@Yufei-Jiang What hardware are you using? Is this PX4 running on VOXL 2?

@Inverse-AJ @rogerli
Hi, I also struggled with the OBSTACLE_DISTANCE MAVLink message not appearing in the MAVLink Inspector. Moreover, obstacle avoidance was not functioning after I upgraded v1.3.5 to ModalAI SDK v1.5.0. If you're experiencing this issue, ensure the following:

Set MPC_POS_MODE to 0 (Simple Position Control) or 3 (Smooth Position Control). The default value (4, Acceleration-based Input) is incompatible with ModalAI’s VOXL platform.
Set COM_OBS_AVOID to 1. This enables obstacle avoidance in PX4.
Set CP_DIST to a value greater than 0. This specifies the critical distance for collision prevention.
Ensure your drone has a valid home position or local position from QVIO. This is required for proper navigation.
Ensure your drone is in Position Hold mode. Obstacle avoidance requires this flight mode.

Although the OBSTACLE_DISTANCE message does not appear in the MAVLink Inspector, QGroundControl displays the obstacle distance overlay in its telemetry view, and the drone successfully performs obstacle avoidance. Note: This applies to ModalAI SDK v1.5.0; check for updates in newer versions.

f0d0fe9f-61ff-4287-9210-186dafc0879a-Untitled.jpg

@Avery-Cuevas Yes, the VOXL powers up and I've tried using different USBs and still no result. I even tried reflashing the system, but it won't detect fastboot and adb devices

@tom said in Missing Config File:

voxl-configure-vision-hub factory_enable

thanks. I tried the Sku Wizard then MPA but I seem to still have a blank file when I open it in nano. I will try the factory default next.

@victochen , just to close the loop on the original issue.. the delay in the calibration procedure was caused by UART data or processing of the ESC feedback backing up. The fix is to just slow down the command rate, seen in this commit : https://gitlab.com/voxl-public/voxl-sdk/utilities/voxl-esc/-/commit/b512f9e3d5e695868775de3d40eedb2ad15cf6d9 . Additionally, using command line argument --cmd-rate 100 when you run the calibration script on VOXL2 will fix the issue.

@Grier Gotcha, please fill out this RMA form: https://www.modalai.com/pages/rma?_pos=1&_sid=6dd8dbced&_ss=r

Please link this forum post in the RMA form as well

@Federico-Wyrwal , thank you for the reply. More debugging would be needed to figure out the root cause and it looks like you already submitted an RMA for the inspection / repair, so we will take care of it. Thank you.

Alex

@luisgb , all of ModalAI ESCs can be controlled via UART using two modes

power : command 0-100% power, which controls the average duty cycle for that motor RPM : (requires calibration for the motor + propeller type): controls rpm directly

Commands to the ESC are sent via UART and normally that UART port is connected to VOXL2 UART, which is mapped directly to the DSP. The DSP is where most of PX4 runs.

If you are looking for the easiest integration / testing, you can connect the ESC directly the VOXL2 CPU (using non-DSP UARTs) and use either python or c++ code to interface to the ESC (or similarly from a Linux Desktop / laptop).

It is also possible to communicate with the ESC while the ESC is connected to the DSP UART. This is how the voxl-esc tools work on VOXL2 (while PX4 is not running). This works by bridging the connection between the DSP and CPU and accessing the DSP UART from the CPU. However, this path has extra delay and is not recommended for any real-time feedback control applications.

If you provide more information about your use case, I can suggest the best path.

Alex

Hi @VictorG
Our team sent another batch out...
FedEx tracking 884700036314
They claim Monday you should get it ... sorry for all these delays. We tried!!!

I do not have visibility into our product shipment status, but this issue and experience has escalated the need for me to have that visibility, so I will explore that.

We'll try better next time 🙂
Keep me posted.
Thanks!

Hi @QSL
OK, keep us posted!
Any, for any new issues, please be sure to start a new forum post so it is seen by the team.
Thanks!

@Robbie-McCue yes this worked thank you so much Robbie!!