v 2.2.2 © Agribotix, LLC 2015 

# ENDURO VERSION 2.2 

# u 

# se r manual

Actionable intelligence for precision agriculture 

# Agribotix TM 2983 Sterling Court Boulder, CO 80301

info@agribotix.com (720) 295 3625 CONFIDENTIAL 

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# Contents

1 : Basics 1.1 Safety.............................4 1.2 Inventory.............................6 1.3 The Process.............................7 1.4 Localizing Your Equipment.............................8 

### 2 : Planning 2.1 First Time Mission Planner Setup.............................11 2.2 Battery Monitor Setting in MP.............................12 2.3 Pre-fetching Google Maps in MP.............................13 2.4 Creating a mission in MP.............................15 2.5 Sending Waypoints to the Drone from MP.............................26 2.6 Tower Overview.............................27 2.7 Tower Setup.............................29 2.8 Creating a Mission in Tower.............................30 2.9 Uploading a Mission to the Drone from Tower.............................32 2.10 Survey Parameters.............................32 

### 3 : Flight 3.1 Flight Modes.............................34 3.2 Emergency Procedures.............................35 3.3 Selecting a Good Location.............................36 3.4 Preparing for Your Flight.............................37 3.5 Ground Check.............................38 3.6 In-Flight Monitoring.............................45 3.7 In-Flight Adjustments.............................46 3.8 Landing.............................47 3.9 Post-Flight.............................47 

### 4 : Imaging 4.1 Basic Camera Operation.............................48 4.2 Date and Time.............................49 4.3 Time Lapse.............................50 4.4 Recording the Time.............................51 4.5 Field Extractor.............................52 

### 5 : Data Applications 5.1 Data Types.............................61 5.2 Ground Truthing with PDF Maps.............................62 

### 6 : Batteries 6.1 Transmitter Charging.............................64 6.2 Camera Charging.............................65 6.3 Drone Batteries.............................66 6.4 Using the Voltage Tester.............................68 6.5 Bad Drone Batteries.............................69

Actionable intelligence for precision agriculture 

# Agribotix TM 

### TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB TTinfo@agribotix.com (720) 295 3625 2983 Sterling Court Boulder, CO 80301 

### APPENDIX AMA Safety Code.............................71 Example Aeronautical Chart.............................75 Using the Safety Fuse.............................76 Trouble Shooting.............................77 Terms.............................78 False Color Map Guide.............................79 

### FLIGHT LOGBOOK PRE-FLIGHT CHECKLIST.............................2 POST-FLIGHT CHECKLIST.............................3 PACKING LIST.............................3 FLIGHT MODE REFERENCE GUIDE.............................4 EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.............................6 

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Sections 1 - 10 of this manual will teach you how to operate your drone safely and effectively. Use the accompanying Training Manual as a guide for learning to fly your quadcopter and for navigating the information in this manual. Before using your drone for personal or commercial purposes, we recom

mend that you complete the Training Manual as well as review all material in this User Manual. This will ensure complete knowledge of your drone system. By the conclusion of this training regimen, you will be able to safely operate your drone and obtain valuable results from your aerial surveys. 

# 1 Basics

A. Be careful! This drone can cause serious injury if improperly handled. B. Keep your fingers, hands, and face away from propellers at all times. Any time the battery is connect

ed to the Enduro, treat the propellers (props) with respect. It is very easy for a careless operator to leave the copter in a mode where the prop may spin up unexpectedly. And it is a lot tougher than your flesh. C. If you ever activate the drone without intending to fly, use the Safety Fuse included in your kit. This will stop the motors from spinning up if you accidentally trigger them. page 76 D. In AUTO mode, the propeller is at a greater risk of starting prematurely. Put the Enduro drone into AUTO flight mode at the last possible moment before launch. E. After landing, push the disarm button on the drone, and put the transmitter in MANUAL flight mode. Never carry the drone while it is in AUTO flight mode. 

## Propeller Safety While we often joke about safety in our day-to-day lives, it truly is the most important thing when work

ing with an aircraft. There are three main areas where you can hurt yourself or hurt other people when flying drones: propeller safety, battery safety, and airspace safety. Before flying, familiarize yourself with these dangers so you can avoid them. 1.1 Safety 1.2 Inventory 1.3 The Process 1.4 Localizing Your Equipment


# 1.1 Safety

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The good thing about LiPo batteries is that they pack a huge amount of ener gy. This also makes them a potential hazard. A shorted LiPo will deliver thousands of amps and instantly melt its copper leads and possibly cause a fire. Discard your batteries if they get distorted in a crash or are excessively puffed. When charging, either be present all the time or charge them outside. Use a metal table or a non-flammable surface if possible. A smoke detector directly over your charging station is cheap insurance. See section 6 on page 64 for more on battery safety.



### Avoid manned aircraft. They always have right-of-way. Use observers to help watch for air

craft. Always maintain a line of sight with your drone. All drone users must know and obey the local rules and regulations of drone use. In the absence of other guidelines, follow those provided by the US Academy of Model Aero

nautics (AMA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). FAA guidelines can be found in FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 91-57. The Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) provided by Agribotix are model aircraft which utilize failsafe, stabilization and autopilot sys

tems as defined by AMA Document #560. Some of the key elements of these guidelines are: A.

F. E. D. C. B. The sUAS operator must maintain a visual line of sight (VLOS) with the sUAS aircraft at all times. This means the operator on the ground can see the sUAS aircraft unob

structed by trees, power lines, fog or other obstacles. The sUAS operator must be able to instantaneously deactivate the programmed flight of autopilot systems at any time during the flight and resume manual control of the sUAS aircraft. This means the sUAS operator must have his/her eyes on the sUAS aircraft at all times during the flight and have the transmitter ready to deactivate any autopilot system in order to take manual control of the sUAS aircraft. The sUAS should never be flown above 400 feet above ground level (AGL). Agribotix sUAS systems are designed to be flown at 328 feet AGL or 100 meters. Do not fly within three miles of an airport unless you have obtained permission from the airport control tower or manager. Contact information for airport authorities can be found at www.airnav.com. Agribotix strongly advises notifying all crop-dusting service providers known to operate within the vicinity. Small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) aircraft can be hard to spot by pilots in the air and therefore it is critical that they be noti

fied of planned sUAS flight operations along any manned aircraft flight path. Always give the right of way to, and avoid flying in the proximity of, full-scale aircraft. Use observers to help if necessary. Agribotix recommends landing thesUAS aircraft as soon as possible whenever a full scale aircraft is heard or visually spotted in the air. The use of imaging technology for aerial surveillance over locations where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy is strictly prohibited by the AMA unless permission is obtained from the individual property owners or managers. 

## Battery Safety

Airspace Safety

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## Tower
Field Extractor Enduro Drone Wing joiners Batteries Battery Charger Smoke Detector

Radio Transmitter (Hand Controller) Radio Transmitter Charger Battery voltage meter

Windows computer or Android tablet Charging cord Mouse Sun shield cover Telemetry radio receiver Radio mast



## Flight Logbook RGB (regular) Camera NIR Camera Camera Charger USB cable 

## Travel Case Drone

Cameras

Hand Controller

Maintenance Materials Ground Control Station (GCS)

This is an alternate application for creating automated flight plans for your drone. It works on an Android OS instead of Windows, so it can be used on a smart phone or tablet. Also on your GCS PC, Field Extractor works in conjunction with the Agribotix Farm Intelligence Portal to upload your images for post-flight processing. 

## Mission Planner This program is on your Ground Control Station (GCS) computer. It is used to create flight plans (missions) on a Windows OS. 

# 1.2 Inventory

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## Image a field

Use your data Load your mission onto the drone. It can then image your field with the cameras by flying the survey pattern.

Use PDF Maps on your tablet to view your complete data maps anywhere, anytime... from on-site ground truthing to client demonstration. 

## Plan a mission

Process the images You will create survey missions for your drone to fly using one of two programs: 1. Mission Planner (Windows OS on a PC) or 2. Tower (for Andriod OS on a tablet)

Using the program Field Extractor on your PC, you can pair your photos with the drone’s flight logs to create complete geo-tagged image sets. Upload those images to the Aghribotix Farm Intelligence Portal to produce various field data maps. 

# 1.3 The Process

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Agribotix technicians have already flown your drone on a number of test flights before it leaves shop in Colorado; however, you must adapt the Enduro and it’s cameras to your area. Make sure you do this before flying your drone. 2983 xx , x 80301 295 3625 )7 2 0( info@agribotix.com 

# AGRIBOTIX xxxx

. T M 

# CAUTION

TURN ON CAMERA 

# 1

HIT MENU BUTTON 

# 2
USE CURSOR TO SELECT SETTINGS 

# 3 Scroll down untill you see the "Time Zone" tab and select the correct time zone from the global map CHANGE THE TIME ZONE ON THE GROUND CONTROL STATION 

# 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD9Z9IR2TNU 2983 xx , x 80301 295 3625 )7 2 0( info@agribotix.com 

# AGRIBOTIX xxxx

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### xxxxxxxx , xx xxxxx (GCS) xxxx xxxxxx
.



# CAUTION xx - x xxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxx declination xxxx xxxx xxxx xxx ; xxxxxx xxx

. 

# CAUTION xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx "no" xxxx xxxx
.

You must re-calibrate your compass every time you fly your drone in a new region of the globe in order to get the correct magnetic declination. This only needs to be done ONCE or if you are instructed to do so by an Agribotix technician. Follow the steps on the YouTube video shown below to calibrate your compass for your region. On YouTube, search ‘ 3DR IRIS: Re-calibrating the Compass .’ If you do not have internet access, turn on your drone and connect to Mission Planner . In Mission Planner, go to the tab Initial Setup > Mandatory Hardware > Compass > Live Calibration and follow the instructions on the screen. 

## Drone Compass Calibration 

# 1.4 Localizing Your Equipment

Failure to perform a calibration will result in poor flight path navigation.

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In order to ensure best results for image processing, make sure your GCS and cameras both have the same time and time zone set internally. There should be no more than 5 minutes difference between the two. **ZzGI Sterling Hourt 4oulderw HO G=I=D ZzN IUZN**  **hk Z =M info]agribotix?com**  

# AGRIBOTIX **Pctionable intelligence for precision agriculture? T M**  

# CAUTION

**FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS FOR THE GOPRO CAMERA**  

# 1

**CHANGE THE TIME ZONE ON**  **THE GROUND CONTROL**  **STATION** 

# 2

**https;vvwww?youtube?comvwatch[v"oFzZzIRZTNU ZzGI Sterling Hourt 4oulderw HO G=I=D**  **ZzN IUZN hk Z =M**  **info]agribotix?com** 

# AGRIBOTIX **Pctionable intelligence for precision agriculture? T M** 


## In order to ensure best results for image processingw make sure your **ground control station MGHSh and camera both have the same time and time zone set internallyY there should be no more than N minutes**  **difference between the two?**



# CAUTION **You must re-calibrate your compass every time you fly**  **your drone in a new region of the globe in order to**  **get the correct magnetic declination**  **follow the steps on the youtube video shown on the**  **left to calibrate your compass for your regionY**  **failure to do so will result in poor flight path navigation?**  

# CAUTION **If you are asked to update any firmware or other software related to your agribotix drone system always click cnoc unless instructed to do**  **so by an Pgribotix technician?**

**To Set the MonthvFayvYearvTime;**

**D? Verify that the camera is in theSettings mode? If theSettings icon**

**[ ] does not appear on your camera status screenw press the**  **PowervModebutton [ ] repeatedly until it appears?**  **Z? Press theShuttervSelect button [ ] to enter theSettings** 

**menu [ ]?**  **I? Use the PowervModebutton [**  **] to cycle throughSettings to**

**locate theSetup menu [ ]?**  **R? Press theShuttervSelect button [ ] to enter theSet Up menu?**  **N? Use the PowervModebutton [**  **] to locate the Monthv Fayv Yearv**

**Time menu [ ]?**  **U? Press theShuttervSelect button [ ] to enter Monthv Fayv Yearv** 

**Time menuY Month MMM will be highlightedh? k? Press theShuttervSelect button [**  **] to access the list of months**

**MD to DZh? G? Use the**  **PowervModebutton [ ] to cycle through list until** 

**desired selection is highlighted? z? Press theShuttervSelect button [**  **] to select? D=? To advance to the next optionw press the ShuttervSelect**  **button [ ]?**  **DD? Repeat steps kw G and z to make selections for day MFFhw year MYYhw hour MHHh and minutes MMMh?**  **DZ? To exitw hold down theShuttervSelect button [ ] for two**  **seconds or cycle through to [ ] and press theShuttervSelect**  **button [ ]?** 
**From the [ ] screenw press theShuttervSelect button [**  **] to exit theSet Up menu?** 



### Note: The GoPro 3+ will lose the correct time if it is without a battery for more than 2 hours. It is best to check the GoPro’s date and time setting before every flight. If you are using a GoPro 4, it will not have this problem. 

