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How do I perform a Flight Plan mission with ANAFI Ai?

Flight Plan is a powerful tool, which enables you to fully prepare and configure automated flight plans, you can run once or routinely.

 

Through a use case scenario, this section will teach you the basics of automated flight and filming management, with ANAFI Ai and Flight Plan.

 

Moreover, The Anafi AI is able to support AMSL altitude (Above Mean Sea Level), that mean it permits to use a reference point to measure more precisely the environment

 

WARNING: the following Flight Plan and scenario have been set up for educational purposes only and such a flight would not be authorized without proper credentials.

 

Flight Plan: scenario

The mayor of a village island has the responsibility of 3 lighthouses. He wants to set up a daily routine inspection of the lantern of each lighthouse before sundown.

 

His main constraint is to avoid flying over populated areas. The tourist office of the village also sees in daily ANAFI Ai flights the opportunity to gather exceptional footage for communication purposes.

 

The proposed method relies on setting up three Points of Interest (POI) first, then programming Waypoints (WP) around them, but remember you can set up, move, edit, or add any POI or WP in any order.

 

Tap the “MISSIONS” icon in the left bottom corner of the HUD of FreeFlight 7 to access missions options.

 

Tap “Flight Plan” to select this mission. The map of your surroundings opens full screen.

 

If you are not connected to ANAFI Ai, the minimized live view is black, as on the next screenshot.

Tap “New Flight Plan”, then edit and confirm the name of your project to start.

 

Flight Plan: creating POI

As the proposed scenario is based on the inspection of three different locations, it seems sensible to build this Flight Plan around those POI.

Long press a point on the screen to make it a POI and to open the POI interface: the next screenshot shows the position of the first lighthouse. It is isolated and its area also offers a good take-off point for the flight.

 

Slide the selector left or right to define the height of the POI: it is the point ANAFI Ai’s camera will aim when filming the POI.

 

As the mission is to inspect the lantern at the top of the lighthouses, we are setting POI at their known height.

 

Tap the “X” on the left of the POI interface to make the POI idle and return to Flight Plan interface.

Repeat the procedure to add more POI and set their height. Note active POI are displayed in bright green (as on the earlier screenshot), and idle POI are each displayed in different colors (as on the following screenshot).

Flight Plan: creating and managing WP (Waypoint)

Let us zoom to the area of the first POI, that of the tallest lighthouse, where we intend to start and finish the flight.

Tap a point on the screen to make it a WP and to open the WP interface.

 

Slide the selectors left or right to define the height of flight over take-off point at the WP, and to set the camera angle.

 

Tap and move the arrow around the WP to change the direction of the camera: on the following screenshot, we have directed the camera toward the lighthouse.

 

Note active WP are displayed in bright green.

Tap a point on the screen to create a new WP: by default, it is set at the same altitude and camera angle as the one before, and the camera points in the direction of the flight which brought the drone to the WP – refer to the next screenshot.

Let us start the inspection on the second WP: adjust its altitude with the slider (55 m), so that the drone slightly overflies the lantern of the lighthouse.

 

Tap the POI to activate it, then tap the WP you wish to link: the arrow of the WP turns toward the POI and it is displayed in the same color as the POI – bright green when the POI is active, or the POI’s distinctive color when it is idle.

 

Tap the screen to add more WP around the lighthouse: they are linked to the POI with a constant flight level, by default, until you tap “X” to close the POI interface.

 

The screenshots on the next page illustrate each of these steps.

Flying toward the second lighthouse is straightforward, as the drone does not have to fly over populated areas.

 

Tap the screen to add a WP near the next inspection zone: note its altitude and its camera angle mirror those of the earlier WP.

Repeat earlier procedure to program the inspection of the second lighthouse.

 

Note from the next screenshot that when no POI or WP is active, the bottom of the Flight Plan interface gives you flight time and distance estimates for the Flight Plan: still plenty of time for the inspection of the third lighthouse and the flight back to take-off point.

The third lighthouse is inside the village, which cannot be flown over. On the next screenshot, reaching WP #16 in a straight line implies flying too close from houses. This gives the opportunity to check the Segment interface.

 

Tap a segment to activate the Segment interface: you can modify the speed of ANAFI Ai for any flight segment (from 0.5 m/s to 12 m/s by 0.5 m/s increments – default value: 5 m/s).

