Vertical Technologies DeltaQuad Evo, Operation Manual

Page 1: ...buildings or anything that could result in damage or danger to people or property All missions must be validated and pass the DeltaQuad Mission Validator Radio or video transmitters might require spec...

Page 2: ...ns 114 x 48 x 44 cm Flightcase weight 25 Kg including vehicle Weight and Payload Empty weight 3 3 Kg Empty weight including battery 5 Kg Maximum takeoff weight 6 2 Kg Payload capacity 1 2 Kg Flight Ch...

Page 3: ...ns are locked to 59 minutes flight time These values are based on measurements at flight altitude Video instructions For your convenience the following video tutorials have been created Please keep in...

Page 4: ...rs of the DeltaQuad with a means of familiarizing themselves with the Ground Control Software and various flight modes offered by the system The simulator has been configured to mimic the behavior of...

Page 5: ...y features Integrating payloads Assembly In this section we cover the steps for unpacking and assembling the DeltaQuad Package contents 1 x Main fuselage 2 x Wing 2 x Carbon spar 1150mm and 850mm 2 x...

Page 6: ...the fuselage The short carbon spar 850mm is inserted in front the long carbon spar 1150mm is inserted in the back When inserting the front carbon spar make sure that nothing is blocking the path of t...

Page 7: ...Slide the modules onto the carbon spars and push them firmly against the fuselage Lock the modules by pushing down the lock pins Confirm each module is securely fastened...

Page 8: ...on as shown on the image above Slide the wings over the carbon spars and press them firmly against the VTOL module If you feel any resistance it is possible that the carbon spars are not properly cent...

Page 9: ...eceive the vehicle When replacing the propellers please follow these guidelines The VTOL propellers consist of 2 Clock Wise CW propellers and 2 Counter Clock Wise CCW The motors are numbered 1 through...

Page 10: ...y around the shaft Mount the propellers in the following positions noting the direction of the propeller as indicated below The propellers are attached by removing the motor nut and washer sliding the...

Page 11: ...propellers are balanced in our factory by hand This can leave scratch marks on the propeller blades This does not indicate damage or that the propellers are used A sign of damage can be structural we...

Page 12: ...to charge a battery that has begun to swell will result in fire Likewise never use a battery if you find it swollen or ballooned 4 Since delayed chemical reaction can occur it is best to observe the b...

Page 13: ...f Gravity CG The maximum rear CG is indicated by small notches in the composite wing joiners as indicated in the image below These notches indicate the furthest back the CG is allowed to be The CG is...

Page 14: ...unless you can charge them inside a LiPo safe 3 Charge in an isolated area away from other flammable materials 4 Ensure the battery is at ambient temperature before charging Storing the LiPo The LiPo...

Page 15: ...will have been made available to you via e mail This will also contain the settings required to activate the video stream When inserting the USB dongle in the vehicle and switching the vehicle on by c...

Page 16: ...y set this to 20000 If you have an Auxiliary LiPo attached you can add the capacity of this LiPo to the total capacity For example with a 23Ah DeltaQuad LiPo and a 10Ah Auxiliary LiPo set this value t...

Page 17: ...ow this deviation and it is descending it will automatically revert to quadcopter mode This functionality is required to ensure safe flight Disabling this functionality will void your warranty and int...

Page 18: ...y levels Note The levels are those estimated to be reached when having flown to the landing site This means that the further the vehicle is from its intended landing location the sooner these actions...

Page 19: ...d and in Hold Mode the pilot has no possibility of giving a new pilot command Until the Data Link is regained the DeltaQuad will remain in Hold mode If the Data Link can t be re established the vehicl...

Page 20: ...altitude it is at when the RTL was initiated Because the DeltaQuad is in Multirotor mode it will not make use of the Loiter waypoint and the Landing Pattern but head directly for the Land item If the...

