (the ratio of the lens focal length to

the opening diameter) and sensitivity expressed according to the ISO

12232:2006 standard.

6.4 Choosing a navcam

• Click the navcam button in the Bottom Bar for the navcam you want.

• Click the active navcam button again to switch all navcams off. This conserves drone-eMotion X bandwidth.

6.5 About the ultrasonic sensors

The eXom’s ultrasonic sensors detect the presence of objects within a series of

cone-shaped beams. 2D representations of each of these beams appear in eMotion X’s Bottom Bar. Objects can be detected if they are between 0.6 m (2 ft) and

a maximum of 6 m (20 ft) away. If there is an object within this range of distances,

the beam slices, up to and including the one in which the object has been detected, turn red.

51
Getting Started

Object detected 1.5 m away from the Bottom Sensor Module

As you turn the eXom’s head up and down, the ultrasonic sensor also turns:

Head pointing forward Head pointing up

Head pointing downward Head pointing down

52
In-flight Monitoring

Note: Ultrasonic sensors send out a beam of ultrasonic sound and

pick up the reflections. They cannot detect objects that absorb or diffuse the ultrasonic beam. Soft surfaces such as polystyrene or foam

or diffuse surfaces such as the leaves of a tree may not be detected

by the sensors.

Choosing an ultrasonic sensor

The ultrasonic sensors operate in the following modes:

• A single sensor beam is active, providing constant awareness in a certain

direction.

Use, for example, a beam pointing in the direction of the drone’s motion

when it’s travelling at speed, or if you only anticipate obstacles on one side

of the drone.

• Each sensor activates its beam in turn, providing overall awareness all around

the drone.

Use, for example, when the drone is manoeuvring in a space with potential

obstacles all around.

The eXom will automatically choose for you when:

• Flying an autonomous mission

It uses the bottom sensor module for ground avoidance.

• When Distance Lock is active

It uses the head sensor module to monitor the distance.

• When taking off and landing

It uses the bottom sensor module to guide itself.

53
Getting Started

How to choose a single ultrasonic sensor

In the Bottom Bar, click the beam you want to activate.

How to cycle the ultrasonic sensors

In the Bottom Bar, click either of the drone images ( or ) in the centre of

the sensor feedback panel.

Each sensor will pulse its ultrasonic beam in turn, giving you general awareness

of the drone’s surroundings. It takes about 1 s to complete each beam pulse cycle.

6.6 About the background & custom maps

You can select the background map source from the pull-down menu on the

Toolbar.

eMotion X can use different sources of commercially available webmaps, but also

custom maps. Tiles from map sources with the icon can be downloaded by

eMotion X from the internet as required and locally cached on the hard drive. Map

sourceswith the icon cannot be saved locally due to regulatory restrictions and

are therefore not recommended for use in the field.

6.7 Navigating around the map

Panning and zooming

Use one of the following:

• Click on the toolbar to zoom in. Click to zoom out.

• Place your mouse pointer on the map. Roll the scrollwheel up to zoom in

and down to zoom out.

54
In-flight Monitoring

• Place your mouse pointer on the map then press and hold the right-click

button. Move the mouse up to zoom out, down to zoom in.

• Double-click to zoom in, right double-click to zoom out.

Moving around the map

• Click and drag map to move it around.

• Place your mouse pointer on the map. Roll the scrollwheel up to zoom in

and down to zoom out.

• Place your mouse pointer on the map then press and hold the right-click

button. Move the mouse up to zoom in, down to zoom out.

Tilting and turning the map

Activate 3D mode using the button, then:

• Place your mouse pointer on the map and click and drag with the middle

mouse button.

• Press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard then click and drag on the

map with your mouse.

Move the mouse up to tilt the map down (move your vantage point down). Move

your mouse down to tilt the map up.

Move the mouse right to turn the map anticlockwise, left to turn it clockwise.

Note: If viewing the map in 2D, you cannot rotate the map. North is

always towards the top of the map.

55
Getting Started

Finding the drone on the map

Click on the Toolbar to centre the map on the drone.

Locking the map onto the drone

Click to lock the centre of the map onto the drone. When activated, you can

zoom in and out, but cannot move around the map.

56
Processing

7 Processing

Goal of this section: In this section you will learn how to obtain and

treat the photos, videos and flight data that your eXom captured.

You’ll also learn to create basic mapping products directly in the field

so that you can immediately gauge the quality of the photos you

gathered.

7.1 Obtaining your photos, videos and flight data

After completing a flight, use eMotionX to import and treat the raw photos, videos

and log files, readying them use and for processing with Postflight Terra 3D.

You will:

1. Tell eMotion X which flight you want to treat.

2. Create a project folder into which eMotion X will create the treated files.

3. Tell eMotion X where to look for the photos, videos and log files.

4. Check that the photos, videos and logs it found are the ones you want.

5. Choose the type of output you want.

6. Import and treat the files.

During its flight, the eXom records flight data in a special Drone Flight Log file

(.bbx), stored on the SD card. In it, the UAV logs important information such as

sensor data, control inputs and its location.

57
Getting Started

A similar file, the eMotion X Flight Log (.efl)15, is also created by eMotion X during a flight. This serves as a backup in case the Drone Flight Log file cannot be

recovered.

Use eMotion X’s Flight Data Manager to obtain, consolidate and treat the data

generated during a mapping mission.

Note: The raw photos and videos that the eXom has captured are

not optimised for viewing or for use in Postflight Terra 3D. senseFly

recommends importing and treating all eXom data with the Flight

Data Manager.

Caution: After a flight, always wait for eMotion X to finish copying

the flight logs, then power off the drone before removing the SD card.

A message in the Drone panel’s Monitor tab tells you when copying is complete.

How To launch the Flight Data Manager

• Select Flight Data Manager in the Connect dialog when you launch eMotion X.

• Click on the Toolbar and choose Flight Data Manager....

How to import and treat photos, videos and data from the UAV

• Step 1 - Prepare for the data import

Power off the eXom, remove its SD card and insert it into your computer.

All photos, videos and flight logs are saved on this SD card.

15 If there is an issue with your eXom, both flight logs will be needed for technical support. See Reporting a problem with your eXom on page 174

58
Processing

• Step 2a - Select a flight

If you haven’t already, launch the flight data manager.

If the flight was monitored from the computer onto which you are importing UAV photos and data, it will have been logged in the flight database on

that computer.

Select the date on which the flight took place. A list of flights (including

number of photos taken) that were monitored using that computer, on that

date, appears in the pull-down menu below the calendar. Choose the one

you wish to treat.

• Step 2b - Create a project folder

Choose a folder name that uniquely identifies your flight (e.g. the date, the

name of the area, etc.).

• Step 3 - Load the flight logs

eMotion X’s Flight Data Manager will automatically locate the correct flight

log (.bbx) on the SD card. The flight trajectory appears in the Map View.

This flight log as well as the log from eMotion X are copied to the project

folder.

• Step 4 - Load the photos

eMotion X will automatically locate the photos and videos (they are stored

in the DCIM folder on the SD card).

If it does not, or if you have copied or moved them, choose Select folder...

and Browse to their location. On the SD card, they are in a folder named

with the ID of the flight log you imported.

• Step 5 - Review the import

eMotion X’s Flight Data Manager shows the number of photos and videos

it will import into the project folder.

• Step 6 - Select outputs

The Flight Data Manager can compress (zip) your raw (.dng) photos and

also create JPEG format versions of them.

59
Getting Started

– With Compress raw (.dng) images unchecked, your raw photos will be

imported, but not compressed (zipped).

– With Convert raw (.dng) images to JPEG unchecked, JPEG versions of

your photos will not be created. If you wish to process your photos

with Postflight Terra 3D, you must create the JPEGs in some other

way.

Choose the actions to execute and outputs to create:

– The eXom automatically geotags its photos in flight. The option to

Write geotags in image files is therefore disabled for photos captured

by the eXom.

– Check Create text file with image positions (geoinfo) and choose a file

format if you wish to export a geoinfo file. This file contains latitude,

longitude, altitude (AMSL and WGS 84), heading, pitch and roll values

for each photo captured.

– Only uncheck Create Postflight Terra 3D project if you do not want to

create a Postflight Terra 3D project.

– Only uncheck Create KML flight trajectory if you do not want to create

a 3D flight trajectory.

Click Next to execute the import and treatment you have set up.

• Step 7 - Finish off and tidy up

All your results are now in the project folder and you are ready to open the

project in Postflight Terra 3D for further processing.

Use your computer’s Eject function to eject the SD card before removing

the card.

7.2 In-field quality check

Postflight Terra 3D software16, available as a free download with the eXom package, can be used to rapidly create a Quality Report directly in the field. The Quality

16 powered by Pix4D; see Installing the software on page 2 for installation instructions

60
Processing

Report that is automatically generated provides immediate feedback on the quality of the dataset.

First, use your flight data to create a new project in Postflight Terra 3D

After importing your data in the Flight Data Manager, click Open Postflight Terra 3D

project. Postflight Terra 3Dwill launch and the position of your photos will appear

as red dots in the Map Area of Postflight Terra 3D’s main window.

Map Area

Top Toolbar

Project

Summary

Local

Processing

panel

Layers

Step 1: select 1. Initial Processing,

Rapid Check Step 2: click ‘Start’

Next, create the Quality Report

1. Choose Local Processing from Postflight Terra 3D’s Process menu or click

on the Toolbar.

2. In the Local Processing panel, select only the Initial project processing checkbox and the Rapid Checkradial button. Click Startto begin rapid processing.

61
Getting Started

Postflight Terra 3D will now process the data and produce a report that includes

the overall completeness and georeference quality of the photos taken during

your last mission. You can use this information to decide whether further imaging

flights are required while you are still in the field. The quality report will launch in

a new window. Click on the Toolbar if it does not appear.

7.3 Creating mapping products

Beyond Quality Reports and low-resolution orthomosaics, Postflight Terra 3D can

generate georeferenced high-resolution 2D orthomosaics, 3D point clouds, 3D

Meshes, DSMs and export these results to common third-party software formats.

Ground Control Points(GCP) can be added to add absolute accuracy to the project.

Postflight Terra 3D also includes a mosaic and a rayCloud editor, which not only

provide measuring tools, but also give you control over the quality of your final

mapping products.

Furthermore the resulting orthomosaic and DSM may then be imported as custom background map and elevation data layer in eMotion X17. This data can be

used for advanced flight planning in complex or uneven terrain.

Note: You need to either enable tile set generation OR choose Generate Google Maps Tiles and KML from the Process menu before you

can push the tileset into eMotion X by choosing Send Map to eMotion from the Process menu. Alternatively, this data can be imported

into eMotion X; choose Import custom map from eMotion X’s File

menu.

Note: The best way to learn how to use the various features of Postflight Terra 3D is to look at the comprehensive online Knowledge

Base within my.senseFly18.

17 see Using custom map sources on page 104 for more information on importing layers into eMotion X

18 http://my.sensefly.com

62
Part II

Your first autonomous mapping

mission

Goal of this section: This section introduces the autonomous mission planning features of eMotion X and describes the steps required

to plan a simple mapping flight.

Note: We recommend that you perform your first mission in a large

obstacle-free area and limit the length of the mission in order to familiarise yourself with the eXom in flight.
Your first autonomous mapping mission

8 Autonomous missions

If you want your eXom to fly all or part of its flight autonomously, you must assign

it one or more mission blocks.

To create a mapping flight for the systematic coverage of an area, use the automatic mission planning feature of eMotion X. Create a polygon covering the area

you would like to map and eMotion X will generate a mission plan optimised for

the ground resolution you want.

An eXom mission is made up of a series of blocks. Each block contains a series of

waypoints.

A mission is shown on the map in the Main Viewer using:

• In 2D, circles to represent waypoints.

• In 3D, vertical lines to represent the altitude of the drone with inverted

cones to represent the waypoint itself.

You can only plan one mission at a time. A mission can be made up of many mission blocks. Each block can have a different purpose . A mission might include, for

example, several blocks to study some structures or points of interest, a horizontal mapping block to gather mapping data of the surrounding area and a series of

custom routes to guide the drone between them.

When they are ready, you assign mission blocks to your drone . This transfers the

waypoints, through the ground modem connection, to the drone’s autopilot, then

keeps them synchronised if you make a change.

During an autonomous flight the eXom will control its flight autonomously from

take-off to landing and you do not need to use the control bar. It can however

be useful in unexpected situations, for example, press HOLD and the drone will

temporarily hold position or press GO TO HOME to send the drone to the Home

waypoint, or GO TO START to send it to the Start waypoint.

64
Autonomous missions

8.1 Opening, creating and saving missions

When you save a mission, you save the entire mission, including:

• All the mission blocks, all their parameters and any waypoints.

• How much of each mission block had been completed.

• The Transition parameters that were set.

• The security actions that were enabled or disabled when you saved the mission.

• The mission footprints.

Missions are also saved automatically just after you make a change.

Missions are saved with the mission’s name as .mis files in a missions folder within

your Data Folder.

How to create a new mission

First, get eMotion X ready for mission planning...

