senseFly eBee X, User Manual

Page 1: ...eBee X Drone User Manual Revision 1 7 October 2019 2019 senseFly...

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Page 3: ...s on the web or any other medium Do not circulate degrading images or ones that could undermine the reputation or dignity of an individual Do not use your Product for espionage purposes Always comply...

Page 4: ...tion of the Product will be considered by senseFly only if accompanied with all related ight log les Battery cells are excluded from warranty after rst use The warranty shall be subject to the conditi...

Page 5: ...WARRANTY REPRESENTATION OR CONDITION CONTRACT OR ANY OTHER CONDUCT INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE INTENTIONAL OR OTHERWISE GIV ING RISE TO SUCH CLAIM THE CLIENT SHALL NOT OPERATE THE PRODUCT S IN AREAS OR UNDER...

Page 6: ...o radio communications However thereisnoguaranteethatinterferencewillnotoccurinaparticularinstallation Ifthisequipmentdoescauseharmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determ...

Page 7: ...cial e n o pode causar interfer ncia em sistemas devidamente autorizados Disposal of this product at the end of its life At the end of this Product s life please do not dispose of this Product in your...

Page 8: ...make changes to the terms speci cations and product descriptions contained in this document at any time without notice Please consult the my senseFly website for the latest release Copyright 2019 sen...

Page 9: ...tickets please use our customer portal my senseFly http my senseFly com Log in with the same account details you used to download your drone s software see the separate software infor mation document...

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Page 11: ...y grade accuracy without the need for ground control points The eBee X is compatible with multiple professional grade cameras all of which areoptimisedforprofessionaldronephotogrammetry WitheBeeX capt...

Page 12: ...tingandcomplementingtheeMotion user manual A camera user manual A guide to using your drone s camera With these you have a complete guide to using the eBee X You ll nd all the user manuals you need wi...

Page 13: ...our Climb rate m s ft min metres per second feet per minute Mass kg lbs kilograms pounds Mass g oz grams ounces Temperature C F degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit Frequency Hz hertz Area m2 sq ft squa...

Page 14: ...th cables 1x USB ground modem 1xUSBcableforconnectingyourcomputertothedroneandsomecameras 1x tube of EPP glue Depending on your order your camera may be sold separately and your package may include ot...

Page 15: ...3 Hardware features 13 10 3 4 1 5 20 19 15 16 7 8 18 9 11 2 6 12 14 17...

Page 16: ...n page 85 before using your drone for the rst time 4 Camera compartment The eBee X features a built in camera for taking aerial images stored within the camera compartment 5 Central body This is the c...

Page 17: ...ne 13 Ailerons Used to control the eBee X while in ight 14 GNSS RTK Antenna The advanced GNSS antenna capable of capturing severalGNSSsignals isusedfornavigationandtoincreasegeotaggingpre cision 15 Ca...

Page 18: ...the comfort of your o ce or directly in the eld Once the drone is launched you can use eMotion s wireless connection with your eBee X to track its position monitor the progress of your mapping ight an...

Page 19: ...on you can nd drone license information including the date and time before which you must connect to the internet in eMotion s right hand Drone panel s Parameters tab 6 About your eBee X s RTK PPK lic...

Page 20: ...lus upgrade in the right hand Drone panel s Parameters tab click Browse 6 Locateonyourcomputertheactivation leyoudownloadedfrommy senseFly 7 Click Start upgrade For full instructions on using your dro...

Page 21: ...ne license 19 6 About your eBee X s RTK PPK license 19 6 1 How to activate RTK PPK 19 I Using your eBee X 25 7 Safety precautions 26 8 Operational guidelines 27 9 Before you y 29 9 1 Charging your bat...

Page 22: ...tion problems 48 11 4 Take o and landing spots 50 11 5 Placing Home 52 11 6 Take o 54 11 7 Landing 62 11 8 Potential in ight errors 72 11 9 Understanding the drone s LED 72 11 10 Autonomous controller...

Page 23: ...11 16 2 Propeller 84 11 17 Repairing the eBee X 84 11 18 Battery care and safety 85 11 19 Locating a lost eBee X in the eld 89 11 20 Reporting a problem with your eBee X 89 III Speci cations 93...

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Page 25: ...Part I Using your eBee X...

Page 26: ...signed to y without a camera in its camera bay Never y with the battery or camera bay exposed The covers and integration kits protect the drone s ports and electronics Know how to and be ready to abor...

