Docking Station

A guide for optimizing the Docking Station by linking and configuring its settings.

To link a specific drone with its corresponding docking station, first ensure that both the drone and docking station are registered and online. Then, navigate to the "Settings" section on the Dashboard, select the drone from the drop-down menu, and access the "Docking Station" settings to complete the linkage and automate the complete process.

Linking the drone with the Docking Station

  • To link the docking station, click on the is the drop-down and select the docking station, which is opposite the Linked docking station.

  • Once the docking station and drone are linked, place the drone in the docking station and select fetch location, this is to be done for setting the docking station location.

Marking the Docking Station Location

To enable the drone to perform Return To Docking Station and securely land on the landing pad, it is important to mark the docking station's location accurately.

  • The Docking Station Location can be marked from the Docking Station menu under settings.

  • To mark the Docking station location, make sure the Drone is online and has a GPS satellite count of at least 10 satellites.

  • Mark the location on the map or use "Fetch drone location" to accurately mark the docking station location.

Place the drone on top of the docking station before fetching docking station coordinates to the drone's live location.

Marking the Safe Location

In scenarios where the docking station is unreachable mid-flight, the drone will go to the set safe location and land. The operator can also set failsafe actions for the drone to return to the safe location when the specific failsafe event occurs.

  • Once the docking station location is set, then to set a safe location, keep the drone in a minimum radius of 7m to a maximum of 20m or click on the desired location in the green circle to mark the safe location coordinates.

This safe location distance is set by DJI because if the safe location is set to less the 7m then the drone default will land on the docking station.

Place the drone in the desired safe location and fetch its coordinates to mark the safe location according to the drone's live location.

Behaviour of the drone when performing RTSL

  • RTSL action uses the drone's/autopilot RTH (return to home) command. FlytBase dynamically moves the drone's home point to a safe location. So, when autopilot/drone triggers RTH the drone returns to the safe location instead of the takeoff location.

  • All the limitations/conditions that apply to the RTH for that particular drone model do apply to the drone during RTSL as well.

  • For DJI Mavic 2 series drones (including the enterprise series), the behaviour is as described in the DJI manual. FlytBase enables the 'RTH at current altitude' option in DJI settings.

    • The drone will travel at the current altitude to the home (safe) location if the distance between the drone and the home (safe) location is more than 5m and less than 20m.

    • The drone will land at the current location if the drone is less than 5m away from the home (safe) location.

    • The drone will achieve the RTH altitude if the current location is more than 20m and the current altitude is below the RTH altitude level.

    • The drone will proceed to the home (safe) location if the current location is more than 20m and the altitude is higher than the RTH altitude level.

    • The drone may gain altitude if the drone senses any obstacles during RTH. Please read the DJI product manual for detailed information.

When can the RTSL action be used?

The Drone can be configured to perform RTSL in case of the following failsafe:

  1. RC link loss

  2. FlytBase link loss

  3. Drone LTE link loss

  4. Low battery

  5. Precision Landing Failsafe

RTSL action is not supported in the cases where drone/autopilot RTH command is not supported. e.g. a critical battery event.

When does the drone perform the RTSL action?

  • When a failsafe is triggered and that failsafe action is set to RTSL.

  • By pressing the RTSL quick action button from the FlytBase dashboard.

  • By pressing the Return To Home button on the FlytBase Mobile Application.

  • By pressing the Return To Home button on the DJI remote controller.

Collision Avoidance will be enabled only if RTSL is triggered from the FlytBase dashboard i.e when a failsafe is triggered or when the user clicks on the RTSL quick action button from the FlytBase dashboard.

Docking Station Safe Location Do's and Dont's

  • The path between the docking station and the safe location should be clear of any obstacles.

  • For safety, consider keeping the area in the green circle clear of any obstacles.

Docking station auto mode

When flying frequent and recurring autonomous flights, an operator would not want to execute the Docking Station routines manually every time. To automate these routines, the operator can enable Docking Station auto mode from the Docking Station menu of the Settings window.

Once enabled, the Docking Station will trigger the pre-takeoff routine by default when an operator executes a flight.

Alternatively, if the operator wishes to control DS routines (except Drone Power & RC Power) from the Quick Access Tray they can. They can even view and/or test each part of the DiaB mission, they may even leave this setting turned off.

Landing Verification

To ensure that the docking station enclosure closes only when the drone has safely landed inside the station, it is recommended that the operator enables landing verification in the docking station settings. The Docking station auto mode must be enabled to use this feature. How this works: Once the drone lands inside the box, it looks for the ArUco markers on the enclosure panel and confirms a safe landing.

The Landing verification feature works only with the docking stations equipped with ArUco markers on the inside of the front panel of the enclosure.

  • Click Confirm to save settings.

To remotely add, manage, and operate a docking station, the operator can navigate to the following section.

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