### Note: Sync your GoPro to your GCS or mobile device to sync their times easier . See the included GoPro documentation for instruction. 

## Camera Date and Time



## 1

2

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# 2 Planning

When you start up Mission Planner, you may see a small window prompting you to update your Mission Planner firmware. DO NOT do this. Agribotix has configured Mission Planner specifically for your drone. If you click ‘Yes’ and update your firmware, this could change those settings. Always click ‘no’, unless instructed to to otherwise by an Agribotix technician. If you are flying your own drone or using your own GCS, you will need to ensure your Grid Options settings are correct. 

# WARNING Your Enduro drone flies autonomously, but first you must tell it where to fly. To do this, you will make flight plans, called missions, using the programs Mission Planner (on a Windows OS) or Tower (on an Android OS). Tower will come installed on your included Android tablet. If you are using an Agribotix PC, it will have Mission Planner installed. If you are using your own PC, you can download Mission Planner at ardupilot. com/downloads . If using your own Android device, Tower may be downloaded from the Google Play store. It is recommended that you use Tower for planning your missions. It is faster and easier to use than Mission Planner. By the end of this section, you should be able to create automated missions and upload them to your drone. 2.1 First Time Mission Planner Setup 2.2 Battery Monitor Setting in MP 2.3 Pre-Fetching Google Maps in MP 2.4 Creating a Mission In MP 2.5 Sending Waypoints to the Drone from MP 2.6 Tower Overview 2.7 Tower Setup, 2.8 Creating a Mission In Tower 2.9 Sending Waypoints to the Drone from Tower 2.10 Survey Parameters

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# 2.1 First Time Mission Planner Setup 2.1 A Open Mission Planner and go to the “CONFIG/TUNING” window and check the “Advanced View” box (upper image). If you do not do this, the “Actions” tab in the lower left-hand side of your “FLIGHT DATA” window may not display properly (lower image). While here, you can also select “En

able Speech” (blue circle) and check any desired warnings. This way Mission Planner will tell you when changes occur during your mission.

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## 2.1 B While in this window, you can also change the units Mission Planner will display. By default, altitude and distance is in meters, while speed is in meters/second (ms). The boxes where you can change these are circled in the screenshot below.



# 2.2 Battery Monitor Setting in MP Mission Planner allows you to monitor your battery capacity during flight. This feature appears in the Flight Data tab of Mission Planner and is discussed in a later section. For now , to ensure this feature works correctly, you must input the total capacity of the Enduro’s onboard batteries in mAh. The screen

shot below shows the location in Mission Planner where you input the capacity value. Go to the ‘Initial Setup’ tab > ‘Battery Monitor’> then input the capacity in mAh in the ‘Battery Capacity’ box. Do not change the other settings in the Battery Monitor tab, unless instructed by an Agribotix technician.

8000

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# 2.3 Pre-fetching Google Maps in MP The ground control station (GCS) uses Google maps from the internet to show the drone’ s location. When the GCS is out in the field, it will not have internet reception, so it cannot display these maps from Google. To use Google maps without internet access, you must “pre-fetch” Google maps of the area(s) you will be flying. This procedure downloads the maps of your selected area from Google Maps and saves them in a folder on your computer. This way, Mission Planner always has access to those maps. Agribotix will usually have pre-loaded the maps you will need to get started in your area. To check if an area is pre-fetched, zoom into the map area on the GCS while it is offline and see if the maps show up in high resolution. If the map is not present, you must load a map of the mission area you plan to fly . Once you have an area pre-fetched, it will remain in your GCS memory so you can skip this step alltogether and go directly into mission planning. 

## 2.3 A Select the FLIGHT PLAN icon in the upper left-hand corner of the Mission Planner. Hold ALT, left click & drag the mouse to select the area. A blue box will begin to appear. Create a box over the area you plan to fly. The blue box is approximate and its boundaries don’t have to be exact.

Alt + Left Click

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## 2.3 B Right click and select: Map Tool > Prefetch “Ready ripp at Zoom = xx” -click yes and a progress bar will appear as shown on the lower left. This can take tens of minutes. When it says “Fetching tile at zoom (20)” you can hit the Esc key multiple times until it stops because you will not need any more map detail beyond this point.

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# 2.4 Creating a mission in MP Once you have the map of your mission area, you can create a flight path for your Enduro. This is the path it will fly when creating images of a field. On this page we will get started by establishing the Home Location. On the next page we learn how to define a flight area in the Mission Planner software. Then, we will define the specific route the drone will fly and where it will go in an emergency. You can define the flight area before you go out to the field and fly your mission. Keep in mind you will need to reset the Home Location in the field before you fly
.



## 2.4 A Getting Started and Establishing the Home Location You must correctly set the Home Location as a safety precaution before your flight. When you put the Enduro into the RTL flight mode (Section 3) it will fly to the Home Location and land. A1. Go to the Flight Plan window (purple arrow) to plan a mission. To start a new mission, center the screen on the area you want to fly and zoom into the area with the scale tool (red arrow) until you see the field you want to fly. You can change the maps you are viewing (blue arrow) in the background. A2. Next click on the ‘Lat’ field (green arrow). You will be prompted to click on the map to set a home location. Click ‘OK’ then click on the area where you want the drone to take off from. The home location icon will not appear until you specify an altitude in meters above sea level (yellow arrow) where this location lies geometrically. This does not have to be a precise location for now because you will adjust the home location before takeoff (Section 5). A3. If you have a pre-existing mission, Click on the Load WP File button (orange arrow) to load it. These missions will be in the Microsoft Text (.txt) file format. If you are using an Agribotix Ground Control Station (GCS), you can open the ‘Missions’ folder on the desktop and load the sample mission available there. This way you can see how the missions you eventually plan will look. Go to our YouTube channel for an instructional video oncreating a mission. Note: This video is made for a fixwing model drone. Disregard the segments on takeoff and landing. Another good video is on the 3DR YouTube channel. Search, ‘Planning a mission with the X8’ for a video on planning a mission with a multirotor. Note that this is different from the Enduro and has different performance specifications. Disregard the portions regarding camera tuning.

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A4. You will be asked if you want to ‘Reset Home to loaded coords’. Click ‘ yes ’ if you want to set the home location to the pre-set location in the mission you are opening. You would click ‘no’ if you were in the field, your drone was turned on, had a GPS lock, and was on the ground near the launch location. This is because when the drone is in the field and has a GPS lock, it’ s GPS coordinates are usually more accurate than the coordinates you have from Google Maps. Now we are just approximating the altitude. When the drone’s GPS works, it will give a more precise measure of altitude for setting a home location. Contrary to popular myth, the Mission Planner software does not calculate altitude above sea level using Google Terrain data. Altitude above sea level is calculated by the drone’s internal GPS.

A5. The screenshot above shows a typical pre-existing mission. To design a new mission in the same area, right click anywhere on the map and you will get the ‘options’ menu (yellow arrow). From here, select ‘clear mission’ (blue arrow). You should always do this, even if you don’t see any existing mission that needs to be cleared. There may be one located outside your field of view, which may adversely effect the mission you are about to plan. All the waypoints will disappear except the ‘Home Location’ waypoint. Drag the home “Home” waypoint to the field you want to fly over (pink arrow). This may be several kilometers away. Use the zoom tool (red arrow) to zoom in and out. Note that when you move the home waypoint the longitude and latitude (purple arrow) will update, but the altitude above sea level (green arrow) will not.

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B1. To create waypoints for your drone to navigate to, simply click on the map where you want them to be. You may click and drag these waypoints to move them after they have been created. 

## 2.4 B Create a Simple Mission This is for flight training practice. If you want to create a photogrammetry mission, go to 2.4 C.

B2. To delete a waypoint, right click on it and select ‘Delete WP’ at the top of the menu (orange circle). You will also see many other options. Some of these will be addressed in section 2.4 C. B3. While planning your waypoints, pay attention to the Distance in the upper left corner of your screen (pink circle). Make sure that this is within your drone’s range. The Enduro can fly for 13 miles (21 km).

B4. Check the altitude and other details of each waypoint in the Waypoints matrix. You can view this by clicking the green bar at the bottom of the Flight Plan window. 100m is usually a good altitude for flying. Make sure the first waypoint has a ‘Takeoff’ command and the last has a ‘Land’ command. Keep in mind that the Grad % does not matter for takeoff and landing, since the quad will takeoff and land vertically. B5. When you are satisfied with your mission, view section 2.4 to see how to save your mission onto your GCS. See section 2.5 for how to upload it to your drone.

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C1. Click on the FLIGHT PLAN tab in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Scroll to the area you want to survey by holding the left mouse button. Click on the right mouse button and select “Draw Polygon > Add Polygon Point”. A message box will appear telling you you’re entering polygon mode Click “OK.” 

## 2.4 C Create a Photogrammetry Survey

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C2. Click on the screen to place points around your field. You can also move points by clicking on them and holding down the left mouse button while you drag them. This will be the perimeter of your flight area. You can save this polygon for later use. Right click > Draw Polygon >Save Polygon. This is helpful if you know you will be flying over this field more than once throughout the 

### growing season.

Note: if the ‘Home’ waypoint does not show up on your screen, you need to connect to your drone while it is outside so it can acquire GPS signal and establish an initial home position for the Mission Planner software. Keep in mind, ‘Home’ will be used as the takeoff and landing location for your mission. Make sure the area is clear of any obstacles.

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D1. To take pictures efficiently we create a ‘lawnmower’ flight pattern over the field you want to survey. The Mission Planner software has tools to automatically create a lawnmower pattern. If you know the wind direction, you can lay out a mission before you go to the field. Otherwise, this step will be done at the field before takeoff. Wind direction is important because it can effect the speed of your drone while it passes back and forth accross the field taking photographs. The drone needs to fly the same speed on each pass, so each pass should be perpendicular to the wind direction. Flying parallel to the wind will cause the drone to fly faster on downwind passes and slower on upwind passes. This will result in poor field images. For this lesson, we will assume the wind is coming out of the north. Once you create a survey grid, we’ll explain how you can change the angle of your flight passes to adapt to the wind direction. 

## 2.4 D Create the Flight Path

D2. To create a grid flight pattern, Right click and select: “Auto WP > Survey (Grid).” A window will apear with a series of tabs labeled “Simple, Grid Options, Camera Config” as shown here. Make sure the options in the Simple tab and Grid tab match those shown here. Disregard the ‘Camera Config’ tab. If you are using a camera provided by Agribotix, this won’t be needed.

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D3. To make sure your drone flies perpendicular to the wind, change the “Angle [deg]” setting in the Simple tab. Enter the degree number of your angle into the box next to “Angle [deg]”. As you change this num

ber, you will see the flight pattern change too. Adjust the angle until the flight passes are perpendicular to the wind direction.

Ensure your boxes in the ‘Simple’ tab are checked as shown here. 15

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D4. Next, check the “Stats” at the bottom of your screen. The distance must be less than 18 km for the Enduro. It cannot fly any further. Also keep in mind that Mission Planner allows no more than 250 waypoints at a time. It’s range is further reduced in high winds. WIND DIRECTION

D5. Click the ‘Simple’ tab and press the green ‘Accept’ button to finalize the flight path. Next, right click “Draw Polygon > Clear Polygon” so you can see the waypoints better
.

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The Waypoints tab in the Mission Planner Flight Plan window contains a matrix. This shows the longitude, latitude, and altitude of each waypoint, as well as the gradient slopes between them. Your first waypoint must have a “TAKEOFF” command. Your final waypoint should have a “LAND” command. These will both automatically be placed at your Home location.

The Mission Planner will always make two waypoints with a “DO_SET_CA...”. The Enduro does not use these. They are made to trigger a camera, but the Enduro’s cameras have their own internal intervalometer and thus do not need input from the flight control board. You may delete these with the ‘x’ button. 

## 2.4 E Manage the Waypoints

Check the values of the height column. This is the height the drone will go to at that waypoint before it continues on to the next. Make sure these heights clear any obstacles.

Use the ‘x’ button to delete waypoints from the list.

Use the up & down arrows to re-order the waypoints as is needed; you will need to use these.

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After you have finished creating a mission, hit the green “Save WP File” to save a text file of your mission on your computer for later use. This is convenient for planning missions before going to the field and also if you plan on flying the same field repeatedly throughout a growing season. 

## 2.4 G Save Your Mission Finally, go to the Flight Data window and check the cruising Ground Speed indicated in the “Change Speed” box (pink arrow on the lower left screenshot). The cruising speed for the Enduro should be set to 15 meters per second. 

## 2.4 F Check Speed

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A. Before you can send waypoints to the drone, you must first wirelessly connect it to the GCS. Plug in the batteries. The drone must be on a level surface. Wait two minutes to allow the drone’s flight controller (autopilot) to warm up. Now, Go to the upper right corner of the Mission Planner ‘Flight Plan’ window and click on the red & white ‘Connect’ icon. When the drone and the GCS are connected to each other the ‘Connect’ icon will turn to green & white and read ‘Disconnect’ (see blue box below).