Page 21: ...d specifications Name Value Maximum payload weight without Aux LiPo 1 2Kg Maximum payload weight with Aux LiPo 400g Payload bay height 80mm minimum oval shaped Payload bay length 120mm Payload bay wid...

Page 22: ...the payload is estimated to consume over the course of an entire LiPo discharge BAT_CAPACITY It is recommended to perform a when integrating any additional payload containing any electric or metallic...

Page 23: ...ists of buttons and has been optimized for use with touch screen devices installing and connecting your GCS The main menu bar The main menu bar is located at the top of the GCS screen and consists of...

Page 24: ...Notifications Click to show a dropdown of messages from the vehicle This will change to a Yield sign if there are critical messages GPS Status Displays current GPS satellite link information RC Statu...

Page 25: ...y direction 8 The weather conditions must fall within the maximum allowed conditions 9 Both the front and back transition paths must be planned in such a way that the vehicle is pointing with its nose...

Page 26: ...tude should be at minimum 60 meters for all safety systems to function The altitude of the Landing point defines the expected touch down altitude The back transition from fixed wing to quadcopter flig...

Page 27: ...icle to perform the transition in any direction Validate your mission in the DeltaQuad Mission Validator Plan view Planning a mission can be done from the by entering the Plan View Ground Control Stat...

Page 28: ...o Fly View and fly your mission Plan Tools On the left edge of the screen you will see the Plan Tools The order of the tools from top to bottom is Fly View File Sync Takeoff Waypoint Pattern Survey La...

Page 29: ...ion item at the clicked location with direction North By default the distance between the Launch and Transition Direction item is at the recommended minimum of 300 meters If the DeltaQuad is connected...

Page 30: ...00m north Set the desired transition altitude A minimum altitude of 25 meters is recommended the takeoff altitude should never be below 20m As mentioned before for all safety systems to function prope...

Page 31: ...The DeltaQuad will proceed to these waypoints continuing in fixed wing mode Activate the Waypoint Tool by clicking on it Click on the map to select the desired position...

Page 32: ...ll fly from its current altitude to the defined altitude linearly and reach the target altitude when arriving at the waypoint Note The ground control station will indicate the Gradient degrees of clim...

Page 33: ...The altitude of the final approach should be between 20m and 30m The Loiter Radius needs to be at 100m The second item created by the Land Tool is the Land item The distance between the Land and Loite...

Page 34: ...on you will have the option to click anywhere on the map to set the landing point or set the landing point to the vehicle location By choosing the last option the landing point is automatically the sa...

Page 35: ...rth between QGroundControl and your Vehicle Before you fly a mission you must be sure to upload your mission to your vehicle If you have made changes to your mission which you have not sent to your ve...

Page 36: ...As Save Mission Waypoints As KML Vehicle Upload Send to Vehicle Download Load from Vehicle Clear Clear mission from the vehicle To ensure the mission was correctly sent to your vehicle it is recommen...

Page 37: ...sition of the vehicle such that waypoint lines can be drawn correctly to the first actual waypoint Keep in mind that the actual home position for a mission is set by the vehicle at the takeoff positio...

Page 38: ...round level is an estimation based on satellite surveys these do not account for structures like buildings power lines or trees A visual on site inspection must always be performed The will verify ter...

Page 39: ...takeoff location is free from obstructions at transition altitude for 500m in every direction Takeoff and land site is clear of obstacles and structures higher than transition altitude The path for t...

Page 40: ...ge are securely fastened and cannot move during flight After closing hatch Hatch secured unable to pull up Hatch sits flush with the fuselage no obstructions under the hatch legs VTOL modules and wing...

Page 41: ...mission 2 The mission plan must have passed the DeltaQuad mission plan validator 3 The must have been performed and passed Pre flight checks 4 The vehicle should be pointing with its nose towards the...

Page 42: ...d vertically and horizontally extra lines to the display by using the plus and minus signs or to change the category of the existing telemetry data By clicking on any of the displayed values a window...

