Parrot releases major updates for ANAFI Ai drone, FreeFlight 7 app

European drone manufacturer Parrot has released the fourth major update for the ANAFI Ai drone and its accompanying FreeFlight 7 app. This new version comes with even more tools for developers, so they can easily create their own flight missions.

The headline is that the new update allows the use of an ADB public key to enable ADB shell access to the drone. AirSDK mission logs can also be enabled now. Moreover, Olympe, the Python controller programming interface for ANAFI Ai, and simulation environment Sphinx have also been updated to support developer settings commands and events.

Here’s everything you can expect to see in FreeFlight 7.4.0 (iOS), Parrot ANAFI Ai 7.4.0, and Skycontroller 4 7.4.0:

FreeFlight 7

• Database: New project database format. The database will be migrated at the first launch of FF7 v7.4.
• Photogrammetry: One-click missions are now generated in absolute (AMSL) altitude.
• Touch and Fly: Waypoints and points of interest are now displayed in the streaming view in both video and photo modes.
• RTH: RTH Trajectory is now displayed in the map view.
• Settings: New settings for developers in order to access debug tools.
• FP/PGY: Added custom RTH settings for FP/PGY projects.

Flight behavior

• Flight: Vertical stability enhancement
• Flight: Altitude estimation accuracy enhancement
• Obstacle avoidance: Sensing algorithm enhancement to avoid fake obstacles detection
• RTH: Added alert message and RTH launch in case of battery communication loss

Media

• Video: 4K 48/50/60 fps & 1080p 96/100/120 fps mode disabled
• Video/photo updates on Panorama behavior: Number of photos is reduced from 42 to 38 to speed up acquisition time
• Video: Improved Auto-Exposure in HDR modes

Connectivity

• 4G: Enhanced connection status message and link to Parrot for support
• Debug: Updates on Wi-Fi regulations per countries

Mission

• Ophtalmo: Added support for handlaunch and handland in Ophtalmo mission
• Vehicle: New UX during landing when the vehicle is stopped
• Vehicle: Link displayed between vehicle and drone when tracking is on
• Vehicle: Landing behavior enhancement

SkyController

• GPS Ublox 9 is now supported
• The drone can be used as a dongle with the Parrot Sphinx tool

GroundSDK

• New alarms that describe why an auto-landing was triggered by the drone due to: propeller icing, low battery, hot/cold battery
• New information on BatteryInfo instrument: hardware revision, firmware revision, gauge version, USB version
• New CellularSession instrument both on SkyController and on the drone, which allows to be informed of the current cellular session statuses aggregating information from the SkyController, the ground station and the drone
• Added a pitch mode to MavlinkStandard. SetViewModeCommand that allows choosing between absolute and continuous; when using absolute pitch mode the camera orientation is fixed between two waypoints; the camera orientation changes only when the waypoint is reached; when using continuous pitch mode the camera orientation changes linearly between two waypoints
• Correctly update the RTH reason on FlightPlanPilotingItf when the flight plan starts an RTH
• New developer mode settings such as:
  • DebugShell peripheral which allows using an ADB public key to enable ADB shell access to the drone
  • AirSDK mission logs, which can be enabled using the LogControl peripheral

Olympe

• New feature: support developer settings commands and events (arsdk/developer.proto)
• Deprecation notice: Python 3.6 and Python 3.7 usage is now deprecated. This is the last release supporting Python 3.6 and Python 3.7.
• Bug fixes
  • Media API update: add missing “title,” “boot_date,” and “flight_date” MediaInfo fields, “path,” and “preview ResourceInfo fields.
  • Mission: rename “allow_overwrite” Mission.install parameter to “allow_downgrade”

Read: Autel Nano+ drone, $674 in Prime Day deal, adds subject tracking