B. The drone is now ready to receive waypoints, rally points, and other commands from the Mission Planner. To send the waypoints to the drone’s computer, go to the green ‘Write WPs’ button located on the right side of the Flight Plan window (orange box below.). C. The ‘Write WPs’ command does not always work. You need to check to make sure that your drone has recieved all the waypoints. First, repeat step B to increase the liklihood that all waypoints uploaded successfully. Next, clear you mission from the flight plan. Finally, click ‘Read WPs’ (red box). This will upload any mission plan from the drone so you can check that it has read the mission correctly. If any waypoints are missing, clear the mission uploaded from the drone, load the waypoint file of your com

plete mission, and try writing the mission to the drone again. 

# 2.5 Sending Waypoints to the Drone from MP

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# 2.6 Tower Overview Open Tower... At the bottom of the window, you will see a ‘connect’ icon. Before connecting to your drone, please remove the propellers as a safety precaution. It is not necessary to connect to your drone to walk through the below steps, but by connecting to your drone, you will be able to see all of Tower’s features. To do this, make sure that your Android system and Tower app are configured for the correct telemetry link with your drone. For example, if you are using a Bluetooth link, navigate to settings in Tower and ensure Bluetooth is set as the connection type. Likewise, navigate to the settings for you Android device and confirm that you have a connection to the Bluetooth device. Once you are connected to your drone, the ‘Connect’ icon will be replaced with the ‘Arm’ and ‘Dronie’ commands. Do not arm your drone . ‘Dronie’ is a function for planning ‘selfie’ photos and will never be used. Also, an airplane icon will appear representing the drone’s location (blue circle).

The menu on the top right has options for planning and monitor

ing flights as well as configuring Tower and your drone. The left menu has simple options for your telemetry connection and also for loading missions to and from the drone.

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You can sign into a Tower account. This is not necessary.

The default window for Tower. This window is used to monitor your drones status.
Plan and change flight paths.

Playback recent flights. You can customize the user inter

face and telemetry connection.

Allows you to customize your drone’s performance. Please do not alter this without consulting an Agri

botix technician.

A useful pre-flight checklist. A tool for claibrating your accelerometer. This is done automatically as part of your drone’s startup routine. If the startup calibration fails, use this as a backup method.

### 29 TOC 1. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB TT 

# 2.7 Tower Setup

Simply zoom in on the area you want prefetched while your tablet has an internet connection. Tower will automatically save the map tiles of this area for whatever resolution you zoom into. This is only tempo

rary. This may dissapear from your device’s memory after a few power cycles. If this is your method of choice, you must do this each time before heading to the field and DO NOT power off your device within this time. 

## Prefetching Maps: Temporary Simple Method

On your PC, use Mission Planner to prefetch your desired map tiles. This is explained in section 2.3. Find the prefetched map files on your computer in the folder “Program Files (x86)/APMPlanner/gmap

cache/TileDBv3/en/GoogleSatellite/”. Connect your PC to your Android device and place the map files in the folder “/sdcard/Tower/Maps/”. WARNING: depending on the size of the area you have prefetched, this transfer could take up to several hours. 

## Prefetching Maps: Complex Permanent Method As with Mission Planner, Agribotix has already setup Tower for use with your drone. This includes prefetching maps for your region for offline use, as well as configuring Tower to work with your drone’s specifications. The segments below describe how to prefetch additional maps or customize the parameters for your drone. 

# How long are maps saved in Tower memory from a simple zoom? Rather than an actual map download. Does it clear the maps each time the program is closed?.

In general, you should not change any of your drone’s parameters without consulting an Agribotix techni

cian. At some point, you may use different batteries than those provided in your drone kit. In this case, you need to ensure that your drone is configured for the correct battery capacity , so that the voltage reading in your Flight Data window displays correctly. To do this, go to the ‘Parameters’ menu and search for ‘Bat

tery Monitor’. Ensure that you input the correct value in milli-amp hours for your total battery capacity. So, if you fly with two 7,000 mAh batteries, you should input 14,000 mAh. Again, DO NOT change any other settings in this menu. These are the performance parameters of your drone and should not be altered. 

## Battery Monitor and Other Settings

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# 2.8 Creating a Mission in Tower
2.8 A Simple Mission Go to the Editor view to plan a mission. Click on the squiggle icon (pink circle) to select your waypoint marking tool. For now , select ‘Waypoint’.

To add waypoints, select the waypoint icon (green circle)and just tap on the screen where you want them to go.

As you add waypoints, boxes will appear along the bottom of the display, representing each waypoint.

To edit a waypoint, click the corre

sponding box and a small window will appear where you can change it’s pa

rameters. Click the blue segment at the top of the waypoint editing window. A menu will appear with the various waypoint types you can select. Note that you do not need to create take

off and landing waypoints. These will be automatically created upon the instance of uploading your waypoints to the drone. These will be automatically placed at the location at which you arm your drone. This concludes the creation of a simple mission in Tower. To upload your mission, view section 2.10. To select waypoints, use the ‘Selection’ tool (blue circle). Undo actions with the arrow icon (orange circle).

Use the trash can tool (purple circle) to delete waypoints. When it turns red, you can delete waypoints by clicking their corresponding box. Click the trash can icon a second time to get the option to delete all waypoints.

### 31 TOC 1. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB TT



## 2.8 B Photogrammetry Mission Creating a photogrammetry mission is slightly different that a simple mission. This time, select the ‘Survey’ option from the squiggle icon menu.

Now, outline the area you want to survey. When you close the loop, waypoints will automatically be created to make a survey of that area. There will only be one icon along the bottom representing this entire survey area. Click this to edit the survey parameters.
For a typical photogrammetry survey, Agribotix recommends you fly at 100m altitude with 80% sidelap. Overlap does not matter. This is so that the drone’s flight controller can regulate the camera’s interval. Your cameras have their own intervalometer, so this is not needed. Overlap does not matter. This is so that the drone’s flight controller can regulate the camera’s interval. Your cameras have their own intervalometer, so this is not needed. Make sure the Hatch angle goes perpendicular to the wind direction.

This concludes the creation of a survey pattern mission. See the next page for uploading missions to your drone.

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Open the menu in the upper right corner of the Tower window. Ensure you have a telemetry connection, then select ‘Upload mission’. You will notice that once you do this, takeoff and landing waypoints will automatically be added to your mission.

The upload is not always entirely successful. As a precaution, follow these steps: 1. Upload the mission to the drone a second time. 2. Save the mission, then clear all waypoints from Tower. 3. Download the mission from the drone and check that all waypoints are correct.

This concludes the Planning section. The next section will address flight and how to execute your mission.



# 2.9 Uploading a Mission to the Drone from Tower

2.10 Survey Parameters

Crop Health Survey Sidelap: 80% Altitude: 100m Ground Speed : 15 m/s Camera Intervalometer: 2 seconds Weather Conditions: Requires consistent light. Best with completely clear skies. Errant clouds will degrade results. Can also fly when completely overcast, but results will not be as good as with complete sunlight. 

## Any Survey Run angle: perpendicular to the wind. Overall survey pattern direction: starts downwind and works upwind.

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# 3 Flight
This section will walk you through a safe and productive flight with your Enduro. Remember to always fly with a second person to help monitor your drone mid-flight and watch for manned aircraft. 3.1 Flight Modes 3.2 Emergency Procedures 3.3 Selecting a Good Location 3.4 Preparing for Your Flight 3.5 Adapting Your Mission 3.6 Ground Check 3.7 Takeoff 3.8 In-Flight Adjustments 3.9 Post-Flight 3.10 Survey Parameters

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SC Switch MIDDLE or UP: This flight mode automati

cally attempts to maintain the current location, heading and altitude. It does this by triangulating it’s position with it’s GPS. The pilot may fly the copter manually in Loiter mode. If you release the stick, it will hold it’s position. Use this mode for takeoff and landing. 

## Loiter 

# 3.1 Flight Modes

SC Switch DOWN: In Auto mode, the copter will follow the pre-programmed mission script stored in the auto

pilot, which is made up of navigation commands, i.e. waypoints. These are the waypoints and rally points you upload from Mission Planner. WARNING: Moving the aircraft while in auto mode can trigger the propeller to start spinning without warning. Always take the aircraft out of AUTO mode before handling. 

## AUTO SC switch in middle positio n

SC switch in down positio n

In this flight mode, the quad will automatically return to the Home location and land.

Move the SH switch toward the front of the transmitter and HOLD it or else it will return to normal flight. This will cause the drone to land straight down from wherever it happens to be. Hold until the drone’s props come to a complete stop. 

## RTL (Return to Launch)

Land SF and SH switches towards the back of the transmitter. 

## Normal Flight

S F S H

SF SH SF SH Before flying the Enduro, make sure that you have the RC transmitter switch functions memorized cold. If things go bad in the air, they go bad fast. You won’t have time to be reading labels or trying to remem

ber which switch does what. Note that many of the switches on the transmitter are disabled. The following illustrations are also included in your Flight Logbook. Practice switching between the flight modes on your transmitter. You must be confident you could select the right one in an emergency.

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# 3.2 Emergency Procedures IF MANNED AIRCRAFT APPROACHES 1 FLIGHT MODE LOITER Change the flight mode to Loiter and the drone will stop all horizontal movement. Middle Position


## 2 THROTTLE DOWN Move the left transmitter (throttle) stick down and the drone will descend at its maximum descent



## IF THE GCS LOSES SIGNAL This is indicated by a red ‘X’ will appear in in the upper right corner of the Flight Data window. 

## 1A FINISH MISSION IN AUTO FLIGHT MODE The safest course of action is to aloow the drone to finish its mission as long as no dangers arise. Monitor the drone visually as best you can. 

## 2 IF MANNED AIRCRAFT APPROACHES Folllow the procedures in the first segment of this page. 

## IF THE TRANSMITTER LOSES SIGNAL 1 If you make changes to your RC transmitter that do not show up on your GCS, then you may have lost signal contact. 

## 2 CONTINUE MISSION IF POSSIBLE Your drone will complete it’s mission without any RC transmitter signal. Leave the trans

mitter in Auto mode so the drone will not be interrupted when the signal is reacquired. 

## 3 OTHER OPTIONS You have access to RTL, Loiter, Land and other modes through your GCS telemetry connection. (red circle) CHANGE ALTITUDE TO ZERO If there is an airspace conflict while Tx signal is lost, use the GCS to switch to Loiter mode. In MP, use the Change Alt button. (blue circle). In Tower, you must create a new mission plan with a ‘Land’ command and no other way

points and reupload this to the drone. 

## 1B TRIGGER RTL

TRY TO RECONNECT Often, simply lifting the RC Transmitter above your head will regain the singal.



## 4 rate. If the drone is visible, put the throttle in the middle position when a safe altitude is reached. Use the altitide indicator in the GCS to verify height above ground level. Leaving the stick down indefinitely will lead to a rough landing. Use the LAND flight mode to bring the quad to the ground.

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# 3.3 Selecting a Good Location Pick a place where it is easy to fly. Fly on an open field that meets the criteria illustrated below. Do not fly your drone farther than half a kilometer from your location until you are proficient with the entire drone system and it’s emergency procedures. To obtain a good telemetry link (above 50%) put your 3DR radio on a mast and keep it away from radio towers and power lines. The battery percentage shown in the red circle below (on the artificial horizon) is only accurate if you start the mission with a fully charged battery. The battery percentage should never drop below 30%. If it does, you will need to redirect the drone to land. To do this, select the landing waypoint (highlighted in orange below) and then click on the green “Set WP” button. This will send the drone to that waypoint instead of continuing the mission. See time 3:18 of the video ‘ How to Plan a Flight for your Agricultural Drone Using Mission Planner ’ on the Agribotix YouTube channel for how to send waypoints to a drone mid-flight.

21.4v Initiate RTL if voltage drops below 21.4 v.

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1) Make sure your mission area is pre-fetched. (Section 2) 2) Plan as much of your mission as possible before leaving for the field. 3) Make sure the batteries are fully charged for all your components. Use the voltage meter to test your drone batteries. • drone batteries • camera batteries • GCS charged (laptop or tablet)

Make sure you bring all the required materials. Refer to the packing list below . This same list is also in your Flight Logbook. 

# 3.4 Preparing for Your Flight Before Leaving for the Field

Packing List

1) Enduro drone 2) Spare propellers 3) Charged drone batteries 4) Cameras (RGB and NIR) 5) Charged camera batteries 6) SD card w/ sufficient space for new pictures 7) GCS computer 8) Computer sun shield 9) Computer battery charged 10) Prefetched Google maps for flight area 11) Transmitter 12) Charged transmitter batteries 13) Charger kit 14) Tools and spares kit 15) GCS radio 16) Radio mast (not included in your Agribotix kit) 17) Battery Volt Meter

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Each time before you fly, you must go through the pre-flight check to ensure everything is working OK. If doing this for the first time, do it away from the field, so you can go through the steps without being tempted to fly.