Page 43: ...d method is to direct the UAV towards a waypoint that will provide a clean entry into the pre defined landing sequence You can change the active waypoint that the vehicle is following by clicking the...

Page 44: ...ise in the simulator several times before operating the vehicle From the flight screen and when the vehicle is armed the following key functions are available LAND A Land immediately The vehicle will...

Page 45: ...ll climb to this altitude If the vehicle is flying in Quadcopter mode it will return to the Landing Pattern command and land in this mode If the vehicle is in Fixed Wing mode it will return as Fixed W...

Page 46: ...t position with a radius of 100 meters While in pause mode when there are no open dialogs tapping anywhere on the map will give you the ability to select Goto location When sliding to confirm the goto...

Page 47: ...ssion towards the next waypoint indicated by a green color If the option CONTINUE MISSION is not available you can resume the mission by switching to MISSION mode using the Flight Mode button CHANGE A...

Page 48: ...The minimum and maximum altitudes can be set in the Application Settings under the Q icon...

Page 49: ...FLYING READY TO FLY E This button will indicate the current state of the DeltaQuad When the vehicle is in flight armed this button can be clicked and the option to Disarm the vehicle will appear...

Page 50: ...the current flight mode By tapping this button a new flight mode can be selected Supported flight modes are HOLD RETURN and MISSION Switching flight modes using this method will not require slider co...

Page 51: ...incorrectly or upside down The operator should disarm the vehicle and review the propellers configuration as described in the assembly section Excessive current draw Operator action LAND If the curren...

Page 52: ...use must be determined before a new flight is attempted Please contact Vertical Technologies support for assistance in analyzing the cause of the failsafe event Excessive altitude loss Operator action...

Page 53: ...blem with the fixed wing drive To resolve this attempt to level the vehicle as described in the sensor calibration section verify the weight or increase the cruise throttle If the problem persists ple...

Page 54: ...ble descent Operator action None If the vehicle becomes unstable during landing the land speed as indicated in the is likely set too high safety features No auto disarm after touch down Operator actio...

Page 55: ...uld be removed with a damp cloth Dirt on the wings fuse or propellers will significantly impact the performance Special care must be taken to inspect the propellers both before and after every flight...

Page 56: ...your vehicle and logging of your flights Chapter index Sensor calibration Battery charging and storage Flight logs Preventive maintenance Scheduled maintenance Sensor calibration The DeltaQuad requir...

Page 57: ...e VTOL modules attached and any additional payload installed and powered on After every calibration step the autopilot must reboot The autopilot can be rebooted quickly from the parameters tab under t...

Page 58: ...reboot the vehicle If for any reason the vehicle is moved during the calibration process then repeat the process from the beginning Accelerometer calibration To start the accelerometer calibration cli...

Page 59: ...Windows or MacOS computer and requires a standard micro usb cable It can not be performed from an Android or IOS device A firmware upgrade generally consists of one binary file and one parameter file...

Page 60: ...ght side of the screen 5 Select Load from file 6 Select the correct parameter file from your computer and click open 7 Leave the USB cable connected for at least 10 seconds after selecting the paramet...

Page 61: ...ttery that makes a hissing sound is almost certain to ignite Consider your own safety and that of your environment before attempting any action 8 In the event of a crash you must remove battery and di...

Page 62: ...on the card The logs will be stored in a subfolder that is named by the date of the flights Logs can be uploaded to for an easy overview Logs should also be stored locally as the DeltaQuad Flight Revi...

Page 63: ...onnectors are securely fastened Inspect motor and servo linkage screws Should they have come undone lock bond must be used on all screws when re attaching After 200 flights or 12 months To keep your v...

Page 64: ...aintenance Service Vehicles flown beyond the recommended maintenance cycles void their warranty Extended Maintenance Service With the Extended Maintenance Service you can send back your vehicle and we...

