FOXTECH Argus V3 3D Mapping Drone Camera User Manual
- June 6, 2024
- FOXTECH
Table of Contents
- Reading tips
- Overview
- Meet Argus V3
- Power supply
- Installation to UAV/Drone
- Use Argus V3
- Working condition
- Software operation
- Software settings
- Geotagging
- Aerial film filing
- Data processing
- Introduction to route planning skills
- Emergency treatment of fault problems
- Specifications
- Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
- Download This Manual (PDF format)
Argus V3 user manual
Reading tips
Symbol description
**** | important |
---|---|
Operation tips | |
Vocabulary, reference |
Install MS CCS Pro
In the process of using the product, it is necessary to install the official
software MS CCS pro.
MS CCS Pro requires Windows 7 or Windows 10.
warning
In order to avoid the danger of fire and electric shock and ensure the long-
term stable operation of the product, please store the product in a dry and
cool place, and avoid exposure to the sun and high temperature and humidity.
As the lens and sensor are sensitive equipment, please dry the equipment after
the operation in a rainy or humid environment, so as to avoid mildew of
electronic components and lens.
attention
Complete equipment
To ensure the quality of image acquisition, please keep the lens clean. Please
use the lens carefully.
The internal circuit connection is complex, please do not disassemble the tilt
camera system without authorization, so as to avoid problems such as failure
and short circuits, which may affect the use.
Please avoid rough use, decomposition, modification, the physical impact of
the product, or the impact of the product due to hammering, dropping, or
trampling.
Please try to avoid disassembling and assembling the UV mirror in an outdoor
environment, so as to avoid dust entering the fuselage and affecting the
imaging quality.
Overview
Argus V3, the system adopts the world-recognized best five lens tilt photography system. which supports DJI SDK synchronously. Besides, it is compatible with various kinds of UAVs in the market and matches with rich accessories.
Installation requirements
DJI SDK UAV adaptation scheme provides SKYPORT adapter ring and PTZ seamless
coupling control.
Non-DJI psdk models provide a fast mount board scheme, which is convenient for
connecting with the UAV fuselage. Quick mount board supports most models on
the market, and special models can be customized.
The system supports DJI SDK coupling control, automatic interval exposure
control, and external PWM Or high and low level (the level control is changed
by software) signal control. Connect the hoto jack at the main control end of
the control line to the main control signal output port. The photo control
port must be connected to the corresponding main control signal port
(different master control output ports are different, please connect according
to the corresponding interface).
At least enough space should be reserved under the fuselage for the Argus V3
host.
In order to prevent the tripod from being photographed in flight shooting, it
is recommended to use electric retractable landing gear or large landing gear.
The main engine of Argus V3 is 0.58kg. In order to ensure flight safety, it is
recommended to select the aircraft with a maximum payload of more than 1.8kg.
Meet Argus V3
1.|
DJI Skyport
| 8.|
Data TF card
---|---|---|---
2.|
POS TF card
|
1
| MSCAM_D TF card
3.|
Power indicator light
|
2
| MSCAM_F TF card
4.|
External power supply line
|
3
| MSCAM_R TF card
5.|
Data wire (type C)
|
4
| MSCAM_B TF card
6.|
Camera indicator light
|
5
| MSCAM_L TF card
1
|
MSCAM_D indicator light
| 9.|
TF card
2
| MSCAM_F indicator light| 10.|
HUB module
3
| MSCAM_R indicator light| 11.|
HUB indicator light
4
| MSCAM_B indicator light| 12.|
Data wire (type C3.0)
5
| MSCAM_L indicator light|
7.| Photo trigger &PPK Feedback signal wire
Power supply
Use the standard power supply line Argus V3 to connect with the external
battery or UAV.
DJI SKYPORT adapter ring can directly power the camera.
Power on (30v-12v) and on / off.
Argus is powered by an external power interface or external battery. After the
power supply interface is connected, the blue light of the fuselage power
indicator is always on.