First, view the steps in the pre-flight checklist. This is also written on page 2 of your Flight Logbook. 

## 3.5 A Pre-Flight Checklist Preview

1 ) Create Mission • Takeoff: 30m or above the highest obstacle 2 ) Physical check • Prop blades tight • Motor mounts • Arm clips secure • Batteries secure • Connect the batteries, test voltage. • On the GCS, connect the drone to Mission Planner via the telemetry radio. 3 ) Turn on the transmitter 4 ) Wait for the audible tone and the solid green LED light 5) Take picture of Giant Clock with camera (explained Section 9.5) 6 ) Install camera onto drone with intervalometer on 7) Arm by pressing down for 3 seconds on the drone’s flashing red button 8 ) Reset Home Location to ensure accuracy. Check that landing WP is 0 meters altitude. 9 ) Write waypoints and upload rally points to the drone 10 ) Do Preflight Calibration on Mission Planner 11 ) Do ‘Restart Mission’ on Mission Planner 12) Takeoff, switch to Auto mode **If problems occur with preflight sequence:** 1 ) Disconnect drone battery 2 ) Wait 20 seconds 3 ) Go to step 4 above 

# 3.5 Ground Check

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Prepare the Enduro frame for flight. Make sure the batteries remain UNPLUGGED during this step to avoid accidental injury. 

## 3.5 B Drone Preparation

The Enduro’s arms are hinged so they can fold together for easy transport. Before a flight, these arms are spread and secured by the clips that hold them in an X configuration. Do this, ensuring that each arm is fit securely into it’s respective clip.
Mount the batteries to the sides of the Enduro. Ensure that they are secured by the velcro straps. 

### Secure Arms

Secure Batteries

The GPS mast folds down for transport. Raise it upright and screw down the base to lock it into position. 

### Secure GPS Mast

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# 3.5 C Pre-Flight Checklist Performance
STEP 1. Mission Check 1 Survey Grid has RTL (Return to Launch) in MP In Mission Planner’s Survey (Grid) window, make sure that the ‘Use RTL’ box is checked. 

## 2 Wind Speed Under 20mph If windspeed exceeds 20mph at ground level, do not fly. 

## 3 Takeoff Altitude Set to 30m or above obstacles Make sure the altitude for the takeoff waypoint is set to at least 30 meters. 

## 4 Flight Path Perpendicular to the Direction of Wind Your first waypoint shoud be on the opposite side of the field that the wind is coming from (downwind) so the drone ‘switchbacks’ into the wind. This ensures the drone will make tight, smooth turns throughout the mission. 

## 5 Home Location is Clear of Obstacles The drone will land at the home location (unless you have specified a different landing location), so make sure it is far away from cars, power lines, trees, buildings, or other obstructions. 

## 6 Check Mission Distance The total flight distance must be less than 20 kilometers. In MP, you will find this in the upper right corner of the Flight Plan window. In Tower, this is in the upper right corner of the Editor view. In MP, you can edit this distance in the ‘Survey (Grid)’ window where you make the lawnmower pattern flight path. You can see the total mission distance in the lower left corner of the screen. 

## 7 Flight Path has Minimal Switchbacks If your field is rectangular, the flight path should be arranged so the switchbacks are on the short ends of the field. This will minimize the number of switchbacks unless wind speeds do not allow for this, in which case the switchbacks should be perpendicular to the wind direction. 2 3 6 7 10 11 14 4 5 8 9 12 13 1



### WIND DIRECTION Hom e

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FO RW AR D FO RW ARD



## 0 

# Hom e STEP 2. Systems Check

3 Turn on the Transmitter The flight mode must be set to ‘Loiter’ before turning on the transmitter. The left stick (throttle) must be all the way down as shown here. 

## 4 Connect Battery, DO NOT MOVE QUAD, Wait for Dark Green Light The light is connected to the Pixhawk flight controller. This will first blink blue & red, then light green. Finally, it will turn dark green followed by an audible tone. This means it has achieved a GPS lock and it’s startup sequence is complete. 

## 5 Connect the GCS (Telemetry) In MP, click the ‘CONNECT’ botton in the upper right corner of the window. When it connects to the drone, the button will turn green and say ‘DISCONNECT’. In Tower, press the connect icon at the bottom of the screen. When it connects, you will see options for ‘Arm’ and ‘Dronie’. 

## 1 Take Drone to Takeoff / Landing Location Set the drone on the ground at it’s takeoff location. Keep in mind that it will climb to 30m (or speci

fied) above ground level before flying to its first waypoint at 100m. Make sure the takeof f location is free of obstacles higher than 100m. 

## 2 Drone Properly Oriented for Takeoff Place your drone so that you are behind it in orientation. This way, the controls are easiest: left is left, forward is forward, etc. If you have to move the sticks during takeoff, you will be properly oriented.



## 6 Set Home Location and Write Waypoints to the Drone In MP, make sure the mission is uploaded to the aircraft when asked to ‘Reset Home to loaded coords’. Always click NO. Click on ‘Home Location’ to update your drone’s true takeoff & landing location, then ‘Write WPs’. In Tower, the Home Location will be set automatically, but you should still check that the waypoints are uploaded correctly. 

## 7 Magnetometer Check Check to make sure the drone is pointed in the right direction. In MP, in the Flight Data window, the red line is the direction the drone is pointed. In Tower’s Flight Data window, the drone’s direction is indicated by the yellow arrow on it’s screen. Make sure the drone is 15 feet away from any vehicle or large metal object. This can interfere with it’s magnetic compass.

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Stabiliz e Stabiliz e 

## STEP 2. Systems Check Continued

7 Preflight Calibration In the Flight Data window, choose ‘PreFlight Calibration’ from the top drop-down menu and click this button to execute the preflight calibration. This centers the Home Altitude and other parameters.



## 8 Restart Mission Click this button. 

## 9 Ground Speed & Altitude The number on the right is the quad’s meters above or below the Home location. The number on the left is the groundspeed in meters per sec

ond. In Tower, these values are shown on the right side of the Flight Data view. These should be somewhere between -3 and 3 after doing a preflight calibration (or just after a system start-up). If they are outside this range, do another preflight calibration. If using Tower, just unplug and restart the quad. Make sure it is motionless on level ground. 

## 10 Flight Mode Switch Check to make sure the transmitter flight mode switche is changing the flight mode indicated here. In Tower, this is shown on the top right. 

## 11 Battery Check Always insert a new battery before every flight. A fully charged battery should read 4.1v (or more) per cell. In Tower, these values are shown along the top right of the Flight Data view. Loiter NOTE : If using Tower, skip steps 7 &8

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The number of photographs on your SD card is the large number above. Each quarter-section requires roughly 350 photographs. The smaller number on the lower left of the screen shows the maximum photos you can take. The battery life is shown on the lower right. 

## STEP 3. Camera Setup

1 Turn on the Camera



## 2 Check SD Card and Battery

Start the intervalometer by pushing the shutter button. 

## 3 Start the Intervalometer

If using a laptop as your GCS, capture the time by aiming the camera at the Giant Clock in Field Extractor. If using an Android tablet, open the ‘Time Calibrator’ app and photograph the clock there. Afterwards, disengage the intervalometer, but DO NOT turn off the camera. 

## 4 Record the Time

Turn the intervalometer on and mount the camera onto the Enduro. 

## 5 Install the Camera

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## STEP 4. Takeoff

Hold down this button until the light turns solid red. 

## 1 Switch to Loiter Flight Mode



## 2 Hold Down the Red Safety Button on the Drone

Ensure you are in Loiter mode. Hold the left (throttle) stick to the bottom right for 5 seconds. The drone will emit an audible tone when armed. Propellers will start to spin shortly after. 

## 3 Arm the Drone with the Transmitter

The quadcopter will not react untul the throttle exceeds 50%. In high winds, it may require up to 75%. 

## 4 Increase Throttle Slowly Until 60%

Once the drone achieves a steady hover, switch to AUTO flight mode on the transmitter. 

## 5 Switch to AUTO flight mode SC switch in middle position

SC switch in down position



## 6 If you accidentally put the drone into Loiter mode, it will hover in place if the throttle is at 50%. If the throttle is set above or below 50%, the quad may suddenly gain or loose altitude. Keep Throttle at 50% Durring Flight

### 45 TOC 1. 2. 4. 5. 6. A FLB TT page 35

Monitor your flight. It is best to fly with two people so the work can be divided. One person should al

ways watch the drone. The other should monitor the status in Mission Planner or Tower. 

# 3.6 In-Flight Monitoring

Operator: • Always watch the drone. • Man the hand controller in case of emergency and for takeoff and landing.

Assistant: • Watch for manned aircraft or other obstacles • Man the GCS (Tablet or Laptop) • Drone’s mission progress • Battery voltage • Airspeed • Flight Mode • Functionality warnings.

### 46 TOC 1. 2. 4. 5. 6. A FLB TT 

# 3.7 In-Flight Adjustments Here, we go through a few changes you can make to your flight plan while in flight. This will address skipping waypoints, and changing flight modes.

The most common reason for changing waypoints is if you need to bring your aircraft home mid-mission. **In Tower** , you cannot alter waypoints mid-flight. To change waypoints, you can alter them in Mission Editor and then reupload a new mission. If you pause the drone mid-flight to do this, it will start the new mission from the beginning once you switch back to Auto mode. **In MP** , go to the ‘Set WP’ box. Select the waypoint # you want to change. Then press the ‘Set WP’ button. Your aircraft will go to that waypoint and finish out the mission from that point onward. 

## Waypoints Should you ever need to pause your drone mid-mission, you can enter the ‘Loiter ’ mode and it will hold in place ( make sure your throttle is set to 50%! ). With the Enduro, you can simply switch to Loiter on the hand controller, but this is also possible through the Flight Data display in Mission Planner or Tower. **In Tower** , tap the flight mode indicator, ‘Auto’, at the top of the window and select ‘Loiter’ from the drop-down menu. Keep in mind that any input from the hand controller will override the flight mode from Tower, so make sure you also match this flight mode on your hand controller. 

## Flight Mode



# NEEDS Tower Added **In MP** , go to the ‘Do Action’ box. Press the pull-down arrow and select ‘LOITER_UNLIM’. Then press the ‘Do Action’ button. To resume the mission, go to the ‘Set Mode’ box, press the pull-down arrow, select ‘AUTO’, and press the ‘Set Mode’ button.

### 47 TOC 1. 2. 4. 5. 6. A FLB TT

When the quad reaches 10m above ground on its landing descent, switch to Loiter mode so you can reposition the quad and land it manually. 

## A Switch to Loiter Mode

Use the Land switch to bring the quad to the ground and touchdown. 

## B Use the Land Swtich
Hold the throttle stick down and to the right to disarm the drone. 

## C Disarm
Ensure your hand controller is set to Loiter mode. Approach the drone and disengage the arming func

tion by pressing down on the blinking red Safety button for 5 seconds. After this, you may unplug the drone’s batteries to turn it off. 

## D Lock Out and Turn Off.

After the Enduro lands and is disarmed, perform this post-flight safety procedure. This is also included in your Flight Logbook.

NOTE: As you become more familiar with this entire process, you will only need to refer to the checklists in the Flight Logbook. ALWAYS go through these checklists in order; do not rely on memory. 

# 3.9 Post-Flight 3.8 Landing

On your GCS, disconnect from the drone. 

## A Disconnect 

## B Stop Cameras
Check the cameras to ensure they took photos. Then turn them off. 

## C Check Cameras
Inspect the drone for structural integrity. Check propellers, arm clips, and screws. 

## D Inspect Drone Structure Stop the camera intervalometers

### 48 TOC 1. 2. 3. 5. 6. A FLB TT 

# 4 Imaging
This section describes how to collect images with your GoPro camera and process them through the Agri

botix Farm Intelligence Portal.



# 4.1 Basic Camera Operation Your GoPro camera comes pre-set with a 2 second intervalometer as the default mode. You will need to adjust the time and date for your region. You may need to reconfigure these settings at some point. The following are instructions on how to operate your camera and reach the ideal settings.

mode Press once to turn on. Press again to select different options on Camera Status Screen. Hold down to turn off.