Page 65: ...orm scheduled maintenance If you would like to acquire a maintenance package please contact Vertical Technologies Support DeltaQuad Pro VIEW Surveillance package 3 Surveillance package 3 This section...

Page 66: ...started To connect your UAV to the DeltaQuad controller simply switch on the UAV and press and hold the POWER button on the controller for 3 seconds Once the controller is booted up the main menu will...

Page 67: ...a VPN secured data link To use LTE mode the following needs to be activated A sim card needs to be installed inside the UAV The LTE dongle is located in the nose section of the vehicle and can be acce...

Page 68: ...always planned to ensure the vehicle has a predefined takeoff and landing pattern Even when you intend to manually control the UAV or control the UAV using reposition or target following commands it i...

Page 69: ...hover mode Stick up move forward Stick down move backward Stick left move left Stick right move right In fixed wing mode Stick up descend nose down Stick down climb nose up Stick left bank left Stick...

Page 70: ...own menu appears Select Power off to shut down the controller Controlling the vehicle This section describes how to control your vehicle using the DeltaQuad Controller Introduction The CCA3 Applicatio...

Page 71: ...start the mission by sliding to confirm the Start Mission command If the slider is not displayed you can press the ACTION button in the left side command bar and choose start mission When sliding to c...

Page 72: ...llowing methods Repositioning the vehicle While the vehicle is in flight you can tap anywhere on the satellite map and choose Goto location After sliding to confirm the reposition command the vehicle...

Page 73: ...ienced pilots the joystick controls can seem counterintuitive It is recommended to practice joystick operation in close proximity while flying at sufficient altitude Target following While the vehicle...

Page 74: ...ated by tapping on the RETURN button on the FLY screen and sliding to confirm the command In RETURN mode the vehicle will immediately fly towards the landing pattern that was defined in the mission Th...

Page 75: ...nges the position of the vehicle relative to its current heading NOTE it is recommended to keep the camera gimbal retracted during multirotor flight as the left joystick will control both the vehicle...

Page 76: ...a gimbal until the vehicle has passed its takeoff waypoint NOTE Never deploy the camera gimbal while the vehicle is sitting on the ground This may damage the camera gimbal The FLY view When the camera...

Page 77: ...o calibrate for a clear view NUC performs this calibration which takes about 3 seconds Color P This activates the color palette mode for the thermal camera B W P This activates the black and white pal...

Page 78: ...T LON Bottom right Target longitude can be set to MGRS T ALT Bottom right Target altitude MSL SR Bottom right Slant Range distance to target in meters SAT Bottom right Number of satellites FOV Bottom...

Page 79: ...aQuad Pro VIEW is capable of tracking and or following static or moving objects such as cars humans or other UAVs Target Tracking Target tracking is the mode where the camera will remain focused on a...

Page 80: ...cle The target following switch is set to active When first entering target following mode the vehicle will switch its flight mode to HOLD mode The target following system will then issue reposition c...

Page 81: ...wk2 camera gimbal feed Activate this feed when deploying the Nighthawk2 Camera gimbal FPV This is the static nose camera feed While the gimbal is retracted it is recommended to use this feed OFF This...

Page 82: ...gimbal it will not change the stream rate for the FPV nose camera The LTE stream rate buttons 9 are labeled A to F When a button from this section is pressed it will light up to indicate the currently...

Page 83: ...system connect to your UAV with the DeltaQuad Controller On the DeltaQuad Controller open the Firefox browser app and navigate to http 192 168 144 201 This will open the login page to the TRIP camera...

Page 84: ...feed contains an On Screen Display OSD This means that the video feed receives an overlay with telemetry and status information The OSD overlay is both visible in the video stream on the controller a...

Page 85: ...r is connected to the LTE network The video feed displayed on the second screen is the video feed that has been activated by the pilot Using a WiFi hotspot If your controller is connected to a 5ghz Wi...