1. Click > to open up the Mission panel on the left-hand side of eMotion X.

2. Locate on the map the place where you want to fly your mission.

Note: You can use the button on the toolbar to find places on the

map by name or coordinate.

Next, choose how you want to create the mission...

18 A folder called eMotion within your Windows Documents folder, unless you have changed it (see

About eMotion X’s data folder on page 107).

65
Your first autonomous mapping mission

Create from scratch

1. Choose Mission New from the File menu.

A new, empty mission called My mission is created.

2. Choose Mission Rename... from the File menu to change the name

and prevent overwriting of a saved mission.

Create using a saved mission as a template

1. Choose Mission New from saved... from the File menu.

The new mission (called My mission) will have all of the saved mission’s

blocks and their properties.

2. Choose Mission Rename... from the File menu to change the name

and prevent overwriting of a saved mission.

Note: You can only have one mission open at a time. Creating a new

mission clears the current mission.

How to open a saved mission

Choose Mission Open... from the File menu.

The saved mission will open and restore the progress made at the moment the

mission was saved.

Note: Use New from saved... to open the mission without restoring

the progress made.

66
Autonomous missions

How to rename a mission

Choose Mission Rename... from the File menu.

8.2 About mission blocks

There are different types of mission blocks:

• Horizontal Mapping

Define a mission area and eMotion X will automatically set out the waypoints and flight lines.

See Autonomous mission example: Horizontal Mapping on page 69.

• Around POI (point of interest)

Identify a point of interest and have the drone fly around it capturing the

object in detail from different angles.

See Around POI (point of interest) mission blocks on page 110.

• Custom route

Create waypoints and edit their position, properties and actions to define

your own mission profile.

See Custom Route mission blocks on page 113.

8.3 How to create mission blocks

To create Horizontal Mapping and Around POI mission blocks...

1. In the Mission planning tab in the Mission panel, click the mission’s name.

2. Click Add block and choose the type of block you want.

3. On the map, click where you want to place the mission block.

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Your first autonomous mapping mission

Your mission block will appear on the map at the location you clicked.

If you are creating a Custom Route, you don’t click on the map to place the block.

Instead, you’ll click on the map to place each waypoint.

How to view mission block details

Within the mission explorer:

1. Click the mission’s name to move to the top level of the mission explorer.

2. Click .

3. Choose the block you want to view.

Within the block list:

1. Click the mission to move to the top level in the mission explorer.

2. Double-click the block itself, or click .

How to edit mission block properties

1. Double-click the block, or click to view the block details.

2. Click to edit the block.

3. Rename the block, adjust the ground resolution and other mapping parameters in the Mission Planning tab to suit your terrain and quality requirements.

4. Click again to finish editing the block.

How to reorder mission blocks

1. Click the mission to move to the top level in the mission explorer.

2. Click and drag the mission blocks up and down to change their order.

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Autonomous missions

How to remove a mission block

1. Click , or double-click the block to expand it.

2. Click Remove.

8.4 Autonomous mission example: Horizontal Mapping

Use Horizontal Mapping mission blocks to fly your eXom over extended areas to

create aerial maps. Create a polygon that defines the area you want to map, set

the ground sampling distance (GSD) you want and eMotion X will automatically

create the mission waypoints.

You can set the following properties:

• Description

The name you have given to the block.

• Camera

The Main Camera resolution that will be used.

• Plan above

Choose the reference above which you want eMotion X to set the drone’s

altitude.

• Resolution

The size, on the ground, you want the finest distinguishable detail in the

photos to be (the ground resolution).

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Your first autonomous mapping mission

• Overlap

The percentage you want one photo to overlap the next.

• Reverse flight

If left unchecked, eMotion X sends the drone to the farthest waypoint in

the mission block first. If checked, the drone will begin the mission nearby

and finish far away19.

eMotion X displays the following results:

• Area

The area covered by the mission.

• Altitude

The altitude at which the drone will fly in order to achieve the ground resolution you set.

• Number of photos

The number of photos needed to complete the block.

• Flight time

The estimated time needed to complete the block.

• Flight distance

The estimated distance the drone needs to fly to complete the block.

Note: Ground resolution is directly linked to the flight altitude: a

higher resolution (fewer cm/px or in/px) requires a lower altitude, a

lower resolution (more cm/px or in/px) requires a higher one.

Note: For most mapping purposes, between 60% and 80% overlap

is usually required. Higher overlap values may increase the mapping

quality, but will also increase flight duration for the same area.

19 Ensure that there is enough battery power to return to Home at the end of the mission.

70
Autonomous missions

Note: When you create a mapping mission block, its waypoints’ altitudes are automatically set. After assigning the block to a drone, you

can change the altitude of a waypoint20. If, however, you then move

the mission polygon, or change the ground resolution, all waypoint

altitudes will be reset to the initial altitude.

Note: Because there is less image overlap around the edges of a mapping mission, eMotion X automatically adds flight lines the extend

beyond the mission polygon to ensure complete coverage and therefore high quality results over the actual project area.

How to create a Horizontal Mapping mission block

First, locate on the map the zone you want to map.

Next, add a Mapping mission block to your mission.

See How to create mission blocks on page 67 and click on the map where you want

to place it. A mission polygon, including the required waypoints, is automatically

calculated and displays on the map. The waypoints are placed so that the GSD

is 1 cm (0.4 in) per pixel. As you adjust the polygon, eMotion X recalculates the

waypoints.

To adjust the shape of the mission polygon, select it then...

1. Click and drag the corners ( ) of the polygon to adjust its size and shape.

2. Click and drag the middle ( ) of the polygon to move it.

3. Click just inside the edge of the polygon to add a new corner.

4. Right-click a corner ( ) to remove it.

20 see How to move waypoints on page 36

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Your first autonomous mapping mission

To adjust the orientation of the flight lines...

• If you need to, click and drag a corner ( ) of the polygon to move it out of

the way.

• Click and drag one of the orientation handles ( ).

• Return the corner ( ) to its original position if you need to.

To move individual waypoints, see How to move waypoints on page 36.

Caution: Neither eMotion X nor its automatic mission planning tool

are aware of obstacles in the area. They cannot tell if there are differences between the elevation data and the real world. They are not

aware of any legal restrictions (such as minimum or maximum altitude) that may apply in your region. The resulting flight plan should

be carefully reviewed in order to avoid any collision with uneven terrain or tall objects such as buildings, and to comply with local regulations.

Once your mission block is complete, you can assign it to a drone.

8.5 Readying your drone for the mission

Once you have completed your mission blocks it’s time to assign them to a drone.

Power on and connect your eXom to eMotion X.

When you assign the mission blocks you want to fly to your drone, they are copied

to the drone’s autopilot through the ground modem connection.

Once assigned, the block’swaypoints change colour in eMotionX, and any change

you make to a waypoint is immediately transmitted to the drone.

How to assign mission blocks to a drone

1. Power on and connect your drone to eMotion X.

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Autonomous missions

2. In the Mission planning tab, click the mission to view its blocks.

3. Click the coloured Assign button on the blocks you want to assign. The

button background turns dark grey for assigned blocks.

The coloured symbol also appears in the block details when a block has been

assigned.

Caution: Always carefully review the flight plan before take-off to

ensure that there is sufficient clearance between the flight plan and

the ground. Click on the Toolbar to to toggle 3D mode on and off.

We recommended that you double-check waypoint AMSL altitudes

with respect to another source of elevation data.

How to unassign mission blocks from a drone

1. Click the coloured Assign button again to unassign a block.

How to take off and start your mission

Once you’ve planned your mission and the eXom’s status LED is solid green your

drone is ready to take off.

• Click TAKE OFF on the Control Bar.

• Allow the drone to take off and calibrate its compass (it spins around once).

• Allow the drone to fly to the Start waypoint.

• If needed, click START MISSION.

After take-off, the drone switches into waypoint navigation mode and flies to the

Start waypoint.

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Your first autonomous mapping mission

Caution: Keep clear of the drone during take-off.

Caution: Be ready to abort the take-off by triple-clicking LAND NOW

on the Control Bar. If the drone doesn’t automatically stop its propellers after landing, power on the Remote Control then press and

hold the left-hand stick. Do not do this if the drone is in the air.

Caution: Never attempt a hand-held take-off.

Note: If the drone detects an issue that prevents take-off or makes

take-off dangerous or unwise, it will raise a take-off veto. A message

will appear in the Status panel in eMotion X and the drone’s status

LED will shine red. Take-off vetoes on page 160 describes the possible

take-off veto messages and the user action that should be taken to

remove them.

8.6 After the mission

Use the After mission setting in the Mission panel’s Take-off and landing tab to

tell the drone what to do at the end of a mission. You can tell the drone to:

• Return to the Home waypoint and land21

Set After mission to Land at Home waypoint.

• Return to the Home waypoint and wait there

Set After mission to Go to Home waypoint.

21 this is the default action

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Autonomous missions

• Go to the Start waypoint and wait

Set After mission to Go to Start waypoint.

• Wait at the last waypoint in the mission

Set After mission to Stay on Mission.

How to land after a mission

If After mission in the Mission’s panel’s Take-off and landing tab is set to Land

at Home waypoint, the drone will return to the Home waypoint and automatically

initiate a landing sequence.

If After mission is not set to Land at Home waypoint, click GO LAND on eMotion X’s

Control Bar.

Once on the ground, the propellers will stop.

The vision sensors must have sufficient light and texture to accurately detect the

drone’s height above the ground. Ensure that the sensors are clear of dirt or other

obstructions.

Allow eMotion X to finish copying the flight logs and power the eXom off before

removing the SD card. Remove the battery from the drone before picking it up.

Note: We recommend you import the photos and flight data straight

away after each flight (see Obtaining your photos, videos and flight

data on page 57), before putting the eXomback in its case for storage.

75

Part III

Your first interactive ScreenFly

flight

Goal of this section: This section introduces interactive flight with

the ScreenFly Controller.
Your first interactive ScreenFly flight

9 The ScreenFly Controller

With the ScreenFly Controller you send commands to the drone through eMotion X. The drone’s autopilot interprets flight commands and moves as instructed,

all while maintaining stable flight. Use eMotion X and the ScreenFly Controller to

direct the cameras on the eXom’s TripleView Head towards the object you want to

film, photograph or inspect. Use the buttons on the controller to select a navcam,

activate and deactivate the automatic photo trigger or take photos as needed.

Connect the ScreenFly Controller to the USB port on a computer with eMotion X

installed.

Note: This section describes the controller with its controls set as

supplied, to mode II. See Controller and Remote Control command

modes on page 139.

Caution: Use of a controller other than the one supplied with your

eXom is not recommended.

78
MODE

Y

X

A

B

(PRESS)

Anti-Drift OFF/ON

(PRESS+HOLD)

EmergencyLanding

+SHIFT

SHIFT

Take off/abort take-off

Land/abort landing

Select navcam: Head

Press with SHIFT: Cruise up

Select navcam: Left

Press with SHIFT: Cruise left

Select navcam: Right

Press with SHIFT: Cruise right

Select navcam: Bottom/rear

Press with SHIFT: Cruise down

Do not use*

Interactive ScreenFly

on/off

Drone control:

Forward/backward/right/left

Press: Anti-drift off/on

Drone control:

Up/down/turn right/turn left

Press & hold: Emergency landing

Take phLong p

Start/stop video recording

Long press: Auto photo trigger on/off

TripleView Head : Look down TripleView Head: Look up

∗ Pressing this button swaps the functions on the left-hand controllers. While active, the LED shines red.

If you press it by accident, press it again to swap back – the LED will switch off.
TripleView he

Look down

TripleView head:

Look up

Take photo

Long press: Trigger autofocus

Set to X (do not change)

X D
The ScreenFly Controller

The following button index will be used in the next section:

MODE

Y

X

A

B

E

K

Y

X

J L M

I

G H

F

A

B

C

D

K

M L

J

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Your first interactive ScreenFly flight

9.1 How to activate and deactivate the ScreenFly Controller

• Press button C in the centre of the ScreenFly Controller.

• In eMotion X, click INTERACTIVE on the Control Bar.

If your drone is in the air when you activate the ScreenFly Controller, it hovers and

waits for a command.

If your drone is flying autonomously when you activate the controller, it pauses

its autonomous mission and hovers, waiting for a command. If you later deactivate the controller while the drone is in the air, you can resume the incomplete

autonomous mission by clicking RESUME MISSION on the control bar.

If you deactivate the controller while flying interactively, it will hover, awaiting a

command.

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Flying the eXom interactively with ScreenFly

10 Flying the eXom interactively with ScreenFly

You can use the controller to approach the target of your inspection and once in

position, zoom in and out, fly around the target, cruise along or across the target,

capturing video or photos. You can use eMotion X to recentre the video feed on

objects of interest. Click and hold on the video feed to activate the on-screen

controller and drag the pointer to pan around – the head will automatically move

up and down and the drone will turn, all while remaining stable in the air.

Note: A flight direction stated here is relative to the drone itself.

Note: This section describes the Controller with its controls set as

supplied, to mode II. See Controller and Remote Control command

modes on page 139.

