Zero UAV GEMINI Dual-Redundancy Autopilot

[Deanmachine]

Just a note to all Gemini user if you do not have a parachute connected to your machine and lets say you are flying in the wind and a gust tilts your machine to 70deg it will fall like a rock from the sky as the mc will shut down the motors, this will also not give your mc chance to correct the problem because it has locked the motors.


Another problem is I have a dual redundancy system and had a vibration on the machine just before the crash which according Zero caused the imu to error. The sad part is the slave did not even activate or do anything, so money spent to help save the day..........no my x8 crashed. I had 2 crashes in a very short time before this crash which were ap related using ys-x6p so I upgraded to the gemini but this did not help much.


Just to add the parachute helps nothing if you are not high enough and the function can not be disabled.


It will also not allow the slave to take over because the master has locked the motors. It has happend twice before flowen in windy conditions and while flying and the machine hits a sudden gust of wind it tilted quite a bit stopped, stabilized and flew futher (ys-x6). This will not happen if you got the Gemini, and if you had a parachute and you are high enough that would be cool but not if you where lets say over a lake or area that was not accessible.


I have been sending e mails back and forth and back and forth to Zero who will not admit to the failure of there dual dedundancy....this is crazy????


The first crash the barometer came off the mc's board and machine went out off control and crashed. damages to my machine was about 2500$. I got it back from Zero flew three times then it would not power up and had to send it back again, second crash the gps modual malfunctioned and that crash was the expensive one at about 5000$ (trashed the machine and buildt a new one) including new Gemini not to mention it was at a customer and in fact lost the work there and that was about 10000$ per year . In both cases (after sending the hj file) Zero asked me to send at my cost the ap's back checked the out and sent them back at my costs for shipping. These are not empty statements I have all the mails saved on my pc.


I have been fly and building for a year and a half with multirotors now, I am not the pro or know it all but also not an idiot.


Cheers

70 degrees is a massive angle.. I really doubt your machine will be pushed over to 70 degress

 

[Deanmachine]

Just a note to all Gemini user if you do not have a parachute connected to your machine and lets say you are flying in the wind and a gust tilts your machine to 70deg it will fall like a rock from the sky as the mc will shut down the motors, this will also not give your mc chance to correct the problem because it has locked the motors.


Another problem is I have a dual redundancy system and had a vibration on the machine just before the crash which according Zero caused the imu to error. The sad part is the slave did not even activate or do anything, so money spent to help save the day..........no my x8 crashed. I had 2 crashes in a very short time before this crash which were ap related using ys-x6p so I upgraded to the gemini but this did not help much.


Just to add the parachute helps nothing if you are not high enough and the function can not be disabled.


It will also not allow the slave to take over because the master has locked the motors. It has happend twice before flowen in windy conditions and while flying and the machine hits a sudden gust of wind it tilted quite a bit stopped, stabilized and flew futher (ys-x6). This will not happen if you got the Gemini, and if you had a parachute and you are high enough that would be cool but not if you where lets say over a lake or area that was not accessible.


I have been sending e mails back and forth and back and forth to Zero who will not admit to the failure of there dual dedundancy....this is crazy????


The first crash the barometer came off the mc's board and machine went out off control and crashed. damages to my machine was about 2500$. I got it back from Zero flew three times then it would not power up and had to send it back again, second crash the gps modual malfunctioned and that crash was the expensive one at about 5000$ (trashed the machine and buildt a new one) including new Gemini not to mention it was at a customer and in fact lost the work there and that was about 10000$ per year . In both cases (after sending the hj file) Zero asked me to send at my cost the ap's back checked the out and sent them back at my costs for shipping. These are not empty statements I have all the mails saved on my pc.


I have been fly and building for a year and a half with multirotors now, I am not the pro or know it all but also not an idiot.


Cheers

I have had nothing but problems as well with my zero highone.. I have owned it for the past 5 months and I have flown it for no more then 15mins. I have had two flight controllers replaced and new gimble and a zero osd. I asked for a full refund and zero tech would not refund me. they did say they will exchange.
I will do a new flight with all th new gear on it and if it still acts terribly in the sky I have no choice but to exchange.. I would really prefer a refund.

 

[SleepyC]

I have had 450 flawless flights in my Highone. And I have a prototype! Not sure why you guys are having problems. Crazy. My Highone has been my go to rig!

 

[Pumpkinguy]

Wouldn't you guys agree that consistency is lacking among all manufacturers? As a consumer I'd be willing to pay more for stricter quality controls specially when a product has so much potential to hurt someone. I've watched more youtube vids than I can count and I've seen pretty much every brand with factory defects. They are way too common.

 

[dazzab]

I am very confused as to the benefit of dual redundancy. The minimum redundant system is a triple channel one where it can use 2 out of 3 voting to decide what is probably the correct value. How does the dual system decide? Toss of a coin?
So I am not convinced its any positive advantage other than marketing fluff.

andy

I totally agree. I think the whole 'redundant FC' hype is just marketing. From what I can tell, based on all the experiences I read about, the FC is probably the least likely thing to cause an issue. With the possible exception of a flyaway in which case the FC is so FUBARed it probably wouldn't be able to execute the logic to switch to a backup system anyway.

