@dlee ,

Yes the new TOF sensor (IRS2975C) is more powerful that the previous generation. What I mean by that is that it can emit more IR power but also heats up more. Emitting more power allows the sensor detect objects at larger distances or objects that are not as reflective.

In current operating mode, the auto exposure control is enabled inside the sensor itself, which modulates the emitted IR power based on the returns that the sensor is getting. That is to say, the power draw will vary depending on what is in the view of the sensor. If there are obstacles nearby, the output power should be low, otherwise it can be high. At full power, the module can consume close to 0.8-0.9W

So the first solution, if design allows, is to add a heat spreader to dissipate the heat, which you already started experimenting with. The sensor has a large exposed copper pad in the back for heat sinking purposes for this exact reason. Just be careful not to short this pad to anything, use non-conducting (but heat transfering) adhesive pad between the sensor and heat spreader.

In terms of a software solution to the issue, we can query the temperature of the emitter. We can also control the maximum emitted power used by the auto exposure algorithm. That is to say, still leave the auto exposure running in the sensor, but limit the maximum power that it is allowed to use.

We are planning to add some software protection that limits the maximum output power as a function of the emitter temperature. This will require some implementation and testing.

Meanwhile, please consider using a heat spreader, which will be the best solution if you want to make use of the full sensor's operating range and not have our software limit the output power in order to prevent overheating.

Hello @Kashish-Garg-0

we have a curve that is "motor voltage vs rpm", meaning that for a desired RPM, it tells the ESC what average motor voltage should be applied. The average motor voltage is defined as battery_voltage * motor_pmw_duty_cycle. The battery voltage in this curve is in millivolts. Since you are typically controlling the desired RPM, as a user you do not need to worry about what "throttle" or voltage to apply - the ESC does this automatically in order to achieve the desired RPM. this calibration curve is used as a feed-forward term in the RPM controller. The ESC does support an "open loop" type of control where you specify the power from 0 to 100%, which is similar to a standard ESC, but PX4 does not use that ESC control mode.

By the way, you can test the ESC directly (not using PX4) using our voxl-esc tools (https://gitlab.com/voxl-public/voxl-sdk/utilities/voxl-esc/-/tree/master/voxl-esc-tools) which works directly on VOXL2 or a standalone linux PC (or mac). voxl-esc-spin.py has a --power argument where you specify the power from 0 to 100, which translates directly to the average duty cycle applied to the motor.

Here is the calibration for the Starling V2 motor / propeller that we use:
https://gitlab.com/voxl-public/voxl-sdk/utilities/voxl-esc/-/blob/master/voxl-esc-params/mavic_mini_2/mavic_mini_2.xml?ref_type=heads#L63

Also, you can take a look at this post to see how to interpret those parameters a0, a1, a2 : https://forum.modalai.com/topic/2522/esc-calibration/2

We also have some dyno tests for this motor / propeller : https://gitlab.com/voxl-public/flight-core-px4/dyno_data/-/blob/master/data/mavic_mini2_timing_test/mavic_mini2_modal_esc_pusher_7.4V_timing0.csv . We are not sure how accurate that is, but it can be used as a starting point. @James-Strawson can you please confirm that is the correct dyno data for the Starling V2 motors?

Alex

@reber34 , perhaps this approach can work for you:

• record a video encoded at high bit rate (using voxl-camera-server and voxl-record-video . Please note that the output of voxl-record-video will not be in a standard container (such as mp4, etc), but you can fix it with ffpeg : ffmpeg -r 30 -i voxl-record-video.h264 -codec copy videofile.mp4
• re-encode the video offline with desired codecs / bit rates / resolutions
• install gst-rtsp-launch which uses gstreamer to set up an RTSP stream https://github.com/sfalexrog/gst-rtsp-launch/
  • you will first need to figure out what gstreamer pipeline to use on voxl2 that will load your video and parse the h264/h265 frames (can use null sink for testing) and then use that pipeline with gst-rtsp-launch which will take the encoded frames and serve them over rtsp stream.
• gstreamer may be more flexible for tuning the encoding parameters of h264/h265 (compared to voxl-camera-server) and you can also use it in real time later (using voxl-streamer, which uses gstreamer under the hood)

Another alternative is to use voxl-record-raw-image to save raw YUVs coming from voxl-camera-server and then use voxl-replay and voxl-streamer - the latter will accept YUVs from the MPA pipe and encode them using the bit rate that you want. Note that depending on the image resolution, YUV images will take a lot more space than encoded video, but maybe that is also OK since VOXL2 has lots of storage.