10.1 How to take off using ScreenFly

• Press the button (G) on the ScreenFly Controller.

• In eMotion X, click TAKE OFF on the Control Bar.

Caution: Be ready to abort the take-off by pressing the button again.

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Your first interactive ScreenFly flight

10.2 How to land using ScreenFly

With your eXom positioned over the landing location, press the button (G)

on the ScreenFly Controller and the eXom will land.

You have the following options in eMotion X:

• Click GO LAND on the Control Bar. The drone will head first to the Home

waypoint, then land.

• Triple-click LAND NOW on the Control Bar. The drone will immediately initiate a landing.

10.3 How to flyleft, right, forward and backward with ScreenFly

Use the right-hand joystick (E) on the ScreenFly Controller22. The drone will pitch

according to the direction you move the joystick:

• Push up to fly forward.

• Pull down to fly backward.

• Push right to fly to the right.

• Push left to fly to the left.

10.4 How to turn the drone using ScreenFly

Use the left-hand joystick (D) on the ScreenFly Controller22. The drone will turn

(yaw) in the direction you push the joystick:

• Push right to turn to the right.

• Push left to turn to the left.

22 with controls set to mode II. See Controller and Remote Control command modes on page 139

84
Flying the eXom interactively with ScreenFly

10.5 How to climb and descend using ScreenFly

Use the left-hand joystick (D) on the ScreenFly Controller22. The drone will move

according to the direction you push the joystick:

• Push up to climb.

• Pull down to descend.

Caution: Do not press button I. It swaps the functions on the lefthand controllers. If you accidentally press button I and the LED on

the controller shines red, press button I again.

10.6 How to hover using ScreenFly

Release the joysticks. The eXomwill automatically maintain its position and hover.

10.7 How to set a constant speed (cruise)

• Press SHIFT (H) + the controller (F or ) in the direction in which you want

to cruise (up, down, left or right).

You do not need to hold SHIFT or hold the controller direction to continue

cruising.

• To stop cruising, press the SHIFT button (H) again.

• To change direction, first stop cruising, then start cruising again in another

direction.

How to change cruise speed

In the drone’s Parameters tab set the Cruise control speed in the Assistance section.

85
Your first interactive ScreenFly flight

10.8 About Distance Lock

You can ask the eXomto maintain a set distance, between 2 m (6 ft) and 5 m (16 ft),

from a vertical surface.

You can then move the drone up, down and across the surface. Set the required

distance in the Drone Parameters tab.

When switched on, the eXom’s head points forward (0◦) and only the head ultrasonic sensor is used. You cannot use other sensors without switching Distance

Lock off.

You can temporarily move away from the surface using the right-hand joystick on

the Controller. When you release the joystick the drone will return to the Distance

Lock distance.

Surfaces must be hard, solid and continuousfor Distance Lock towork. You cannot

lock onto, for example, trees, open fences or open steel lattices.

Caution: Do not forget to switch distance lock off when you are finished. If you don’t, it may unexpectedly lock onto the next object that

passes in front of the drone.

Caution: To prevent collision, move the drone away from the surface

before deactivating Distance Lock. If GNSS is poor, the drone might

drift towards the surface.

How to maintain a fixed distance from a vertical surface

First, set the distance you want the drone to maintain. In the drone’s Parameters

tab set the Distance lock distance in the Assistance section.

Press button B to switch Distance Lock on.

Press button B again to switch Distance Lock off again.

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Capturing photos and video

11 Capturing photos and video

During an automated mapping mission, photos are automatically captured by the

drone. When flying interactively, you have control over the photos and video captured.

Note: The zoom level or the use of a navcam feed do not affect captured photo resolution. All photos are captured using the full frame

of the selected camera.

Note: If you are viewing or capturing video, there will be short break

in the video feed each time a photo is captured.

11.1 How to capture single photos

• With your right hand, press – the upper button on the back of the controller (K).

• In eMotion X, click to capture a single photo.

11.2 Automatically capturing photos

The eXom can automatically capture a photo every few seconds.

How to activate automatic photo capture

• With your left hand, long press – the upper button on the back of the

controller (J) to start or stop photo capture.

• In eMotionX, click to start automatically capturing photos. Click again

to stop.

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Your first interactive ScreenFly flight

How to set the interval between photos

In your drone’s Camera tab in eMotion X, move the slider to change the Autotrigger interval.

11.3 Focussing the eXom’s Main Camera

The eXom will automatically focus the Main camera at the beginning of each line

in a mapping mission and before the first photo you capture on an interactive

flight.

While flying interactively, you can ask it to focus on the current subject at any time.

The Main Camera always zooms fully in to the centre of the feed to focus. It focusses on a region in the centre (50 % of the zoomed-in image). It then zooms out

again.

The Main Camera has a large depth of field. Objects more than approximately

4 m from the camera are already at infinity. Focussing once at the beginning of

the flight is often enough to ensure good focus throughout an interactive mission.

You may however need to trigger the autofocus from time to time during a flight

if less than 4 m from the subject or to correct focus changes caused by changing

temperature.

How to use the Main Camera’s autofocus

To focus on the object at the centre of the feed:

• With your right hand, long press – the upper button on the back of the

controller (K).

• In eMotion X, click on the Toolbar.

The camera will zoom in, focus, then zoom out again.

To focus on an object that is not at the centre:

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Capturing photos and video

• Using your mouse’s scrollwheel, zoom in on the object.

• Click to focus on the object.

• If you need to, zoom out again. The Main Camera’s focus will not change as

you zoom back out.

11.4 Focussing the navcams and Thermal Camera

The eXom’s navcams use wide-angle lenses with a large depth of field and do not

require focussing.

The thermal camera used on the eXom uses a focus-free design. Objects more

than 0.5 m (1.6 ft) away will be in focus.

11.5 Recording video

You can record video from the eXom’s Main and Thermal cameras.

The eXom records the camera feed that is in the Main Viewer when you clicked

. If you change the feed while recording, the new feed is recorded.

Note: You cannot continue to use the camera feed you are recording.

If you start recording while viewing a feed, the view freezes. Switch

to the navcam to navigate.

How to start and stop video recording

First, choose the camera with which you want to record a video:

• Choose the Main Camera or Head navcam on the Toolbar if you

want to record the Main Camera feed.

• Choose if you want to record the Thermal Camera feed.

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Your first interactive ScreenFly flight

Next, start recording:

• With your left hand, press – the upper button on the back of the controller (J).

• In eMotion X, click to start video recording. Click again to stop.

Note: If you start recording while viewing the head navcam feed, the

eXom will record the Main Camera feed.

Note: If you switch the Main Viewer to Main Camera or Head

navcam while recording the Thermal camera feed, thermal feed

recording will stop and you will record only the Main Camera feed.

To continue navigating using the view from the eXom’s head while

recording the thermal feed, switch to the Head navcam feed in

the Bottom Bar.

Note: In recorded thermal video, the lower-resolution thermal camera feed is overlaid onto the Main Camera feed.

11.6 How to turn on the Headlamp

Click the Turn ON button under Headlamp on the drone’s Camera tab.

11.7 About the Main Camera zoom

You can zoom in up to 6 x using the Main Camera.

The eXom’s Main Camera uses digital zoom, however, since its resolution is considerably higher than most computer screens, it does not create a zoomed image

by enlarging part of the full image.

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Capturing photos and video

Instead, unless fully zoomed in, each pixel on your computer’s screen represents

several Main Camera pixels. It is only when fully zoomed in, that each pixel on

your computer’s screen represents a single Main Camera pixel.

How to zoom in and out with the Main Camera

Using the controller:

1. Press the blue button (X) until you see the Main Camera feed in eMotion X.

2. Press the yellow button (Y) on the controller to zoom in. Press the green

button (A) to zoom out.

From within eMotion X, first click to activate the Main Camera feed.

You can then, zoom in and out in the following ways:

• Click to zoom in on the centre of the feed. Click to zoom out.

• If you have a mouse with a scrollwheel, place the mouse pointer where you

want to zoom. Roll the scrollwheel away from you to zoom in and towards

you to zoom out.

Note: You cannot zoom with the navcams or Thermal Camera.

Note: When you take a photo or record video, the eXom always uses

the full extent of the camera’s sensor, not the zoomed-in view.

11.8 How to move the eXom’s cameras

When flying interactively, you can move the eXom’s head cameras, moving the

field of view, in several ways:

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Your first interactive ScreenFly flight

Moving the head cameras using the ScreenFly Controller

• To turn the head up, with your right hand, press – the lower button on

the back of the controller (M).

• To turn the head down, with your left hand, press – the lower button

on back of the controller (L).

• To turn the camera to the left or right, turn the eXom by pushing the left

stick on the controller (D) to the left or right.

• To pan the camera to the left or right, fly the drone in that direction. Push

the right stick on the controller (E) to the left or right.

Note: You can also use the eXom’s Cruise capability to pan across an

object, capturing photos or video.

Moving the camera using eMotion X

With a camera feed in the Main or Bottom Bar Viewer, click and hold your mouse

pointer on the video feed. An on-screen controller will appear.

• Drag the mouse pointer up to move the head up, down to move the head

down.

• Drag the mouse pointer to the left and the drone will turn to the left. Drag

it to the right and the drone will turn to the right.

The further your mouse pointer is from the centre of the on-screen controller, the

faster the head or drone will turn.

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Capturing photos and video

11.9 About the Thermal Camera feed

Spot

temperature

Main Camera feed Main Camera parameters Thermal Camera feed

Temperature

scale

Centre spot

• Spot temperature

The temperature of the object at the centre spot in the Thermal Camera

feed.

• Temperature scale

The range of colours that appear in the feed. The temperature at each end

of the colour range is shown in figures.

11.10 Temperatures in the Thermal Camera feed

Temperatures are represented by a colour scale, as shown alongside the Thermal

Camera feed.

Unless you lock it, the eXom automatically adjusts the feed’s colour scale so that

it ranges from the coldest to the hottest object in the scene23. As the scene in the

feed changes, the eXom continuously adjusts the colour scale.

If you lock the scale on a certain scene, the colour that represents a certain temperature no longer changes as the scene changes.

With the scale locked, you can adjust the colour range:

23 within the resolution limits of the camera

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Your first interactive ScreenFly flight

• Make the range of temperatures covered by the colour scale larger or smaller.

• Raise or lower the set of temperatures covered by the scale.

How to lock the temperature range to the scene

Click Lock thermal scale on the Toolbar. Click again to unlock.

How to adjust the temperature range

Vary the range using the Contrast and Brightnesssliders on the drone’s Camera

tab.

• To change the size of the temperature range covered by the scale, use the

Contrast slider. A higher contrast means that the colour scale represents a

smaller range of temperatures.

• To raise or lower the set of temperatures that the colours represent, use the

Brightness slider.

11.11 Thermal Camera calibration

During use, especially if the temperature of the drone changes significantly (for

example, it was stored in a cool place and is flying in a hot place) the temperature

scale can change and needs re-calibration.

The eXom’s Thermal Camera automatically calibrates itself when the drone is powered on. You can also trigger a calibration at any time when flying interactively,

or ask the drone to hold and trigger it during an autonomous mission.

During calibration, the head turns back on itself so that the camera is pointed at

a calibration target of known temperature on the eXom’s body.

Note: Different materials emit infra-red light differently. This can affect the way they appear in the Thermal Camera feed.

94
How to trigger Thermal Camera calibration

If flying interactively, click on eMotion X’s Toolbar.

Note: You cannot calibrate the camera when Distance Lock is active.

During an autonomous mission:

1. Click HOLD on eMotion X’s Control Bar.

2. Click on eMotion X’s Toolbar.
Extended guide to the eXom
Part IV

Extended guide to eMotion X

12 eMotion X’s Monitor tab

12.1 About the Monitor tab

Click the Monitor tab on the Drone panel to monitor your drone during its

flight.

Drone Status

What your drone is currently doing and any messages or active warnings24 are

shown here.

Note: Important status and warning messages also appear in the

Status Panel on the map, remaining visible when the Drone panel’s

Monitor tab is hidden.

Autonomy

• Battery (voltage)

Shows battery charge level (and voltage).

Note: As charge level decreases, voltage will also decrease. A fully

charged battery has a voltage of 12.6 V. A voltage of approximately

9 V indicates that the battery is fully discharged25.

24 see Troubleshooting on page 160
Extended guide to eMotion X

• Flight time

Current flight’s duration so far.

• Home distance

The straight-line distance to the Home waypoint.

• Link quality

Ground modem radio data link quality.

Caution: Lithium polymer batteries are chemical devices whose performance depends on a number of parameters, including temperature, lifetime, number of cycles, mechanical integrity, etc. The remaining capacity shown in eMotion X may therefore be inaccurate. It

is the operator’s responsibility to monitor battery voltage and flight

time in addition to the battery level to make sure that endurance is

sufficient to complete the mission.

Flight data

• Ground speed

Your drone’s speed relative to the ground.

• Altitude

Your drone’s altitude above mean sea level (AMSL).

