PingViewer Next - Inital Feedback (feat SurfTrak)

Blue Robotics Software
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Just some feedback about the unreleased/unnanounced beta version (0.0.3) of Ping Viewer Next as suggeted in this thread. @RaulTrombin

I’m using a Ping1D in A BlueROV Heavy configuration and viewing PingViewer Next (PVN) output as an iframe CockPit. I have the latest stable versions of firmware, BlueOS and Cockpit.

I’m desperate to have someway of using the Ping1D as after several months trying and many posts I have concluded that the Ping1D does not work with Sonarview in CockPit although the stand alone PingViewer app always works fine. If anyone has Ping1D working in Sonarview I’d appreciate any tips!! @o.o

PVN provides a larger display of the Ping1D output in a Cockpit iframe which is an improvement over SonarView with a good range of options to adjust display - asthetically the resolution of the output would look better if some smoothing was applied as looks a little pixelated.

Similar to SonarView PVN functions erratically and not entirely clear what sequence to use the relevant menu options (Create Device, Open Device, enable Continuous mode etc. Rebooting the autopilot does seem to help but not sure if there is a simplier way to reset the Ping1D when it refuses to connect or freezes.

Like SonarView the PVN does not always load correctly when starting Cockpit - not sure if that is an issue with my system but can take a couple of reloads to get these extensions to display properly in Cockpit.

When it does start PVN it usually detects the Ping1D but requires some random menu clicks and sometimes shows as two devices - as both a USB device and IP device. So far seems only the USB version connects/starts but both can show as ‘running’ in PVN. This maybe because of a delay in connecting which is then derailed by a user randomly clicking menu options :wink:

When the Ping1D does connect and displays ‘Continuous’ mode often there is no data output on the screen even though it is connecting and shows it is in continuous mode. When it does display continuous output it often only works for a few seconds before freezing/not display continuous output.

Minor Issues - The record function in PVN works OK although no idea where the recordings are stored? There is a bell icon in on the PVN display but doesnt seem to do anything when clicked. The device button in PVN (radio icon) is located at the same place as the settings menu expanding arrow in Cockpit which is not ideal.

An important caution with using PVN when the BLUEROV/Ping1D is not in the water is the apparent lack of any option to turn the Ping1D off - so seems to require a complete power down of the BlueROV after using PVN for a few seconds to avoid damaging the Ping1D!

I have confirmed the Ping1D may remain running even though it doesnt appear connected/running in PVN as I still get the mavlink messages via the new unreleased Surftrak extension in the generic miniwidgit as described here and here.

The unreleased SurfTrak version does work OK as a ‘Terrain Holding’ function which is a great addition to Cockpit - perhaps second only to enabling sound! SurfTrak seems to require >0.5m depth and at least 0.5m from the bottom to get accurate values from the Ping1D (in a concrete swimming pool).

Issue is it can cause eratic behaviour if the Ping1D returns low confidence data but seems to have some kind of clever self correcting function built in - not sure. Other issue I’ve found is that polling the mavlink data in my system is too slow (0.5 - 1 Hz?) so causes a kind of yo-yoing when the Ping1D values go zero every other value but think I can speed up Mavlink polling somehow in the autopilot parameters somewhere? @clyde

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Hey thank you @Bill Budd for your detailed feedback on our beta version!

It appears we’re encountering some conflicts between multiple services trying to access the Ping1D simultaneously, is there other extensions/services using Ping1d than PVN? Let’s check how the current setup works:

BlueOS has a ping service that:

  • Bridges serial devices to UDP network;
  • Can run a background service broadcasting mavlink distances;

Regarding PVN 0.0.3, it should automatically skip USB ports that are already in use and available through the ping service. In our next release, we’re implementing stricter access control - not only skipping but completely restricting permissions to access busy devices, something that could be happend was a running condition beetwen PVN and ping service, so I need to check it further.

We’re also implementing improvements to the settings and setup workflow. To clarify how it works:

  • Continuous mode is a broadcasting service that automatically sends data over websocket;
  • When in “Running” state, the device is initialized and ready for data retrieval. We have this 2 states because PVN is a server-based approach, it allows you to open and control PVN from multiple interfaces simultaneously, we can create and use applications using restAPI/websocket directly too, but in theory it should only query ping with commands sent ( or the Continuous mode ).
  • In your case, it seems the ping service with mavlink distance was controlling your Ping1D. When PVN shows Running/Available/Error status, it should not be sending requests to the device. Or maybe can it have another extension using it?

Regarding the Cockpit widget controls - have you tested with the latest versions of BlueOS and Cockpit? We’ve introduced extension addons/widgets support, so the Ping360/Ping1D widget should appear in your edit menu. The radio icon shouldn’t appear in the widget unless you’re manually loading PVN through an iframe - is this what you’re doing?