Alex

@jimbow77 and @oasisartisan ,

TOF V1 (which is now EOL, so you don't have it on Starling 2 Max) was set up the following way:

• The calibration data was downloaded the first time the sensor was used and stored in /data/misc/camera/, then re-used for next time
• calibration files include pmd.spc, tof_cal_eeprom.bin and irs10x0c_lens.cal - the latter likely containing the intrinsics calibraiton data (although i have not checked explicitly)

TOF V2 (what is shipping in Starling 2 (and Max) ), is set up so that the TOF Library downloads (via i2c) the calibration data each time the voxl-camera-server starts. This is done internally to the TOF libraries. I don't know exactly why there is a difference between how the calib data is handled for two sensors by the TOF software, but this is how our sensor vendor helped us set it up. The TOF processing software downloads the calibration from the sensor each time voxl-camera-server starts and applies it to generate the point cloud. It may be possible to get the TOF intrinsics using the TOF library API, but we have not checked.

Do you have a specific reason why the TOF intrinsics are needed?

If you wanted to calibrate the TOF sensor yourself, then you would either need a checkerboard some material that is IR reflective ("white") and non-reflective ("black"). Alternatively, you could use an array of IR leds (or IR reflective dots + IR light) and use dot pattern detector as opposed for checkerboard for calibration.

Regarding Hi-res cameras, the intrinsics are not calibrated and not included. It can be calibrated using our camera calibration app (voxl-camera-calibration), but you should do it at half resolution or smaller (not full size like 4056x3040), otherwise the app runs very slowly. If you need more details how to calibrate at high resolution, let me know (involves downscaling exactly by a factor of 2 and then upscaling the resulting intrinsics)

Alex

@smilon , voxl-esc-calibrate.py is a script that runs a test procedure in a single motor (with propeller mounted) to calibrate the behavior of the motor / propeller. This procedure only needs to be run once if you change motor or propeller type from a default configuration. The output of this script is just 3 coeficients a1, a2, a3 which you would need to manually enter into an ESC calibration xml file and then upload the xml paramer file to the ESC. Full details about the ESC calibration (when to do it and how) can be found here : https://gitlab.com/voxl-public/voxl-sdk/utilities/voxl-esc/-/blob/master/voxl-esc-tools/calibration.md?ref_type=heads

If you are using standard motors and propellers (one of standard ModalAI drones), you do not need to run this calibration procedure.

It sounds like you got it working, I believe voxl-configre-mpa took care of it. You can see what voxl-configure-mpa typically does here : https://docs.modalai.com/voxl-configure-mpa/ , which includes running voxl-esc to upload the latest firmware and params for a specific vehicle.

Hello @Gicu-Panaghiu,

I am going to assume you are using VOXL1, since you did not specify..

We do have RAW8 and RAW10 support for OV7251. The selection of the format has to be done in several places.

First, you have to select the correct camera driver, specifically..

ls /usr/lib/libmmcamera_ov7251*.so
/usr/lib/libmmcamera_ov7251.so
/usr/lib/libmmcamera_ov7251_8bit.so
/usr/lib/libmmcamera_ov7251_hflip_8bit.so
/usr/lib/libmmcamera_ov7251_rot180_8bit.so
/usr/lib/libmmcamera_ov7251_vflip_8bit.so

there are 5 options and one of them is _8bit.so which means it will natively ouptput 8bit data (all others output 10 bit data).

the driver name, such as ov7251_8bit has to be the sensor name <SensorName>ov7251_8bit</SensorName> in /system/etc/camera/camera_config.xml.

You can check camera_config.xml for what sensor library is used for your OV7251.

When you run voxl-configure-cameras script, it will actually copy one of the default camera_config.xml that are set up for a particular use case, and I believe it will indeed select the 8bit one - this was done to save cpu cycles needed to convert 10bit to 8bit, since majority of the time only 8bit pixels are used.

Now, you mentioned that HAL_PIXEL_FORMAT_RAW10 is passed to the stream config and unfortunately this does not have any effect on what the driver outputs. If the low level driver (e.g. libmmcamera_ov7251_8bit.so) is set up to output RAW8, it will output RAW8 if you request either HAL_PIXEL_FORMAT_RAW8 or HAL_PIXEL_FORMAT_RAW10.