Page 86: ...n the video stream launch VLC Media Player and select media open network stream In the network URL field enter the following address VLC Media Player rtsp IP ADDRESS 8554 video 1 For example rtsp 192...

Page 87: ...o the UAV Camera Gimbal rtsp 100 96 1 18 8554 cam1 1 Directly to the UAV FPV nose camera rtsp 100 96 1 18 8554 cam3 1 Select the checkbox Show more settings Change Caching to 100 ms Click Play TIP It...

Page 88: ...you will be able to run the CCA3 application for both video and camera control on the Camera Control Laptop This system comes with a joystick for camera control and offers touch screen for mission pl...

Page 89: ...te maps and for LTE connectivity to the UAV The DeltaQuad controller needs to be connected to a 5Ghz mobile hotspot or WiFi network As the main communication link for the controller is based on 2 4Ghz...

Page 90: ...r needs to be connected to a WiFi network or mobile hotspot VIDEO FEEDS HDMI This is the HDMI enabled camera feed of your mapping sensor FPV This is the static nose camera feed OFF This disables both...

Page 91: ...n flight mode 2 3 position switch RETURN UP Return flight mode CENTER neutral no function DOWN neutral no function 3 Dial Not assigned 4 Dial Not assigned 5 3 position switch Not assigned 6 3 position...

Page 92: ...y 6 hours If more operation time is required the controller can be charged during operation To charge the controller open the rubber cover between the antennas and attach the provided USB charger to t...

Page 93: ...FLY view you will need to switch to the PLAN view to plan your mission You can switch to the PLAN view by pressing the PLAN button on the left side command bar Please review the for detailed informati...

Page 94: ...Direction waypoint 1 is the active waypoint indicated by a green circle Operating your vehicle Once the vehicle is launched and has transitioned to fixed wing flight mode you can control the flight of...

Page 95: ...tick movement moves the nose of the vehicle down and decreases altitude A backward down joystick movement pulls the nose of the vehicle up and increases altitude If the vehicle loses connection to the...

Page 96: ...a circle to altitude item a direction and altitude on which to exit the circle and a landing coordinate When RETURN mode is activated the vehicle will fly at its current altitude towards the circle to...

Page 97: ...ect the main option from the dropdown at the top of the editor Manual Grid The Manual Grid option allows you to specify all the values for generating the grid pattern over the polygon by hand Grid ang...

Page 98: ...trait Specifies the orientation that the camera is placed on the vehicle Image Overlap Allows you to specify the amount of overlap you want between each image Altitude Selecting this value allows you...

Page 99: ...y the details for the camera specifications yourself Sensor width height The size of the image sensor of the camera Image width height The resolution of the image captured by the camera Focal Length T...

Page 100: ...mode dial to manual M Set DRO to OFF Set Steady shot to OFF Set aperture to f4 5 Airplane mode to ON Set shutter time to Low light 1 2500 Daylight 1 3200 Very sunny 1 4000 Set ISO to auto Manual white...

Page 101: ...Some camera systems have a built in GPS solution these include the Micasense Flir and Workswell sensors Other systems such as the Sony or Agrowing cameras require post processing for geo referencing...

Page 102: ...talled the ReachView app which will be required for the next steps After completing a mapping mission flight please complete the following steps Step 1 Power off and on your base station and browse to...

Page 103: ...nt the system from duplicating the photos and will increase processing speed 8 Click on Tag photos and wait for the process to finish The photos will now contain the PPK corrected geographic informati...

Page 104: ...section and select your rover UBX file Step 6 Click on the Import Rinex button under the BASE section and select your base UBX file Step 7 click Run mapping For more information on RedToolBox please s...

Page 105: ...a Secondary Control Terminal Introduction The DeltaQuad Controller provides an RTSP based video stream and a secondary telemetry link The Secondary Control Terminal will connect to the DeltaQuad Cont...