Page 27: ...eas nearairports orbeyondvisualline of sight Do not y inside or less than 0 5 km 0 3 miles from restricted zones Obey local regulations concerning the distance from pilot to drone Take care if ying ne...

Page 28: ...battery charge for your ight Avoid using your laptop s power saving mode it may disable your graphics card causing eMotion to run slowly Always take o with a fully charged drone battery The power the...

Page 29: ...f charging the battery to approximately 100 for ight 70 for storage or 30 for shipping Charging for ight can take up to an hour and a half depending on the charge level of the battery and the amount o...

Page 30: ...Using your eBee X How to charge your eBee X batteries for ight 2 1 1 2 Task System USB 5V 2A 2 1 3 30...

Page 31: ...press the channel control button for the battery you have connected Using the scroll wheel choose the battery type then press the scroll wheel to select Using the scroll wheel choose 100 Flight charg...

Page 32: ...ethose used in your eBeeX fully chargedor discharged forlongperiodscanreducetheirperformanceandlifetime Ifyouwillnotbeusing an eBee X battery for more than 2 weeks you must store it at approximately 7...

Page 33: ...ys a good reference to estimate the wind at ight altitude Cloud velocity or tall tree move ments can help you to estimate the wind speed once you are out in the eld Weather forecasts may use various u...

Page 34: ...rning sticker from the motor before your rst ight Caution Do not perform the inspection propeller camera or wing installation with the battery connected to the drone 6 2 4 Wing detached Central body t...

Page 35: ...way This is particularly important if the wings were found separated from the Central Body after a previous ight 6 Verify that the servos turn smoothly 7 Verify that the propeller rubber bands are al...

Page 36: ...ount the propeller on the motor axis Secure the propeller using three attach ment rubber bands as illustrated above Ensure that the propeller is lying at against the motor mount and that the rubber ba...

Page 37: ...in ight Note Afterextensiveuse therubberbandsmaydevelopcracks This is normal and is caused by the ageing of the rubber material Store the rubber bands away from UV light sunlight and heat sources for...

Page 38: ...cted and your drone is not connected to a computer 2 Make sure the SD card is not full Insert it into the camera and close the cover 3 Plug the camera connector into the socket within the eBee X s cam...

Page 39: ...Getting the eBee X ready to y Caution Connect only compatible senseFly cameras to the drone s camera port Never try to connect anything else 39...

Page 40: ...with the servo connection mechanism 2 before pushing the wings fully into the central body until they click Caution Flying with damaged wing struts a badly engaged servo connection mechanism or wings...

Page 41: ...Getting the eBee X ready to y 10 5 Step 5 Install and connect the battery for ight 2 1 41...

Page 42: ...ere you intend to take o from The drone must not be inclined more than 10 to start up properly 2 Connect the drone s battery cable to the battery pushing the connector rmly in 3 Insertthebatteryintoit...

Page 43: ...rform an automatic self check of its sensors and acquire GNSS signals Do not move the drone during these tests Pre ight checks may last from a few seconds to several minutes in the case of poor GNSS s...

Page 44: ...ote Do not use a USB cable that is more than 3 m 10 ft long When a connection is established eMotion s Status Panel will indicate the current state of the drone While the eBee X obtains its location t...

Page 45: ...radio interference You may occasionally lose the data connection between eMotion and your eBee X while in the eld Whether there is a loss in uplink or downlink communication the drone will continue i...

Page 46: ...sight For a strong ground modem signal to reach the drone the line of sight and a zone a few metres wide around the line of sight must be clear of obstacles Tree too close to line of sight To prevent...

Page 47: ...de in the vicinity of the USB ground modem This includes all Wi Fi devices including mobile phones and the computer on which you are run ning eMotion Note You can raise your ground modem up to 3 m 16...

Page 48: ...onnection strength 2 LEDs lit 1 blinking Strong 1 LED lit 1 blinking Moderate 1 LED blinking Weak All blinking No connection 11 3 Troubleshooting connection problems If during ight thegroundmodemLEDss...

Page 49: ...computer the software or the USB connection Do one or more of the following Restart eMotion Unplug the USB cable from your computer then plug it back in Unplug the USB cable from your computer then p...

Page 50: ...l other waypoints when de ned in m ATO ft ATO are refer enced to the altitude of this location Start waypoint The Start waypoint is the rst point that the drone goes to when it starts an autonomous ig...

