How to resume mission after battery change

PIX4Dcapture PIX4Dcapture Questions/Troubleshooting
1

Flying DJI Phantom 4. iOS (iPad Air)

Plotted a rather lengthy mission at low altitude (98ft; required 2 batteries). Mission reached about 70% complete. Battery reached 18% and P4 did what it’s supposed to - fly directly home and land (sweet). While battery was still on , I pulled it out and replaced it with a fresh battery. Turned the P4 back on and mission grid on my iPad reverted to the original start of the mission. No option to resume mission where I left off.

How do I resume mission where I left off after battery change?

3 Likes
2

Hello Paul… The new vertion of the pix4D capture have that feature.

3

Johansen - thanks for your reply. Should I re-install the iOS app? I can’t seem to find it in the iOS app…

4

Will the resume feature automatically initiate when a mission is partially completed and the battery is changed?

5

Hi Johanse

How function, you can explain,

Thanks

6

Hello everyone, 

The iOS version of Pix4Dcapture is not supporting mission resume at the moment, but it will in future releases. It is in our pipeline and our developers are working on it.

A first implementation of mission resume has been introduced in the latest Android version (3.1.0). That means, when aborting a mission (e.g. because of low battery or bad flying conditions), the incomplete portion is saved so that it can be flown after (e.g. after changing the battery or waiting for flying conditions to change).

You can find more analytical information here: https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/211826243#label2

Regards 

1 Like
7

Hello - has the Pix4D app been updated with the “Resume” feature for iOS version of Pix4Dcapture??

8

Hi Paul,

Not yet, it is obviously in our pipeline but will take some time.
In the meantime if you really need this feature, there is unfortunately no other solution but to use an Android device with Pix4Dcapture.

Regards,

1 Like
9

For now we should just plan multiple shorter missions and upload all the images as a single project, is that correct?

 

thx

10

Hi Ernest,

Yes, it is correct.
The workaround on iOS is to fly several grids and to adjust their location manually to create a larger grid that requires several battery. However, placing the grids is more complicated than on Android because the different missions cannot be displayed on the same base map.

Regards,

 

11

Any idea when we can expect the resume mission feature for iOS?  thx

12

Hi George,

The developers are currently working on it.
It is complicated to give a precise timeline. Perhaps at the end of April or later in May.

Regards,

1 Like
13

Hello,

Is the resume feature available on iOS now?

Thanks

Jimmy

14

Disappointing this feature is still not available when competitors have had it for quite some time.

15

Software development is always subjected to last minute changes especially in the field of cutting-edge technology. This does not depend solely on us but on many external factors that make the planning and release process complex. Also there is always a trade-off between integrating new drones, implementing new features (flight, settings, mission management…), improving the current interface, and solving bugs.

We understand the frustration but rest assured multi-battery mission is among the top priorities. The targeted release could happen end of July or mid-August.
Thank you for sharing your honest feedback with us.

16

When flying a mission with Mavic Pro that won’t finish on one battery. When battery reaches 20%, Pix4D automatically starts to RTH. I tried pressing Abort, but something is causing it to hang. It just shows Aborting but does not complete the Abort procedure. The camera is still taking pictures (shutter clicking sound), I have to force quit the app, it cannot be shut down. Something is broken in the Abort process in Android.

17

Gary,

When the fail-safe is triggered, Pix4Dcapture cannot send instructions anymore to the drone. The default fail-safe triggers the return to home when the battery reaches 20% but you can change this option in DJI GO.

Therefore, when the drone is going back to the home point, the mission is automatically aborted and the drone should stop taking pictures. After checking the SD card, were these extra images actually saved? Perhaps only the app was making the sound but the images were not captured.

Could you confirm you are using the Mavic Pro with the latest firmware and Pix4Dcapture 3.8.1 on Android? Note that 3.8.2 was just released today if you want to use the latest next time.

18

I just downloaded v3.8.2 today (build 381) will try it out as soon as I can. My drone is Mavic Pro, firmware is up to date, Android 7.1.2. I didn’t check the card to see whether it was still taking shots during failsafe RTH, I had to force quit Pix4D once the drone landed, just kept making the shutter sound even after powering the drone off. Photos were taken during the mission up to failsafe. I was not aware that DJI GO has ANY interaction with Pix4D re: setting the low battery RTH threshold level, since you must Force Stop in Apps if it was previously used to get Pix4D to work.

