EKF spoof

With Cyclops successfully integrated, your drone will initially appear at coordinate 0 N 0 E on your GCS. This is because the EKF will only initialize if a position is injected on the ground. To initialize the EKF, Cyclops has a built-in spoof mapped to your RC.

Setup

By default, the spoof is configured to run when RC6 on your controller is toggled. If you already have channel 6 mapped to a switch, ensure it is not being used for another function by setting RC6_OPTION to 0 in your ArduPilot params.

Procedure

You must run the spoof procedure to initialize Cyclops before each launch. In simple terms, the spoof procedure is as follows:

BEGIN SPOOF -> ARM -> SPOOF ENDS -> LAUNCH

1

Power on and timesync

Place your drone on the ground at the launch point. Power the drone on. Wait until Cyclops has timesynced with the flight controller:

SRC=1/191:CYCLOPS: TS/CLK 1:1 SYNCING
SRC=1/191:CYCLOPS: HOME POSITION LOADED
SRC=1/191:CYCLOPS: TS/CLK 1:1 SYNCED

2

Begin the Spoof

Flip the switch mapped to RC6. On your GCS, you will see the following message:

SRC=1/191:VPS HOME SPOOF ACTIVE
EKF3 IMU ORIGIN SET
GPS 2:DETECTED MAV
FIELD ELEVATION SET: (x)M 

It is normal to see additional messages as the EKF initializes. You will see your drone jump to the home point after a few seconds.

The position may return to 0 N 0 E after the spoof ends but before launch. This is normal; the position will update once Cyclops reaches 20m AGL.

3

Arm the Drone

The spoof will run for 15 seconds. While the spoof is active, arm the drone on the ground. Do not take off until you see this message:

SRC=1/191:VPS HOME SPOOF ENDED

It is best to arm the drone while the spoof is active, as arming can reset the altitude and cause the system to produce bad altitude readings.

Do not move the drone while the spoof is active. This can cause EKF invariance.

4

Launch

After the spoof ends, launch your drone. Cyclops Visual Navigation will begin at 20m AGL, and the position will update on the GCS. Map Match relocalizations will be sent above 80m AGL.

You understand how run the spoof for EKF initialization.