When the power line is pulled out / the DJI SKYPORT adapter ring is
disconnected or the aircraft is turned off, the indicator light is turned off.
**** Please do not unplug the power during the camera shooting.
Installation to UAV/Drone
Be sure to install the Argus V3 to the UAV/Drone when the Argus V3 is not powered on
DJI PSDK Installation
- Position the Argus V3 SKYPORT adapter ring at the bottom of the DJI SDK interface。
- Install SKYPORT adapter ring with white dot mark corresponding to interface red dot mark, and rotate Argus V3 to connect red dot mark of adapter ring to complete installation.
Installation of quick mounting pan tilt
- Fix the Argus V3 quick-mount pan-tilt on the bottom of the aircraft and lock it with screws。
- Press the buttons on both sides of the pan-tilt mount.
- The top connector of Argus V3 pushes the hook into the empty slot of the mount and releases the buttons on both sides of the mount to complete the hook.
- Adjust the tilt and the position of the aircraft’s center of gravity by tightening the screws of the Argus V3 pan tilt.
Before flight operation, check that Argus V3 has been correctly installed on
the Argus V3 at the aircraft end, and adjust the center of gravity to ensure
that the Argus V3 quick-mount latch pops up and is stuck into the hole of the
quick mount plate.
Be sure to adjust the center of gravity when Argus V3 is not powered and the
fuselage is stable.
Use Argus V3
Power-on state
After the power supply is connected, the power indicator light of the fuselage
is always on, and the status indicator of each camera will automatically
detect and flash once, and once again when the detection is completed. When
the indicator lights of each camera are off, the camera will enter the working
state.
Pull out the power supply connector to enter the shutdown state, and all
indicator lights are off.
If it is found that the indicator light of the camera is not flashing, that
is, the indicator light corresponding to the camera is working abnormally and
data cannot be recorded.
After connecting the power supply, please disconnect the power supply before
the Argus V3 starts and completes the self-test. If the power is cut off
during the start-up process, the camera can not record data after starting
again.
Indicator light
The power indicator is always on after the power supply is connected, and off
after the power supply is disconnected.
The camera indicator is used to indicate the status of Argus V3 cameras, and
the power indicator is used to show whether the power supply is normal.
Indicates that the LED is off
**** It indicates that the LED lamp flashes regularly during the indication
process
Indicates that the LED is always on during the indication Process
Camera LED | Power LED | Status |
---|---|---|
Power not plugged in |
Power plugged in
Camera on
Camera records data
Trigger control
The DJI SDK UAV is installed through the SKYPORT adapter ring and can be
directly controlled by the DJI standard ground station software.
Argus V3 signal aviation socket provides two modes of control, level signal,
and PWM signal. Aviation plug lead is connected to flight control shooting
signal socket, which can be controlled by flight control ground station
software.
The trigger mode of the signal is modified by MS CCS Pro software.
Read data
There is a TF card slot for storing data on the side of Argus V3. Insert the
original TF card into each card slot according to the number, and then turn on
the power supply to control the host to record data.
(Note: Windows 7 users should wait patiently for the computer to read the
driver)
Read 5 camera data drive letters, and correspond to the drive letter data
according to the lens number.
Formatting the drive letter and inserting it into the host computer does not
affect the data record.
Working condition
DJI UAV can support SDK installation through the SKYPORT adapter ring. Normal UAV flight control needs to support level signal or PWM signal trigger.
Flight control trigger mode
PWM trigger signal specification:
Trigger: 1900ms
Reset: 1050ms
Signal duration: 500ms-1000ms
Level signal specification:
Trigger: falling edge / rising edge(3.3-0v)
Signal duration: ≥ 10ms
USB connection to MS CCS Pro
Please make sure that the control software MS CCS Pro is installed on the PC
side and then carry out the following operations.
Data line access to parameter adjustment port — running MS CCS Pro — camera
setting options — connecting equipment
It is not necessary to connect the power supply to modify the host parameters
through the data line connection software.
