Companion Update December 12 2017

Blue Robotics Vehicles BlueROV2
1

A new version of the companion computer software is now available!

The update includes:

  • Display CPU and RAM usage statistics on the System page
  • Auto-detect and auto-connect to Water Linked Underwater GPS system
  • Add option to change the static ip address of the ROV on the Network page
  • Add support for Internet Explorer
  • Camera configuration page: easily configure camera and video stream settings

A comprehensive list of changes can be found in the release notes.

To perform the update:

  • Plug a fully charged battery into the ROV and connect the tether to your computer.
  • Navigate to 192.168.2.2:2770 in your browser and ensure that the ROV has access to a WiFi network. If you do not see a webpage at this address, you need to perform the update according to the instructions here.
  • Navigate to 192.168.2.2:2770/system. Click the button that says ā€˜Update companionā€™.
  • The update process will take between 5 and 20 minutes depending on the Internet connection speed. Wait for the update process to complete.
  • When it completes, refresh your browser. The companion version should now be 0.0.14.
  • If the update fails (usually due to a loss of internet connectivity), you will be warned that the ROV will reboot and to leave the battery plugged in. At this point, once you are able to refresh the webpage, it is safe to either power down the ROV or attempt the update again.
2 Likes
2

Here is a short description of the new camera configuration page:

Screenshot 2017-12-12 13:21:21
Screenshot 2017-12-12 13:21:211216Ɨ788 60 KB

The Streaming Settings section controls the video source (if multiple devices are detected), the format of the video stream, and the gstreamer pipeline options. Changing settings in this section will require the camera and video stream to be restarted, and this will happen automatically when settings are changed. The gstreamer pipeline options are useful if you would like to change the destination of the video stream or stream the video to multiple clients.

The Camera Settings section allows you to adjust the camera settings. These settings can be adjusted dynamically, without interrupting the video stream. The most recent settings will be saved and loaded on reboot. You can also save different setting profiles and switch between them. This may be useful for setting up a ā€˜low lightā€™ profile optimized for brightness/contrast in murky water, and a ā€˜vibrantā€™ profile with better color quality for operating in well-illuminated and high-visibility shallows. The saved profiles include the video device and format settings from the Streaming Settings section, so switching to a saved profile requires restarting the camera and video stream.

The settings that appear in this page are the settings reported by the camera hardware, so they will be different for different cameras. For example, the Raspberry Pi camera is capable of capturing at as low as 5 frames per second, while our low light USB camera is only capable of capturing as low as 15 frames per second.

3 Likes
5

Hi Jacob,

Do you need to make the updates sequentially? That is, if Iā€™ve missed the last couple (my last update was the one that first made web updates possible) can I just get the latest, or do I need to get each one?

Cheers
mg

1 Like
6

Hello, regardless of which version you are currently on, you may click the update button on the system page, and you will be good to go!

1 Like
7

Hello,

I tried to update companion through the web interface but it keeps crashing. Its like it canā€™t connect to download the file.

I have been able to update pixhawk no problem so it does not appear to be my connection.

Do you have a link so I could download the file and upload it manually?

Cheers,
E

8

You can download the update file here; donā€™t unzip it before you upload it.

Before you do that, please go to 192.168.2.2:7777, and find the file /home/pi/.webui.log, download it and email it to support@bluerobotics.com.

9

Hello,

I tried Saturday and again today.

Sorry, I canā€™t seem to locate the file. Here is the feedback from the web UI page.

The update process will begin momentarily.
This update may take more than 15 minutes.
Please be patient and DO NOT REMOVE POWER FROM THE ROV!
adding lock
removing old stash
stashing current repo
tagging revert-point as 1447ad6d5994bd4cd24f7f51006e9e847796ebe4
Updated tag ā€˜revert-pointā€™ (was 13f8b34)
using tag reference
fetching
moving to d308cd8dfc5bf7a491823fd79736ccbc7db799da
HEAD is now at d308cd8 Update release notes for 0.0.14
running post-update
run npm install
npm ERR! git fetch -a origin (git://github.com/jaxxzer/node-v4l2camera.git) fatal: unable to connect to github.com:
npm ERR! git fetch -a origin (git://github.com/jaxxzer/node-v4l2camera.git) github.com: Name or service not known
npm ERR! Linux 4.9.24-v7+
npm ERR! argv ā€œ/usr/local/bin/nodeā€ ā€œ/usr/local/bin/npmā€ ā€œinstallā€
npm ERR! node v5.6.0
npm ERR! npm v3.6.0
npm ERR! code 128

