I'll put a question here since it's open-vins documentation related. I also am successfully running nightly builds of open-vins, and it is working well for me.

I would like to add image masks to the tracking cameras to block out certain areas. I see the option "use_mask" in voxl-open-vins-server.conf, which I can set to true. I can't figure out where to put the mask files, or how to specify their path and file name?

If this should be a separate thread, please let me know and I can move my question elsewhere, cheers!

@tom thank you for the information. I've been flying with one of the nightly builds using VINS and 3 tracking cameras enabled which is great!

Question about the extrinsics for Starling 2 - I'm working on moving one of the cameras for a custom setup, and through the process of understanding the extrinsics.conf I've found the measurements in the exiting configuration don't make sense with the CAD model.

These are the tracking camera extrinsics in extrinsics.conf:

"name":	"D0014_Starling_2",
	"extrinsics": [{
			"parent": "imu_apps",
			"child":  "tracking_front",
			"T_child_wrt_parent": [0.037, 0.000, 0.0006],
			"RPY_parent_to_child":    [0, 90, 90]
		}, {
			"parent": "imu_apps",
			"child":  "tracking_down",
			"T_child_wrt_parent": [-0.08825, -0.0045, 0.00269],
			"RPY_parent_to_child":    [0, 0, 180]
		}, {
			"parent": "imu_apps",
			"child":  "tracking_rear",
			"T_child_wrt_parent": [-0.092, 0.016, 0.0036],
			"RPY_parent_to_child":    [0, -90, -90]
		}

The RPY rotations make sense. The translation vectors appear to be inconsistent when measuring in CAD. I think an extra zero was added on the tracking_down Z translation in the D0014_Starling_2 configuration (See attached screenshots). Can you verify if I'm understanding this correctly?

That leads me to another question: where exactly on the camera is the translation measuring to? Its seems to point somewhere in the middle of the lens but I cant find any documentation on where on the camera is the origin for the extrinsics. Thank you!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
system-image: 1.8.02-M0054-14.1a-perf-20241121
kernel:       #1 SMP PREEMPT Fri Nov 22 04:58:23 UTC 2024 4.19.125
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hw platform:  M0054
mach.var:     1.0.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
voxl-suite:   1.4.0-202411212200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
no current network connection
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have a Starling 2 and am using the 2S amprius silicon anode modalai battery that shipped with the drone. Says 3A charge, 4.2V/cell max, and 2.55V/cell min

Am I correct to be charging this with a standard LiPo balance charger with 3A to 4.2V/cell? That’s what I’ve been doing.

The 2.55V/cell is lower than I’m familiar with for lithium ion or polymer cells. Is there information available that shows the discharge voltage profile for these cells? Would you want to stop flying at 2.55V/cell? Or is this the absolute minimum you can reach before permanent damage occurs? I have been getting down to 3.7 or 3.6 v/cell and I start getting nervous that it will drop off quick, so I stop and charge.

Cheers!

@tom thank you for your response! Is there a planned date for the next SDK release? Is it possible to test a pre-release / dev version?

Hello,

I'm new! I have a starling 2 drone with 3 tracking cameras. Position mode flight is working fine - most of the time anyway. When viewing QVIO overlay on the web portal, or when viewing voxl-inspect-qvio --feature depth, I only see 1 camera (front facing) listed/shown with tracking points. Is the system only using 1 tracking camera for VIO? I expected it would use 3 since it has 3 tracking cameras.

Can anyone shine some light on this topic for me? I would like to use more of the cameras for tracking in case 1 camera is pointing at a blank wall for example, then the other cameras could continue to locate the drone. Please link me to resources that could help me understand the system, and options/alternatives/adjustments I can make.

Cheers!