Introduction
With Return To Signal (RTS) one should never fear losing the drone anymore after live video feed loss due to weak radio signal. Elios 3 automatically monitors the live video connection and as soon as the video is lost due to weak radio signal conditions, the drone will automatically fly back along the same trajectory it came until the video is re-established.
Usage
In the top left corner of the Cockpit application, an RTS icon is shown. The icon will be green when RTS is available and red when RTS is unavailable. See limitations.
When a video feed loss is detected, RTS will start automatically. A button with a 5 seconds countdown will show in the top left corner of the Cockpit screen.
The user can deactivate RTS by tapping on the button or pressing once the ATTI-SPORT remote controller button.
Once RTS is active, the flight mode will change to AUTO and a message informs the pilot
From there on, the drone will fly back its past trajectory until the video feed gets back and then automatically stop. See limitations.
The pilot can pause RTS by pressing once the ATTI-SPORT remote controller button. Pressing once again the button resumes RTS.
Limitations
RTS functionality is based on the recorded trajectory of the drone. Bad trajectory data will block RTS functionality.
Reasons of bad trajectory data
- Collisions
- Hooked, blocked in the environment
- Drone drift due to strong wind
- High speed flights
- Complex environments : high presence of dust, highly symmetrical
Other limitations
- Battery SoC needs to be above 10%. If the battery SoC falls below 10% while RTS is active, RTS will stop
- Not enough data, RTS needs at least 5 meters distance of good data
- Maximum return distance is 300 meters
RTS functionally is based on the video stream. Some loss of signal analog to a video stream loss will not activate RTS
- Cockpit application crash or closed
- Tablet to RC cable is disconnected
- 4k RGB camera is defective
- Transmission system is defective
Q&A
Q : My drone does not fly back until getting a signal again.
A : If the trajectory data is not good enough until getting back the signal again, RTS will stop. In this case a warning will inform the pilot.
Q : My drone gets stuck while flying back.
A : As the drone follows the forward trajectory, backwards. It can happen that it collides or gets blocked in the environment. If this happens RTS will stop and the following warning will inform the pilot.
