Missing Photos During a Mission

[Malli35998]

I have completed several thermal IR surveys using an Autel Dual 640R thermal camera. I have noticed a consistent issue whereby some photos (including entire flight lines) are missing. One explanation is that the camera stops taking photos then starts again. Another is that the photo action itself is not programmed in during the mission creation so the drone skips over individual photos or in some cases entire flight line(s) of photos. See attached screen capture. Either way this is a bug that needs to be fixed.

 

[jaja6009]

Sorry to hear that the firmware upgrade made the different thermal camera issues better but did not fix them.

Be sure to report this to Autel so they know about this. I am inclined to think that they will get it right eventually.
Most drones have teething pains.

 

[Malli35998]

Sorry to hear that the firmware upgrade made the different thermal camera issues better but did not fix them.

Be sure to report this to Autel so they know about this. I am inclined to think that they will get it right eventually.
Most drones have teething pains.

 

[Malli35998]

I did submit a ticket to Autel. I generally do after each issue I run into.

 

[ChristianH]

I did submit a ticket to Autel. I generally do after each issue I run into.

Any updates on this issue?

I am experiencing the same problem with my mapping missions using the 640T. The rgb sensor jpeg are all there but the related thermal files (irg, TIFF, jpeg) are incomplete.

 

[Malli35998]

Any updates on this issue?

I am experiencing the same problem with my mapping missions using the 640T. The rgb sensor jpeg are all there but the related thermal files (irg, TIFF, jpeg) are incomplete.

No updates. I haven’t flown a thermal IR survey lately. I have a couple to fly in October.

 

[ChristianH]

No updates. I haven’t flown a thermal IR survey lately. I have a couple to fly in October.

I'm preparing for some upcoming thermal surveys. Is this confirmed to be a firmware upgrade issue or just speculation?

 

[Malli35998]

I'm preparing for some upcoming thermal surveys. Is this confirmed to be a firmware upgrade issue or just speculation?

Not sure what you mean. I hope this issue is fixed in a future firmware/Explorer update.

 

[ChristianH]

Not sure what you mean. I hope this issue is fixed in a future firmware/Explorer update.

I'm referring to the first reply to this thread by jaja6009 mentioning a firmware upgrade. Asking if we know if it is a firmware problem that didn't exist until a recent upgrade or if it has always been there?

 

[ChristianH]

Not sure what you mean. I hope this issue is fixed in a future firmware/Explorer update.

I'm referring to the first reply to this thread by jaja6009 mentioning a firmware upgrade. Asking if we know if it is a firmware problem that didn't exist until a recent upgrade or if it has always been there

 

[ChristianH]

So I sent an email to autelrobotics support and they got back to me right away asking for firmware version details. They did hint that my issue could be from insufficient cooling of the components which makes sense since most of my missing files are toward the end of the mission grid. I'll let you know what else they have to say.

I will do another test in the early morning hours to see if that resolves my issue. It doesn't help that we are having a late summer heatwave here in Utah...

 

[Malli35998]

So I sent an email to autelrobotics support and they got back to me right away asking for firmware version details. They did hint that my issue could be from insufficient cooling of the components which makes sense since most of my missing files are toward the end of the mission grid. I'll let you know what else they have to say.

I will do another test in the early morning hours to see if that resolves my issue. It doesn't help that we are having a late summer heatwave here in Utah...

I will do another test soon as well. Also, the thermal surveys that I am doing are in the Fall/Winter are in October and January. All will be acquired during the morning hours.

 

[ChristianH]

I was told by autel robotic support that the camera mode needs to be in PiP in order to get all files (5 in total) per image capture. You should have the following files:
1) IRX_*.irg
2) IRX_*.JPG - jpeg with thermal color map
3) MAX_*.JPG - jpeg from the 8K rgb sensor
4) MIX_*.JPG - jpeg that combines the IRX and MAX jpegs
5) IRX_*.TIFF - TIFF file with numerical values related to absolute temperature


Attached is a set of test flights (each color a different mission) in the afternoon heat. Notice that towards the end of the flight there are missing (delayed) image captures. The gaps/delays led to a burst of photo captures which is most prominent in the green mission. I confirmed that the burst was in fact at the right location.

Since I was still missing image captures, I redid the same missions just before sunrise at an air temperature 10C cooler than the previous flights. I've plotted the photo locations separately for easier viewing. You can see that most of the missions were good, but some had delays in capture but not nearly as bad as the previous day's test missions.

It appears that there could very well be an air temperature dependency related to being able to keep the senor cool and getting consistently spaced captures. I don't think that cooling is the only issue since I do observe the delayed capture in some missions but not others.

-Christian