• Latitude

Longitude

Your drone’s absolute position as reported by its on-board GNSS receiver.

25 see The eXom’s battery on page 30

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Extended guide to eMotion X

Instruments

• Temperature

The warmest part of the drone, and that component’s temperature:

Electronics The main circuit board

Processor The main CPU

Motor The motor controller (LLAP)

Battery The battery

IMU The inertial measurement unit

Magnetometer The compass

Barometer The barometer

The symbol changes colour and a warning is raised if the temperature

gets too high.

Air: The ambient temperature.

• GNSS

Satellites: The number of satellites from which your drone’s GNSS receiver is

receiving signals (and the average signal to noise ratio in dB/Hz).

Accuracy: The amount of error you should expect in the drone’s reported

absolute position.

Mode: The current GNSS receiver mode.

12.2 How to change units

eMotion X can display lengths and measurements in metric or imperial units. To

switch units:

1. Choose Preferences from the File menu.

2. Choose the Local preferences panel and select the Unit system.

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Extended guide to eMotion X

12.3 3D mapping in eMotion X

eMotion X is supplied with Improved SRTM elevation data and uses this elevation

data to display the map in 3D.

Note: Improved SRTM elevation data uses a 3 arc-second (approx. 90

m resolution) digital elevation model derived from the SRTM (Shuttle

Radar Topography Mission) dataset version 2.1 combined with other

data sources (ASTER GDEM, SRTM30, cartographic data, etc.). This

data covers nearly all emerged land except the territories below 56◦

S latitude and the territory of the Russian Federation above 60◦ N latitude.

Caution: The supplied elevation data may contain inaccuracies of

several meters, and does not contain data on obstacles such as buildings or trees. We highly recommend that you check your flight plan

thoroughly, in 2D and 3D, to ensure sufficient clearance between the

flight plan and the ground. senseFly provides no guarantee regarding the accuracy of the elevation data and it is the operator’s sole responsibility to ensure a safe flight trajectory and altitude.

Note: The first time you use elevation data, eMotion X will download

the Improved SRTM elevation data tiles from senseFly’s servers26.

Terrain following using elevation data

When planning an autonomous mapping mission, eMotion X can use elevation

data to set the altitude of each mission waypoint. This improves the ground resolution and increases mission safety, especially in uneven terrain, by keeping a

26 eMotion X must be connected to the internet. Once downloaded, elevation tiles are cached and can

be used offline.

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Extended guide to eMotion X

constant distance between the drone and the ground.

To ask the drone to follow the terrain during a mapping mission, open the mapping mission block, click Edit and choose Elevation data from the Plan above:

pull-down menu27.

Elevation data will then be used to set each mission waypoint altitude:

1. The planner uses the elevation data to find the terrain elevation under the

waypoint.

2. The target altitude is added to this maximum value and the result is set as

the waypoint altitude.

Note: If you need to, you can then adjust each waypoint’s altitude

manually. See How to move waypoints on page 36

Choosing an alternate altitude reference for yourmappingmission block

If you do not want the drone to follow the terrain, or you do not have confidence

in the elevation data you are using, you can choose another way to set waypoint

altitudes.

Open your mapping mission block and click Edit. Choose an option from the

Plan above: pull-down menu:

• Area center

All waypoints are at the same altitude above mean sea level (AMSL). The

altitude set is the optimum altitude, relative to the height of the elevation

model at a point under the geometric centre of your mission polygon.

27 this is the default option

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Extended guide to eMotion X

• Area highest point

All waypoints are at the same AMSL altitude. The altitude set is the optimum altitude, relative to the highest point in the elevation model under

your mission polygon.

• Area mean point

All waypoints are at the same AMSL altitude. The altitude set is the optimum altitude relative to the average height of the elevation model under

your mission polygon.

• Fixed altitude

All waypoints are at the AMSL altitude you set.

Caution: Always check carefully to make sure your drone will stay

clear of the ground, especially if you are not using elevation data. Do

not rely solely on the eXom’s ground avoidance feature.

12.4 Using a custom elevation model

By default, eMotion X uses the supplied SRTM elevation model as an altitude reference for mapping.

You can also import another elevation dataset or create your own.

Use Elevation data Preferences (choose Preferences from the File menu) to:

• Add datasets

• Remove datasets

• Activate and deactivate them

• Change the order

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Extended guide to eMotion X

Note: eMotionX uses the elevation data that is(out of those available

at a given location) the highest in the list to calculate altitude for each

waypoint. The Improved SRTM elevation dataset supplied is always

considered the bottom layer.

Note: eMotion X displays custom elevation data with 1 cm vertical

and approximately 12 cm horizontal resolution. eMotion X brings

higher-resolution data down to this resolution for display.

How to import an elevation dataset

• Choose Import custom elevation data (DSM)... from the File menu.

• Choose Preferences from the File menu, choose the Elevation data pane

and click Import custom DSM.

Browse to the location of your elevation data file and click Open.

How to enable an elevation dataset

1. Choose Preferencesfrom the File menu, choose the Elevation data pane.

2. Activate or deactivate the elevation data layer using the checkboxes.

3. Use the arrows to move your elevation data up or down the list.

If one dataset appears above another in this list, it will be used to display

the map in 3D and set drone altitude whenever those datasets overlap.

4. Click Ok.

5. Enable your new elevation model using the menu in the Toolbar. eMotion X will then use your custom dataset (in areas where it is available) to

display the map in 3D and set waypoint altitudes.

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Extended guide to eMotion X

Caution: Always very carefully check that your elevation dataset has

been imported in the way that you expected. Unexpected altitudes

can be set if, for example, a custom elevation dataset was created using a different ellipsoid. Carefully check your flight plan in 3D before

flying.

How to create and use your own elevation data

One way to increase the resolution and accuracy of the elevation data is to create

your own elevation data using the drone:

1. Fly a mission at high altitude, process this data and create a DSM using Postflight Terra 3D.

2. Transfer this elevation data directly from Postflight Terra 3D to eMotion X

by selecting Send DSM to eMotion from Postflight Terra 3D’s Process menu.

3. Enable your new elevation model using the menu in the Toolbar. eMotion X will then use your custom dataset (in areas where it is available) to

set waypoint altitudes.

Note: Always carefully check that elevation datasets you have created appear as expected on the 3D map.

12.5 Using custom map sources

eMotion X is supplied with a series of maps.

You can also import maps or create your own.

Use Maps Preferences (choose Preferences from the File menu) to:

• Add maps

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Extended guide to eMotion X

• Remove maps

• Activate and deactivate them

• Change the order

How to import a custom map

• Choose Import custom map... from the File menu.

• Choose Preferences from the File menu, choose the Elevation data pane

and click Import custom map.

Browse to the location of your map file and click Open.

How to enable a custom map

1. Choose Preferences from the File menu, choose the Maps pane.

2. Activate or deactivate the map layer using the checkboxes.

3. Use the arrows to move your map up or down the list.

If one map appears above another in this list, only the top map will appear

in areas that both maps cover.

4. Click Ok.

5. Enable your new map using the menu in the Toolbar.

The imported tile set will appear in the list of layers on the Toolbar.

Custom map tiles are added as a layer in eMotionX. Tile sets must be TMS-compatible

sets of files.

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Extended guide to eMotion X

Note: You can use Postflight Terra 3D (see Processing on page 57) to

generate TMS-compatible, eMotion X-compatible tile sets for each

project. In this way, you can create your own map background using

the eXom or another senseFly drone. Generate the tile set by choosing Generate Google Maps tiles and KML from Postflight Terra 3D’s Process menu.

Note: KML files, including associated icons or photos included within

them, are not copied to the eMotion X directory and will no longer

therefore appear in eMotion X if you move or delete the original KML

files.

12.6 About photo footprints

Whenever the eXom takes a picture, eMotion X records the location and orientation of the drone and computes the approximate outline of the photo on the

ground (its footprint).

When you move your mouse over a waypoint, footprints of photos taken by the

drone are shown as a shaded polygon on the map. Each polygon represents an

estimate of the area that has been photographed by the drone at that moment.

Wind conditions and imprecisions in the elevation data will affect the estimation;

the photo taken may not be the exact size or exactly where the footprint appears.

You can show or hide footprints with the button on the Toolbar. When hidden,

eMotion X still keeps and creates new footprints, but doesn’t display them on the

map. Unless you clear them, they are saved with the mission.

Clicking removes all footprints from the map and deletes them from the mission. If you then change or save the mission, it will have no footprints.

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Extended guide to eMotion X

Note: Clearing or hiding footprints does not affect the photos and

video captured, their geotags or any other data logged by eMotion X

and the drone during the flight.

12.7 About eMotion X’s data folder

eMotion X stores its data files in the Data Folder.

This includes:

• The flight database

• Flight logs

• Saved missions

• Custom maps, KML files and elevation data

How to set the location of your eMotion X data folder

If you haven’t changed it, it is called eMotion and is in your Windows Documents

folder.

1. Choose Preferences from the File menu then choose the Folder panel.

2. Edit the path to the folder, or click Browse... and select a folder.

12.8 Enabling advanced functions

A number of connection options are made available to expert users by clicking

Advanced.. in the Connect dialog that appears when you launch eMotion X. The

options vary according to the Connection type you choose.

In addition, eMotion X can be run in advanced mode by checking the Enable advanced functions in the Advanced version of the Connect dialog.

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Extended guide to eMotion X

Caution: Only enable advanced functions if advised to do so by an

eXom expert from senseFly or your reseller. Enabling the parameters that are made available in advanced mode may lead to unstable

flight. Unauthorised enabling of advanced functions will void your

warranty.

12.9 Advanced connection options

To change the frequency and channel that the ground modem uses to connect to

the drone:

1. Click Advanced.. in the Connect dialog.

2. Choose the eXom Connection type and click Channel settings....

3. Select the region in which the channel is authorised for use.

4. If you wish to use a channel that is restricted to indoor use only, check the

Indoor use only to attest that you will only fly indoors.

5. Choose the Channel from the pulldown menu.

6. Click Apply.

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Part V

Extended guide to mission

planning
Extended guide to mission planning

13 Around POI (point of interest) mission blocks

Use an Around POI mission block to concentrate photo capture on an object,

structure or point of interest. These photos can then be used to build a detailed

3D model.

Move the map to your point of interest, create the Around POI mission block,

then set the block’s parameters to tell the drone how to circle the point of interest

and capture the photos you want.

Around POI mission blocks have the following properties:

• Description

The name of the mission block.

• Camera

The resolution setting that the Main Camera should use to capture photos.

• Point of interest

The latitude and longitude of the point of interest.

The altitude (AMSL or AED)28.

• Mode

Choose the way you want to set up the drone’s trajectory around the point

of interest.

28 see About coordinates and altitude references in eMotion X on page 15

110
Around POI (point of interest) mission blocks

Choose Resolution/angle to set the photo resolution youwant and the angle

at which you want to set the eXom’s head.

Choose Distances to set how far away from the point, horizontally and vertically, you want the drone to fly.

Based on your choices, eMotion X will calculate the appropriate trajectory.

• Start heading

Set the absolute heading (from point to drone) you want the drone to start

its circuit of the point.

• Stop heading

Set the absolute heading (from point to drone) you want the drone to end

its circuit of the point.

• Picture interval

Set the gap, in degrees, between each photo captured.

Using these properties, eMotion X calculates:

• Number of photos

The number of photos needed to complete the block.

• Altitude

The altitude at which the drone will fly with the parameters you have set.

• Flight time

The estimated time needed to complete the block.

• Flight distance

The estimated distance the drone needs to fly to complete the block.

How to create an Around POI (point of interest) mission block

1. In the Mission planning tab in the Mission panel, click the mission.

2. Click Add block and choose Around POI.

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Extended guide to mission planning

3. On the map, click where your point of interest is located.

The point of interest is placed at the point you clicked, at ground level (AED).

112
Custom Route mission blocks

14 Custom Route mission blocks

Custom Route mission blocks are made up of a series of waypoints. The eXom will

fly to each waypoint in order.

To build a Custom Route, create a Custom Route mission block, then add waypoints.

You can use Custom Routes to, for example, guide your drone around obstacles to

the beginning of a mapping mission block, or to guide the dronefrom one mission

block to another.

Note: You cannot ask the drone to automatically carry out any actions, for example, capture a photo, on Custom Route waypoints.

How to create a Custom Route mission block

Locate on the map the place where you want to build your route, then create a

Custom Route mission block and add waypoints to it.

1. In the Mission planning tab in the Mission panel, click the mission.

2. Click Add block and choose Custom Route.

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Extended guide to mission planning

About Custom Route waypoints

Custom Route waypoints are simple waypoints that have only the following properties:

• Altitude

You can choose to set the altitude as ATO, AMSL or AED29.

• Coordinates

Latitude and longitude in the WGS 84 coordinate system.

As with any waypoint, you can move it and change its altitude by clicking and

dragging the waypoint on the map30.

How to add a waypoint to a Custom Route

1. Open the Custom Route mission block.

2. Click .

3. On the map, click where you want to place the waypoint.

The waypoint will be created at the point you clicked and at an altitude of 25 m

(82 ft) AED.