After start-up, press once to start camera function. Red status light indicates photos being taken. If selecting options, press once to select. In your GoPro’s standard configuration, press the shutter/select button once to start 2-second time-lapse photography (inter

valometer). Press it again to stop. 4.1 Basic Camera Operation 4.2 Date and Time 4.3 Time lapse 4.4 Record the Time 4.5 Field Extractor

### 49 TOC 1. 2. 3. 5. 6. A FLB TT 

# 4.2 Date and Time In order to ensure best results for image processing, make sure your GCS and camera both have the same time and time zone set internally. There should be no more than 5 minutes difference between the two. **ZzGI Sterling Hourt 4oulderw HO G=I=D ZzN IUZN**  **hk Z =M info]agribotix?com**  

# AGRIBOTIX **Pctionable intelligence for precision agriculture? T M**  

# CAUTION

**FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS FOR THE GOPRO CAMERA**  

# 1

**CHANGE THE TIME ZONE ON**  **THE GROUND CONTROL**  **STATION** 

# 2

**https;vvwww?youtube?comvwatch[v"oFzZzIRZTNU ZzGI Sterling Hourt 4oulderw HO G=I=D**  **ZzN IUZN hk Z =M**  **info]agribotix?com** 

# AGRIBOTIX **Pctionable intelligence for precision agriculture? T M** 


## In order to ensure best results for image processingw make sure your **ground control station MGHSh and camera both have the same time and time zone set internallyY there should be no more than N minutes**  **difference between the two?**



# CAUTION **You must re-calibrate your compass every time you fly**  **your drone in a new region of the globe in order to**  **get the correct magnetic declination**  **follow the steps on the youtube video shown on the**  **left to calibrate your compass for your regionY**  **failure to do so will result in poor flight path navigation?**  

# CAUTION **If you are asked to update any firmware or other software related to your agribotix drone system always click cnoc unless instructed to do**  **so by an Pgribotix technician?**

**To Set the MonthvFayvYearvTime;**

**D? Verify that the camera is in theSettings mode? If theSettings icon**

**[ ] does not appear on your camera status screenw press the**  **PowervModebutton [ ] repeatedly until it appears?**  **Z? Press theShuttervSelect button [ ] to enter theSettings** 

**menu [ ]?**  **I? Use the PowervModebutton [**  **] to cycle throughSettings to**

**locate theSetup menu [ ]?**  **R? Press theShuttervSelect button [ ] to enter theSet Up menu?**  **N? Use the PowervModebutton [**  **] to locate the Monthv Fayv Yearv**

**Time menu [ ]?**  **U? Press theShuttervSelect button [ ] to enter Monthv Fayv Yearv** 

**Time menuY Month MMM will be highlightedh? k? Press theShuttervSelect button [**  **] to access the list of months**

**MD to DZh? G? Use the**  **PowervModebutton [ ] to cycle through list until** 

**desired selection is highlighted? z? Press theShuttervSelect button [**  **] to select? D=? To advance to the next optionw press the ShuttervSelect**  **button [ ]?**  **DD? Repeat steps kw G and z to make selections for day MFFhw year MYYhw hour MHHh and minutes MMMh?**  **DZ? To exitw hold down theShuttervSelect button [ ] for two**  **seconds or cycle through to [ ] and press theShuttervSelect**  **button [ ]?** 
**From the [ ] screenw press theShuttervSelect button [**  **] to exit theSet Up menu?** 



### Note: The GoPro 3+ will lose the correct time if it is without a battery for more than 2 hours. It is best to check the GoPro’s date and time setting before every flight. If you are using a GoPro 4, it will not have this problem.

### 50 TOC 1. 2. 3. 5. 6. A FLB TT
Make sure the camera is in ‘Time Lapse’ (intervalometer) mode with a 2 second interval. Press the shutter button to test that the camera is taking pictures on this interval. Plug the GoPro into your GCS and verify the pictures are present. 

# 4.3 Time Lapse

Default Start Mode The default start mode of your camera should be ‘Time Lapse’. Here, we will refer to this as the inter

valometer. This is the mode used to image agricultural fields. Agribotix will send your camera with this as the default setting. If you change it for some reason, follow these steps to make Time Lapse the default again... 

### Setup Default Mode Time Lapse

In Time Lapse, select 2 seconds. Your camera’s intervalometer will come pre-set to 2 seconds (one picture every 2 seconds). This is an ideal rate for agricultural imaging. If this is somehow changed, follow the steps below to return it to a 2-second rate. If you want to experiment with a different photo rate, please consult an Agribotix technician for help in getting the best results. 

### Time Lapse When done, keep selecting to return to the start menu.



## Intervalometer Rate Select Settings

Settings

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Important: You must take a picture of the GCS’s clock before flying a mission so Agribotix can syncronize the image time stamp with the flight log time. Skipping this step will make processing the images more difficult. After taking this image, you will turn off the intervalometer, but leave the camera on . Right before launch, turn the intervalometer on and install the camera into the plane. 

# 4.4 Recording the Time

The reason you must take this picture is because the cameras that come with your drone do not have an internal GPS. If you are using your own camera, talk to an Agribotix technician if you are unsure whether your camera has a GPS sensor or not. If using a Windows PC, open Field Extractor (Section 4.5) and click the ‘Clock’ tab (red circle). For now, ignore Field Extractor’s other functions. Take a picture of this clock by starting your camera’s intervalometer. Afterwards, you may turn off the intervalometer, but do not turn off the camera between the time you take the picture of the clock and the time your camera is flown in your drone. Every time you turn your camera on or off, the time changes slightly by several dozen milliseconds.

test@test.com If using an Android device, open the app ‘Time Calibrator’. Photograph the time here using the same procedure described above.

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After your mission, extract the camera’s SD card and insert it into a Windows PC with Field Extractor installed. If you used Tower to plan your flight, connect your Android device to the same PC. Field Extractor will extract the images from your SD card and the flight log from your Android device and combine them to create a geotagged image set. Field Extractor can then be used to upload this image set to the Farm Intelligence Portal, where it can be converted into a variety of data products. 

# 4.5 Field Extractor

Check our website for updates to this section at agribotix.com/using-field-extractor . The Field Extractor program is used to upload imagery to the Agribotix cloud based server where indi

vidual pictures can be stitched together into large mosaics. New customers will need to register before downloading the field extractor software. Registration can be done at app.agribotix.com

If your registration has been approved, you can download the Field Extractor program from app.agribotix.com under the ‘Downloads’ tab. 

### Continued next page...

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The Android Icon at the bottom of the window (red circle) will indicate if Field Extractor detects an An

droid device by turning green. The ‘History’ button (blue circle) will take you to the Farm Intelligence Portal to view your previous uploads. ‘Support’ (purple circle) takes you to an FAQ web page. The Field Extractor interface has four windows. The ‘Clock’ window (orange circle) simply displays a giant clock. This is recorded by your imaging cam

eras before a mission. This records the time offset used by Field Extractor to geotag your images. The other three windows will be addressed as follows...

In Images, you can choose to upload photos from an SD card or from a folder on your PC. The four steps in Images (indicated along the top of the window) will take you through the process of preparing your photo set and then uploading it to the Agribotix Farm Intelligence Portal. The Progress bar at the bottom will indicate any actions Field Extractor is performing, such as formattting or uploading images. This window will be readdressed in a few pages as we walk through the upload process. 

## A Images test@test.com

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test@test.com In Utilities, you can compress images so they are ready for upload without actually uploading them to the Farm Intelligence Portal. This is useful if you want to clear images off your SD card now and have them ready for upload later. 

## B Utilities

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## C Settings In Settings, you can configure which folders Field Extractor will source it’ s files from upon upload (right side). It will automatically select the default folders for Mission Planner log files (where the Tower files are also stored) and the pictures from your SD card, but this gives you the option to customize these folders. You may also choose whether you want to compress your images on upload (red circle). For a normal photogrammetry survey, your images should always be compressed. For special circumstances, consult an Agribotix technician. Field Extractor will archive your image set on your PC when it prepares it for upload to the Farm Intelli

gence Portal. You can choose to have these stored in KMZ format so you can view them in Google Earth (blue circle). You can also sign out of your account (purple circle). Finally, remember to save any changes you make (orange circle) before leaving this window.

test@test.com test@test.com

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test@test.com 

## D Flight Upload **Step 1:** Choose Images Back in the ‘Images’ window, the first step to upload a flight is select images from an SD card or from a folder on your PC. If you choose to take images from an SD card, Field Extractor will scan the card and identify the new imag

es. Note that when Field Extractor takes images from an SD card, it will automatically erase them from that SD card and store them on your PC. The folder where it stores these can be changed in ‘Settings’. If you choose to take images from a folder, use the ‘Browse’ button to search for the folder. When satisfied with your chosen photo set, hit ‘Next step’ at the bottom of the window.

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test@test.com

test@test.com **Step 2:** Time Sync With your image set selected, you need to input the time which you recorded at the start of your flight. Find the image in the set using the ‘Browse’ button. Once your image is found, you can zoom in with the scale tool to see it more clearly and click and drag the image to move it. When inputing the time, you must include the seconds as well, so it is in a 00:00:00 format. When satisfied, hit ‘Next step’.

**Step 3:** Define Flight Here, you need to identify the camera type you used for this image set. By default, Field Extractor will name you flight according to the date and time from the flight log. You can rename your flight and also leave comments for Agribotix technicians.

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**Step 4:** Draw Location Boundaries The final step is to draw the boundary of the area you want processed. This is the area for which you will incur processing fees. Only include the area that you want processed. It is ok to leave out portions of your photo set. Start by finding your field. Click and drag to move the map. Use the tools on the left to zoom in and out or search for your location by name (red circle). The refresh icon (blue circle) will center your view on the marker which is taken from your flight log (orange circle). At your field, you must choose from the ‘Locations’ drop-down menu (pink circle) whether to use a previ

ously made field boundary (location) or to create a new one.

test@test.com

Continued next page...

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test@test.com **Step 4 continued...** If you choose ‘Create New Location’, you will need to first name that location and designate who is the owner and what email addresses you would like the results forwarded to. You will then see new icons on the left side of the window. The polygon icon (orange circle) will allow you to draw a boundary around your field area by clicking where you want the corner points to be. Click the original point to close the loop and finish the boundary
. The pencil and paper icon (pink circle) allows you to move existing corner points. Use the trash can icon to delete your boundary area and start over. When you are satisfied with your field area, click ‘Finish’.

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test@test.com **Completion:** Your upload will begin and you will be taken back to Step 1 of the Flight Upload procedure. Here, you can monitor your upload with the Progress bar at the bottom. The particular activity will be displayed in the lower left corner. A number of hours after your upload is complete, you will recieve an email informing you your results are ready for viewing. This typically takes 3-4 business hours.

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# 5 Data Applications

5.1 Data Types 5.2 Ground Truthing with PDF Maps



# 5.1 Data Types RGB map (TIFF or KMZ)
NIR map (TIFF or KMZ)
NDVI Field Health Map (TIFF or KMZ)

Management Zone Map (SHP) Agribotix data services can process your image sets into a number of dif ferent data types. Upon the completion of processing, you will recieve a notification email. At this point, you can sign into the Farm Intelligence Portal and view thumbnails of all your processed data. You will have the option to download the complete file in any of the available formats.

This is a regular color orthomosaic of your field, with no special processing. This is useful for comparing processed results, such as an NDVI image, with actual color to help assess problems. This map shows your field’s reflection of the near-infrared wavelength, a strong indicator of vegetation health. Your NIR orthomosaic is processed through the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) to accentuate the extremes of your field’s health range. This establishes a health scale relative to your field. You must ground truth this image to establish what these high and low extremes repre

sent for your crop. This is a vector map of your field derived from the NDVI Field Health Map. This is available as a shape file. This file type can be read by industry standard ag software. You can assign values to the range of field health zones derived from the NDVI. This file can then be used with automated machinery for Map-Based VRA (variable rate application).

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# 5.2 Ground Truthing with PDF Maps

Download your maps from the Farm Intelligence Portal in the geotif f format.

Open PDF Maps on your Android device and select your map. You need to ground truth your Field Health Maps to establish real-world values for their scales. When ground truthing, you need to be able to view your maps in the field. Download your maps onto your tablet and use the application PDF Maps to view your geolocated images.

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If your tablet has a wifi or GPS link or a cellular data plan, you will be able to see your location on the map when in the field (blue dot).

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# 6 Batteries

6.1 Transmitter Charging Your Taranis transmitter comes with a 100v - 240v power supply that plugs into a wall jack and should charge overnight. 6.1 Transmitter Charging 6.2 Camera Charging 6.3 Drone Batteries 6.4 Using the Voltage Tester 6.5 Bad Drone Batteries

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# 6.2 Camera Charging
The battery for the GoPro Hero3+ is charged while inside the camera. It charges with the USB cable that comes in your Agribotix Hornet kit. Make sure your battery is fully charged before a mission so that it does not die in the middle of your flight.

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# 6.3 Drone Batteries The Hobby King Quattro 4x8 battery charger allows you to charge up to four batteries at the same time. Each of the four individual charging stations are numbered 1 through 4; Below the first charging station (1) is shown with a battery and balance adaptor plugged into it. In order to charge an additional three batteries on charging stations 2 through 4, simply follow the diagrams and instructions below. Steps 1-3 show numbers for 3-cell 7.0A (7000mAh) Hornet drone batteries. Steps 4-8 show numbers for the 6-cell 4000mAh quadcopter batteries. All steps are relevant to the charger operation.

