UgCS DJI iOS App version 1.6 User Guide

UgCS DJI iOS App version 1.6

Product Information: UgCS for DJI iOS

The UgCS for DJI iOS app version 1.6 is a user-friendly application that allows DJI drone users to plan and execute  automated flights. This app provides access to features such as unlocking No-Fly Zones (NFZ), creating routes, and executing missions with failsafe actions. UgCS for DJI also offers a simulator function for training purposes and camera settings for photos.

Product Usage Instructions

Unlocking the No-Fly Zones (NFZ) for DJI drones
To unlock the No-Fly Zones (NFZ) for DJI drones, follow the instructions provided in section 1 of the user manual.

Drone connection and first flight
To connect your iOS device with the drone and execute your first flight, follow the steps provided in section 3 of the user manual. This includes getting ready, DJI verification process before the first flight, DJI application activation process, and connecting iOS device with the drone.

Creating a route
To create a route, follow the steps provided in section 3.6 of the user manual. This includes connecting UgCS for DJI and UgCS desktop application, and creating a route.

Mission execution specifics
To execute a mission with failsafe actions, follow the instructions provided in section 4.1 of the user manual. This section also provides information on command execution specifics, command availability, telemetry information specifics, waypoint turn types, Click & Go, and setting take-off point altitude.

Using Simulator
To use the simulator function for training, follow the  instructions provided in section 5 of the user manual.

UgCS for DJI user interface
To navigate the UgCS for DJI user interface, refer to section 6 of the user manual. This section provides information on the main screen, offline route function, and camera settings for photos.

Unlocking the No-Fly Zones (NFZ) for DJI drones

To plan and fly missions in restricted areas the NFZ has to be unlocked within two levels:

1. To plan missions, the NFZ has to be unlocked in UgCS desktop (feature enabled for UgCS PRO and UgCS ENTERPRISE),
2. To fly, unblock the DJI’s Geospatial Environment Online (GEO) restrictions for the drone. More detailed information: https://www.dji.com/flysafe.

Preface

UgCS desktop is fully functional ground control software for drones, which runs on PC. UgCS provides all the tools required to plan aerial surveys, control drone directly, monitor telemetry, view and record online videos and do post-flight analysis. More information on UgCS desktop capabilities can be found: www.ugcs.com.
UgCS for DJI for iOS application (UgCS for DJI) is an application for iOS 12.4.5 devices to establish connection between DJI drones and UgCS desktop. UgCS for DJI supports following DJI vehicles:

• Phantom 4;
• Phantom 4 PRO series;
• Phantom 4 PRO V2.0;
• Phantom 4 ADV (will be detected as the profile of Phantom 4 PRO);
• Phantom 3 (all editions);
• Inspire 2;
• Inspire 1;
• A3;
• N3;
• M600 / M600 PRO;
• M200, M210, M210RTK;
• M200 series V2;
• M100;
• Mavic Pro, Mavic 2 Pro/Enterprise/Zoom;
• Spark;

UgCS for DJI can also be used as standalone application to manually fly DJI drone and capture photos or videos.

Drone connection and first flight

Getting ready
Following items are required to proceed:

1. DJI drone, supported by UgCS for DJI:
   • Phantom 4;
   • Phantom 4 PRO;
   • Phantom 4 ADV (will be detected as the profile of Phantom 4 PRO);
   • Phantom 3 (all editions);
   • Inspire 2;
   • Inspire 1 (Professional, Raw);
   • autopilot A3 series;
   • autopilot N3* series;
   • M600 or M600 Pro;
   • M200, M210, M210RTK;
   • M200 series V2;
   • M100;
   • Mavic Pro, Mavic 2 Pro/Enterprise/Zoom;
   • Spark;
2. iOS device, with preinstalled UgCS for DJI
3. PC with preinstalled UgCS for desktop.
   Get latest version www.ugcs.com/downloads

• To be used with DJI Lightbridge 2

DJI verification process before first flight
When launching UgCS for DJI for the first time, the iOS device must be connected to internet, in order to pass DJI verification. This is an automatic DJI process and does not need any input from the user.