Page 51: ...n altitude reached 5 Start Keep these zones obstacle free 2 1 3 4 5 40m 10m 40m 40m Steep landing It is important to carefully select the take o spot Start placement and the land ing spot Home waypoin...

Page 52: ...erefore it is safer to plan for more clearance especially along the landing axes Note Some situations can make the ground sensor misjudge the drone s height above ground and can cause an imprecise lan...

Page 53: ...e Set Home s altitude with care It should be at least 20 m 66 ft higher than the surroundingobstaclestoavoidtheriskofacrash butshouldnotbesettoohighto reduce the e ect of potentially high winds and al...

Page 54: ...ee X 11 6 Take o Onceyou veplannedyourmissionandtheeBeeX ispoweredonwithasolidgreen status LED you are ready to launch it Launching your drone safely 15 cm 6 in Do not hold the drone near the ends of...

Page 55: ...front of you Do not wear a loose tie Do not wear clothing that has strings or toggles hanging down in front for example a coat or hoodie with hood strings Takecarewhenwearingbulkyclothing forexample...

Page 56: ...al n o h o ld in g z o n e no holding zone d a n ger zone no holdin g z o n e shake 3x Orientate yourself against the direction of the wind and con rm that the take o direction in front of you is free...

Page 57: ...us LED will start pulsing blue For example if the drone is not horizontal the sta tus LED will start pulsing blue until you reorientate it horizontally at which point the status LED turns solid green...

Page 58: ...prox 3 seconds to begin the motor power up sequence The power up sequence has 2 stages 1 The motor runs at low power for a few seconds and at the same time the drone moves its ailerons up and down sev...

Page 59: ...th your clothes or a part of your body Note To abort the take o and shut o the motor just shake the drone 3 times again repeat the back and forth action three times Always wait at least 2 minutes betw...

Page 60: ...LED 45 Take 1 or 2 steps 1 Push and release 2 45 motor ready for take off green blink status LED blue pulse status LED green solid status LED step forward and release Always orientate the drone again...

Page 61: ...taneously in a forward motion After take o the drone tries to maintain its initial direction or follow the direc tional take o heading you set by keeping its wings level with full thrust until reachin...

Page 62: ...and ensure the accuracy of the landing If the landing spot is not at the same altitude as take o you must adjust the landing altitude in eMotion as the drone uses this altitude to level out and slow d...

Page 63: ...in strong wind con ditions or with certain Warnings or Critical failures active it may not be able to slow enough during its descent It will likely overshoot the landing spot and land at a high speed...

Page 64: ...er manual before putting the eBee X back in its case for storage Your images and ight data are stored on the camera s SD card Whendisconnectingthewings besuretogentlypullthemstraightouttoprevent damag...

Page 65: ...ure wind 4 Fly downwind 5 Landing approach 6 Level out at 20 m 7 Final braking at 3 m 8 Deep stall 9 Landing A typical Linear landing follows these steps 1 The eBeeX ies towards Home de ned by the use...

Page 66: ...proach direction After ying for a su cient distance it turns around to align itself with the approach direc tion 5 The drone glides down in the approach direction at a controlled speed and descent ang...

Page 67: ...int on the ground 60 m 197 ft from the landing spot 15m Approach sectors textured flat terrain obstacle free Obstacle free zone below Home In order to limit the ground speed when landing and to achiev...

Page 68: ...landing against the direction of the wind The eBee X s ground sensor can typically begin detecting ground proximity at a distance of 60 m 197 ft If during a Linear landing the drone reaches an estima...

Page 69: ...nthelandingstripwiththewindsothatoneoftheapproachdirectionsresults in the drone landing directly into the wind 30 30 m 50 m 164 ft 20 m 66 ft 30 30 m 50 m 164 ft 35 35 Home 2 3 1 5 5 4 4 Figure 3 Stee...

Page 70: ...dingspot the drone will start the downwind leg at that altitude If Home is less than 50 m 160 ft above the landing spot the drone will climb to 50 m 160 ft above the landing spot before starting the d...

Page 71: ...higher than a line that ascends at a 30 angle from the landing spot 2 1 3 4 5 40m 10m 40m 40m Note If your drone s ground sensor is obscured or is malfunctioning it can still carry out a steep landin...

