PX4 Sync / Q&A: April 02, 2025Dronecode Calendar
Announcements
Future Events
Flight Testing Update
Release Discussion
Bug Report / Q&A
The team at Ascend Engineering (Chicago). are running flight testing for the community.
How to reach out to the team
GitHub: Tag user @PX4 /testflights
Discord: #flight-testing
Weekly on the PX4 Dev Call
How to Request Testing (GitHub)
Write down the steps to test your issue/pull request
Make sure to note the risk involved in flying
Write down things to look out for / anticipate - eg: “we are looking for no yaw jumps”
Add issue/pull request to the Flight Testing project board
Make sure to specify any hardware/software requirements as much as possible
Resources:
Comments / Discussion:
v1.16 Release Discussion
Release Candidate possible cut today!
Fixed Wing known blockers:
Multi Copter known blockers:
Rover Blockers: Automated testing in CI maybe needed to consider it as a part of the release.
Optical Flow:
Simulation known blockers:
Resources
1- [Bug] Hover thrust estimator bug · Issue #24654 · PX4/PX4-Autopilot · GitHub
2- [Bug] Altitude estimation issues · Issue #24653 · PX4/PX4-Autopilot · GitHub
I want to discuss altitude estimation issues. I’ve opened a PX4 issue here
opened 03:33AM - 02 Apr 25 UTC
bug-report
### Describe the bug
Airframe is the Dexi (ARKV6X + ARK Flow)
- No GPS
- Flow +… Distance sensor for postion/altitude hold
Below is a quick hover test in Manual mode inside my house.
https://review.px4.io/plot_app?log=2d4d8f06-edca-4e79-a5b9-5c729d971e15
The plot on the left is from EKF replay with EKF2_HGT_REF set to Range
As you can see when EKF2_HGT_REF is set to range the estimate tracks the distance sensor once it starts to hover, although there is still a large bias in the estimated height (I've applied an offset to show that they align)
**The problem**
The issue I want to focus on however is the standard case where EKF2_HGT_REF = 1 (GPS). Since we are not moving horizontally and the distance sensor data is continuous, we _should_ meet the requirements for "range aid". This should allow the autopilot to control the Z position around the distance sensor data directly.
1 Like
There’s also what feels to me like a bug with hover thrust and throttle setpoint
opened 03:46AM - 02 Apr 25 UTC
bug-report
### Describe the bug
When flying in Manual mode, shortly after takeoff the dron… e rapidly loses altitude. This coincides with `hover_thurst_estimate.valid`. I set MPC_USE_HTE to 0 and this continues to occur. It seems like the throttle setpoint changes for some reason.
https://review.px4.io/plot_app?log=2d4d8f06-edca-4e79-a5b9-5c729d971e15
### To Reproduce
_No response_
### Expected behavior
_No response_
### Screenshot / Media
_No response_
### Flight Log
_No response_
### Software Version
_No response_
### Flight controller
_No response_
### Vehicle type
None
### How are the different components wired up (including port information)
_No response_
### Additional context
_No response_
1 Like
On the subject of optical flow SITL testing. Daniel had a good idea – he suggested “replay tests” where we can replay real flight log data through the EKF and have some basic pass/fail criteria.
1 Like
