Hi all. Wondering if anyone has any advice.
We are trying to remotely pilot our BlueROV for a science outreach event. We have installed Zerotier and are able to connect from a remote computer but the video feed keeps cutting out after 10-20 seconds. Has anyone else encountered this?
Alternatively is anyone using other options like Teamviewer or Microsoft Remote Desktop? Interested to know what works for people.
Cheers
Joe
Hi @NS3D -
Teamviewer and remote desktop aren’t going to be compatible with any aspect of BlueOS, but you could use them to remote control a computer that is connected to a BlueROV2 and the internet? I would expect performance to be worse with this approach…
Does the video feed cut out completely, or just come in and out? If you’re using QGC, you may have better results with Cockpit for the video streaming over a Zerotier connection. Ensuring both the ROV and your control station have high-speed internet is also key!
Hi Tony
Connecting to a computer via Teamviewer/Remote desktop was the idea, but we had the same concerns about performance.
The video feed cuts out completely. There lag-free one minute and gone the next. We’ll try with cockpit. The internet is also likely a problem, zerotier won’t work with our work wifi (port incompatibility) so we’ve been hotspotting from our phones…
Thanks, I’ll get tinkering again!
Hi @NS3D -
I’m surprised that zerotier doesn’t work on the WiFi - I’ve yet to find a NAT that it couldn’t tunnel through, eventually! If you can get a high-bandwidth connection that supports it, routing video and control via zerotier should provide latency less than 1/2 a second, at least in our own experiences. This was with Cockpit though!
We are having some related issues.
Our ZeroTier connection seems to “time out” every few seconds. It is not able to hold a stable latency (i think is the right word) as we often get disconnected from the vehicle in BlueOs and Cockpit.
Connection is remade automatrically in a few seconds, but it is way too unstable for commercial use.
Do you have any tips as to where we can troubleshoot?
I am monitoring the Zerotier network live, and every device is active every minute.
This may be a question for Zerotier, but I will try my luck here as I always learn something doing so.
What are the main factors needed to keep a stable connection?
Hi @Erlingns95 -
Can you share how your devices are reaching the internet? Are you trying to control a BlueBoat, or an ROV with associated video stream? The default video stream on an ROV is quite “heavy” at 10 Mbps, which most mobile internet connections can not sustain on the uplink…
If you ping the ZeroTier IP from your control computer, what is the typical latency, and are pings ever missed? From a terminal, ping “zerotier IP” should do the trick, if on windows add -t to make it continuous.
The quality of the internet connection for both devices is key to maintaining a stable connection.
Both devices are connected wirelessly to internet.
The “host” computer (Rpi) is on a quality network, but the remote comp (Mac) is on a very slow network (4.04Mbps down, 4.19Mbps up). I am no wifi expert but simple math tells me that 10 is more than 4.
I am trying to access an ROV with associated video stream, which is connected to Wifi whilst on land. Are you aware of solutions for having the ROV connected to Wifi during a dive? Will it work if we have a computer connected via tether on very good quality network, or does the Pi itself need to be online?
15 pks transmitted, 14 received. 6,7% packet loss
min/avg/max/stddev
176,959/291,134/831,033/181,536
Let me know if you recommend a longer ping, or any other change of test for that matter
Hi @Erlingns95 -
You’re correct - that Mac needs a better internet connection! The speeds are low, but more importantly packets are getting lost - that high on just 15 pings is pretty bad!
It sounds like your ROV is connected to the good wifi, and the Mac the bad? If you disable the video stream (remove stream on video-streams page) you may get a more stable connection?
You can certainly have an ROV have internet connection while underwater - the simplest way is to connect the topside to an ethernet switch that has internet access, and connect your control computer to the same switch. It’s also possible to bridge the WiFi adapter with internet on your topside to the ethernet connection to the vehicle, however this can be trickier and I’ve never seen it work on Windows…
That internet connection needs to be pretty good if you want to remotely control the ROV - StarLink mini is the only practical solution, but for BlueBoat use 4G cellular can be sufficient (especially without a video stream, although the exploreHD camera allows lowering of the bitrate from the standard 10, unlike the low-light USB camera in the ROV.)
Noted. Starlink is our main path, but we are a bit unsure about the setup.
When you say topside, do you mean the Topside Power Supply for OTPS? That is currently not a part of our system.
Or do you mean the Fathom X TI?
If we try:
Starlink–>Mac via eth to usb-c, and connect our ROV like usual with fathom X, will we be able to get the ROV on the starlink?
Do we have to directly connect the FXTI to the Starlink (via switch)?
Is the normal tether functional here, or would we need a different one?
Hi @Erlingns95 -
No, I don’t mean the OTPS - I consider any equipment used on the surface of a subsea robotics system to be the “topside” equipment - apologies for the jargon.
Instide the FXTI is a Fathom-X tether interface, which is connected to your computer via an ethernet to USB adapter. You could instead connect that ethernet port to a switch that is also connected to a Starlink and your computer. You could also use a WiFi router, connected to the Starlink wirelessly, and using one of its ethernet ports connecting the Fathom-X. Your computer could connect to this router wirelessly or with another ethernet cable.
You’d only bring internet to the ROV with the USB connection to the Fathom-X if you setup a bridge. This is possible, but can be a bit tricky and usually has to be setup on each connection. If you connected the Fathom-X directly to the Starlink Ethernet port this would also work, but you’d need to configure BlueOS properly to receive an ethernet IP address not at its usual static location of 192.168.2.2, or setup the StarLink to use the .2.X subnet.
Your tether has no impact on any of this - it is essentially a long, special, ethernet cable.
Thank you again. I feel I should thank you with every response i get.
I know that the tether is “just” a long, special ethernet cable, but I am unable to fathom (wordplay:P) how much communication is happening over the two wires we are using.
If we do Starlink–>Switch–>Fathom-X–>ROV, it is possible to have the ROV online, correct?
Including the switch in this setup to include the possibility of connecting our local computer via Eth.
If we power our switch, would the Fathom-X be able to operate using PoE, or does it need it’s own power supply?
Bonus question: Do you sell the Binder 770 Bulkhead Connector WITH 4 pairs connected, as it is inside the FXTI? I realize it isn’t the biggest job in the world, but time, correct parts and tools all matter in commercial production. I know I don’t have to tell you guys that.
Hi @Erlingns95 -
Typical traffic from an ROV is about 10-11 Mbit from vehicle to user (mostly camera stream), and maybe 5% of that from user to vehicle.
That setup would work, but you’d need to adjust the StarLink configuration - typically it will not be using the 192.168.2.X subnet by default, which it would need to in order to provide internet access to BlueOS. I checked on one I have running and it seemed an easy enough change to make under the WiFi settings! You’d just select the second option, 192.168.2.1/24
As noted on the product page, the Fathom-X takes 7-28V DC or 5V via USB mini connector. It does not support PoE.
The Binder connector is not available with wires attached, but we have a guide that should make it less challenging to do!
