Page MenuHomeFeedback Tracker

UAVs moving in crazy/stupid ways when flying over hilly terrain (because AGL as reference + obsesive about exact altitude)
Acknowledged, WishlistPublic

Description

I think the title says it all pretty well. UAVs use AGL altitude reference even internally, and try too hard to be exactly at the commanded altitude. This cause (as far as I've realized) two problems:

1st case.- for fast moving UAVs (MQ4A Greyhawk and similar), when you command one of them to loiter over a target which is around hilly/montaineous terrain, the UAV goes abruptly up and down as it flies over peaks and valleys, trying to maintain its (AGL) height. It becomes extremely hard to precisely aim the camera in such conditions.

This also happens with the slow movers but is way less problematic because most of them can stand still like a helicopter at a given position and altitude.

  1. case- for slow moving UAVs (AR-2 Darter and similar), the problem is that they try to correct such altitude on its way to the commanded target, and makes them even to stick for long minutes in a very short part of the way because it loses a lot of time going up and down.

This also happens with the fast movers but is way less problematic because they do it very fast

Details

Legacy ID
511005831
Severity
None
Resolution
Open
Reproducibility
Always
Category
Feature Request
Steps To Reproduce

1st case: Spawn a MQ4A Greyhawk and make it take off. Go to UAV Terminal and command it to loiter over a montaineous/hilly terrain (I very often use 2000m altitude and 1500m loiter radius), be on gunner seat and try to aim to a specific position when it is flying over the mountains.

2nd case: Spawn an AR-2 darter and make it take off. Go to UAV Terminal and command it to go somewhere and specify the altitude (I very often use 500m altitude). The more irregular the terrain between the UAV and the destination, the more evident will be how it loses time "correcting", and even getting stuck.

Additional Information

I don't think the solution would be for them to use pure ASL altitude reference, but a "smart" solution that allows the UAVs to fly at a desired altitude above the ground, but not making the gunner camera useless because of the abrupt altitude "corrections".

Event Timeline

benitoll edited Steps To Reproduce. (Show Details)Apr 3 2015, 3:12 AM
benitoll edited Additional Information. (Show Details)
benitoll set Category to Feature Request.
benitoll set Reproducibility to Always.
benitoll set Severity to None.
benitoll set Resolution to Open.
benitoll set Legacy ID to 511005831.May 8 2016, 11:49 AM

Edited on 17th June for a small really unimportant typo (200m instead of 2000m), just in case.

Definitely needs a fix. UAVs are a great asset to the game but people get frustrated with them due to the lack of attention they have been given and then avoid them entirely. Fix the UAVs so they function properly!