BATT

A 11.1V(3S) BATT

A 11.1V(3S) BATT

A 11.1V(3S) BATT

A 11.1V(3S) BATT

A 11.1V(3S) BATT

A 11.1V(3S) First, turn on the power supply box and make sure everyting is plugged in as shown below. Next, hit the “INC.” button and the blue screen should read as it does here on the left. There must be a 5.0A and 11.1V(3S). If this is correct, press & hold the start button for 3 seconds until you get a screen that looks like this one... the “confirm (entry)” will switch back and forth to “cancel(stop)”. Press the start button once more. Hold the button down for 3 sec
onds (do not press quickly) and let go. At this point, you will get a screen that looks like this (on the left), letting you know the battery is charging in balancee mode (BAL). When it is finished, the charger will beep three times. Charging the battery in balance mode can take 80 to 100 minutes.

BALANCE ADAPTOR: These may have black and red wires or multi
colored wires. Either way, the far side with the black wire always goes into the plug above the minus sign, as shown below:

BATT

A 11.1V(3S) WARNING: Unplugging the banana plugs while they are still attached to the battery could result in a short circuit that may destroy the battery. To prevent this, always leave the banana plugs plugged into the battery charger. WARNING: Charge batteries only when they can be observed. Do not charge deformed or damaged batteries.

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PROGRAM SELECT LiPo BATT 

# 4

LiPo BALANCE 5.0A 11.1V(3S) 

# 5

LiPo BALANCE 4.0 A 11.1V(3S) 

# 6

LiPo BALANCE 4.0A 22.2V(6S) 

# 7

R: 3SER S: 3SER CONFIRM (ENTER) 

# 8 In the event you receive an error message, a new battery type, or a reset on the battery charger, follow these instructions to reset your charger for your batteries.
Press the BATT TYPE button to select the battery type. Keep hitting this button until you select a LiPo Battery, then press the START button.
Next, press the INC button until you see LiPo “BALANCE” then press the START button.

After pressing the START button, the Amp (A) will start to flash... To increase the number, press INC. To decrease it, press DEC. You want it to read 4.0 for your 4.0A (4000 mAh) battery. Press START again so the lower right-hand text block is flashing. Use INC and DEC to make it read 22.2V (6S) since the quadcopter battery is a 6-cell Battery.
Finally, press and hold the START bitton until this screen appears, confirming that you entered all the information correctly. When you see this screen, press START again to begin charging the battery.

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# 6.4 Using the Voltage Tester

Plug the votage tester into the balance connector. Make sure the black wire is on the outermost pin and the red wire on the innermost pin, starting from the left side. The tester will beep to indicate it’s been correctly connected. First, it will read “ALL” and show the total voltage of the battery pack. Then, it will proceed to list the voltage of each individual cell. For a fully charged battery, each cell should have at least 4.15v. If a cell is below this, it should be charged. The voltage of a cell should never drop below 3.0v. Using the battery below this point can irreversibly damage it.

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# A Damaged batteries cannot be used for flying and must be properly discarded in accordance with local laws & regulations. Batteries torn open such as the one in im

age A are the most obvious examples.



# C B Even batteries with slight disfigura

tion such as the one in image B must also be discarded.

The battery in image C is a swollen battery and must also be discarded. As shown below in image D , these batteries have convex outer surfaces. This can develop these in a short period of time or over a period of several weeks or even months. If your batteries begin to swell, take a picture and email it to your Agribotix technician. They can determine if the battery can still be used or must be discarded. 

# 6.5 Bad Drone Batteries



# D

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# APPENDIX APPENDIX AMA Safety Code

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Academy of Model Aeronautics Na tional Model Airc raft Safety Code Effective January 1, 2014 A. GENERAL : A model aircraft is a non-human-carrying aircraft capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere. It may not exceed limitation s of this code and is intended exclusively for sport, recreation , education and/or competition. All model flights must be conducted in accordance with this safety code and any additional rules specific to the flying site. 1. Model aircraft will not be flown: (a) In a careless or reckless manner. (b) At a location where model aircraft activities are prohibited. 2. Model aircraft pilots will: (a) Yield the right of way to all human-carrying aircraft. (b) See and avoid all aircraft and a spotter must be used when appropriate. (AMA Document #540-D.) (c) Not fly higher than approximately 400 feet above ground level within three (3) miles of an airport without notifying the ai rport operator. (d) Not interfere with operations and traffic patterns at any airport, heliport or seaplane base except where there is a mixed use agreement. (e) Not exceed a takeoff weight, including fuel, of 55 pounds unless in compliance with the AMA Large Model Airplane program. ( AMA Document 520-A.) (f) Ensure the aircraft is identified with the name and address or AMA number of the owner on the inside or affixed to the outs ide of the model aircraft. (This does not apply to model aircraft flown indoors.) (g) Not operate aircraft with metal-blade propellers or with gaseous boosts except for helicopters operated under the provision s of AMA Document #555. (h) Not operate model aircraft while under the influence of alcohol or while using any drug that could adversely affect the pi lot’s ability to safely control the model. (i) Not operate model aircraft carrying pyrotechnic devices that explode or burn, or any device which propels a projectile or d rops any object that creates a hazard to persons or property. Exceptions: **** Free Flight fuses or devices that burn producing smoke and are securely attached to the model aircraft during flight. **** Rocket motors (using solid propellant) up to a G-series size may be used provided they remain attached to the model during flig ht. Model rockets may be flown in accordance with the National Model Rocketry Safety Code but may not be launched from model aircraft. **** Officially designated AMA Air Show Teams (AST) are authorized to use devices and practices as defined within the Team AMA Progr am Document. (AMA Document #718.) (j) Not operate a turbine-powered aircraft, unless in compliance with the AMA turbine regulations. (AMA Document #510-A.) 3. Model aircraft will not be flown in AMA sanctioned events, air shows or model demonstrations unless: (a) The aircraft, control system and pilot skills have successfully demonstrated all maneuvers intended or anticipated prior to the specific event. (b) An inexperienced pilot is assisted by an experienced pilot. 4. When and where required by rule, helmets must be properly worn and fastened. They must be OSHA, DOT, ANSI, SNELL or NOCSAE app roved or comply with comparable standards. B. RADIO CONTROL (RC)

1. All pilots shall avoid flying directly over unprotected people, vessels, vehicles or structures and shall avoid endangerment of life and property of others. 2. A successful radio equipment ground-range check in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations will be completed before the first flight of a new or repaired model aircraft. 3. At all flying sites a safety line(s) must be established in front of which all flying takes place. (AMA Document #706.) (a) Only personnel associated with flying the model aircraft are allowed at or in front of the safety line. (b) At air shows or demonstrations, a straight safety line must be established. (c) An area away from the safety line must be maintained for spectators. (d) Intentional flying behind the safety line is prohibited. 4. RC model aircraft must use the radio-control frequencies currently allowed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Only individuals properly licensed by the FCC are authorized to operate equipment on Amateur Band frequencies. 5. RC model aircraft will not knowingly operate within three (3) miles of any pre-existing flying site without a frequency-management agreement. (AMA Documents #922 and #923.) 6. With the exception of events flown under official AMA Compet ition Regulations, excluding takeoff and landing, no powered model may be flown outdoors closer than 25 feet to any individual, except for the pilot and the pilot's helper(s) located at the flightline. 7. Under no circumstances may a pilot or other person touch an outdoor model aircraft in flight while it is still under power, exc ept to divert it from striking an individual. 8. RC night flying requires a lighting system providing the pilot with a clear view of the model’s attitude and orientation at all times. Hand-held illumination systems are inadequate for night flying operations. 9. The pilot of an RC model aircraft shall: (a) Maintain control during the entire flight, maintaining visual contact without enhancement other than by corrective lenses presc ribed for the pilot. (b) Fly using the assistance of a camera or First-Person View (F PV) only in accordance with the procedures outlined in AMA Document #550. (c) Fly using the assistance of autopilot or stabilization system only in accordance with the procedures outlined in AMA Document # 560. C. FREE FLIGHT

1. Must be at least 100 feet downwind of spectators and automobile parking when the model aircraft is launched. 2. Launch area must be clear of all individuals except mechanics, officials, and other fliers. 3. An effective device will be used to extinguish any fuse on the model aircraft after the fuse has completed its function. D. CONTROL LINE

1. The complete control system (including the safety thong where applicable) must have an inspection and pull test prior to fly ing. 2. The pull test will be in accordance with the current Competition Regulations for the applicable model aircraft category. 3. Model aircraft not fitting a specific category shall use thos e pull-test requirements as indicated for Control Line Precisio n Aerobatics. 4. The flying area must be clear of all utility wires or poles and a model aircraft will not be flown closer than 50 feet to a ny above-ground electric utility lines. 5. The flying area must be clear of all nonessential participants and spectators before the engine is started. 

# AMA Safety Code

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PAGE 1 OF 3 (Revision 01/14/2013 ) A M A Document # 56 0 Acade m y of M odel Aer o nau t i c s AMA A d va n ce d Flight S ys t em s C o mmit te e amaflights y st e ms@ g mail.com Ra di o Controlled Model A ircraft Operation Utilizing Fail s afe, Stabilization and A utopilot S y stems 1 . DEFINITION OF TERMS: Please refer to Page 3, section 7 w hich con t a i ns an alphabetical list i n g of the d e finitions of the terms in italics that are used in this docu m ent. 2 . G ENER A L: All model aircraft fligh t s utili z ing stabilization and autopil ot cont r ol s y stems must be conducted in accor d ance w ith AMA’s current Na t i onal M odel Aircraft S a fet y Code and an y addit i onal r ules spec i fic to a fl y ing site / l oca t i o n . 3 . OPER A TIONS – REQUIREMENTS – LI M IT A TIONS: a ) AMA members flying radio controlled model aircra f t equipped with f light stabili z

ation and autopi l ot systems must maintai n VLOS w ith the aircr a ft at all t i m e s including program m ed autopilot w a y point f l i g ht. b ) AMA Pilot s must be able to instantaneously deactivate pr o grammed flight of autopi lo t sys t e m s at any time during flight and resume manual contro l o f the model aircra f t. c) AMA Pil o ts must perform an R/C Test Flight of a model aircraft before acti v ating a n e w ly in s talle d autopilo t o r stabili z

ation system and/or after any repair s or replacement o f m odel aircraft essential flig h t sys t e m s . d ) Model aircraft exceeding 1 5 lbs and/or 70mph may only u se an autopilot for a pr og rammed “return to launch” (RTL) flight and not for programmed waypoint flying o f a pred e termi n ed c ourse. e) STABILI Z ATION & AUTOPIL O T SYS T EM S MAY B E USED FOR/ T O :
**•** Stabilization/automatically stabilize aircraft to level flight when control sticks are centered. **•** Recovery/activate TRX switch to recover an out of control aircraft to level f light. **•** Heading/activate TRX switch to hold a model aircraft’s h e ading f o r p rec i s i on fl i g h t pa t h
. **•** Altitude/activate TRX switch to maintain f ixed aircraft altitude w hile allowing directiona l con t rol. **•** Return GPS/activate TRX switch to return a ircraft v ia GPS t o launch po i nt. **•** Return FSS/failsa f e activated f rom r adio s i gnal loss to return air c r a ft v ia GPS to launc h point. **•** Fixed circle/activate TRX switch to circle aircraft at point of activation at fixed altitude. **•** Waypoint/activate TRX switch to initiate an a u topilot programmed flight path via w a y p o ints. **•** Fencing/autopilot programed to display site unique boundaries on video monitor/goggles. item 7. It

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PAGE 2 OF 3 (Revision 01/14/2013 ) 4 . R A NGE – A LTITUDE – WE I GHT – S P E ED: a) One of the requirements in Federal Law (Public Law 11 2 - 95 Sec 336 (c) (2) February 14, 2012) for model aircraft to be e x cluded fr o m F AA regulati o ns is t h at model aircr a ft be f l o w n w ithin V L O S of the operator

. b) Model aircraft must be flown at or below 400 feet AGL when within 3 mile s o f an airport as s t ated in t he AMA Safet y Cod e . c) Model aircraft utilizing an autopi l ot for w aypoint fl y ing are limited to a ma x imu m w ei g ht (including fuel, batteries , an d o nbo a rd autopilot systems ) o f 15lbs and a spee d o f 70mp h
. 5 . RECOMMEND A TIONS & INFORM A TION: a) If your radio s y stem lacks failsafe capability, consider using programm a ble di g ital ser v os or au x iliar y fails a f e mo d ules. In the event of a radio signal failur e the s e components w ill activate desired safe servo settings or an autopilo t for retur n to ba s e/launch (RTL). b) W hen using an a utopilot system the “return to launch” ( R TL) featu r e should b e program m ed to return the aircr a ft to a safe lo c ation and safel y term in ate the flight s hou l d manual control of the aircraft be lost. When using RTL, pa y particular attention to the manufa c turer’s thr o ttle recommendations to pre v ent stalling. c) The use of stabili z

ation syste m s is recommended when flying FPV to i mprove flight stabilit y and v ideo qua l it y . d) Pilots usually choose to incorporate stabi l i z

ation and autopilo t s y

ste m s for model a irc ra ft fl y ing to enhance flight pe r for m an c e, correc t bad t endencies of t he model aircraf t , maintain stabilit y in w i nd y w eather, establish precision heading holds for takeoffs/landings, flight training for novice pilots, cre a te a steady f light plat f orm for ca m eras, and general ly just to m ake an airp l ane easier and safer to fl y . e) W hen purchasing stabili z

ation and autopilot syste m s , always try to select quality equipment f rom reputable dealers, ensure for co m patibility with other onboard systems, and install co m ponents accordin g to m anufacturers’ instructio n s . 6 . PRIV A CY PROTE C TION S A FEGU A RDS: The u s e of ima g ing technology for aerial surveillance with radio control model aircra f t having the capability of obtaining high - resolution photograph s and/or v ideo, or using any types of sen s or s , for the collection, retention, or dissemination of sur v eillance data or information on individuals, homes, businesses, or p r opert y at locations where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy is strictly prohibited by the AMA unless written expressed permis s ion is obtained f r om the individual propert y o w ners or m a na g ers .

