why getting optical flow error on parrot rolling spider ?

Hello after programming a new Controller on Parrot Rolling Spider I got this message in flight log : "Problem with optical flow, there has been no flow for 50 cycles in cycle 650: shutting down motors now" I'm Using Matlab default State Estimator from Simulink® Support Package for PARROT® Minidrones. is it a hardware problem or ... ?

[Jooa Pursiainen]

I'm having similar problems with the Mambo. Can't really do anything with the drone as enabling optical flows shuts the drone down and disabling makes the estimation quite hard.

Answer 1

[Brandon Pierce]

It has to do with how the optical flow sensor works. "These are camera modules that use ground texture and visible features to determine aircraft ground velocity." In order to do this, the cameras view must have contrast to it. If the camera view doesnt have any contrast the sensor will assume that it is faulty. Take a look at this video to see the proof ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUkDc4D4d4g ). The easiest way to fix the issue (according to Matlab Tech Support) is to add some contrast under the Parrot, and ensure that the area is well lit.

-Brandon