Page 72: ...s situation such as a low battery or strong winds and typically result in a safety action such as a return to Home See your eMotion user manual for a full description of Warnings and Critical fail ure...

Page 73: ...hite Pulsing Yellow Pulsing Green Preflight Checks running Preflight Checks OK Take off Wrong angle Take off Ready for launch Preflight Check Issue Update issue USB connection for reading logs and fil...

Page 74: ...t the autonomous controller on the eBee X will switch be tween various modes depending on its ight plan and the commands that it re ceives from eMotion The controller changes between modes during a ty...

Page 75: ...eived from eMotion WhileinPerformMissionmodethedrone iesbetweenallenabledmission waypoints taking images of the ground below Once it reaches the nal mission waypoint the drone either heads towards Hom...

Page 76: ...mode After returning Home if in Circle Home Waypoint mode the drone will ei ther Begin its landing procedure as described in Landing on page 62 and change to Landing mode if instructed by eMotion to...

Page 77: ...ew version is available We also recommend that you check my senseFly regularly for updates to en sure you have the latest version of the software Download the installer from my senseFly and follow the...

Page 78: ...re revision which must be installed on the drone before it can be used 1 Remove the drone s propeller 2 ConnecttheUSBcablebetweenthecomputeronwhichyouinstalledeMotion and your drone s autopilot socket...

Page 79: ...ng condition Caution The autopilot sensors and actuators within the Central Body of the eBee X are specially calibrated and should only be mod i ed by senseFly or a certi ed eBee X reseller Opening th...

Page 80: ...ing correctly and thus it is important to ensure their proper functioning status LED pitot probe servo connection mechanism motor To check the motor and servos follow these steps 1 Ensure that there...

Page 81: ...ld not drift when the drone is not moving In case of doubt take a short video and follow the instructions in Reporting a problem with your eBee X on page 89 for ad vice Check 3 Barometric pressure sen...

Page 82: ...on At rest the displayed air speed should be close to zero it may drift up to about 2 m s 4 kts When blowing in the pitot probe the air speed indicated in eMotion that should easily reach values above...

Page 83: ...n store it on a at surface at room temperature Do not store the drone near a heat source in direct sunlight or in a hot place Caution As with most electronic equipment to avoid a malfunction due to co...

Page 84: ...eller appears worn down replace it 11 17 Repairing the eBee X Small repairs of cracks in the airframe can be done using contact glue such as UHU POR glue Take care to use only contact glues that are s...

Page 85: ...um Polymer battery com posed of four cells connected in series It has an empty battery voltage of 15 2 V and a fully charged battery voltage of 17 4 V A well balanced and healthy bat tery should have...

Page 86: ...dsandmaterialsawayfromthebatteryandcharger If the charger detects a charging voltage outside of the allowable range it will sound an alarm Carry out the following procedure 1 Check that the charging c...

Page 87: ...aged battery may cause it to catch re Do not attempt to charge an over discharged or damaged battery Dispose of the battery safely Maximising safety and battery lifetime If treated well your eBee X s...

Page 88: ...ollowing a deep discharge one or more of the cells are pushed below 2 5 V they become damaged a ecting the reliability of the battery If this has happened to a battery it will be no longer possible to...

Page 89: ...connection 4 Try moving downwind from the last known location in case the drone was pushed by the wind while still in the air 5 Contact your eBee X support provider as soon as possible and send them t...

Page 90: ...error messages eMotion screenshots where possible and relevant details of any troubleshooting or tests you have carried out The ight logs from the drone bbz and bb3 for the ight that had a problem If...

Page 91: ...Maintenance and inspection log Date A C model S N Hours General Full Maintenance activity Inspected by...

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Page 93: ...Part III Speci cations...

Page 94: ...0 mAh LiHV 0 4 kg 0 9 lbs Battery consumption 15 2 V DC 3 7 4 9 A Nominal endurance up to 59 minutes ight time with standard battery Extended endurance up to 90 minutes ight time with endurance extens...

Page 95: ...equency 2 4 GHz Nominal range approx 3 km 2 mi Maximum working range approx 8 km 5 mi Certi cation FCC IC CE JP can vary greatly depending on external factors such as cruise altitude presence of obsta...

Page 96: ...m A network of satellites that transmit signals that GNSS receivers can use to calculate their position on the Earth GPS Global Positioning System and GLONASS are examples of GNSS systems GPU Graphics...

Page 97: ...http my sense y com...