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PAGE 3 OF 3 (Revision 0 7 / 20 /2013 ) 

### 7 . D EFINITION S O F TERM S : A M A Pilot is an AMA member w ho is capabl e of manuall y operating an R/C tran s mitter to control a model aircraft’s flight path within its safe intended flight envelope w ithou t losi n g control or ha v ing a col l is i on. Autopilot Sy s tem s i n c o r p o r a t e p r o g r a m m a b l e f li g h t s t a b il i z

a t

i o n w i t h a n a l t i t ud e s e n s o r a n d a G P S r e c e i v e r f o r a c c u ra t e p o s i ti o n i n g an d to n a v i g at e / c o n t r o l a r ad i o c o n t r ol le d m o de l a ir c r a ft ’ s f l ig h t pa t h
. A d v anc e d s y st e m s o f f e r s o ft w a r e fo r e n t e r i n g n a v i g ab l e w a y po i n t s . T h e f l i g h t d a t a w a y po i n t s m a y b e s a v e d t o a u t op i l o t ’ s / G P S m e mo r y fo r p r og r a mm e d f l i g h t. Essential Flight System s a r e any systems or components necessar y to mai n tain stable flight w ithin a model ai r craft’s flight envelope

. (This includes primar y R/C s y stems and any stabili z

ation or g y ros required to maintain s t abilit y and heading in c ertain types of model aircraft that would be uncontrollable/unstable without their use). Failsafe S ystems are designed to minimize or prevent damage and sa f ely terminate a flight when a radio controlled model aircraft loses radi o signal. Modern r a dio s y st e ms c a n be programmed to position servos to a desired control setting in the event of radio signal failure. First Person Vie w (FP V ) refers to the operation of a radio co n trolled (R/C) m o del aircraft us i ng an onboard camera’s cockpit view to orient and control the a i r c r aft. ( A M A Docu m e nt #550). Flight Envelope is defined as the range of airspeeds, attitudes and flight ma n eu v ers which a model aircraft can safel y pe r fo r m/opera t e for its i n tended u s e. Non - Essentia l Fl i gh t Systems are any systems or components that are not ne c essa r y to maintain stable flight within the model aircraft’s intended flight en v elope
. (This inclu d e s autopilot o r stabilization sy s te m s that can be activated and deactivated in flight by the p i lot w ithout affecting manuall y controlled stab l e flight). R/C T est Flight r eq uires an AMA Pilot to manuall y operate an R /C tran s mitter t o contr o l a model aircraft’s flight path and determi n e i f the aircraft is cap a ble o f maintaini ng stable flight within its sa f e intended flight envelop e . Stabilization System s a r e designed to maintain intended m o d el ai r craft flight attitudes. The pilot can install, program and/or activate a system to stabilize yaw, pitch, o r roll or any one atti t ude or c o mbination of a t titudes. Systems are often based o n rate/heading hold gyros or inertial motion sensors utilizing multi - a x is gyros and ac c elerometers for atti t u de s tabili z ation. V

isua l Line of S i g ht (V LOS ) is the distance at which the pilot is able to maintain v isual contact w ith the aircraft and dete r mine its orientation and attitude without enhan c ements other than corrective len s es.

### A-75 TT TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. FLB TT 

# Example Aeronautical Chart

### A-76 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. FLB TT 

# Using the Safety Fuse The safety fuse is set in the circuit between the bat

teries and flight controller. The fuse will restrict the motors from spinning up if you accidentally arm the drone. Use this when you want to connect to your drone, but not arm it.

Be sure to remove this fuse before attempting to arm your drone.

### A-77 TT TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. FLB TT 

# Trouble Shooting

Mission Planner and Field Extractor won’t work on my Mac Problem Solution Likely Cause

‘Bad Gyro Health’, ‘Bad Compass Health’ or ‘Bad AHRS’ in the Flight Data Window Sun or heat exposure

Movement during start-up sequence: Only works with Windows Works poorly with software like Parallels and VMware Fusion Try Bootcamp. Get Windows.

Do not expose the drone’s internal electronics to any heat sources. Direct sunlight or a major heat source can overheat the electronics and disrupt the compass, gyro, and airspeed sensors.

Your drone calibrates all its sensors during the first 30 seconds after you plug in it’s battery. Motion or an un-level starting location can corrupt this calibration or fail it com

pletely. Insufficient compass localiza

tion. You must localize your drone’s internal compass to your geographic region. When plugging in the drone’s battery, ensure it is on a level surface. Do not move the drone for the first minute after it is plugged in. If problems persist, you may need to re-upload the firmware to the drone’s autopilot. Please consult an Agribotix technician before doing this. View page 66 for instruction on how to calibrate the compass.

Be sure to remove this fuse before attempting to arm your drone.

### A-78 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. FLB TT 

# Terms

The GCS (Ground Control Station) is either the laptop or tablet provided in your Agribotix drone kit. The GCS is used to plan missions, monitor and change missions in progress, and process your images after the flight is complete.

The program on the GCS tablet used to plan and monitor missions. This program is provided and supported by 3DR. The program on your GCS laptop or tablet that transfers photographs from your camera’s SD card to the online Agribotix Farm Intelligence Portal for image stitching and processing. This program is provided and supported by Agribotix.
The online portal through which you can view and download your orthomosaics processed by Agribotix.

The flight controller model used by Agribotix drones. This model is provided and supported by 3DR. The computer onboard your drone. This computer communicates with the GCS, flies the drone and records flight data. The preset path followed by the drone during a mission.

The unit used to quantify LiPo battery capacity. A reference point in physical space used for navigation. These are created in Mission Planner. The drone follows these waypoints on its flight path.

A reference point for the drone to fly to in emergency situations. Unlike a waypoint, the drone will maintain its postition around a rally point until instructed otherwise. It will simply pass through a regular waypoint.

In this manual, ‘transmitter’ usually refers to the hand controller used to change flights modes and manually control your drone. However, anything that sends a radio signal is a transmitter. A waypooint for the purpose of orienting the drone for a takeoff or landing.

The automatic monitoring and transmitting of the drone’s status to the GCS. This provides airspeed, location, altitude, etc... The program on the GCS laptop computer used to plan and monitor missions. This program is provided and supported by 3DR. (Near Infrared) A light frequency strongly reflected by healthy vegetation. This is detected by Agribotix modified NIR cameras.

A sensor that detects airspeed. This is located on the nose of the Hornet drone. A flight with a specific purpose. In your case, usually for imaging a field. The process by which the drone flies a route over a field, taking photographs.

The product of image stitching. For your purposes, this is the complete image of your field after it has been processed by the Farm Intelligence Portal. The process by which many geolocated images are stitched together into one complete image, an orthomosaic. NIR

Layup Waypoint Waypoint Trajectory Farm Intelligence Portal Field Extractor Tower Mission Planner GCS Mission Orthomosaic Image Stitching Imaging

mAh Transmitter Pixhawk Flight Controller Pitot Tube Telemetry Rally Point The science of making precise measurements from photographs. In the context of your survey drone, the term is similar in meaning to ‘imaging’. Photogrammetry

### A-79 TT TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. FLB TT



## BEST

**WORST** 

# RASTER FALSE COLOR INDEX MAP **GeoTIFF (.tiff) Format**

**BEST**

**WORST** 

# VECTOR FALSE COLOR MANAGEMENT ZONE MAP **Shapefile (.shp) Format 2983 Sterling Court Boulder, CO 80301**  **295 3625 )7 2 0(**  **info@agribotix.com** 

# AGRIBOTIX Actionable intelligence for precision agriculture. **T M**



# CROP HEALTH REPORT

MANAGEMENT ZONE REPORT 

# False Color Map Guide

# FLIGHT LOGBOOK ENDURO VERSION 2.2

2983 Sterling Court Boulder, CO 80301 info@agribotix.com

(720) 295 3625 TM 

# AGRIBOTIX Actionable intelligence for precision agriculture

v 2.2.2 © Agribotix, LLC 2015 CONFIDENTIAL

# FLIGHT LOGBOOK

2983 Sterling Court Boulder, CO 80301

info@agribotix.com (720) 295 3625 v 2.2.2 © Agribotix, LLC 2015 Confidential 

# FLIGHT LOGBOOK

ENDURO VERSION 2.2 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A TT

### 2 

# PRE-FLIGHT CHECKLIST 1. Create Mission • Takeoff: 30m or above the highest obstacle 2. Physical check • Prop blades tight, no cracks • Motor mounts secure • Arm clips secure • GPS mast secure 3. Turn on the transmitter: confirm settings: Loiter on, RTL off, Throttle off 4. Place the drone on the ground at the takeoff location 5. Test the battery voltage ( >4.1V for each cell) 6. Install the drone batteries and connect to the power bus 7. Wait for the audible tone and the solid green LED light 8. Connect drone to the GCS via telemetry 5. MP only: reset home location 6. Upload mission to the Enduro 7. Ensure success by clearing mission and reading back from drone 8. MP only: ‘Preflight Calibration’ and ‘Restart Mission’ 7. Record time with cameras 8. Mount cameras and start intervalometers 9. Press blinking red safety button. It will turn red 10. Arm and Takeoff. Switch to Auto at ~10m **If problems occur with preflight sequence:** 1. Disconnect drone battery 2. Wait 20 seconds 3. Go to step 6 above

### 3 

# POST-FLIGHT CHECKLIST 1. Landing: • Switch to Loiter at ~5m off the ground • Land the quad slowly • Zero throttle on the ground and hold up Land switch • Wait for disarm tone from drone. GCS indicates disarmed 2. Disconnect the batteries. 3. Stop the camera intervalometers and confirm photos were taken. 4. Inspect props, arm clips, landing gear for any damage.

1. Enduro drone. 2. RC transmitter with charged batteries. 3. GCS with charged batteries and pre-fetched maps. 4. Ground telemetry radio, USB cable, and mast. 5. Charged flight batteries. 6. Cameras with charged batteries and room on the SD cards. 7. GSC sun shield. 8. Spare props. 9. Tools and spares. Optional for field charging: 10. Battery charger with alligator clips to charge from your vehicle battery. 11. AC inverter 12. Computer power supply 13. USB power supply and cables for the cameras 

# PACKING LIST

### 4FLIGHT MODE REFERENCE GUIDE NORMAL FLIGHT (non-emergancy) SF and SH switches towards back of transmitter

Front side of transmitter



### LOITER SC Switch MIDDLE or UP: This flight mode automatically attempts to maintain the current location, heading, and altitude. The pilot may fly the copter in Loiter mode as if it were in manual. Releasing the sticks will continue to hold position.

SC switch in up position SC switch in middle position

### 5FLIGHT MODE REFERENCE GUIDE

SF

SF SH 

### AUTO SC Switch DOWN: In Auto mode, the copter will follow a pre-programmed miussion script stored in the autopilot, which is made up of navigation commands, i.e. waypoints.



### RETURN TO LAUNCH (RTL) Move the SF switch toward the front of the transmitter.



### LAND SF and SH switches towards back of transmitter and HOLD it or else it will return to normal flight. This will cause the drone to land in place where it is currently. WARNING: Moving the air craft while in auto mode can trigger the propeller to start spinning without warning. Always take the aircaft out of Auto mode before handling. SC switch in down position

Front side of transmitter

### 6EMERGENCY PROCEDURES FLIGHT MODE LOITER Change the flight mode to Loiter and the drone will stop all horizontal movement. 

# 1
Middle position

THROTTLE DOWN Move the left transmitter (throttle) stick down and the drone will descend at its maximum descent rate. If the drone is visible, put the throttle in the middle position when a safe altitude is reached. Use the altitude indicator on the GCS to verify height above ground level. Leaving the stick down indefinitely will elad to a rough landing. Switch to EMERGENCY LAND flight mode to land. 