So if you update the camera_config.xml to the 10bit driver and just keep the HAL_PIXEL_FORMAT_RAW10 in the stream config (then sync and reboot), you should be getting a 10 bit RAW image from the camera. But since the camera server is currently expecting 8 bit image, if you just interpret the image as 8 bit, it will appear garbled, so you will need to handle the 10 bit image (decide what you want to do with it) in the camera server.

@jakkkkobo ,

The source code of voxl-send-neopixel-cmd test tool is here : https://gitlab.com/voxl-public/voxl-sdk/services/voxl-io-server/-/blob/master/tools/voxl-send-neopixel-cmd.c

The function that creates a binary packet (which is forwarded to the ESC via PX4) is here : https://gitlab.com/voxl-public/voxl-sdk/services/voxl-io-server/-/blob/master/lib/modal_io.c#L181 . Basically you need to provide the following information to this function:

• number of LEDs you are controlling
• LED type (RGB or RGBW)
• array of LED colors (3 bytes for each LED in case of RGB, or 4 bytes per LED for RGBW).
• the array should contain all LED values ranging from 0-255, so if you had 3 LEDs and first should be red, second green and third blue (50% power), the LED color array would be : [127, 0, 0, 0, 127, 0, 0,0,127].
• this function will create a packet with checksum and send it to PX4, and PX4 will forward the packet to the ESC.

You can modify the voxl-send-neopixel-cmd to do what you need, maybe you can make it accept an array of LED color values via command line.

I know the tool could have been more helpful. If you describe your use case, maybe I can help improve the voxl-send-neopixel-cmd tool.

Alex

@KnightHawk06 , use voxl-calibrare-camera tracking_down_misp_grey <remaining options>

The ipk is available here now : http://voxl-packages.modalai.com/stable/voxl-hal3-tof-cam-ros_0.0.5.ipk - you should be able to use the launch file to choose between two modes (5=short range and 9=long range) and fps, which are listed in the launch file.

@Moderator said in VOXL ESC Mini 4-in-1 Current per Motor:

Is it possible to step up voltage?

Can you please clarify the question?

Mini ESC is designed for small drones ( < 500g ). The ESC has been tested to handle 15A continous at 15V input continuously (60+ seconds), but with full direct air flow from propellers. This would simulate a full throttle "punch-out" on a small FPV drone (high current, but also lots of direct airflow = cooling). Do not use this ESC if the drone needs 10-15A per channel just to hover. Use it in application where hover current per motor is less than 5A (ideally 2-3A which is very typical) and absolute maximum continuous current per motor can be 10-15A.

For example, motors used for small FPV drones often are around 1306 size (3-4S Lipo). Those motors are usually rated for up to 10-12A continous (for 30-60 seconds). Larger motors can be used as long as maximum motor current does not exceed 10-15A (still 2-3A at hover) and there is sufficient cooling.

Always check ESC board temperature during initial flights / tuning. Temperature must stay below 110C at all times (critical), typically in the range of 40-70C for most applications. The ESC will most likely fail above 125C.

Temperature of the ESC board is the limiting factor because the board is so small. Mosfets can handle a lot of current as long as they don't overheat. So the design of the drone is very important (either use low current so that temperature is not an issue or properly design air flow from propellers and/or add heat spreader to keep the ESC board temperature in normal range for higher current draw applications).

ESC provides real time temperature feedback and it can be viewed in PX4 / QGC. Additionally, the PX4 logs contain the temperature information.

Hello @RoyAzriel,

There are 4 blue LEDs on the ESC - is that what you are referring when you said "the 3 blue leds are blinking as always" ?

I am not sure what happened, but you should try the unbricking procedure for voxl2: https://docs.modalai.com/voxl2-unbricking/

Alex

@PatkirkMartin , I am looking into the command routing via PX4 for the on/off function.. stay tuned..

Hi @Julian ,

Thank you for the detailed report. It does look like there is a missing (or broken? hard to see) magnet in the motor, in which case the motor will not work properly and should be replaced. No further testing is needed, as this is most likely a manufacturing defect of the motor or a result of an impact.

If you believe that the motor was defective when you received the product, you should request a free replacement motor (submit an RMA form) . If the motor was damaged while testing, you can purchase a new motor.

The Starling 2 Max replacement parts can be found here : https://www.modalai.com/products/starling-2-max-replacement-parts (however i don't see just motors without a frame + motors kit, will double check..)