Page 106: ...e the Mobile Hotspot When the DeltaQuad Controller is hosting a mobile hotspot it will have no internet connectivity and LTE modes will be disabled Using the IP Address from the DeltaQuad Controller y...

Page 107: ...ast app on the home screen When launching the Cast app you will see a list of devices that support casting Select the intended device and follow the instructions to enable casting to your remote scree...

Page 108: ...started To connect your UAV to the DeltaQuad controller simply switch on the UAV and press and hold the POWER button on the controller for 3 seconds Once the controller is booted up the main menu will...

Page 109: ...h the booster package LTE This mode uses mobile network over a VPN secured data link To use LTE mode the following needs to be activated A sim card needs to be installed inside the UAV The LTE dongle...

Page 110: ...y control the UAV or control the UAV using reposition or target following commands it is recommended to plan a mission for takeoff and landing Please review the for detailed information on how to plan...

Page 111: ...eo feed UP RGB ONLY CENTER RGB with inline IR overlay Down IR only Joystick In hover mode Stick up move forward Stick down move backward Stick left move left Stick right move right In fixed wing mode...

Page 112: ...d the battery life of the controller To shut down the controller press and hold the power button until the shutdown menu appears Select Power off to shut down the controller Controlling the Vehicle In...

Page 113: ...on in the left side command bar and choose start mission When sliding to confirm the takeoff your vehicle will start its motors and takeoff preflight checks Before starting your first flight you will...

Page 114: ...u can tap anywhere on the satellite map and choose Goto location After sliding to confirm the reposition command the vehicle will enter HOLD flight mode fly towards the indicated location and circle t...

Page 115: ...the joystick controls can seem counterintuitive It is recommended to practice joystick operation in close proximity while flying at sufficient altitude Changing altitude While the vehicle is in POSITI...

Page 116: ...in multirotor mode Multirotor mode means the 4 motors for Vertical takeoff and Landing are activated To take control of the vehicle in multirotor mode change the flight mode switch to POSITION mode In...

Page 117: ...mage capture mode with an interval of 1 second 3 In the settings screen make sure the function of PWM 3 is set to start stop recording 4 Start the trigger process by clicking the big blue record butto...

Page 118: ...RGO comes with the DeltaQuad Controller the DeltaQuad controller provides the communication link between your UAV and the ground systems Getting started To connect your UAV to the DeltaQuad controller...

Page 119: ...capable of transmission ranges up to 30KM or up to 50KM when your system is equipped with the booster package LTE This mode uses mobile network over a VPN secured data link To use LTE mode the followi...

Page 120: ...the QGroundControl app you will be able to plan your initial mission Missions are always planned to ensure the vehicle has a predefined takeoff and landing pattern Even when you intend to manually co...

Page 121: ...position switch Not assigned 7 Joystick In hover mode Stick up move forward Stick down move backward Stick left move left Stick right move right In fixed wing mode Stick up descend nose down Stick dow...

Page 122: ...ntroller press and hold the power button until the shutdown menu appears Select Power off to shut down the controller Payload Drop Mechanism If your DeltaQuad is equipped with a Payload Drop Mechanism...

Page 123: ...en tap the drop down box that reads Values and select Camera 3 Press the Trigger Camera button This method can also be used to manually control when the payload is dropped during a mission flight Drop...

Page 124: ...Plan your mission using the following steps 1 Plan a standard mission as indicated in the section Planning a mission 2 Place a waypoint on the target drop zone 3 Change the Hold value of the waypoint...

Page 125: ...cated below 1 1 Change the category to VTOL 2 Select VTOL Transition 3 Select the mode Hover mode 4 Place a waypoint on top of the drop zone 1 Change the Hold value to 2 seconds as indicated below 2 2...

Page 126: ...mission in the Ground Control Station as an example on how to plan a fixed wing payload drop PDM plan The following sample mission shows how to plan a precision Multi rotor drop You can import this mi...