<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Loss of VIO Stability When Gaining Altitude — Manual Control Becomes Impossible]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto">Hi everyone,<br />
We are experiencing a critical issue with VIO stability on a VOXL2-based indoor drone platform.</p>
<p dir="auto"><strong>Problem</strong></p>
<p dir="auto">When the drone starts gaining altitude, the VIO becomes unstable and the drone quickly becomes impossible to control manually. During hover close to the ground, the drone is relatively stable, but once altitude increases:</p>
<ul>
<li>Position estimation starts drifting</li>
<li>list itemYaw estimation becomes unstable</li>
<li>list itemHeight estimation errors appear</li>
<li>list itemManual control becomes very difficult or impossible</li>
<li>list itemPX4 eventually reports preflight or estimator failures</li>
</ul>
<p dir="auto"><strong>Current Setup</strong><br />
Hardware:<br />
VOXL2<br />
Starling 2 platform<br />
Indoor environment<br />
No GPS<br />
Manual flight mode<br />
QVIO enabled</p>
<p dir="auto"><strong>Environment conditions:</strong></p>
<p dir="auto">Metallic industrial environment<br />
Low texture surfaces<br />
Variable lighting conditions<br />
Errors observed</p>
<p dir="auto"><strong>We frequently see:</strong></p>
<pre><code>Preflight Fail: height estimate not stable
Preflight Fail: Yaw estimate error
Preflight Fail: Attitude failure (pitch)
</code></pre>
<p dir="auto"><strong>Additional Notes</strong><br />
We are NOT using QGroundControl during flight<br />
The issue appears mainly when ascending<br />
Near the ground the drone behaves much better<br />
The instability increases progressively with altitude<br />
It feels like VIO loses enough visual references when moving away from the floor</p>
<p dir="auto"><strong>Questions</strong><br />
Is this a known limitation of QVIO / tracking camera placement?<br />
Could this be related to insufficient floor texture?<br />
Are there recommended tuning parameters for altitude-related instability?<br />
Should we reduce dependency on QVIO and fuse additional sensors?<br />
Would adding downward lighting or a ToF sensor significantly improve stability?<br />
Is there a recommended EKF2 configuration for industrial indoor environments?</p>
]]></description><link>https://forum.modalai.com/topic/5208/loss-of-vio-stability-when-gaining-altitude-manual-control-becomes-impossible</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 15 May 2026 12:20:09 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://forum.modalai.com/topic/5208.rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><pubDate>Fri, 15 May 2026 08:33:02 GMT</pubDate><ttl>60</ttl></channel></rss>