How to view and edit Custom Route waypoint properties

With the Custom Route mission block open, open the waypoint in one of the following ways:

• In the mission explorer, click on Custom Route mission block and choose

the waypoint from the list.

29 see About coordinates and altitude references in eMotion X on page 15

30 see How to move waypoints on page 36

114
Custom Route mission blocks

• With the mission block open, double-click the waypoint.

• With the mission block open, click on the waypoint you want.

Edit the waypoint’s properties. Your changes are immediately saved.

115
Extended guide to mission planning

15 Disabling security actions

If mission circumstances require it and you perceive an acceptable level of risk, you

can disable some of the automated security actions the drone will take during an

autonomous flight.

Uncheck a checkbox in the Mission Parameters tab to disable a security action.

The drone will report the warning and attempt to continue its mission.

Return to Home if strong wind detected

The drone will continue to report the estimated wind speed, but will not return to

home in high winds.

Caution: Strong wind can force the drone to lose altitude. Disabling

this increases the risk of a crash or an emergency landing and potential loss of the drone. Flying in high-wind conditions is at your own

risk.

Return to Home if GNSS accuracy degrades

The drone will attempt to calculate its position with only poor GNSS signals. It

may take photos in the wrong place and could unexpectedly change position in

flight.

Caution: Disabling this means flying with the risk that, if the drone

loses GNSS completely, it will carry out an emergency landing at an

unknown location and you may lose the drone.

Return to Home after 30s if ground modem link is lost

Caution: Disabling this means potentially flying the drone without

being able to send commands to it from eMotion X.

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Disabling security actions

Return to Home if ground proximity detected

If your mission takes the drone into close proximity with the ground, disabling

this increases the risk of a crash.

If ground proximity is detected because the drone is landing, it will continue to

land. If ground proximity is detected while the drone is already returning to the

Home waypoint, it will raise a warning and continue, risking a collision.

Caution: Always make sure that your Home waypoint is well clear of

the ground before flying.

Return to Home in case of low endurance

When enabled, the drone will ensure that there is enough battery charge to reach

the Homewaypoint. If, during an autonomous mission, the battery level approaches

the point at which there will not be enough to reach Home, the drone will abandon the mission and head for Home.

Caution: Disabling this means flying with the risk that, if the drone’s

battery runs out before reaching Home, itwill carry out an emergency

landing and you may lose the drone.

Return to Home in case of camera malfunction

When enabled, the drone will return to the Home waypoint if any of its cameras

(Main Camera, Thermal Camera, or any navcam) malfunctions. You may want to

disable this security action if there is a problem with a camera that you do not

need for your mission.

Caution: Disabling may result in missing, corrupt, or incorrectly captured photos.

117

Part VI

Extended guide to interactive and

manual flight
Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

16 Manual and interactive flight modes

16.1 About the eXom’s dual autopilots

START BACK

MODE

Y

X

A

B

Navcams Ultrasonic

sensors

GNSS

receiver Magnetometer

IMU

Propellers

Barometer

HLAP

IMU

Barometer

LLAP

eXom

The eXom’s autopilot is divided into 2 functional units - the high-level autopilot

(HLAP) and the low-level autopilot (LLAP). Each autopilot has its own barometer

to measure the drone’s altitude and IMU (inertial measurement unit) to measure

its orientation and acceleration.

The high-level autopilot controls the eXom during autonomous flight and, with

anti-drift on, carries out the calculations that keep the drone from drifting. When

you are using the ScreenFly Controller, you are interacting with the high-level autopilot.

The low-level autopilot directly controls the motors. In normal flight, the lowlevel autopilot gets its instructions from the high-level autopilot. If you are using

the Remote Control, you are interacting with the low-level autopilot, however, in

normal flight, it passes its commands to the high-level autopilot for processing.

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Manual and interactive flight modes

About the autopilot’s sensor inputs

The eXom’s autopilots analyse inputs from the following types of sensor. Advanced algorithms combine the inputs to precisely calculate the drone’s position,

orientation and speed:

• Navcams

Used to analyse optic flow. Input from the navcams combined with data

from other sensors allows the eXom to calculate its speed relative to a surface.

• Ultrasonic sensors

Used to detect and measure the distance to surrounding objects and surfaces. Distance Lock, for example, uses these sensors to maintain the drone’s

distance from a surface.

• Inertial measurement units (IMUs)

Used to measures the orientation and movement of the drone. Input from

the IMU’s combinedwith other sensors allows the eXomto measure changes

in its orientation and position.

• GNSS receiver

Used to calculate the drone’s position and altitude using GNSS signals.

• Magnetometer

Used as a compass to measure the drone’s orientation with respect to the

Earth’s magnetic field.

• Barometers

Measure air pressure to estimate the drone’s altitude.

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Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

16.2 Flight control modes

Your eXom has the following flight control modes:

• Interactive

The mode you are using when you activate the ScreenFly Controller. Inputs

from all of the eXom’s sensors are combined and used to stabilise the drone

and compensate for wind. When you move the controller’s joysticks you

set the drone’s speed. The drone automatically neutralises its momentum

when you release the sticks31. It is the easiest way to pilot the eXom.

• Interactive: Anti-Drift Off

The mode you are using if you have activated the ScreenFly Controller but

have disabled the anti-drift by pressing the right-hand joystick. It gives you

direct control of the drone’s angles. It automatically neutralises vertical and

rotational momentum, but not horizontal momentum. It does not compensate for the wind.

• Manual

The mode you are using when you activate the Remote Control. Both autopilots work together in this mode. It gives you near-direct control of the

drone’s thrust, its pitch and roll angle and does not compensate for the

wind. Momentum is not automatically neutralised.

• HLAP Bypass (High-Level Autopilot Bypass) 32

An emergency mode on the Remote Control that allows you to cut the highlevel autopilot off. You have a similar level of control to Manual mode, however the drone’s reactions are more abrupt.

31 if travelling horizontally, it briefly applies opposite pitch or roll

if travelling vertically, it briefly applies opposite thrust

32 once activated, you cannot deactivate this mode in flight. To deactivate, restart the drone.

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Manual and interactive flight modes

The capabilities of the eXom vary according to the flight mode:

Mode Anti-drift34 Cruise control Distance

lock

Up/down Left/right

START BACK

MODE

Y

X

A

B

Interactive Yes Yes Yes Yes

Interactive: Anti-Drift Off No Yes No Yes

Manual No No No No

HLAP Bypass No No No No

Flight modes and autopilot inputs

The eXom’s autopilots process inputs from different sensors in different modes. If

a sensor becomes unreliable, it can cause the drone to behave unexpectedly and

you should consider switching mode.

Mode Autopilot processes inputs from:

IMU Ultrasonic GNSS Navcams Baro- Magnetosensors meter meter

Interactive Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Interactive: Anti-Drift Off Yes Yes No No Yes Yes

Manual Yes No No No Yes No

HLAP Bypass Yes36 No No No Yes36 No

34 compensates for wind and maintains the drone’s position in a hover

36 the low-level autopilot’s IMU and barometer

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Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

Choosing a flight control mode

It’s important to use the best flight mode for the conditions.

Interactive

Use: When you expect GNSS signals to be strong.

When there is little chance of movement underneath the drone.

Do not use: If you expect to lose GNSS signals.

If the anti-drift is sending the drone off course.

In zones where there is a lot of movement under the drone37

This is the easiest way to fly the eXom.

Poor GNSS signals can cause the anti-drift logic to erroneously correct the

drone’s trajectory.

You can switch the anti-drift off if it starts to send your drone off course.

37 for example, if flying over swaying grass or moving trees in windy conditions, or if vehicles are passing under the drone

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Manual and interactive flight modes

Interactive: Anti-Drift Off

Use: When you expect GNSS signals to be weak.

If you lose GNSS signals and want to continue flying.

In Interactive mode if the drone starts to drift off course.

When flying close to large structures such as buildings or cliffs.

Do not use: If all is well – if GNSS signals are strong and the drone is not

drifting. The drone will be more predictable with the anti-drift

switched on.

The eXom will not maintain its position during a hover and may drift sideways while moving. You must use pitch and roll to counteract the wind.

In this mode, the eXom can still automatically maintain its altitude.

Caution: Only switch the anti-drift back on if you expect strong GNSS

signals.

Manual

Use: If very fine control of the drone is absolutely essential.

In an emergency.

If the drone is ignoring eMotion X or the ScreenFly Controller.

Do not use: If you are an inexperienced pilot.

Everyday use of the Remote Control is not recommended.

Have the Remote Control to hand in case of emergency.

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Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

HLAP Bypass

Use: Only in case of emergency (the drone is out of control).

Once activated, you cannot deactivate this mode in flight. To deactivate,

restart the drone.

The eXom will automatically switch to this mode if there is a critical malfunction in one of the HLAP’s sensors or the main processor38.

17 Flying without GNSS signals

17.1 About GNSS signals

The eXom uses satellite positioning (GNSS) signals for navigation and flight stabilisation.

The following can reduce the number and quality of the signals the drone receives

or affect its ability to process the signals:

• Terrain

Your drone cannot receive the signals if they are blocked by the terrain.

The number of signals received will be lower, for example, in mountainous

regions or inside a open-cast mine.

• Physical barriers

In general, brick, concrete and metal will stop the signals from reaching the

drone.

• Reflective surfaces

The signals can bounce off flat surfaces such as walls, doors or the sides

of vehicles. If the drone receives a signal and its reflection, it can affect its

ability to process the signal. Metallic surfaces are the most reflective.

38 the message LLAP takeover will appear in the Status pane on eMotion X’s Drone panel’s Monitor tab

126
Manual and interactive flight modes

Note: A large vertical surface, such as the side of a building or a cliff,

is both a physical barrier and a source of reflections. Consider using a

flight mode that does not require GNSS signals when inspecting large

structures.

17.2 About the magnetometer

The eXom also uses a magnetometer (an electronic compass) for navigation. A

strong magnetic field or the presence of a large metallic object can cause the magnetometer to give a false bearing.

17.3 No GNSS mode

You can disable both the GNSS receiver and magnetometer and take off without

satellite or magnetic navigation.

This is useful in:

• Extended zones where GNSS signal reception is poor, for example, mountainous regions

• Places where GNSS signals suffer from radio frequency interference

• Places where GNSS signal reflections are an issue

• Close to electronic equipment, cables, motors or generators

• Close to large metallic objects

• Indoors

In this No GNSS mode, the drone cannot calculate its position, therefore:

• Autonomous flight is unavailable

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Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

• No Home waypoint is set

• No Start waypoint is set

• The drone’s position is not shown on the map

Note: With No GNSS activated, you can still fly in all interactive and

manual modes.

Caution: Without GNSS-based positioning or magnetometer, the

drone will use only optic flow to estimate its ground speed when flying interactively. It may drift out of position if far from the ground. If

it does, activate Interactive: Anti-Drift Off.

How to deactivate the GNSS receiver and magnetometer

Check the No GNSS checkbox in your drone’s Parameters tab before take-off.

Note: You cannot switch No GNSS mode on or off in the air.

128
Manual flight with the Remote Control

18 Manual flight with the Remote Control

Goal of this section: This section describes how to use the Remote

Control to manually control the drone.

Caution: Manual operation of the eXom requires advanced piloting

skills.

Note: This section describes the Remote Control with its controls set

as supplied, to mode II. See Controller and Remote Control command

modes on page 139.

18.1 About the Remote Control

Use the Remote Control to fly your drone manually. The sticks of the Remote Control directly set the motors’ thrust. The only flight assistance provided is automatic

hover, activated when you release the sticks.

Caution: Do not turn the Remote Control on without it being held in

the hands of a pilot who is ready to take immediate manual control

of the drone. Turn the Remote Control off before putting it down.

Caution: The Remote Control emits an audible low-battery warning.

If you hear this warning, take action immediately; land your drone

and change the batteries.

You can take manual control of the eXom with the Remote Control at any time, as

long as the drone is within range39.

39 see Drone specifications on page 179

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Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

Thrust Pitch

Right stick Left stick

(Disabled*)

Manual control (power) on/off

Yaw

Set*

Motor cut off

(Press+hold for 1s)

Roll

Auto photo

trigger off/on

Take off/land Custom switch

*Do not touch these controls

HLAP bypass

(Press)

Showing Mode II controls

A B

C D

E

G*

F*

⏻

130
Manual flight with the Remote Control

Caution: When flying manually, the pilot must pay great attention

to obstacles in the area, the drone’s proximity to the ground, the inversion of control commands when the drone is flying towards the

pilot and the distance between the drone and the pilot.

About flight assistance when flying manually

When flying manually with the Remote Control, the drone’s autopilot will not assist you in any way:

• It will not prevent the drone being pushed off course by the wind.

• It will not maintain its position when hovering.

• To stop the drone you will need to briefly apply the opposite command to

the one you just used. If you don’t, it will carry on going into the same

direction due to momentum.