If we want to improve reliability then the physical construction of the components and reliable ESCs that provide feedback (which are coming RSN) are at the top of my list. And flying an octo is a must. Add independent testing and review of flight controller code to that mix and things will certainly be much more reliable than the hobby class of vehicles we use now.

 

[Bartman]

Zero UAV has the potential to be a major player in the sUAS flight controller space but they can't seem to get out of their own way and get an effective and businesslike distribution network up and running in the US.

maybe 2015 will be their year?

 

[Maverick XA]

I have had 450 flawless flights in my Highone. And I have a prototype! Not sure why you guys are having problems. Crazy. My Highone has been my go to rig!

Same here although not as many flights and mine is an off the shelf standard factory build. Machine performs flawlessly and is first choice with GH4 for video. We also used a Highone for the Sydney Harbour NYE fireworks with carried 6 GoPro Hero 4 in a cluster (you may have seen the App).
Considering some of the explosions were only metres from the aircraft, it performed flawlessly.
I will be posting a summary on the Highone thread soon.

Mav

 

[Maverick XA]

I have had nothing but problems as well with my zero highone.. I have owned it for the past 5 months and I have flown it for no more then 15mins. I have had two flight controllers replaced and new gimble and a zero osd. I asked for a full refund and zero tech would not refund me. they did say they will exchange.
I will do a new flight with all th new gear on it and if it still acts terribly in the sky I have no choice but to exchange.. I would really prefer a refund.

Have you got your machine sorted yet dean? If you need some help, call me and we'll get together.
BTW, you still owe a couple of Props.

Mav

 

[Maverick XA]

Zero UAV has the potential to be a major player in the sUAS flight controller space but they can't seem to get out of their own way and get an effective and businesslike distribution network up and running in the US.

maybe 2015 will be their year?

I totally agree. Unfortunately, the asain markets don't understand the European, North American, and Australsian markets, and won't. DJI is a classic example. They started with a dealer network, then once they had established, they cut the Distributor (ie Colin Guin), and dealt with the dealers. Then they started cutting first teir dealers to second teir dealers. Then they setup website to deal direct. Talk about stab in the back.
Hopefully other Chinese companies will learn from the DJI disaster, and take a different approach.
I believe that Zero can be that company, if they get their setup right.

Mav

 

[Maverick XA]

Good to hear you're finally sorted.
The retracts are heavy. Have you had any issues with their operation?

Good luck with the OC test. Let me know how you go.

Mav

 

[Maverick XA]

Here it is. I extended the base on the legs to avoid tip overs.

Yeah, we did the same on the NYE machine. It can be quite 'tippy' with the standard ones. Longer ones definitely needed with the retracts.

Mav

 

[Maverick XA]

Hey mav.
I sent you those props ages ago via express post. Back in November 2014!!!!
I'll call you in the morning at the shop.

I'm not at the shop anymore.
Call me on my mobile

 

[saidquad]

Does Gemini have Photogrammetry tool (as wkm and A2)? I mean is it a good solution for aerial mapping? can autopilot trigger the camera automatically while flying mapping route?

 

[Deanmachine]

I don't think so.

 

[SleepyC]

Does Gemini have Photogrammetry tool (as wkm and A2)? I mean is it a good solution for aerial mapping? can autopilot trigger the camera automatically while flying mapping route?

Yes, it can do 360 deg pano's with the ZeroUAV gimbals in the mix.

 

[saidquad]

Yes, it can do 360 deg pano's with the ZeroUAV gimbals in the mix.

Hi SleepyC, you mean Gemini has photogrammetry function? I don't need 360 deg pano's. i need to give some parameters (like camera focal length, Sensor size, flight height, speed and overlapping measures) to the autopilot and the autopilot plans and makes the mapping route in accordance with given parameters and gives command to camera shutter every x meters. Exactly like what I do in WKM. Does Gemini have this possibility? I did not find this on the manual.

 

[SleepyC]

It might be in combination with their line of "Z" gimbals.

The problem is I can't find the answer right now as their english website is a mess.
I had tried to help out ZeroUAV for a while, we were in talks, and they decided to basically use me, do hours of work for them, not pay me and then stop responding to my emails.

They make a GREAT product, but have no clue how to have representatives/dealers.

In the US they let anyone distribute them without actually having any stock. If you look up the Highone, there are "10" distributors carrying the unit, and all 10 have different prices ranging from $3000 - $7500. It's awful...

Stick with the WKM.

 

[saidquad]

Thank you SleepyC. I am very much satisfied using wkm for mapping, but a zerouav dealer has offered my friend to use gemini for mapping. My friend is attracted to the redundancy capability of Gemini. I told my friend that I am not sure that zerouav supports photogrammetry. So my friend do not know to believe me or believe the dealer.