So my workflow should be (correct me if I am in error):

Power drone on

Power remote controller on

Open/connect to DJI Go4 - should I leave Smart RTH Enabled/Disabled?

Set low battery warning slider below 20%, close DJI Go4

Force Stop DJI Go4 in my Apps (no defaults set)

Start Pix4D Capture, allow once, plan a mission requiring more than 1 battery life

Manually take control with sticks at some safe point below 20% battery level and fly Home

Is the Abort in Pix4D done automatically when manual override via stick control is sensed? Or do I switch from P to Sport mode? (clarify)

Leave Pix4D running (?) power off drone battery, leave RC powered on, swap fully charged battery to continue, power drone back on

Wait for Pix4D, what happens when drone restarts? Will the app know it has restarted and is ready to continue?

It seems to be a very complex process and must be done exactly or it will fail, wasting a LOT of time, batteries and very frustrating sometimes just to do simple things. Let me know if I am understanding what to do correctly, thank you!

19

The fact that DJI GO is not running in the background does not mean settings tweaked in DJI GO will not apply. The fail-safe behavior is uploaded to the drone when the option is edited in DJI GO so even after quitting the app, it will be triggered when flying.
Hope this clarifies the situation :).

You can find below our comments on your workflow:

  1. Power drone on :heavy_check_mark:
  2. Power remote controller on :heavy_check_mark:
  3. Open/connect to DJI Go4 - should I leave Smart RTH Enabled/Disabled?
    ➜ We recommend to enable it so that you can press the RTH button of the controller to make the drone come back to the home point.
  4. Set low battery warning slider below 20%, close DJI Go4 :heavy_check_mark:
  5. Force Stop DJI Go4 in my Apps (no defaults set) :heavy_check_mark:
  6. Start Pix4D Capture, allow once, plan a mission requiring more than 1 battery life :heavy_check_mark:
  7. Manually take control with sticks at some safe point below 20% battery level and fly Home
    ➜ The fail-safe action should be triggered according to what was set in DJI GO 4.
  8. Is the Abort in Pix4D done automatically when manual override via stick control is sensed? Or do I switch from P to Sport mode? (clarify)
    ➜ There are several ways (equivalent) to interrupt a mission:
  • Tap Abort: The drone autonomously comes back to the home point (where it was turned on).
  • Switch the controller button from autopilot to manual mode: The drone stops the mission and hovers. The pilot has full manual control of the drone by using the joysticks.
  • Press the return-to-home (RTH) button of the controller: 1. The drones comes back to the home point OR 2. The drone lands vertically if it is within 20-m radius around the home point or if its battery level is not enough to go back to the home point.
  • Fail-safe is triggered (no pilot intervention): Same as RTH button above.
  1. Leave Pix4D running (?) power off drone battery, leave RC powered on, swap fully charged battery to continue, power drone back on
    ➜ For Pix4Dcapture, the mission is aborted/finished. The remaining lines that were not flown are however resumed, meaning a new mission is created. You can turn off the drone, controller and close the app before starting the second flight to finish, it does not matter as it is like two separated missions for the app. You can even fly the remaining lines another day as long as you save them.
  2. Wait for Pix4D, what happens when drone restarts? Will the app know it has restarted and is ready to continue?
    ➜ The app will upload a new mission to the drone, completely independent from the first flight.

You can find more information about the resume option on Android here: https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/articles/217115826

Let us know if something remains unclear.

20

Hi

I had to abort one mission due a battery problem!

During the “return home” the Mavic Pro continued taken photos, continuously even after landing!

I had to close Pix4D Capture, OFF the drone and OFF the RC.

After I entered again on the Caputre went to the mission that was aborted and… the drone still taking photos!!!

To resolve this situation I had to turn off my android!

Can anyone explain me What’s the problem and how can I :

1st: Avoid to take pictures when “abort” is selected;

2sd: Continue the mission after a premature mission stopping?

Im using PIX4D 3.8.2 version, a Samsung S7 and a Mavic Pro drone.