DJI application activation process
DJI has introduced a new application activation process. If being used in China, DJI aircraft firmware require mobile applications that control DJI aircraft to be activated with the user’s DJI account. This will ensure operators to use correct set of geospatial information and flight functions for their aircraft, as determined by their geographical location and user profile.
A summary of the activation system is:

• Users in China are required to activate their application by logging into their DJI account at least once every three months within the application
• Activation will be persistent in the application until the user logs out
• A data connection will require to log into a DJI account. When launching UgCS for DJI application a DJI authentication pop-up window will be displayed – provide DJI account credentials to be sent to DJI (DJI account credentials are not stored in UgCS for DJI).
• Additionally, users in China are required to bind their aircraft to their user account in DJI Go. This is required only once
• Outside of China, the application will activate automatically without requiring user to log in.

Connecting iOS device with the drone
Connection of the iOS device and drone using UgCS for DJI varies depending on the drone type used:

Connecting with DJI Phantom 3 Standard
Remote controller (RC) of DJI Phantom 3 Standard creates Wi-Fi network. Ensure that no obstacles are between the drone and RC.

• Connect iOS device to Wi-Fi network provided by RC,
• Connect laptop / PC with installed UgCS desktop to the same Wi-Fi network.
• On the iOS device launch UgCS for DJI application and wait until the drone is detected.

When both application – mobile UgCS for DJI and desktop UgCS – are in the same network they should detect each other automatically. See chapter 2.4.

NOTE: The drone will not be detected by UgCS for DJI if other applications like DJI GO, Litchi, etc. are already connected to the drone, because multiple connections are not supported by the drone. In this case, close other applications and restart UgCS for DJI mobile application.

Connecting with other supported DJI vehicles
Connect mobile iOS device to remote controller (RC) via lightning Cable. Then the iOS device should offer to choose from application list, for example DJI GO and/or UgCS for DJI – choose to run UgCS for DJI.

Connecting with other supported DJI vehicles
Connect mobile iOS device to remote controller (RC) via lightning Cable. Then the iOS device should offer to choose from application list, for example DJI GO and/or UgCS for DJI – choose to run UgCS for DJI.

UgCS for DJI will automatically detect the type of DJI drone in use.

UgCS for DJI application screen will be displayed shortly after established connection:

In order to connect UgCS desktop and UgCS for DJI, the PC and iOS device must be in same network. iOS device or an external network router can be used as Wi-Fi access point.

Connecting UgCS for DJI and UgCS desktop application
Once both devices are in same network, connection will be established automatically. This will be confirmed in UgCS for DJI with a green indicator next to “UCS” (application status bar).

Creating a route
After successful drone and RC connection, and if UgCS desktop application and UgCS for DJI for iOS 12.4.5 are in same Wi-Fi network – the drone should be displayed as available in UgCS desktop software.
UgCS Vehicle cards:

NOTE: After UgCS for DJI application update, serial number of drone may be different to serial number displayed in previous version of UgCS for DJI. Therefore, it is possible that two vehicle cards will be displayed in UgCS: one from previous version and second for updated. Keep previous Vehicle card to review telemetry data of flights performed before the update.

Please follow the instructions described in UgCS User Manual how to create a route for appropriate drone profile. Route has to be created and after successful automatic route calculation, it can be uploaded to the drone.

In order to upload route to drone, Remote Controller switch should be in specified position:

• Phantom 3 (Professional, Advanced) – mode “F”;
• Phantom 3 (Standard) – RC switch S1 down;
• Phantom 4, Phantom 4 PRO / ADV – mode “P”;
• Inspire 1(Professional, Raw) – mode “F”;
• Inspire 2 – mode “P”;
• M600 \ M600 Pro – mode “P”;
• M200 – mode “P”;
• M100 – mode “F”;
• A3, N3 – mode “P”;
• Mavic Pro, Mavic 2 – mode “P”;
• Spark – mode “P”;

NOTE: Route can be uploaded only when the vehicle has acquired Home location. This can take up to one minute after the vehicle is switched on.
After route is uploaded to drone, click “Auto mode” command in UgCS desktop and drone should start the route.
NOTE: Planning long routes, take in to the account that the distance between adjacent waypoints should be less than 2 km. The first and last waypoints are also considered as an adjacent.