npm ERR! Command failed: git fetch -a origin
npm ERR! fatal: unable to connect to github.com:
npm ERR! github.com: Name or service not known
npm ERR!
npm ERR!
npm ERR!
npm ERR! If you need help, you may report this error at:
npm ERR! https://github.com/npm/npm/issues

npm ERR! Please include the following file with any support request:
npm ERR! /home/pi/companion/br-webui/npm-debug.log
Failed to install required npm modules; Aborting update
Rebooting to repair installation, this will take a few minutes
Please DO NOT REMOVE POWER FROM THE ROV! (until QGC makes a connection again)

Iā€™ve now downloaded and successfully installed the update.

Cheers,
E.

10

very useful update!

11

Thanks @etienne, Iā€™m glad you had success. This error indicates that the ROV was intermittently disconnected from the internet. You can try to get it closer to your router next time.

-Jacob

12

Hi,
the update does not work for me. The files are downloaded okay, but the ā€œnpm installā€ fails every time. Any ideas?

The update process will begin momentarily.
This update may take more than 15 minutes.
Please be patient and DO NOT REMOVE POWER FROM THE ROV!
adding lock
removing old stash
stashing current repo
tagging revert-point as 1447ad6d5994bd4cd24f7f51006e9e847796ebe4
Updated tag ā€˜revert-pointā€™ (was 13f8b34)
using tag reference
fetching
moving to d308cd8dfc5bf7a491823fd79736ccbc7db799da
HEAD is now at d308cd8 Update release notes for 0.0.14
running post-update
run npm install
npm ERR! git clone --template=/home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/_templates --mirror git://github.com/jaxxzer/node-v4l2camera.git /home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/git-github-com-jaxxzer-node-v4l2camera-git-799f6eda-5eaf6a27: Cloning into bare repository ā€˜/home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/git-github-com-jaxxzer-node-v4l2camera-git-799f6eda-5eaf6a27ā€™ā€¦
npm ERR! git clone --template=/home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/_templates --mirror git://github.com/jaxxzer/node-v4l2camera.git /home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/git-github-com-jaxxzer-node-v4l2camera-git-799f6eda-5eaf6a27: fatal: unable to connect to github.com:
npm ERR! git clone --template=/home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/_templates --mirror git://github.com/jaxxzer/node-v4l2camera.git /home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/git-github-com-jaxxzer-node-v4l2camera-git-799f6eda-5eaf6a27: github.com[0: 192.30.253.113]: errno=Connection refused
npm ERR! git clone --template=/home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/_templates --mirror git://github.com/jaxxzer/node-v4l2camera.git /home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/git-github-com-jaxxzer-node-v4l2camera-git-799f6eda-5eaf6a27: github.com[1: 192.30.253.112]: errno=Connection refused
npm ERR! Linux 4.9.24-v7+
npm ERR! argv ā€œ/usr/local/bin/nodeā€ ā€œ/usr/local/bin/npmā€ ā€œinstallā€
npm ERR! node v5.6.0
npm ERR! npm v3.6.0
npm ERR! code 128

npm ERR! Command failed: git clone --template=/home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/_templates --mirror git://github.com/jaxxzer/node-v4l2camera.git /home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/git-github-com-jaxxzer-node-v4l2camera-git-799f6eda-5eaf6a27
npm ERR! Cloning into bare repository ā€˜/home/pi/.npm/_git-remotes/git-github-com-jaxxzer-node-v4l2camera-git-799f6eda-5eaf6a27ā€™ā€¦
npm ERR! fatal: unable to connect to github.com:
npm ERR! github.com[0: 192.30.253.113]: errno=Connection refused
npm ERR! github.com[1: 192.30.253.112]: errno=Connection refused
npm ERR!
npm ERR!
npm ERR!
npm ERR! If you need help, you may report this error at:
npm ERR! https://github.com/npm/npm/issues

npm ERR! Please include the following file with any support request:
npm ERR! /home/pi/companion/br-webui/npm-debug.log
Failed to install required npm modules; Aborting update
Rebooting to repair installation, this will take a few minutes
Please DO NOT REMOVE POWER FROM THE ROV! (until QGC makes a connection again)

Cheers
Kai

13

Hi @KaiH , it looks like you are having the same problem as @etienne. Please refer to the advice above.

14

Yep,

should have tried that before asking. Worked like a charm.

Thanks Jacob!