RTK Torch an Autel evo2 Pro V3 Drone

GPS/GNSS
1

We have an Autel evo 2 pro v3 drone with RTK.

We also have two RTK torches.

One torch we have configured in BaseCast mode.

The other torch we have configured as a rover.

The Autel drone can only receive corrections via NTRIP, and it has a menu in which you put in the following information:

-Host (IP Address)

-port number

-Account (your email or username for whatever NTRIP service you use)

-Password (the password for you account to the service)

-mountpoint

The thing is, the drone controller REQUIRES there to be an account and password for it to connect to an NTRIP server and receive corrections.

If you leave those fields blank and try to connect, you get an error message.

If you put in random words into the fields, it will connect but it will not reliably receive corrections.

The controller will say it is connected, maybe get a float value, disconnect, reconnect, maybe get a fix for one second, go to float, disconnect… and on and on and just go in a circle like that.

It looks like this is an Autel coding issue, as the controller seems to need to receive confirmation of a valid account and password with each message that is sent to it.

What can we do? we would rather not have to go through some intermediary, sending the data online to an NTRIP service that we connect to. It would be easiest for our workflows if we could connect directly to the Base via NTRIP because we do not always have reliable internet connection in the field.

I also had some questions regarding the LED’s and what they indicate. It is clear that when the satellite LED is blinking it is receiving satellite signals. Does it do anything to indicate float or fix values? like does it turn to a blinking green or something?

We use SWmaps to indicate fix status of course, but I was curious to know of any other indicators.

As for the bluetooth connection LED to the right of the power button. It will blink blue, then light blue, then orange, then off, and kind of go through that cycle. what does that indicate? I couldn’t quite see it in your documentation.

2

Hi Patrick, @Patrick_Davis U can use GNSS_Master but it has some behaviours;
instead the STRSVR of rtklib can do the trick:

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run the daemon,the first for the base output:
match the input field as the source of the gnss_base (serial or tcp/ip)
output as ntrip caster
as example,for the client: I input the ip of the pc/laptop who run the first daemon…so u can use a custom ntrip_client.
There is also str2str as command line daemon for all mcu/os.
https://www.rtklib.com/prog/manual_2.4.2.pdf
str2str - manual_2.4.2.pdf (75.7 KB)

3

Thanks Marco!

A few questions.

We at least need a solution we can set up with our phone.
We don’t necessarily mind using RTKlib. but we are out in the field a lot, and having to set up a computer IN ADDITION to the base station would be troublesome

I guess GNSS master will work, but what kind of behaviors do you mean?
Does it just drop out and lose signal or something?
Do you know if Sparkfun will have any solutions in the near future to be able to add an account and PW?

Thanks again!

4

Can you just use free credentials from something like rtk2go?

5

We are out in the field a lot and do not always have access to the internet. Having a direct connection to the torch would be ideal.

6

Hi Patrick, @Patrick_Davis,
sorry I didn’t reply but I had to remember… and test if it worked…on a esp32.
XBee v0.5.3 might be for you, use this one not the last one.

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connect to the ntrip caster on the same ip of the esp32.

7

No problem Marco, I greatly appreciate the help.

Oh! This is the same software ardusimple uses on their wifi xbee socket.

The ardusimple xbee socket is apparently just an xbee socket that has an esp32 and a wifi antenna on it. Our drone kits are currently set up with base stations that use these sockets.

The autel does receive corrections from this software.

A few more questions for you though:

  1. Can the rtk torch send NTRIP corrections over wifi to the drone at the same time as it is sending corrections over LoRa to another torch that is acting as a rover?

  2. Are you saying that we can load xbee v0.5.3 onto the esp32 in addition to the firmware you have setup on the esp32?
    To make sure i understand the process:
    -we would somehow load xbee v0.5.3 onto the esp32 on the torch and put in the configurations you have provided.
    -once this is done, we should be able to connect to the wifi that the drone outputs (either when it is in basecast mode or when the TCP/NTRIP/AP mode checkboxes are checked in the config menu)
    and we will be able to put in the credentials on the xbee to get corrections to the drone.
    -basically, the torch will cast rtcm corrections to the xbee v0.5.3 software and the xbee v0.5.3 software will cast to the drone.

Is all of that correct?

  1. The main issue we would have with the ardusimple xbee sockets is that when we lose the wifi connection, the ssid for the ardusimple xbee would completely disappear. we would have to restart the base in order to get it working again.
    Do you foresee that being a possible issue with this setup?

Thanks again so much for your help!

8

I did not intend to modify the torch software,i.e
not on the ESP32-WROOM-32UE-N16R2 module located into the torch, but on a separate esp32 module…
It would be desirable if SparkFun implement the RTK_Everywhere_Firmware with ntrip features.
Yes

esp32 with xbee reconnects to ap;of course calling it xbee is just an understatement,it’s a simple 802.11bgn with too little power for a wide range but the ntrip features are good for the purpose.

9

Can the rtk torch send NTRIP corrections over wifi to the drone at the same time as it is sending corrections over LoRa to another torch that is acting as a rover?

10

Hey Marco, we are going to give XBee v0.5.3 a try. Now to make sure I understand how you have set it up: The menu in the upper left hand corner of the image you have attached connects the ESP32 to the RTK torch’s wifi. The “NTRIP server” menu sets up the server that will receive corrections from the RTK torch, and we will input this information into the configuration of the RTK Torch. The “NTRIP caster” menu sets the port, mountpoint, un and pw that we will put into our drone to allow it to recieve the data stream. Is all of that correct? Why is the UART Baudrate set if we are not using UART? Does that just set the baudrate that will be used to send the data over wifi from the base to the rover?

11

Sorry if I reply late but I’m at utc+2
Assuming the torch acts as both base cast and wifi station, you need to connect to it with xbee esp32…ap or station mode.
once connected you need to open the client socket flow but since the board expects the uart flow also you need to bridge tx and rx so that traffic flows on the xbee esp32 tcp socket.
But notice here TCP/UDP Menu - SparkFun RTK Everywhere Product Manual

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The images in the previous post are related to the breakout board that outputs on uart port.

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