Software operation
MS CCS Pro Operation interface
Software settings
Global settings
Coordinate system
Set the geographic coordinate system of the original post data
UAV/Drone type
Select the type of UAV; when grouping sorties, the multi-rotor will use 30 seconds to group, and the fixed-wing will use 120 seconds to group.
Language settings
Switch between Chinese and English.
Geotagging
The original pos file is transformed into a pos file that can be recognized and read by the software
Configure POS read template
Import the original pose data and select the folder where the pose file is located.
UAV/Drone type
Select the UAV type corresponding to the imported pose data. If the current imported pose data is not supported, you can configure it by yourself through the pose template
Export selected log
Export the selected log to the destination folder.
Aerial film filing
Get camera photos, generate sorties and export to local.
Refresh camera storage connection
Read camera photos and generate sorties.
Select sorties
Select the sorties that need to be exported locally.
Empty photos
Delete all photos of the camera.
Storage path
Select the save path for the export sorties.
Perform export
Copy the photos locally.
Data processing
Match pose data for sorties; export data files that pix4d
Pos import
Import the mslog generated in the geotagging phase.
Image import
Import the sorties generated in the aerial photo archiving stage.
Sortie Preview
3D display of pos data
KML import
Import KML files to eliminate useless photos.
Pix4D photo archiving
Check one or more sorties, merge the selected sorties into one sortie, and write the pos data to the photos.
Write photo information
Check one or more sorties and write camera distortion information and pose data to the photos of selected sorties for the use of the DJI intelligent map.
Export POS file
Check one or more sorties to export the CSV file containing photo name and pose data; if the merge CSV is checked during export, the five-shot CSV file will be merged into one CSV file.
GenerateXML
Check one or more sorties to generate XML files
Introduction to route planning skills
Basic route planning requirements
Overlap degree
The overlap degree is divided into course overlap degree and side overlap
degree.
The course overlap degree refers to the image overlap degree in the direction
consistent with the flight direction, and the side direction refers to the
image overlap degree between two adjacent routes;
In the process of route setting, the course overlap determines the number of images and the interval of photographing, and the side overlap determines the number of routes. Generally, the two overlap degrees can be set as the same. If it is necessary to reduce the amount of data or adjust the flight efficiency of a single flight, a single value can be used.
Trim
The overlapping degree of the foundation is not recommended to be less than 65%, and the common overlap is 75%, and it is not recommended to exceed the maximum The overlap degree determines the reference data of the ground image in the restoration process. Theoretically, increasing the overlap degree can increase the accuracy of the model. However, if the overlap degree is too large, it will reduce the field efficiency and increase the amount of data processing in the later stage, and the increase in model accuracy is not obvious, so please make reasonable adjustments according to the actual needs.
Flight altitude
In order to ensure the integrity of data acquisition, the general flight altitude can refer to a standard: (altitude of the highest point in the survey area – the height of the take-off point) × 2, which is used as the standard flight altitude. This is to ensure that the data of the high point in the survey area can be collected completely. If it is ideal to take off at the highest point or higher place in the survey area, the altitude setting only needs to consider the ground resolution and flight safety In addition, the ground resolution can be ensured by changing the focal length of the lens;
Exception: when the standard flight height cannot meet the ground resolution required by the project, in order to ensure the ground resolution first, we can split the survey area and collect the higher area separately. When collecting separately, we can adjust the 2 times in the formula to 1.5 times, and increase the overlap to 85% to ensure the data integrity of the higher area; in the case of high mountain height and large slope area, the ladder- type stratified flight can be adopted to ensure the overall model accuracy and ground resolution.
Flight area planning
First of all, it is necessary to determine the key flight area. Due to the acquisition method of oblique photography, the 3D image data of the edge area are generally lack of data with poor accuracy. Therefore, we must put the key area in the center of the flight area when planning the flight area, and set the minimum range as the edge extension of the key area 1 In the post- processing process, the edge area can be cut off.