Caution: In the rare event of a high-level autopilot malfunction while

flying autonomously or interactively, the drone will automatically

carry out an emergency landing. However, you can still take control of the drone with the Remote Control, if in range40, and pilot the

drone to the ground.

18.2 Using the Remote Control

The following table describes the drone’s response to your inputs on the Remote

Control.

• Push forward on a stick means push the stick away from you (or up in the

diagram on page 130).

40 see Drone specifications on page 179

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Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

• Pull back on a stick means pull the stick towards you (or down in the diagram on page 130).

• Release a stick means let go and let the stick spring back into its neutral

position.

• To press on a stick means push down on the top of the stick, along the stick’s

axis. You will feel a click.

• Turn (yaw) direction is given as if you were on board the drone (from the

drone’s frame of reference).

Remote Control Functions41

Item User’s action Drone’s response

A: Left stick Push forward Increase thrust

Pull back Decrease thrust

Push left Yaw to left (port)

Push right Yaw to right (starboard)

Release Maintain altitude

Press & hold (1 s) Motors off

B: Right stick Push forward Pitch forward

Pull back Pitch backward

132
Manual flight with the Remote Control

Push left Roll to left (port)

Push right Roll to right (starboard)

Release Flat pitch/roll

Press HLAP bypass

A+B: Both

sticks

Release Hover

C: Take off/

land

Push forward On the ground: take off

While landing: abort landing

Pull back Land

While taking off: abort

take-off

D: Custom Push forward User defined

Pull back User defined

E: Auto photo

trigger

Push left Off

Push right On

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Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

F: Disabled Do not use Do not use

G: Set Do not press Do not press

Caution: Flying with the Remote Control requires some piloting experience.

Pre-flight Remote Control check

If you plan to use the Remote Control during a flight we recommend that you

check it before flight.

1. Place the drone in a safe and suitable take-off location.

2. Insert the battery and power on the drone.

3. Launch eMotion X and connect to the drone.

4. Switch the Remote Control on.

5. Slide the take off/land slider up. The drone will take off. Allow it to spin

around once to calibrate its compass.

6. Use the Remote Control to carry out some small, simple manoeuvres (yaw,

tilt, climb, descend).

7. Slide the take off/land slider down. The drone will land.

8. Turn the Remote Control off.

41 with controls set to mode II. See Controller and Remote Control command modes on page 139

134
Manual flight with the Remote Control

Caution: If you detect a problem with the Remote Control, land the

drone immediately. If you cannot land with the Remote Control, click

LAND NOW in eMotion X. Do not attempt to fly with a malfunctioning

Remote Control.

For more information on using the Remote Control, refer to the original user manual, available from the Knowledge Base within my.senseFly42.

How to take control of the drone with the Remote Control

With the eXom powered on and either in flight, or ready to fly, power the Remote

Control on by pressing its power button.

If all is well and the eXom is within range, after a short pause (approximately 1 s),

the Remote Control will emit 5 rapid beeps to confirm that it has taken control of

the drone.

While the Remote Control is in control of the drone, its power button flashes approximately once per second.

If the Remote Control does not beep five times, or its power button does not flash

every second, the Remote Control is not controlling the drone.

To return control to the drone, eMotion X or the ScreenFly Controller, press the

Remote Control’s power button again to switch it off.

Caution: There will be a short delay (1-2 s) before control is returned.

Put the drone into a hover before switching the Remote Control off.

Note: To obtain the maximum range, tilt the Remote Control up and

orientate it in the direction of the drone.

42 http://my.sensefly.com

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Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

18.3 Manual take-off and landing

Caution: We recommend you perform an automatic take-off and

landing using eMotion X or the ScreenFly Controller whenever possible.

Manual take-off

1. Prepare the drone for flight as described in Preparing to fly the eXom on

page 19 while keeping the Remote Control turned off.

2. Take the Remote Control in your hands and switch it on. Leave the sticks

alone, in their neutral position.

3. Place the eXom in its take-off location and power it on using its power button. The status LED will indicate the progress of the drone’s autopilot’s

start-up sequence.

4. Push the take off slider (C) on the Remote Control up. The drone will climb

to 1 m.

5. Leave the sticks alone while the drone spins around once to calibrate its

internal compass.

6. The drone will hover awaiting commands from the Remote Control.

Note: Although it is possible, do not use the Remote Control to take

control of the drone before compass calibration is complete. Flying

an uncalibrated drone can result in it rotating (yawing) unexpectedly.

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Manual flight with the Remote Control

Manual landing

• Position your drone over the landing location and push the take off slider

(C) on the Remote Control down. The drone will land.

• Pilot your drone down to the ground. Approach the ground at low vertical

speed. Once on the ground, pull the take-off/land slider back, or press and

hold the left stick for 1 s to stop the motors.

18.4 Motor cut-off

Pressing the left stick down until it clicks and holding for 1 s will cause the eXom’s

motors to stop.

Caution: Only stop the motors when the drone is on the ground. Always stop the motors before picking the drone up.

Caution: If the drone is in the air, only use this feature in an absolute emergency. The drone will immediately drop out of the sky and

risks damaging or injuring anything or anyone beneath it. Even at

low altitude, using this feature may cause irreparable damage to the

drone.

18.5 Manual flight

How to climb using the Remote Control

Push the left stick up and the drone will climb.

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Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

How to hover using the Remote Control

Release both sticks, allowing then to spring back to their central position. The

drone will maintain a hover.

Caution: If your drone is at altitude in a zone that has little or no satellite positioning signal coverage, it will not be able to automatically

maintain a hover. You must use the right and left sticks to maintain a

hover manually.

How to turn (yaw) using the Remote Control

Push the left stick to the right to turn the drone on its axis to the right (clockwise

when viewed from above)43.

Push the left stick to the left to turn the drone on its axis to the left (anticlockwise

when viewed from above)43.

How to fly forward using the Remote Control

Release the left stick, allowing it to spring back to its central position. Push the

right stick up and the drone will tilt and fly forward43. Use the left stick to provide

enough additional thrust to maintain altitude.

How to tilt and fly to the left or right using the Remote Control

Release the left stick, allowing it to spring back to its central position. Push the

right stick to the left or right and the drone will tilt and fly in that direction43. Use

the left stick to provide enough additional thrust to maintain altitude.

43 with controls set to mode II. See Controller and Remote Control command modes on the following

page

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Manual flight with the Remote Control

18.6 Returning control to eMotion X

To return control to eMotion X, press its power on/off button to switch the Remote

Control off. The drone will hover and wait for the next command.

If you interrupted an autonomous mission, click RESUME MISSIONto continuefrom

where the mission left off.

Note: If you have activated the HLAP Bypass flight mode, you cannot

return control to eMotion X44.

18.7 How to change the Remote Control’s batteries

1. The battery cover is on the back of the Remote Control. Slide the battery

cover off.

2. Remove any used batteries.

3. Replace them with fresh batteries, following the polarity (+/-) indication on

the inside of the battery compartment.

4. Replace the battery cover.

Caution: Always change all the batteries at once. Do not mix fresh

and used batteries.

18.8 Controller and Remote Control command modes

In common with remote control helicopters, the eXom’s Remote Control and Controller have 2 sticks. There are 4 ways that the commands (pitch, roll, thrust and

yaw) could be programmed onto on the sticks. For remote control helicopters,

these are known as Modes I, II, III and IV:

44 see Flight control modes on page 122

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Extended guide to interactive and manual flight

Left stick Right stick

Forward/back Left/right Forward/back Left/right

Mode I Pitch Yaw Thrust Roll

Mode II Thrust Yaw Pitch Roll

Mode III Pitch Roll Thrust Yaw

Mode IV Thrust Roll Pitch Yaw

The eXom is supplied with both the Controller and Remote Control set to Mode II.

You can also set them both to Mode I.

How to set Controller and Remote Control command modes

With the drone powered on, but on the ground:

1. Connect the Controller to your computer.

2. Launch eMotion X and connect to your drone.

3. In the Drone panel’s Parameters tab, change the Manual control mode

using the pulldown menu.

4. Power the eXom off then back on again.

5. Connect eMotion X to your drone.

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Part VII

Maintenance and Repair
Maintenance and Repair

19 Maintenance and repair of the eXom

Goal of this section: The eXom is an advanced, robust and reliable

UAV system. Nevertheless, occasional maintenance is required. This

section describes how to keep your drone in good working condition.

19.1 Upgrading the eXom’s software and firmware

Occasionally, senseFly releases a software and firmware upgrade for eMotion X

and the eXom to provide additional features or correct potential issues.

How to upgrade eMotion X

eMotion X will check for new versions during start-up45 and will display a message

with update instructions if a new version is available.

You can also check yourself and obtain the latest software from my.senseFly46.

It is important that both the drone and eMotion X have the same software version

for them to work properly together. Make sure that you keep both up-to-date.

Caution: We are constantly working to improve the performance of

our products and we are dedicated to providing our customers with

the newest software as soon as it becomes available. Since the highest level of flight safety can only be achieved with the latest software

release, senseFly Ltd can only offer warranty service for products that

have been properly updated.

45 provided that there is an internet connection

46 http://my.sensefly.com

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Maintenance and repair of the eXom

How to update the eXom’s firmware

Every version of eMotion X is packaged with an accompanying firmware revision

which must be installed on the UAV before it can be used.

eXom firmware updates have 2 phases – in the first phase, eMotion X installs the

firmware onto the drone, then during the second, the drone’s HLAP updates its

LLAP.

1. First, update eMotion X following the on-screen instructions.

2. If the drone is on, power it off and remove the battery.

3. Connect the supplied USB cable between the computer on which you installed eMotion X and the Autopilot Port (the right-hand USB port) on the

side of the eXom.

Autopilot port

4. Install the battery in the UAV.

5. Power the drone on.

6. Launch eMotion X. Click Cancel in eMotion X’s Connect dialog.

7. In eMotion X, choose Updater eXom... from the File menu.

8. Click Update to begin the first phase of the update process.

9. Once the first phase of the update has completed successfully (indicated

by 100% progress and a message in green within the Updater), power the

drone off, remove the battery and disconnect the USB cable.

10. Re-insert the battery and power the drone on to begin the second phase

of the update.

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Maintenance and Repair

11. When the update is complete, the LED will shine blue .

Your eXom is ready to fly. You can now use eMotion X’s Connect dialog to

connect to the drone through the ground modem.

Note: A firmware update upgrades several of the drone’s systems

(HLAP, LLAP, etc.) and can take several minutes, during which time

the drone may restart more than once. Do not interrupt the update.

If more than 10 minutes have passed and the update is not complete,

contact senseFly or your reseller.

To check which version of eMotion X you have installed, choose About eMotion

X... from the File menu. Your eXom’s firmware version is shown in the Drone

panel’s Parameters tab. This should match the Firmware version in the Updater.

19.2 Full inspection

Beyond the general airframe inspection that is performed before every flight, senseFly

recommends that perform a full airframe and sensor inspection regularly and after any incident47.

Caution: The autopilot, sensors and actuators within the central

body of the eXom are specially calibrated and should only be modified by senseFly or your eXom reseller. Opening the central body of

the eXom will void the warranty.

Check your motors

The eXom uses brushless DC motors to turn its propellers and generate thrust. All

4 motors must be clean and spin smoothly without friction to function correctly.

To check the motors, follow these steps:

47 see Maintenance schedule on page 175

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Maintenance and repair of the eXom

1. Remove the battery from the eXom.

2. Visually inspect the motors.

3. Turn each propeller with your finger. Ensure that there is no sand or other

obstruction preventing the motorfrom turning smoothly. If the motor does

not turn smoothly, gently blow some air through the motor to dislodge

any obstruction. Do not use compressed air. If this does not help, contact

senseFly or your reseller.

Check head mechanism and inertial sensors

The inertial sensors are used by the autopilot to compute the attitude (i.e. its orientation in space) of the drone and control the head. To check the head and inertial sensors, follow these steps:

• Put the eXom on a flat surface such as a table.

• Gently turn the head up and down and tilt it from side to side. If you feel

any resistance, contact senseFly or your reseller.

• Power on the drone.

• Watch and listen to the head during calibration. Check that it moves freely

without any excessive noise.

• Check that the head is pointing straight ahead at the end of calibration.

• Check that the head is not tilted to one side at the end of calibration.

• Take the drone in your hands and tilt it in all directions. Make sure that the

head stabilisation functions smoothly in all directions.

Check physical integrity

1. Take the drone in your hands and tilt it in all directions.

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Maintenance and Repair

2. Listen for loose objects inside the drone. If you hear anything rattling, do

not fly.

19.3 About your eXom’s propellers

The eXom’s propellers come in pairs that rotate in opposite directions and have

opposite pitch. You must install the correct propeller on the correct motor. A

propeller with a circular lock symbol on it must be installed on the motor that is

labelled with the same circular lock symbol.

Damaged or loose propellers are unsafe, cause vibrations and must be replaced.

senseFly recommends changing the propellers on a regular basis. See Maintenance schedule on page 175 for details.

You do not need to replace all 4 propellers at once. You can replace one propeller

at a time.

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Maintenance and repair of the eXom

Attaching and detaching propellers

x 2

x 2

x 1

147
Maintenance and Repair

1.