Operation list of UgCS desktop and UgCS for DJI

No

| ****

Step

| Application in which the Step is performed| ****

Notes

---|---|---|---

1

| Create route| UgCS

desktop

| To create, plan and calculate mission and routes, use UgCS desktop client.
**| Upload route| UgCS**

desktop

| To upload the route to drone use UgCS desktop:

• Select drone (start route automatic calculation)
• Press “Upload” button

Pay attention to the remote control mode:

Phantom 3 (Professional, Advanced) – mode “F” Phantom 3 (Standard) – RC switch S1 down, Phantom 4, Phantom 4 PRO / ADV – mode “P”, Inspire 1, (Professional, Raw) – mode “F”, Inspire 2 – mode “P”,

M600 / M600 Pro – mode “P”,

M200 – mode “P”,

M100 – mode “F”,

A3, N3 – mode “P”,

Mavic Pro, Mavic 2 – mode “P”,

Spark – mode “P”.

To stop a mission toggle RC switch from “F” to “P”.

To stop a Phantom 4 (PRO), mission toggle RC switch from “P” to “S” (Sport) mode.

User should set new home point with caution (see Route settings: home location). A home location is valid if it is within 30m of:

• initial take-off location
• aircraft’s current location
• remote controller’s current location as shown by RC GPS
• mobile device’s current location

NOTE: Route will not be uploaded if drone has completed the mission. In this case, send “Hold” or “Manual mode” command.

3

| Auto –

Launch route

| UgCS

desktop

| Use UgCS desktop to launch route. Press “Auto mode” command in UgCS desktop. After drone has finished the route, “Auto Mode” command will enable and the route can be repeated.

NOTE: For Phantom 3 Standard, ensure RC throttle stick is not locked down!

4

| Manual mode| UgCS

desktop

| Sets vehicle in manual mode, for example, to control vehicle with RC. This command interrupts mission and erases it from drone memory. New route can be uploaded.

5

| Hold| UgCS

desktop

| Puts mission on hold. If flown in Click & Go mode – stops the vehicle and clears current target point.

NOTE: When drone is in ‘Hold’ mode, operator can move it via RC only along the current pass (only forward and backward of the route allowed).

6

| Continue| UgCS

desktop

| Continues mission from point where mission was put on hold.

7

| Track mission| UgCS

desktop or UgCS for DJI

|

• Use UgCS desktop to track vehicle’s telemetry data.
• Use UgCS for DJI to control camera.
• Use both applications to change control mode or failsafe command performance (return to home).

8| Take pictures or record video| UgCS desktop or UgCS for DJI| Use remote controller or dedicated buttons in UgCS for DJI application to make a shot or start/stop recording of video.

NOTE: Minimal time interval between taking pictures is different for different DJI drones. If the time interval is too short, an error message will be displayed.

9| Configure camera| UgCS for DJI| The parameters of camera can be modified in „Camera settings”.
10| Land| UgCS

desktop

| Phantom 3 and Inspire 1 support Land mission command in UgCS desktop. Use Return to Home command in UgCS for DJI.

NOTE: Maneuver the aircraft during landing to avoid obstacles.

11| Click & Go| UgCS desktop| Allows to interactively command the aircraft to fly to a location by clicking on the map. See 3.6 Click & Go section for more information.
12| Joystick| UgCS desktop (UgCS for DJI in future releases)| Control vehicle with joystick.
13| Return Home| UgCS desktop or UgCS for DJI| Allows to interactively command aircraft to fly to a home location. Maneuver the aircraft to avoid obstacles, when returning home.

NOTE: If the vehicle is within 30m from Home position, it will land immediately.