Alex

@astro_phil ,

I just tested your configuration on voxl2 mini

• ov7251 connected to M0135 JL
• imx214 connected to M0135 JU
• M0135 interposer connected to Voxl2 mini J7
• cameras are connected to hardware camera slots 2 and 3 respectively

This particular board is using an old SDK but it should not matter, kernel variant 2.0.0

hw platform:  M0104
mach.var:     2.0.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
voxl-suite:   1.3.3

voxl-camera-server -l
DEBUG:   Attempting to open the hal module
DEBUG:   SUCCESS: Camera module opened on attempt 0
DEBUG:   ----------- Number of cameras: 2

DEBUG:   Cam idx: 0, Cam slot: 2, Slave Address: 0x00E2, Sensor Id: 0x7750
DEBUG:   Cam idx: 1, Cam slot: 3, Slave Address: 0x0020, Sensor Id: 0x0214
DEBUG:   Note: This list comes from the HAL module and may not be indicative
DEBUG:   	of configurations that have full pipelines

DEBUG:   Number of cameras: 2

dmesg:
[  209.617719] CAM_INFO: CAM-ICP: cam_icp_mgr_hw_open: 3879 FW download done successfully
[  209.648730] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor3: Linked as a consumer to regulator.59
[  209.649003] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor3: Linked as a consumer to regulator.55
[  209.649103] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor3: Linked as a consumer to regulator.60
[  209.649137] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor3: Linked as a consumer to regulator.79
[  209.666156] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_driver_cmd: 918 Probe success,slot:3,slave_addr:0x20,sensor_id:0x214
[  209.666263] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor3: Dropping the link to regulator.79
[  209.670389] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor3: Dropping the link to regulator.60
[  209.670476] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor3: Dropping the link to regulator.55
[  209.670541] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor3: Dropping the link to regulator.59
[  209.688989] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor2: Linked as a consumer to regulator.59
[  209.691170] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor2: Linked as a consumer to regulator.55
[  209.693356] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor2: Linked as a consumer to regulator.60
[  209.693454] qcom,camera ac50000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor2: Linked as a consumer to regulator.79
[  209.717968] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_set_alt_id: 731 [Applying Alternative Address] : Sensor Index   : 2538021044
[  209.717979] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_set_alt_id: 732 [Applying Alternative Address] : Slave Address  : 0xE2
[  209.717988] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_set_alt_id: 733 [Applying Alternative Address] : Slave sensor id: 0x7750
[  209.717997] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_set_alt_id: 734 [Applying Alternative Address] : cci_client sid : 0x71
[  209.718308] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_set_alt_id: 770 [Applying Alternative Address] : Probe : Alternate address updated
[  209.718543] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_driver_cmd: 918 Probe success,slot:2,slave_addr:0xe2,sensor_id:0x7750

I also tested the same configuration in J6:

voxl-camera-server -l
DEBUG:   Attempting to open the hal module
DEBUG:   SUCCESS: Camera module opened on attempt 0
DEBUG:   ----------- Number of cameras: 2

DEBUG:   Cam idx: 0, Cam slot: 0, Slave Address: 0x00E2, Sensor Id: 0x7750
DEBUG:   Cam idx: 1, Cam slot: 1, Slave Address: 0x0020, Sensor Id: 0x0214
DEBUG:   Note: This list comes from the HAL module and may not be indicative
DEBUG:   	of configurations that have full pipelines

DEBUG:   Number of cameras: 2

dmesg
[  216.996797] CAM_INFO: CAM-ICP: cam_icp_mgr_hw_open: 3879 FW download done successfully
[  217.029303] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor1: Linked as a consumer to regulator.58
[  217.029395] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor1: Linked as a consumer to regulator.55
[  217.029484] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor1: Linked as a consumer to regulator.60
[  217.029516] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor1: Linked as a consumer to regulator.79
[  217.046069] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_driver_cmd: 918 Probe success,slot:1,slave_addr:0x20,sensor_id:0x214
[  217.046191] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor1: Dropping the link to regulator.79
[  217.050324] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor1: Dropping the link to regulator.60
[  217.050407] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor1: Dropping the link to regulator.55
[  217.050470] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor1: Dropping the link to regulator.58
[  217.069409] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor0: Linked as a consumer to regulator.58
[  217.071541] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor0: Linked as a consumer to regulator.55
[  217.073710] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor0: Linked as a consumer to regulator.60
[  217.073801] qcom,camera ac4f000.qcom,cci:qcom,cam-sensor0: Linked as a consumer to regulator.79
[  217.097221] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_set_alt_id: 731 [Applying Alternative Address] : Sensor Index   : 390152372
[  217.097229] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_set_alt_id: 732 [Applying Alternative Address] : Slave Address  : 0xE2
[  217.097234] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_set_alt_id: 733 [Applying Alternative Address] : Slave sensor id: 0x7750
[  217.097239] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_set_alt_id: 734 [Applying Alternative Address] : cci_client sid : 0x71
[  217.097532] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_set_alt_id: 770 [Applying Alternative Address] : Probe : Alternate address updated
[  217.097747] CAM_INFO: CAM-SENSOR: cam_sensor_driver_cmd: 918 Probe success,slot:0,slave_addr:0xe2,sensor_id:0x7750