148
Maintenance and repair of the eXom

2. 3.

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Maintenance and Repair

How to attach the propellers

1. Position the correct propeller on the correct motor. Make sure that the labels match (circular or square lock symbol).

2. Take the screwdriver provided and insert it into one of the sockets on the

motor.

3. While holding the screwdriver to prevent the motor from turning, turn the

propeller in the direction of the arrows. The propeller will click into place.

Locked on Not locked on

Caution: Never fly your eXom with a propeller missing or incorrectly

locked on.

How to detach a propeller

1. Take the screwdriver provided and insert it into one of the sockets on the

motor.

2. While holding the screwdriver to prevent the motor from turning, turn the

propeller in the opposite direction to the arrows to unlock and remove it.

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Maintenance and repair of the eXom

19.4 Changing a leg

x 2

x 1

1.

151
Maintenance and Repair

x x 

2.

1.

2. 152
Maintenance and repair of the eXom

3.

First, completely remove the shrouding on the side the leg is on...

1. Take the screwdriver suppliedwith your eXomand unscrew the 2 shrouding

screws at the top of the leg you want to change.

2. Unscrew the 2 shrouding screws on the top of the other leg (on the same

side of the eXom as the leg you want to change).

3. Lift the shrouding mounting points a little so that they are free to move.

4. While holding the leg in place, push the shrouding out of each of its clips.

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Maintenance and Repair

A good way to do this is to hook the fingers of one hand over the leg then

push the shrouding out of its clip with your thumb.

Caution: Do not twist the legs.

5. Put the shrouding to one side.

Next, remove the leg...

6. Unscrew the screw that’s holding the leg you want to change in place and

lift the leg off.

Caution: Never try and unscrew the motor mounting screw that’s

under the leg.

Fit the new leg...

7. Take the new leg and fit it into place.

8. Screw the leg screws in gently until they stop. Then add half a turn to

tighten.

Note: The screws can easily become worn or damaged during removal. We recommend using a new set of screws with each new leg.

Finally, reinstall the shrouding...

9. Take the shrouding, pass it under the legs, then clip it back into the clips.

A good way to do this is to hook the fingers of one hand over the leg then

push the shrouding into its clip with your thumb.

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Maintenance and repair of the eXom

10. Slot the top shrouding mounts back into place and firmly screw all 4 screws

back in.

Caution: Never attempt to fly without the shrouding or legs.

19.5 Changing a leg cap

The leg caps wear down with use. You should replace worn leg caps.

1. Carefully work the leg cap off the leg.

Note: The caps are glued on. You may need to use a knife to carefully

cut the cap without damaging the leg.

2. Place a drop of epoxy resin inside the new cap.

3. Push the new cap firmly onto the leg.

4. Allow the glue to dry before flying.

19.6 Changing the shrouding

Cracked shrouding weakens your eXom’s structure and must be replaced.

If the shrouding is only scratched or scuffed it should not need to be replaced.

Follow the instructions for removing and replacing the shrouding within Changing a leg on page 151.

Note: The screws can easily become worn or damaged during removal. We recommend replacing them with new screws when you

change the shrouding.

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Maintenance and Repair

19.7 Changing a ground modem antenna

1. Grip the serrated part at the base of the antenna and carefully unscrew the

old antenna.

2. Ensure that the antenna threads are clean and undamaged.

3. Screw the new antenna firmly on using finger force only. Take care not to

cross the threads.

You can obtain replacement antennas from senseFly or your reseller.

19.8 Cleaning the eXom

Use a damp cloth to wipe off dirt from the eXom’s sensor modules, housing, motors, propellers and shrouding.

Use the cleaning tool provided to clean the camera lenses.

Caution: Never bring the eXom into direct contact with water; this

may damage its electronics.

Caution: Never use pressurised air to clean the eXom. You will damage the ultrasonic sensors.

19.9 Storing the eXom

Always clean the eXom before returning it to its case for storage.

Whenever possible, store the eXom in the case it was supplied in.

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Maintenance and repair of the eXom

19.10 Repairing the eXom airframe

The eXom’s advanced materials and construction mean that it has very few userserviceable parts.

• Only carry out the basic repairs described in this user manual.

• Do not try and disassemble the drone beyond the part replacement procedures described in this manual.

• Do not try and remove the top cover.

• Do not try and repair carbon fibre parts, for example, the arms or shrouding.

• If your drone is damaged, contact senseFly or your eXom reseller.

Caution: Never fly a damaged eXom.

19.11 Proper battery care

Proper care of your eXom’s battery is important to prevent damage to your drone

and to maximise flight time. Batteries perform better at medium or high air temperature and it is normal to observe shorter flight times in cold weather.

The charger delivered with your drone automatically checks for healthy voltages

of all cells and only attempts charging if they are within limits. If the cells are out

of balance, the charger will take care of balancing them.

Caution: The batteries delivered with your drone are designed to be

charged with the charger delivered with your eXom. senseFly cannot

be held responsible for any consequences resulting from using a different charger. In particular, using a charger improperly configured

or designed for other types of batteries may lead the battery pack to

be permanently damaged or to catch fire.

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Maintenance and Repair

LiPo batteries do not exhibit any memory effect. You do not need to fully discharge them before charging them again. Recharging them when only partially

discharged does not reduce their total charge, damage the battery or shorten its

useful life.

Dispose of the battery safely and appropriately.

When not using the battery for an extended period, store it 70% charged in the

carrying case provided with your drone. To achieve approximately 70% charge:

• If the battery is charged, discharge it by flying the drone until 3 or fewer

LEDs light up when you press the battery level button.

• Connect the battery to the charger and charge it. As soon as the 4th LED

starts blinking (indicating 75% charge), disconnect the charger.

Caution: After flight, the battery will be warm. Allow it to cool down

before charging it.

Caution: Always fly missions with a fully-charged battery.

Caution: If the battery swells or if any of the cells are punctured the

battery is damaged and should be discarded. Do not charge a damaged battery - it may catch fire.

Caution: If the battery gets wet, allow it to dry thoroughly before

flying with it.

Caution: Make sure not to leave batteries exposed to the sun or other

sources of heat.

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Maintenance and repair of the eXom

Battery security write-off

Continuing to draw current from a LiPo battery that is almost empty results is a

very high risk of damaging the cells. In general, a battery damaged in this way

continues to indicate successful charging, when in fact only a small amount of

power is available for flight, putting your drone at risk.

In normal use, the eXom’s smart battery maintains a power reserve in the battery,

preventing this from happening.

In some rare situations, for example, an emergency landing in windy conditions,

the eXom has been designed to prioritise powering, and thus saving the drone

over conserving the battery’s reserve power. It will continue to draw power from

the battery despite detecting that the voltage is critically low.

If this happens, the battery is automatically written off. That is, the smart battery

processor blocks any further use of the battery, and the battery must be replaced.

If you attempt to use the battery, a take-off veto is raised48.

48 see Take-off vetoes on the next page

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Maintenance and Repair

20 Troubleshooting

Goal of this section: This section describes the various error messages that may be displayed during start-up or while the eXom is in

flight and provides some tips on solving the simplest problems.

In the case of a more serious problem, this section describes how to

prepare the required data on the problem and report it to senseFly or

your eXom reseller.

The eXom can generate several types of error messages. Some of these messages

are minor and simply need to be acknowledged through eMotion X, whereas others require more specific action from the user. If the drone is connected to eMotionX, error messageswill appear in the Status panel on theDrone panel’s Monitor tab.

The following error message types are possible:

• Take-off vetoes

• In-flight warnings

• Critical failures.

20.1 Take-off vetoes

If, during pre-flight checks, the eXom detects a condition that prevents it from

taking off, or makes taking off unwise, it will raise a take-off veto. A message will

appear in the Status panel in eMotion X’s Monitor tab.

Once the take-off veto is cleared, the eXom is ready for take-off.

The following table presents all the take-off vetoes that can be raised and the

actions you can take to allow take-off. If you cannot clear the veto, please follow

the instructions in Reporting a problem with your eXom on page 174.

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Troubleshooting

Take-off vetoes

eMotion X text Description and User action

Battery too low for take-off User action: Charge or change the battery.

Outside working area You are trying to take off outside the Working Area.

User action: Move your drone into the

Working Area or redefine your Working

Area49.

SD card missing Without the SD card the eXom cannot capture any video or photos.

User action: Insert an SD card into the slot

on the eXom.

Battery written off The battery was pushed beyond its performance limits in a previous flight and can no

longer be used.

User action: Change the battery.

Drone not horizontal The drone was not level while it was preparing to take off, or there is an issue with the

IMU.

User action: Ensure the drone is on a level,

stable surface. If it is, and the issue persists,

restart the drone.

20.2 In-flight warnings

While it is in flight the eXom can generate two types of errors: warnings and failures. In-flight warnings occur when there is an event that requires an automatic

response from the drone, or the user’s attention and action, but does not compromise the drone’s ability to continue flying.

When an In-flight warning is activated the warning will appear in yellow in eMo161
Maintenance and Repair

tion X and cause the WARNING button in the Control Bar to change to ACK. WARNING, turn yellow and activate.

If an in-flight warning is raised while the drone is flying autonomously, the drone

will, in almost all cases, automatically respond, aborting the mission and heading

back to the Home waypoint. The drone is flying autonomously when:

• Flying an autonomous mission

• Flying to the Start waypoint

• Flying to the Home waypoint50

• Holding

• Resuming an interrupted mission

• Autonomous landing after a mission

If flying interactively or manually, warnings must be acknowledged by clicking

on the ACK. WARNING button on eMotion X’s Control Bar, after which, to avoid loss

of your drone, collision or a crash, you must carry out the action recommended

below. The full list of possible In-flight warnings and required User actions can be

found in the following table.

50 see About the Start and Home waypoints on page 36

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Troubleshooting

In-flight warnings

eMotion X text Description

Automatic response

User action

Prevention

Low battery The remaining battery level is below 10 % – there is a

risk the drone loses power.

User Action: Fly to Home or a suitable landing spot immediately and land as soon as possible.

Low endurance The remaining battery level is below 15 % – it is risky to

continue the flight plan.

Automatic response: If flying autonomously, the

drone flies to Home and lands.

User Action: Land as soon as possible. Recharge the

battery.

Out of working

area

The drone has left the working area but has not reached

the outer security limit. There is a risk of collision, loss

or prosecution.

Automatic response: The drone flies to the Home

waypoint.

User Action: Bring the drone back into the working

area.

Prevention: Only fly your drone in suitable weather

conditions.

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Maintenance and Repair

Above working

area

The drone has climbed above the working area ceiling.

There is a risk of collision, loss or prosecution.

Automatic response: The drone flies to the Home

waypoint.

User Action: Bring the drone back below the working

ceiling.

Prevention: Only fly your drone in suitable weather

conditions.

Navigation

disabled

The drone encountered an error and cannot continue

its autonomous mission.

Automatic response: The drone holds its position (enters a hover).

User Action: Land as soon as possible and restart the

drone.

Over

temperature

The eXom’s internal temperature is too high (above

75◦C).

User action: Land as soon as possible and allow the

drone to cool.

Battery

temperature

Your eXom’s batteries are overheating (above 75◦C).

There is a risk of battery failure or fire.

User action: Land as soon as possible. Remove the

battery from the drone and place it in a fireproof bag

or container to cool down. Inspect the battery before

charging it again.

Prevention: Inspect your batteries before each flight.

Store them according to senseFly’s recommendations.

Do not operate the drone outside the recommended

temperature range.

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Troubleshooting

Poor GNSS coverageGNSS signals are poor and the eXom can no longer precisely calculate its position.

Automatic response: The drone attempts to hold its

position (hover) but is likely to drift.

User action Take interactive or manual control as soon

as possible. If flying manually, switch anti-drift off.

∗GPS required

but unavailable

GNSS signals have been lost and the eXom can no

longer navigate autonomously.

Automatic response: The drone attempts to hold its

position (hover) but is likely to drift.

User action Take interactive or manual control as soon

as possible.

∗Uplink lost The eXom has not received any data from eMotion X for

more than 30 s. This can be due to a large distance between drone and ground modem, a problem with the

ground modem, antenna positioning or interference.

Automatic response: The drone flies to the Home

waypoint.

User action: Try to improve radio signal quality.

∗Ground

proximity

The drone has detected that it is close to the ground. It

risks crashing.

Automatic response: If within an autonomous mission block, the drone holds its position (hovers).

User Action: If outside an autonomous mission block,

take interactive or manual control of the drone and

move it away from the ground.

Prevention: Carefully review Home waypoint position

and mission plans in 3D.

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∗Wind

too strong

There is too much wind to maintain stable flight. The

drone risks losing height and crashing. The drone will

try and reach the Home waypoint.

User Action: Land as soon as possible.

Prevention: Do not fly when there is a risk of high

wind.

Pitch instability The drone cannot control its pitch angle. This can be

due to a mechanical problem, or high winds.

User Action: If moving, put the drone in a hover. Prepare for the possibility that the drone will fall.