Mission execution specifics

Current part of article relates to UgCS desktop application and vehicle behavior. Mission waypoint actions supported by DJI:

Camera yaw angle will force aircraft to make yaw at given waypoint. Or use RC or UgCS for DJI to control camera tilt. NOTE: For Waypoint mission (all drone types), possible tilt values are [0..90].
NOTE: For “Set Camera altitude / zoom” action setting camera yaw different from 0.0 will trigger relative “RotateAircraft” for all models.
Camera mode| Yes| Start/stop video recording or make single shot at given waypoin
Use remote control or dedicated buttons in UgCS for DJI application to make shot or start/stop video recording.
Wait| Yes| Only one wait action per waypoint is allowed.
Yaw| Yes| On DJI devices Yaw action is executed in the following manner – turning to the defined angle starts from the waypoint where the corresponding action is set and reaches the defined angle the moment it reaches the following waypoint.

NOTE: When Yaw action is used, it might affect how the rest of the route turns will be executed, meaning it is possible that e.g. for a waypoint with Camera By Time, the action is started before the vehicle has fully turned to the direction of the following waypoint

Panorama| Yes| NOTE: DJI drones have limited amount of actions that are executed in each waypoint.

Application may automatically adjust angular step value in order to match this limit.

Parameters angular velocity and per-sector waiting are ignored.

Point of Interest| Yes| Point of interest (POI) sets the point of interest for the vehicle to face towards during the flight.
Camera by time| Yes| DJI drone will start continues photo capturing with a time delay till next waypoint. Add number of photos and a delay before the shot series are started. During mission, user can stop this action by pressing “photo/video button” on mobile application.

NOTE: Minimal time interval is different for different DJI drones. If the time interval is too short, error message will display, during mission execution. We recommend always test the mission on simulator before going to the field.

NOTE: If the route has one or more segments with adaptive bank turn type, all waypoint action will be ignored! In this case, manually launch camera capturing by interval in mobile application. Acceptance radius parameter for waypoint is not supported! Errors and information messages associated with the vehicle from the mobile application are transferred to the UgCS log (lower right corner, “Show Log” button).

Failsafe actions
Failsafe action, like “Home location” and “On RC signal loss” can be configured in route parameters menu.
Note, A point “Home location” is valid if it is within 30m of:

• Initial take-off location,
• Aircraft’s current location,
• Remote controller’s current location as shown by RC GPS or,
• Mobile device’s current location.

NOTE: New home location will be ignored if drone is on the ground and disarmed. Home location will be automatically assigned to current position upon takeoff.

Emergency return altitude will be used by the drone in case of failsafe event
If the current drone altitude is lower than Emergency return altitude, the aircraft will adjust its nose direction to face the home point and will go to a specified emergency altitude before returning home.
If the current drone altitude is higher than Emergency return altitude, the aircraft will adjust its nose direction to face the home point and fly home at its current altitude.
Maneuver the aircraft, to avoid any obstacles, when returning home.
Complete list of failsafe actions can be found and configured in DJI Assistant software. The default settings are as follows:

visible for more than 20 seconds
RC signal loss| Finish mission if the drone is in auto mode and return home.| Return home altitude is defined in route settings tab.
Low battery| Land| See autopilot User Manual for more information.

When creating a flight route, please, pay special attention to a point “Home location” regarding to the route! Point “Home location” must be specified so that if “Fail-safe” condition accures, the drone is able to fly there from any point of the route in straight trajectory, without facing obstacles (buildings, terrain features).

Command execution specifics
Current part of article is about vehicle behavior. Some commands are found in the UgCS desktop application, some in the UgCS for DJI. See table below for more information.
Supported commands:

NOTE: If predefined Emergency Return Altitude is less than vehicle’s current altitude, vehicle returns home at the altitude at which Return Home button/command was used.

Command availability
UgCS Desktop can show command buttons in different shades. Operator can always press all buttons disregarding of shade. Highlighted buttons suggest recommended commands, depending on current status of the vehicle.

Telemetry information specifics
Vehicle state (armed/disarmed) is controlled from RC transmitter. Flight mode meaning:

• Auto: Vehicle is executing mission or is returning to launch position.
• Manual: Vehicle is holding position.
• Click & Go: Vehicle is ready to fly to target point.