Tap the “+” on the middle of the segment to create a new WP there: note that by default, the altitude of the new WP considers flight level change between the WP before and the next WP.

 

Tap and slide the new WP to move it away from the village.

Creating a temporary POI can be a useful aid for framing.

 

With the next screenshots, you can check that a constant -5.0° camera angle should keep a nice framing on the village, provided WP #17 is moved away from the POI: camera angle adapts in real time as you move a POI-linked WP.

 

Then you can delete the POI and fine tune camera directions manually.

Repeat earlier procedures to program the inspection of the third lighthouse and transit WP back to the take-off area.

 

Obviously, Flight Plans can take any shape or form and the last WP does not have to be close to the take-off area: you can start and finish a Flight Plan in different locations.

 

However, if you want to land away from your take-off area, remember to select “No” Final RTH from the Flight Parameters – refer to the “Flight Parameters” section of this chapter for details.

 

Flight Plan: Image parameters

The Flight Plan is complete. As you can see on the next screenshot, FreeFlight 7 estimates it will take about 17’40’’ to complete the 4.8 km flight. Time to set the Image parameters.

Tap the “Image parameters” box to open the corresponding interface.

Select your settings.

 

Flight Plan Image parameters are as follows (default values in bold).

 

 

Video:

Resolutions4K or 1080p
Framerate30 fps (24 to 30 fps for 4K / 24 to 60 fps for 1080p)
Exposure-3.0 EV to +3.0 EV (DV: 0.0 EV)
White BalanceAuto / Sunny / Cloudy

 

 

Timelapse:

Duration1 s, 2 s, 4 s, 10 s, 30 s or 60 s intervals between shots
Resolution12 MP / 48 MP
Exposure-3.0 EV to +3.0 EV (DV: 0.0 EV)
White BalanceAuto / Sunny / Cloudy

 

 

GPS lapse:

Distance0.5 m, 1 m, 2 m, 5 m, 10 m, 20 m, 50 m, 100 m, or 200 m between shots
Resolution12 MP / 48 MP
Exposure-3.0 EV to +3.0 EV (DV: 0.0 EV)
White BalanceAuto / Sunny / Cloudy

 

Tap “X” to close Image parameters and confirm your settings.

 

Flight Plan: Flight parameters

Tap the “Image parameters” box to open the corresponding interface. Four flight parameters determine the behavior of ANAFI Ai during a Flight Plan (default values in bold):

 

Obstacle avoidanceYes / No
Progressive orientationYes / No
Final RTHYes / No
RTH on data link lossYes / No

 

Tap “X” to close Flight parameters and confirm your settings.

 

Tap the “Done” button to save your Flight Plan.

Flight Plan: execution

Close FreeFlight 7, get to your take-off area, set up ANAFI Ai for the flight with your Parrot Skycontroller 4 and your device.

 

Tap the “MISSIONS” icon in the left bottom corner of the HUD of FreeFlight 7 to access missions options.

 

Tap “Flight Plan” to select this mission: the last plan you have programmed appears.

 

Tap the green “Play” (arrow) button from the right of the Flight Plan interface to launch the flight: ANAFI Ai takes off, flies to the first WP and begins the mission.

Remember you can pause any Flight Plan at any time: tap the red “STOP” (square) button of the interface or reclaim the commands of the drone.

 

When you are done exploring or taking Panoramas and you are ready to resume the Flight Plan, tap “Play” to start again from the latest WP ANAFI Ai has passed.

 

Activate and monitor every Flight Plan with extreme care: always check your drone’s route is safe, always retain visual contact with ANAFI Ai, and always be ready to stop the Flight Plan (tap the “STOP” box of the HUD or reclaim commands of the drone) in case a danger arises.

 

Flight Plan: import

To import a MAVlink file directly in FreeFlight 7, follow the next steps:

 

  • Send the file to your email address.
  • Open the email with Outlook on your iOS device.
  • Tap on the file.
  • Click on the share button.
  • Click on “share with”, and choose FreeFlight 7 App.

 

FreeFlight 7 will open directly on the Flight Plan interface and charge the MAVlink file. Note that an imported flight plan can’t be edited.