# 2 IF MANNED AIRCRAFT APPROACHES

### 7EMERGENCY PROCEDURES 

# IF GCS LOSES TELEMETRY SIGNAL

FINISH MISSION IN AUTO FLIGHT MODE The safest course of action is to allow the drone to finish it’s mission as long as no dangers arise. Monitor the drone visually as best you can. 

# 1

IF MANNED AIRCRAFT APPROACHES Follow the procedures described on the previous page in ‘IF MANNED AIRCAFT APPROACHES’. 

# 2

a
1b TRIGGER RTL

### 8EMERGENCY PROCEDURES



# IF THE TRANSMITTER LOSES SIGNAL

TRY TO RECONNECT Often, simply raising the RC Tx above your head will regain the signal. 

# 1

CHANGE ALTITUDE TO ZERO If there is an airspace conflict while Tx signal is lost, use the GCS to switch to Loiter mode. In MP, use the Change Alt button to bring the quad to a low altitude. In Tower change the flight mode to Land. 

# 4 OTHER OPTIONS You have access to RTL, Loiter, Land and other modes through your GCS telemetry connection. Use the GCS to change flight modes. 

# 3 CONTINUE MISSION IF POSSIBLE Your drone will complete it’s mission in Auto without any RC Tx signal. Leave the Tx in Auto mode so the drone will not be interrupted if the signal is reacquired. 

# 2



# FIGURE THIS OUT WITH TOWER!

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# TRAINING TUTORIAL

CONFIDENTIAL Actionable intelligence for precision agriculture 

# Agribotix TM 2983 Sterling Court Boulder, CO 80301

info@agribotix.com (720) 295 3625 v 2.2.2 © Agribotix, LLC 2015 

# TRAINING TUTORIAL

ENDURO VERSION 2.2 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB

### 2 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB The following lessons help a new user learn to safely fly the Enduro Quad and conduct photogrammetry missions. Before starting, you should have a good look through the User Manual, paying particular attention to the Pre-Flight Checklist on page 2 of the Flight Log

book and illustrated beginning on page 40 or the User Manual. Next, work through the following lessons and, if you are a visual learner , watch the accompanying videos on the Agribotix Youtube channel. Progress through these lessons in order and don’t be in a hurry. If possible work with an assistant. It’s better to have two heads in the beginning because there’s a lot to keep track of. Refer to the list of terms on page 78 of the User Manual.



## Lesson 1. Safety Safety should be your top priority when flying aircraft. There are three primary areas where you can hurt yourself or others with a quadcopter: propellers, batter

ies, and airspace. Review the safety material beginning on page 4 of the User Manual.

### 3 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB FLB

Localize and set up the Enduro. page 8 of the User Manual. Find a good take-off/ landing location. page 36 of the User Manual. Place the quad in a “forward facing” configuration so that the front is always away from you. The arrow on the GPS antenna shows the quad’s direction. In this configuration, the stick directions will be intuitive (forward control stick = forward motion, right = right, etc). Check the battery voltages of a pair of your batteries with the voltage tester
. Always do this step before every flight. Partially charged batteries look exactly like fully charged batteries. And quadcopters do not fall gracefully when they run out of fuel. Turn on the RC transmitter. Check the switch positions and ensure they are as noted below. User Manual page 34 - Flight Mode: Loiter - RTL: off - Throttle: off - Note that most of the switches on the transmitter are disabled. With the Enduro on level ground, connect both batteries to the power bus. The Enduro will immediately go through it’s power-on IMU calibration procedure. Do not move the quad during this process. This takes about one minute. Note both the power-up sounds and the light sequence on the mode LED on the quad. The LED will blink green when the quad has a GPS lock. Press the red blinking Safety Button . The button will turn solid red. Note the sound. 

## Lesson 2. Set Up the Enduro A. B. C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

For your first flights, GO SLOW! Keep your stick inputs gentle and keep the speed down. Once you get about ten flights down, you can be a bit more aggressive, but for now, go easy.

### 4 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB

Walk away a safe distance, about 20 feet, from the quad. Arm the quad with the transmitter. The motors should spin up a bit to indi

cate the quad is armed, but it won’t take off. ( page 44 ) Re-confirm that you are in Loiter mode. Move the throttle stick up about 20 - 40%. Make sure all the motors are spinning approximately the same speed. Smoothly and quickly, move the Throttle to about 60 %. The quad will rise in the air. When it reaches about 15 feet high, move the Throttle back to 50%. The quad will hold its altitude and position. Take a deep breath! Experiment with small movements of the throttle, bringing the quad up and down. Take the quad up about 20m and note the maximum rate of ascent and descent in Loiter mode with 0% and 100% throttle. The quad is capable of rising and falling much faster than this, but Loiter mode keeps guardrails in place (this is a good thing...). Lower the Throttle and slowly land the quad. Zero the Throttle once on the ground and hold up the land switch to disarm the quad. ( page 47 ) Repeat this process at least three times until you are comfortable with it. 

## Lesson 3. Simple Takeoff and Landing

A. B.

C.
D.

E.

F.
G. Before flying the quad, make sure that you have the RC transmitter switch func

tions memorized cold ( page 34 ). If things go bad in the air, they go bad fast. You won’t have time to be reading labels or trying to remember which switch does what. Note that many of the switches on the transmitter are disabled.

These early lessons should go smoothly, but the Enduro has a “get out of jail card” if you ever get into trouble. Throw the RTL switch and it will automat

ically come to the takeoff location and land itself. We’ll drill this in Lesson 6, but for now, use it any time you get into hot water. The point of Lessons 3 to 7 is to get you comfortable with manually flying the quad. When you finish these lessons you’ll have no problem taking over manual control of the craft if your auto mission encounters trouble (e.g., you accidentally programmed a mission that will encounter a fixed obstacle like a power line).”

### 5 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB FLB

In Loiter mode, get the quad about 25 feet off the ground. Put the Throttle at 50% and experiment with the Pitch, Roll and Yaw controls (below image). Use small motions first and increase the stick inputs as you gain confidence. If you let the sticks go to their spring-return positions, the quad should hold steady. Practice Pitch and Roll inputs with the airframe pointed in various yaw at

titudes. Do this with the craft close by so you can see the front, but imagine doing it when it is so far away that you have no visual indication of the yaw attitude. Become comfortable with determining the yaw attitude (orientation) by only moving the Pitch and Roll stick. Move the quad about 100 feet away, so you can’t visually determine the yaw attitude. At this distance, make sure you can do the process in the previous step. Land the quad as close to your takeoff position as possible. Repeat this lesson three times. 

## Lesson 4. Pitch, Roll, and Yaw

A.

B.

C.

D. E.



### Pitch

L/R Cyclic

Roll

### 6 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB

To increase your comfort level with the sticks, try flying the quad like a plane. That is, get a little forward speed with the Pitch control and use the Roll and Yaw sticks jointly to make coordinated turns. Try making figure eights. As you gain confidence, fly the quad headed directly toward you to make sure you can maintain spatial orientation when left and right are swapped. Remember: if you get disoriented in this lesson, just release the sticks with the Throttle at 50%.

In Loiter mode, fly the quad about 100 feet away and about 50 feet high. Throw the RTL switch on the transmitter ( page 34 ). The quad should come in for a landing very close (within a few yards) of your takeoff location. GPS isn’t perfect, so do an RTL drill where you imagine that your landing point will be on an obstacle like tall grass or a ditch. About 10 feet off the ground, switch to Loiter mode. Now, move the quad laterally and land at a good spot using your skills from Lesson 4. When you take manual control from any automatic mode, the quad orienta

tion may not be “facing forward”. Use your skills from Lesson 4 to yaw the craft into facing forward orientation. You’ll note the first part of the RTL descent always looks a bit dodgy - unlike single-rotor helicopters, quads are not able to descend rapidly in a graceful manner. Not to worry; At about 10 feet off the ground, the Enduro will slow down and the final landing will be smooth. Zero out the Throttle and you will hear the quad’s disarm tone. Repeat the RTL drill a few times until you are comfortable with it. 

## Lesson 5. Fly Like a Plane A.



## Lesson 6. Return to Launch (RTL) A. B. C.
D.

E.

F.

G. H.

### 7 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB FLB

To prepare yourself for Lesson 11, practice using the Land switch. About 50 feet off the ground, go to Loiter mode if you aren’t already there. Confirm that the Throttle is at 50%. Hold the spring-loaded Land switch up. The quad will descend at the same speed as it did in RTL. Come all the way to the ground in this mode. Zero the throttle. The quad will automatically disarm. Repeat the process, but release the switch at about 10 feet and you’ll be back in Loiter. 

## Lesson 7. Land Switch

Once you’ve completed Lessons 1 - 7, you’ll be quite comfortable with flying the quad manually. Drill frequently to keep your skills current!

Fully Auto or Not? As you’ll soon see, your Enduro is capable of fully automatic operation - one button press or switch throw is all you need to do and the flight controller does everything else. But should you do this? At Agribotix, we recommend that you do all your takeoff and landings manually to keep your stick skills current. That way, when a problem occurs in flight (e.g. you accidentally planned a mission that encountered an obstacle like a power line) you’ll be ready and able to take over manual control in an instant. And besides, it’s more fun to fly it yourself! A. B.
C.
D.
E.

### 8 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB

Before launching, get a good idea of where the craft will be heading for all its waypoints (e.g. northeast about 200 yards, then west...). You don’t want any surprises when the autopilot takes over. In Loiter mode, takeoff and rise to about 15 feet. Throw the Mode switch to Auto ( page 34 ) Keep the throttle at 50% so when/if you switch to Loiter mode, the quad will hold it’s altitude. You must keep your eyes on the quad throughout it’s mission. Your assis

tant should watch the Ground Control Station screen and call out the quad’ s status to you periodically. If you are flying alone, you can turn on the voice feature in Mission Planner (Config/Tuning > Speech > Enable Speech and check all desired indications) After the quad has hit all the waypoints, it will automatically execute R TL and land. Zero the throttle and the quad will automatically disarm. Now, repeat the process, but switch to Auto on the ground before takeoff. The quad will now takeoff automatically and begin it’s mission. In this drill, put the quad into Loiter mode when it reaches 10 feet off the ground on it’s landing approach. Land it manually. Refer to Manual Section 2 : Planning . Create a very simple mission about 200 feet with a takeoff, a few waypoints, and a landing. Upload this mission to the quad. 

## Lesson 8. Create and Load a Mission

Lesson 9. Fly Your Mission A.

B. C. D.
E.

F.
G. H.

### 9 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB FLB

Create a photogrammetry mission. ( page 15 ) ( page 30 ) This time, use the lawnmower pattern explained in part 2.4 C. Upload and fly the mission. Add the camera and repeat the mission with photos. ( page 48 ) When you return to your office/home, upload the photos using Field Ex

tractor. Agribotix will return the mosaic and whatever imagery products you select. ( page 52 )

Airspace safety need to be your prime concern when you have a quad in the air. Run the steps below as a drill. As soon as you hear and/or see a manned aircraft, have your assistant keep an eye on it while you are watching the quad. For this drill, your assistant will call out “airspace drill” at a random time in the middle of a mission to simulate an airspace conflict. Put the quad in Loiter mode. Hold the spring-loaded Land switch; the quad will drop at a steady pace. When you are low enough to be sure you’re clear of the manned aircraft (maybe 100 feet altitude), release the Land switch and the quad will loiter
. Your assistant will call out the altitude from the GCS screen if the quad is too far away to clearly see it’s altitude. Note that the altitude read on the GCS is always the height above the launch point. If your terrain is not flat, it WILL NOT be the actual height above the ground. Always give yourself a little leeway. When the airspace is clear, throw the Mode switch back to Auto and your mission will resume. Repeat this drill a few times. 

## Lesson 10. Create a Photogrammetry Mission A.
B. C. D.



## Lesson 11. Airspace Conflict Drill A.
B.

C. D. E.

F.
G.

### 10 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB

Fly a complete mission and fill out one of the log pages of the Flight Logbook. Some people think of the logs as a “love letter you write to your future self.” You might think it is tedious in the field, but later, when you are processing the data, you’ll be happy you did it. If you ever need assistance from Agribotix to troubleshoot problems, we’ll probably ask you for information from your Flight Logbook. Our ability to troubleshoot your problems may be limited if the logbook infor

mation is not recorded. 

## Lesson 12. Flight Logbook

This concludes the tutorial. You’ll rapidly move up the learning curve with the Enduro, but it’s important to get as much flight time as possible early on in con

trolled conditions (low wind, no obstacles, etc). As you get better, you’ll learn where the boundaries of your envelope exist. Happy Flying from the Agribotix Team!

### 11 TOC 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A FLB FLB

• The quad takes the mode of the last command it received. For example, if you switch the main mode switch to Loiter while in RTL, it will go into Loiter. To get back to RTL, turn this switch off and then back on. • Your Launch position will be the last place you armed the quad. • After landing, the waypoint counter resets, so any new mission will start again from the beginning. 

## Additional Notes