NOTE: User can take over the control from any mode at any time by flipping the RC mode.

NOTE: If seeing strange altitudes in UgCS desktop client telemetry window, please check the vehicle “Take-off point altitude”.

Waypoint turn types
UgCS desktop route planning allows specifying different turn types – i.e. the way drone passes the waypoint. There are 2 different route planning modes for DJI autopilots: fixed-point turn mode (Stop and Turn) and adaptive coordinated turn mode (Adaptive Bank Turn). It is possible to choose turn type for each Waypoint, Circle, and Perimeter. The default turn mode in the system is Stop and turn.

Figure 1: Turn types

accurately, stops at the fixed point and then flies to the next fixed point.
Adaptive Bank Turn| Yes| Aircraft will not stop at the fixed point, but will “cut the corner” and pass through without a stop.

The maximum corner radius can be adjusted in UgCS for DJI mobile application in “drone specific settings”.

NOTE: In most cases, actions will not function with Adaptive Bank turn

Click & Go
Click & GO mode allows to interactively command the copter to travel to a target location by clicking on a point on the map. Once the location is reached, the copter will hover at that location, waiting for the next target. This behavior implemented as a mini mission containing two waypoints: current drone position and target point.
In order to start Click & GO mission, interrupt currently running task by switching to manual mode and then select a point where to fly.
Steps:

• Press “Click & Go” command

• Click on the map to set the target point

• Adjust additional parameters “AGL alt”, “Speed” and “Heading” if needed and press confirm to send command to the drone
  

• Press the green check button or the Enter key to confirm.

Heading is the angle between north direction and the vehicle bow.
When performing Click&Go mode for drone on the ground it firstly goes up to “Minimal safe altitude” (default – 5m, can be changed at Settings – Drone Specific Settings) and then going to selected point.

It may be necessary set Take-off point altitude (3.7 Set Take-off point altitude).

NOTE: If an action trigger is interrupted (Camera by time, etc.) with Click & Go command this action will not perform after clicking “Continue”. Actions at next waypoints will work as usual. Continue button will be inactive if Click & Go action is interrupted by Hold button.

Set Take-off point altitude
If the drift barometer sensor on the vehicle has reached a certain threshold, UgCS can request information on current altitude of the vehicle.
The same can occur when data from barometer sensor is reset (for example, restarting the vehicle).
In this case, following error will be displayed in vehicle log: Route upload failed. Command cannot be sent: please specify take-off point altitude for the drone.
Following window will appear:

Click to set value from the current terrain altitude under the vehicle

Or set the value manually.

Using Simulator

There are two possible simulator engines to use with UgCS – UgCS for DJI simulator and DJI PC Simulator.
UgCS for DJI simulator is a simulator built-in the application for iOS devices. See 4.1 below for using information.
The DJI PC Simulator is a flight simulator designed for developers. Moreover, it is possible to use it to perform safe tests of the flights. The simulator creates a virtual 3D environment and provides data analysis from flight data transmitted to the PC with UgCS.
To enable built-in UgCS for DJI simulator, open settings -> DJI:

And switch simulator on:

Specify takeoff coordinates:

While using the simulator, the coordinates of the first waypoint must be entered manually Always remember to turn the Simulator off!
If a new route is being uploaded, which location is further than 500m away from previous route, check that Home location is placed correctly. It is recommended to Disarm the drone and Arm it back after uploading the route – check if Home position is correctly located and Take-off altitude is set correctly on ground.
Built-in simulator is a new UgCS for DJI function, therefore check Troubleshooting section below, if experiencing any problems.
There are applications to emulate the flight of the DJI. For example “DJI PC Simulator”. Simulator can be controlled by remote control and UgCS.

UgCS for DJI user interface

UgCS for DJI interface includes Main Screen and Settings Menu.

Main screen
The Main application screen has live video preview on the background. Live video stream is available at UgCS Desktop client after enabling Live stream. *Video streaming function is only available for UgCS for Command & Control. More details can be found here.