By the way, i think the SDKs are now not including the imx214 driver for slot 1. If you need it, you can use the following drivers https://storage.googleapis.com/modalai_public/temp/imx214_test_bins/imx214_eis_drivers_20250815.zip for all camera slots. The only functional change of these drivers is that the maximum resolution of the sensor has been changed from 4208 x 3120 to 4196 x 3120 due to some optimizations in gpu-based debayering that require certain image width (long story, but you can still use this driver, just may need to adjust your camera server config so that you are not requesting impossible resolution).

When you do your tests, please make sure you have the correct sensormodule id's for each camera in /usr/lib/camera . The slot number where the camera is physically plugged in has to match the index at the end of the sensormodule file name (before .bin).

Alex

@PatkirkMartin ,

The post you found should still be applicable. Can you check which firmware is installed on your M0138 FPV ESC.

Also, It looks like you are doing the measurement in the wrong location. The switchable (on/off) power output is a 4S regulated supply that is available at pads right near the yellow payload connector. Note that the output from the yellow connector is not switchable, just VBATT. but the pads labeled <4SOUT> are switchable and you can test using that gpio script.

I circled the pads that you need to use in RED:

from the voxl-esc-gpio.py test script,

Controls AUX regulator on M0138 ESC ID0, unsupported on other ESCs

I see your confusion that it mentions "AUX regulator", it is a misnomer, because the ESC also has an auxiliary 3.0 / 5.0V regulator (only 500mA).

So if you are powering a VTX, you definitely need the 4S output, but also keep in mind it's about 500mA max as well. Is your battery voltage 4S or 6S?

After you test while PX4 is not running, just directly talking to the ESC using voxl-esc tools, we can discuss how to do this while PX4 is running (assuming you are using px4).

Alex

@ey , we are working on making a replacement plastic kit available. It looks like you may have gotten a response from our team already, but moving forward we should have some kits available soon.

Alex

@astro_phil , OK, thanks for testing. I will check it myself tomorrow.

Alex

@John-Keller , please try https://docs.modalai.com/voxl2-unbricking/

@Maya-Boker , please see a discussion regarding flight time vs added payload to Starling 2 Max. https://forum.modalai.com/topic/3732/starling-2-max-payload-capacity-and-flight-time-impact

Considering that you would be increasing the mass by 50% in your case (quite substantial), I imagine some flight controller tuning would be required (no ESC tuning needed).

Any new mass should be mounted as close as possible to the geometrical center of the drone in order to reduce the added moment of inertia. Off-center mass will not only have greater impact on the moment of inertia, it will also make the vehicle imbalanced at hover and even more so during accelerations.

You will probably need to perform or at least check the Attitude Controller tuning, and Height Controller tuning (due to increased mass). Please consult the PX4 tuning guide(s) for this, as we do not offer any additional information on that topic. You should be able to use a stock Starling 2 Max tune and make adjustments. If adding 250g does not work well, try a smaller weight increase with a dummy weight and see what tuning parameters you need to change to make it work well again (and then go from there).

Alex

@zaimin78 , I am sorry for the long delay, we somehow missed this post.

Can you please let me know which kernel variant you are using? (you can check it using voxl-version and look at mach.var.

There is no good way of making this configuration work, because the default function of J6U is actually disabled by default in favor for using a stereo camera setup, as shown here : https://docs.modalai.com/voxl2-camera-configs/#c-10-front-stereo-only-ov7251 . So the kernel variant that is compatible with the M0135 / M0076 interposers, cannot be used for any camera in J6U camera slot (slot 1).

However, the J7U and J7L should work. The way to make the 4th camera work is to use either M0135 or M0076 to connect it to J8L (slot 4) instead of J6U.

I am not sure why your J7U (slot 3) did not work -- can you try connecting without extension cables?

Alex