Flight altitude, ground resolution, and camera interval reference:
Fixed value: overlap 75%, flying speed 5m / s, focal length 32mm
Ground resolution: 2cm
Flight height: 160m
Photo interval: 5.5s
Ground resolution: 5cm
Altitude: 390m
Photo interval: 13.37s
The above parameters are for reference only.
Emergency treatment of fault problems
The following contents are used to guide the maintenance operators to deal with simple maintenance problems.
Common problem | Methods of resolution |
---|---|
Unable to power on | Please check whether the power supply voltage is up to |
standard. The minimum normal working voltage is 12.6V.
The number of images is not consistent with the planning images of the ground
station| When the ground station system calculates the expected number of
photos taken by the route
It is calculated according to the ideal state of uniform speed. However, due
to the speed change and distance error in the actual flight process of UAVs,
there will be a certain gap, which is a normal phenomenon. Please match the
number of images with the number of POS, and delete the start-up self-test
photos and other nonactive triggered photos.
There is a difference in the number of photos between shots| Under normal
circumstances, the number of photos taken by the five senses should be the
same. If there is any inconsistency, it may be caused by the following
reasons: 1. After the power supply is turned on quickly and frequently, the
camera can not correctly identify the memory card and cannot record the data,
trigger the camera to take photos, observe the camera status indicator light,
if there is a nonflashing indicator light corresponding to the camera, the
data cannot be recorded, By restarting the camera and waiting for the self-
test to be completed, the observation indicator light will be on normally to
avoid data loss. 2. Due to the insufficient setting of the external control
signal duration, the external signal cannot support the complete exposure of
all cameras. The solution to the problem can adjust the duration of the
external control signal to the standard time specified in the manual, which
can generally ensure the complete triggering of all movements. 3. Due to
insufficient external power supply, there is not enough power to drive the
synchronous exposure of five movements.
Generally, when the voltage of the aircraft is too low during flight, the
power supply of the tilted camera is insufficient due to the large part of the
power of the aircraft’s main power.
Specifications
Machine specification
Number of shots | 5 |
---|---|
Tilt angle | 0°X1 & 45°X4 |
Dimensions | 14816786mm |
Weight | 580g |
Power supply mode | Airborne / independent power supply |
Minimum photo interval | 0.2s |
Support flight control system | All flight control, (PWM signals and level |
signals)
Lens group configuration| 25-35mm or full35mm
Power-on self-test| Yes
Working state of the five-channel camera| real-time display
Storage capacity| 640G(can be added)
Data access mode| Unified access
Data export speed| 350MB/S
working temperature| -22-55℃
Attitude information| Read the UAV original log to generate attitude
information
PPK(optional)| The default refresh rate of centimeter-level positioning is 5Hz
and the maximum is 20Hz
Feedback signal| Support five independent feedback channels
Software kit| MS CCS PRO
Working voltage| 12.6-36v
Maximum power consumption| 30W
Protection level| IP54
Argus V3 PSDK
DJI Skyport | Yes |
---|---|
Five independent POS | support |
free image control point(1:500) | support |
App camera working state feedback | support |
DJI Terra | support |
Pos Storage mode | Local TF card |
Time synchronization | support |
Five-way photo app display | support |
M300 carrying endurance | About 45min |
Weight | 610g |
Imaging data
Effective pixel of a single lens| 24.3 million pixels, total pixels > 120
million
---|---
CMOS Size| 22.3mm*14.9mm
Sensor specifications| APS-C
Photo size| 6000x4000Pix
Setting parameters
Shooting mode | M |
---|---|
ISO | Auto(100-800) |
Aperture | F5.6 |
External battery
Type | Lithium polymer power cell(LIPO) |
---|---|
Battery capacity | 12600mah |
Voltage | 24V |
Charging ambient temperature | -10℃~50℃ |
Operating ambient temperature | -20℃~+75℃ |
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