  • A preview of it’s use is available attached here.

About the save functionality:

  • A preview of it’s use is available attached here.
  • Currently, PVN stores data during runtime in the frontend
  • This feature isn’t yet implemented in the widget
  • I plan to create a service for save data directly on BlueOS
  • This will allow file downloads without risks of data loss, and save controls will be accessible from any window

Regarding your concern about Ping sensors running while the vehicle is out of water - I appreciate this feedback as it aligns with the development plans. We’re looking to integrate MAVLink directly into PVN, which would allow us to monitor the vehicle’s armed state and automatically manage the Continuous Mode. This would help prevent any dry runs of the sensors. What are your thoughts on this approach?

We plan to release a new version next week with several menu improvements and usability enhancements.

Thanks for your valuable feedback!


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@RaulTrombin @BillyBudd -
Just to confirm - running the ping in air won’t hurt it at all!

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Many Thanks Tony - has been tricky troubleshooting in 60 seconds blocks!

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Many Thanks for the info Raul and also for making this extension available! I have been running PVN within an iframe in Cockpit.

I just updated to the latest version of cockpit today and PVN detected the Ping1D fine and no issues with connecting displaying data fine. I was also able to record a file and download/play it ok.

Then restarted the system (Cockpit BlueOS and powered down BlueROV) a couple of times to check it was stable. Worked ok again 2nd time but third time it also connected and started running fine (auto mode enabled) but then froze and couldnt get the Ping1D (USB device version) to run again. In the PVN menus it showed as ‘Continuous Mode’. I tried disabling continuous mode and the device then it showed as “Running” but then couldnt enable continuous mode.

Not sure what other service could be using Ping but to be safe I deleted an entry in the Sonarview device configuration menus although this never worked anyway. I do have Mavlink distances enabled under the Ping Sonar Devices menu in BlueOS.

I dont see any of the widgits in Cockpit which look great so keen to access these. The Cockpit version I have installed according to the BlueOS extensions menu is 1.11.0 although when I click the ‘about’ option in the Cockpit configuration menu it shows version 1.0.1 but this is probably an error.

My version of BlueOS is 1.3.1 (d47b4b32) which I think is the latest stable version although I havent updated the bootstrap as had a warning about only using between two stable versions and not entirely sure what that means? Looks like all the later versions are beta - do I need to install the latest one of these to see the PVN widgits?

The Mavlink integration sounds great but have to admit only limited knowledge of Mavlink and the vehicle comunications protocols but hopefully can find some time to get a better working knowledge soon as would like to use these more!

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Hi @BillyBudd -
1.3.1 is the best version of BlueOS currently, and is the latest stable. You should definitely update your boostrap!

You’ll also need to update Cockpit to the latest version to get the widgets under the edit-interface menu. This happens automatically on newer versions of Cockpit, standalone! Easy to do from the Extensions Manager.

Running PVN in an iframe is not recommended.

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Thanks Tony - will update the bootstrap and have been updating Cockpit via the extensions page (sooo easy!) and currently have version 1.11.0 which seems to be the latest version?

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Hi @BillyBudd -
My mistake, I misread your post of the version # you were using. You may enjoy the standalone version of Cockpit more - it allows you to have other windows open without losing joystick control, as long as some pixels of the Cockpit application are still visible on the screen. Videos also automatically populate in a Cockpit folder in your home directory once processed, instead of having to “download” them.

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Thanks again Tony - I was using the standalone version but unfortunately the desktop link I was using wasnt accessing the updated version but an older version I had installed - my bad!

Anyway so with the latest versions of BlueOS and Cockpit installed PVN is running pretty stable in an iframe but I still cannot see any of the ping mini widgits options.

Is there any other setting I need to change to enable these as they look really useful.

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Hi @BillyBudd -
You’re looking in the wrong place - check under regular widgets, not mini widgets!

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Nothing there either - I do see some new widgits in V1.11.0 that werent available with the old version of Cockpit like Plotter, custom and DIY as well as a new option for input widgits but nothing related to Ping anywhere?

Good news is that everything else is working great now, PVN and SonarView seems stable in an iframe although still cannot detect the Ping1D in SonarView but PVN offers a good alternative.

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Hi @BillyBudd -
You may need to be on a more recent Beta version of BlueOS to have the widgets appear in Cockpit - a bit counter-intuitive, but they rely on a back-end that is not present in 1.3.1. Give version 1.4 beta 15 a try! No need to update bootstrap, best to have 1.3.1 as the fall-back.

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OK thanks Tony will give it a try.