Note: Turn on GPS module on iOS device for the location of RC to be displayed in UgCS for desktop.

1. Status bar,
2. Vehicle control panel,
3. Return home button,
4. Pause / Resume mission,
5. Camera or map window,
6. Drone state information,
7. Information center,
8. Camera settings button,
9. Photo/video switch/capture button,
10. Settings button,
11. Estimated flight time.

Status bar (1) Displays the battery charge lever, number of sattelites and UCS connaction status
Vehicle control panel (2) button functions:

Status bar

• Connection status indicator between UCS and UgCS for DJI.

• Drone status

• Free memory percentage.

• Number of visible satellites. If RTK is in use, the satellite indicator will be marked with “R”. To view detailed GPS information tap the “R”.

• Remote battery percentage indicator

• Drone battery percentage.

Live video preview (4) displays video stream from drone camera. Tap the live video preview screen to swap it with the map-view. .
Enable live stream, to display the video stream in UgCS desktop client. *Video streaming function is only available for UgCS for Command & Control. More details can be found here.

Offline route function

1. Create mission/route in UgCS Desktop

2. Connect the tablet to PC and run UgCS for DJI

3. In UgCS for DJI tap on the route icon on the left side of the screen and open route
   

4. In bookmarks of UgCS Server find UgCS desktop missions/routes, tap on two dots on the right side of required route and press “Make available offline”

The route is saved for offline usage, showing the indicated icon:

5. Connect the drone to UgCS for DJI via RC

6. Tap “Local routes” section

7. Tap the route, that needs to be uploaded. The map and the route will be shown: To upload route to the drone, tap on route icon on left side of screen and “upload to drone”

The next window allows to specify takeoff altitude
Note: If takeoff is performed from ground level, do not change altitude.

Press “confirm” to upload route

After route is successfully uploaded, a message will show up:

• Press “start” button on the left side to start the flight

• Start button will change to pause in case if it’s required to pause the flight, and the message “The drone started the mission” will appear.

Camera settings
Camera settings contain the camera settings for photos, video and basic settings.
NOTE: for DJI vehicles, Camera Settings type, resolution and aspect ratio applies only for photos and videos saved to memory card. For real time video- stream these settings have no effect. Various filters are recorded on camera video-stream. *Video streaming function is only available for UgCS for Command & Control. More details can be found here.

Camera settings for photos
Options:

• Photo – shutter control parameters;
• Image Size – frame side ratio;
• Image format – frame recording format.
• White balance
• Style
• Color

Camera settings for video
Options:

• Video size – frame image resolution parameters;
• Video format – stream recording format (memory card);
• White balance
• Style
• Color

Camera basic settings

• Video caption;
• Histogram
• Head LEDs Auto Turn off;
• Grid;
• Storage;
• Anti-Flicker;
• File Index Mode
• Peaking Threshold;
• Save Original;
• Format SD Card;
• Format Internal Storage;
• Reset settings

Settings menu

• Settings Menu sections include:
• DJI;
• Camera;
• Battery;
• Live stream;
• Maps;
• App Settings;
• About;

DJI
Displays DJI authentication status. Currently connected drone, simulator mode and drone specific settings, which are:

Specific settings determine the drone behavior in fail-safe conditions as well as flight behavior.

Camera
Allows to enable or disable camera preview in the main window

Maps
Allows choosing a map provider.

App Settings

Allows to change connection type, SSDP or Direct connect.

About
Displays current version, network status, UCS connection information and access to log files Allows configuring a chosen map, choosing between satellite, normal, hybrid or terrain.

Troubleshooting

• In case of facing an issue, please contact UgCS Support Team at support@ugcs.com and provide the following:

  • Provide description of the issue, screenshots or mission related information,

  • Log files.
    The log directory can be accessed by taping on “About” – Open logs from Settings menu of UgCS for DJI.

  • In case if unable to find log files, please send UgCS and UgCS for DJI version number which can be found in settings menu

UgCS for DJI User Manual v.1.6
www.ugcs.com

References

• DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography

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