Take remote control
Not everything is automated. From Remote Control you can take off, send a drone to any point on the map, point its camera, run a single command or a whole Skill, fly it by keyboard or gamepad, and bring it home.
Before you begin
- A console account with the operator or organization administrator role.
- A drone that is online, real or simulated.
Pick a drone
Open Operate›Remote Control and choose the drone under Select asset. The map moves to it, and the panel at the top left shows its state.
| Row | Shows |
|---|---|
| BATT | Battery level. |
| MODE | What the drone reports it is doing, for example Working or Idle. |
| CTRL | Whether a gamepad is plugged into your computer. |
| MANUAL | Whether you are flying it by hand right now. |
The bar at the bottom of the map holds the flight controls.
Take off and fly to a point
Take off
Set the height in ALT, in metres above the takeoff point, and select Take off. The button asks Take off to 50 m?: select it again within a few seconds to confirm.
Send it somewhere
Right-click the map where the drone should go and choose Go To Here. It flies there at the height it has now. Look At points its camera at the spot instead.
Before the drone moves, the platform checks the way against your no-fly zones. If it crosses one, the console shows what happens: a detour, a request for approval, a warning, or a refusal. See Sites and no-fly zones.
Bring it home
Select Return to home, and again to confirm. The drone flies home and lands, around any blocking no-fly zone on the way.
Run a command, a Skill or an Application
Select Commands in the bottom bar. It lists everything the selected drone can do right now:
- Capabilities: single commands, for example
flight.takeoffornavigation.go_to, with their parameters. - Skills and Applications: start a whole response on this drone.
Fill in the parameters and select Run.
Every command you send is checked by the platform before it reaches the drone, exactly like a step of a Skill.
Fly by hand
Get airborne
Manual flight starts in the air. Take off first: Manual stays disabled while the drone is on the ground.
If the drone is running an Application, manual flight takes over: the step under way ends as failed with manual control took over.
Select Manual
The button shows LINK… while the control link is set up and LIVE once you are flying. Fly with the keyboard, or plug in a gamepad: CTRL turns to Connected. A panel shows the keys you hold, the speed you fly at and the camera lens.
Manual turns to LIVE and the panel opens. On the Zoom lens, the zoom keys work too. Keys Does W S Forward, back A D Left, right ↑ ↓ Up, down ← → Turn I K Tilt the camera 1 2 3 Slow, medium, fast + − Zoom Select Wide, Zoom or IR in the panel to switch the camera lens. Zoom works on the Zoom and IR lenses. Switch on Track to keep the map following the drone.
Hand control back
Select LIVE to leave manual flight, or Return to home to leave it and fly home in one step.
No-fly zones don't stop you in manual flight. Close to a zone the map shows the distance; inside one it shows Restricted airspace, pulses red and sounds an alarm.
What you have now
- A drone you can send anywhere on the map, with every flight checked against your no-fly zones.
- Single commands, Skills and Applications started on the drone you chose.
- Manual flight by keyboard or gamepad when you need it.
Troubleshooting
- The buttons are greyed out. Your account needs the operator role.
- Manual stays disabled. The drone is still on the ground, or it doesn't offer manual flight. Hover over the button to see which.
- Go To Here is refused. The target is inside a blocking no-fly zone or beyond what the battery allows. The message says which.
- CTRL stays Disconnected with a gamepad plugged in. Press any button on the gamepad: browsers only report a gamepad after it has been used.