Safety & Integration Guideline
Valid for DroneBridge for ESP32 and specifically the Drone Light Show Edition (DB32 DLS)
DroneBridge for ESP32 Drone Light Show Edition (DB32 DLS) requires the following conditions to apply in order to operate nominally.
DB32 DLS is supporting the following chips by Espressif Systems: ESP32-C3, ESP32-C6 & ESP32-C5
DB32 DLS is intended for use with the supported flight controller firmware of skybrush.io
Updating any software or hardware in the command & control chain (e.g. DB32 DLS firmware, flight controller firmware or ground control software) requires testing to check if the show system operates safely and as expected.
The DB32 DLS requires sufficiently powered ESP32 hardware during all of its operation An insufficient supply of power may cause unexpected behaviour and reboots of the system.
A flight controller must be connected to the ESP32s' hardware running DB32 DLS using UART
The flight controller & the DB32 DLS must share a valid UART configuration (correct connection of pins and configuration of baud rate)
The UART protocol must be set to MAVLink on both the flight controller & DB32 DLS
The flight controller must send regular heartbeats to the ESP32 DLS via the UART connection Background: The ESP32 DLS detects the armed state of the flight controller via heartbeat messages. In case no valid MAVLink message is received within a period of 1000ms, the DB32 DLS assumes that the armed state is no longer valid & unknown. A power off command via the power management will be ignored.
The flight controller may use MAVLink V1 or V2 as a serial protocol. Other protocols are not supported and may lead to unexpected behaviour.
If the power management feature of DB32 DLS is used, its correct and intended behaviour must be tested in combination with the used hardware before any flight operation. It remains the responsibility of the hardware & software integrator to configure and test this feature for robust & safe operation.
If the DB32 DLS is operated in EVALUATION mode, the flight controller or ground control station must send regular MAVLink SYSTEM_TIME messages via the DB32 DLS's serial or Wi-Fi port.
When operated in TRAIL mode, the ESP32 shuts down the serial connection after 10 minutes. TRAIL mode is not permitted nor safe to use for operation. It is intended for testing & setup only.
An OTA firmware update is only to be done while the drone is powered down. DB32 DLS will abort an OTA firmware update if the flight controller is reported to be armed. In case of a MAVLink connection loss, the OTA update may be performed anyway since the DB32 DLS cannot determine the state of the flight controller correctly.
Updating the installed license of DB32 DLS is only to be done while the drone is disarmed to prevent unexpected behaviour. DroneBridge tries to block license updates while the UAV is armed.
Changing the parameters/settings of DB32 DLS is only to be done while the drone is disarmed to prevent unexpected behaviour. DroneBridge tries to block setting updates while the UAV is armed.
While DB32 DLS is a software-only product and hardware is the responsibility of the integrator, please also consider the following incomplete list of hardware integration rules:
The ESP32 must be supplied with sufficient current as specified by the hardware specification of your board. Other consumers on the same power supply line may cause issues with the ESP32 power supply. E.g. a booting flight controller may pull the ESP32 power supply down, causing a reboot.
ESP32 hardware must be protected from moisture. Water or moisture may cause a failure of the hardware
Check the temperature of the ESP32 hardware during all operating modes & environmental conditions to prevent overheating. Overheating of the ESP32 may cause degradation of the radio signal or unexpected (erratic) behaviour like reboots or crashes of the system.
The placement of the ESP32 hardware and antenna may greatly impact its radio performance.
Check for interference of the ESP32 hardware with the hardware of the drone
Only used shielded ESP32 modules to prevent interference
Last updated