Prevention: Do not fly when there is a risk of high

wind.

Roll instability The drone cannot control its roll angle. This can be due

to a mechanical problem, or high winds.

User Action: If moving, put the drone in a hover. Prepare for the possibility that the drone will fall.

Prevention: Do not fly when there is a risk of high

wind.

Insufficient

performance

The drone is close to using its maximum thrust to maintain altitude. This can be due to strong wind or low air

density.

User Action: Land as soon as possible and recharge the

battery.

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Troubleshooting

Drone Flight

Log

malfunction

The drone cannot write to the drone flight log. It will

be impossible to create a DSM or orthomosaic from the

photos captured.

User Action: Land as soon as possible and check the

SD card.

Barometer

malfunction

The drone’s can no longer use it’s barometer to measure

altitude. The drone may unexpectedly change altitude.

User Action: Land as soon as possible. Contact

senseFly or your reseller.

Battery

malfunction

The drone is unable to monitor the battery. There is a

risk that the battery will run out unexpectedly during

flight.

User Action: Land as soon as possible. Recharge the

drone battery before the next flight.

Battery cells

unbalanced

The batteries’ cells have unbalanced voltages, indicating a battery malfunction. There is a risk that the battery will run out unexpectedly during flight.

User Action: Land as soon as possible. Place the battery in a fireproof bag and discard it appropriately.

Ultrasonics

malfunction

One or more of the drone’s ultrasonic sensors has malfunctioned. There is a risk of hard landing.

User Action: Land interactively (pilot the drone to the

ground, then press the take-off/land button) as soon as

possible. Contact senseFly or your reseller.

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SD card missing The drone can no longer detect the SD card.

User Action: Land as soon as possible, remove the SD

card, restart the drone then re-insert the SD card.

SD card full The SD card is full.

User Action: Land as soon as possible. Insert a card

that is not full. Use only SD cards provided by senseFly.

∗Camera

malfunction

One or more of the drone’s cameras (head cameras,

navcams) has malfunctioned.

Automatic response: The drone flies to the Home

waypoint.

User action: If the malfunction affects your mission,

land and restart the drone. If this fails to resolve the

problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

Video

subsystem

malfunction

The drone’s video capture processor malfunctioned

during drone startup.

User action: Restart the drone. If this fails to resolve

the problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

Main Camera

not detected

The Main Camera could not be detected during drone

startup.

User action: Restart the drone. If this fails to resolve

the problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

Thermal

camera

not detected

The Thermal Camera could not be detected during

startup.

User action: Restart the drone. If this fails to resolve

the problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

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Troubleshooting

Flash device not

detected

The drone’s flash could not be detected during drone

startup.

User action: Restart the drone. If this fails to resolve

the problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

Navcam

not detected

One or more of the drone’s navcams could not be contacted during drone startup.

User action: Restart the drone. If this fails to resolve

the problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

Navcam system

malfunction

The system that handles navcam feeds has malfunctioned during drone startup.

User action: Restart the drone. If this fails to resolve

the problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

∗Main Camera

malfunction

The drone’s Main Camera has malfunctioned during

startup.

User action: Restart the drone. If this fails to resolve

the problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

∗Video

subsystem

unresponsive

The system that handles video has malfunctioned.

Automatic response: The drone flies to the Home

waypoint.

User action: Land and restart the drone. If this fails to

resolve the problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

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Maintenance and Repair

∗Media recording issue

The drone cannot record video or photos.

Automatic response: The drone flies to the Home

waypoint.

User action: Land and restart the drone. If this fails to

resolve the problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

Motor issue A problem occurred while trying to start the motors

during drone startup.

User action: Restart the drone. If this fails to resolve

the problem, contact senseFly or your reseller.

∗

These warnings can have their Security Action disabled. See Disabling security

actions on page 116.

20.3 Critical failures

A critical failure is an error that occurs in flight that prevents the continuation of

normal flight. This is the most serious type of error that can occur with the eXom.

When a critical failure occurs flight is aborted and the drone initiates an Emergency action which immediately directs it to the ground.

The table below describes the critical failures that may occur and what action is

taken by the drone. In some cases it may be possible to manually control the

drone using the Remote Control. If a critical failure occurs that results in an Emergency landing we recommend that you keep track of the drone’s last known position in the air and in eMotion X if possible.

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Troubleshooting

Critical failures

eMotion X text Description

Effect on drone/drone’s response

Prevention

User action

HLAP IMU failure Your eXom’s HLAP IMU has malfunctioned.

User action: Power on the Remote Control, take

manual control of your drone and land it. Contact

senseFly or your reseller.

LLAP takeover The eXom’s low-level autopilot (LLAP) has taken control of the drone, which means that the high-level autopilot (HLAP) has failed.

User action: Power on the Remote Control(HLAP Bypass Mode will be active51), take manual control of

your drone, land and restart it.

Prevention: Only fly within the eXom’s recommended operating conditions.

Emergency cut-off The drone has received the Motor cut-off command

(which is actioned by the low-level autopilot).

Effect: The motors immediately stop.

51 see Flight control modes on page 122

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Maintenance and Repair

Motor

controller

failure

One or more of your eXom’s motor controller circuits

has malfunctioned.

Effect: The affected motors have stopped providing

lift.

User action: Prepare in whatever way possible for a

falling drone.

Motor failure One or more of your eXom’s motors has failed or a

propeller has failed or detached.

Effect: The affected motors stop providing lift.

Prevention: Inspect your propellers before each

flight. Ensure they are firmly attached.

User action: Prepare in whatever way possible for a

falling drone.

Empty battery Your eXom’s batteries can no longer provide enough

energy to keep the drone airborne.

Effect: The drone immediately lands.

Prevention: Do not allow your drone’s batteries to

run out.

Localisation failure GNSS signals have been lost for more than 30 s.

Automatic response The drone immediately lands.

User action: Take manual control (using ScreenFly

Controller or Remote Control) as soon as possible.

Temperature

critical

The eXom’s internal temperature has reached a critical level (above 85◦C).

Automatic response: The drone immediately lands.

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Troubleshooting

Outside flight

envelope

Your eXom is no longer within its controlled flight envelope, for example, its pitch or roll angle is too high.

Prevention: Only fly your drone in suitable weather

conditions.

User action: Immediately switch on the Remote

Control and pilot the drone manually.

Far outside

working area

While flying autonomously, your eXom has been

pushed beyond the working area’s outer security

limit.

Automatic response: Unless flying manually, the

drone raises an alert and immediately engages its

landing sequence.

Prevention: Only fly your drone in suitable weather

conditions.

20.4 Locating a lost eXom in the field

In case you lose your drone in the field for whatever reason, whether from a loss

of communications, a critical failure or an accidental collision, use the following

steps to try to recover it:

1. Do not disconnect the connection to eMotion X!

If it is out of communication range, the drone should reconnect automatically as it comes back into range.

2. Note the last known location of the drone in eMotion X by printing the

screen or writing down the location displayed.

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Maintenance and Repair

3. Move towards this last known direction with the computer running eMotion X in the hope of regaining a connection. Be sure to take the Remote

Control with you as well.

4. Try moving downwind from the last known location in case the drone was

pushed by the wind while still in the air.

20.5 Reporting a problem with your eXom

If there is a problem with your eXom, whether it is a software malfunction, damaged airframe or any other problem, we recommend the following actions:

1. If there is an error message displayed in eMotion X, begin by checking Troubleshooting on page 160 to see if there is a solution to the particular message.

2. Check our Knowledge Base, part ofmy.senseFly52, to see if there is a solution

to your problem.

3. If you have still not found a solution, contact your eXom reseller. Please

include the following information with your inquiry:

• The serial number of your drone.

• A short description of the problem.

• The Drone Flight Log file of the flight that had a problem.

• The eMotion Flight Log file of the flight that had a problem. You

can find this file in the eMotion/logs/ directory which is created

in your Windows Documents folder.

• Photos or video of the eXom airframe, if required.

Note: In order to provide support, senseFly may request the flight

log files for inspection.

52 http://my.sensefly.com

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Troubleshooting

20.6 Maintenance schedule

You must carry out a general inspection53 before every flight.

You must perform afull inspection54 of airframe and sensors at least once a month,

or every 20 flight hours, whichever comes first.

Inspect propellers for wear, damage or cracks and replace as required55.

Perform afull inspectionwhen bringing your drone out of long-term storage(more

than 1 month) after any repair, part replacement, heavy landing or other unexpected incident.

53 see General inspection on page 21

54 see Full inspection on page 144

55 see General inspection on page 21

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Maintenance and inspection log

Date A/C model S/N Hours General/Full Maintenance 
Part VIII

Specifications
1 Software requirements

eMotion X has the following minimum requirements:

Operating system Microsoft Windows 7 / 8

64-bit only

Hardware 1.6 GHz processor

4 GB RAM (8GB recommended)

10 GB free storage space

Screen 1920×1080 (Full HD)

visible outdoors

Postflight Terra 3D has the following minimum requirements:

Operating system Microsoft Windows 7 / 8

64-bit only

Hardware 1.6 GHz processor (2 GHz Intel i5/i7/Xeon recommended)

4 GB RAM (16 GB recommended for large projects)

10 GB free storage space (1 TB recommended for large

projects)

Screen 1024×768
2 Drone specifications

Nominal take-off weight (approx.) 1.8 kg (4.0 lb)

Weight without battery 1.2 kg (2.6 lb)

Maximum take-off weight 1.9 kg (4.2 lb)

Dimensions 799 x 561 x 172 mm (31.5 x 22.1 x 6.8 in)

Max. airspeed (manual flight) 12 m/s (43 km/h, 27 mph)

Max. airspeed (autonomous flight) 8 m/s (29 km/h, 18 mph)

Maximum climb speed 7 m/s (23 ft/s)

Maximum pitch/roll angle 60◦

Possible manoeuvres Climb, descend, hover, pitch, roll, yaw

Nominal endurance (flight time)56 22 min

Material Carbon structure & composite parts

Battery 3-cell 8500 mAh

Battery weight 0.57 kg (1.3 lb)

Optimum charge time 1.5 hours

Main Camera - stills 38 Mp

Main Camera FOV 63◦

Main Camera - video HD (1280 x 720 pixels)

Stills and video georeferenced

Thermal Camera photos 80 x 60 pixels

Thermal Camera FOV 50◦

56 can vary greatly depending on external factors such as wind, altitude change and temperature.
Thermal Camera temp. resolution 0.1◦ C (0.2◦

F)

Navcam resolution 640 x 480 pixels

Navcam FOV 120◦

Ultrasonic sensor range 6 m (20 ft)

Ultrasonic sensor FOV 50◦

Propulsion 4 electric brushless motors

Max. wind (manual flight) 10 m/s (36 km/h, 22 mph, 19 kts)

Max. wind (autonomous flight) 8 m/s (29 km/h, 18 mph, 16 kts)

Operating temperature -10 to 40◦ C (14 to 40◦F)
Communication devices

Ground modem

Range 57 Up to 2 km (1.2 miles)

Frequency 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz ISM bands

Streams MiMo 2x2 with Spatial Diversity

Transmission Mode OFDM58 or DSSS59

Radiated Power Up to 630 mW60

Antennas Dual Omnidirectional

Security WPA Encryption

Remote control

Frequency 2.4 GHz

Range Up to 0.8 km (0.5 miles)

Carry case dimensions 92 x 64 x 22 cm (36 x 25 x 9 in)

57 can vary greatly depending on external factors such as cruise altitude, presence of obstacles and

radio-frequency interference.

58 orthogonal frequency division modulation

59 direct sequence spread spectrum

60 automatically configured based on frequency and legal limits of the country
Glossary

ATO Above the Take-off Altitude

Your eXom’s altitude can be shown and set in eMotion X using ATO. Altitudes in ATO are relative to the place your eXom started its motor just before take-off.

DEM Digital Elevation Model

A 3D digital representation of heights of objects on the ground.

DSM Digital Surface Model

A 3D digital representation of a surface.

GCP Ground Control Point

A location or object on the ground that has precisely know coordinates.

GCPs are used to improve the precision of DSMs created from photogrammetric analysis of a series of images.

georeference A data point associated with a specific location on the earth’s surface.

ground resolution The size, on the ground, of the finest distinguishable detail

in an aerial image.

GSD Ground Sampling Distance

The distance measured on the ground between pixel centres in an image

or DSM. The smaller the GSD, the higher the spatial resolution of the image.

For example, a GSD of 5 cm means that one pixel in the image represents

5 cm on the ground.

mosaic A single map or terrain model created from several map sections that

have been placed side-by-side and merged together.

MSL Mean Sea Level

The average level of the surface of the Earth’s oceans; a close approximation

of the surface in gravitational equilibrium.
point cloud A set of data points within a coordinate system.

rayCloud A feature unique to Postflight Terra 3D that combines the 3D point

cloud with the original images. Multi ray matching with the rayCloud extends the stereo view triangulation and increases the accuracy of 3D point

estimates while providing a full understanding of 3D results.
http://my.sensefly.com