autopilot route plugin

[rgleason]

Sean this is the problem:
Opencpn v 4.99.0
autopilot_route_pi compiled with opencpn.lib api 1.15

[seandepagnier]

rick,

You cannot use the older lib. You need to use the git version of opencpn with that lib for this plugin to work.

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

rick,

You cannot use the older lib. You need to use the git version of opencpn with that lib for this plugin to work.

Of course not. That is what I did. I copied the opencpn.lib from v4.99.0 to the plugin build directory. Then I get that message after compile.

I can try it again if you want.... I have done this several times I believe.

[rgleason]

Here is the PR
https://github.com/OpenCPN/OpenCPN/c...2b74d52ac088c7

It appears to affect ocpn_plugin.h
do I need that file?

Also I may be using the API 115 version of opencpn.lib from a version after 4.8.2 but before v4.99.0.
I can no longer build Opencpn after v 4.8.2 as the files have been changed for use with MSVC++ 2017 and wxwidgets 3.1.1

[rgleason]

Although these plugins are not Beta, I've added them to the Dev > Beta Plugins list:

Sean's Autopilot Route Plugin


and Bernd Cirotzki's Autopilot Raymarine Plugin working first version


The documentation is minimal at this point.

[rgleason]

Sean has updated his Autopilot_Route_pi
https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/do...pilot_route_pi
The wiki page for this Beta Plugin is here


Sorry, I posted that notice to the wrong thread! This is the correct thread.

Sean advises:

The autopilot route plugin capable of steering under sail in harbors is used in my video:
https://youtu.be/KQuBwLSMSxI

We need someone experienced with this plugin to augment the plugin manual!

[BILLY_BUDD]

I hope this is the right forum for this discussion!

While experimenting with my ST4000 autopilot in TRACK mode using ROUTES defined in OpenCPN I thought it would be useful to incorporate an arrival alarm.

Now for starters the ST4000 does alarm on arrival at a waypoint within a route, the autopilot does not advance to the next waypoint until until arrival is acknowledge by pressing the TRACK button (the literature indicates that the purpose was to confirm conditions ie. traffic/right of way before the course change. Seems reasonable.

In my example (I can think of others) waypoints were selected before and after crossing a traffic lane or ship channel. The radius of the arrival is of course is a default property of the route waypoint (Arrival Radius) but, this feature does not alarm at the Nav Station, only at the Autopilot Control Head.

It seems that an OpenCPN alarm would be a good idea.

I was wondering if we should be able to generate a Watchdog Alarm for the ACTIVE ROUTE/ACTIVE WAYPOINT on arrival

This might be something like an anchor watch but exclusion vs. inclusion. Or like a AIS style guard zone that is triggered by the LAT/LON of the ACTIVE WAYPOINT as your vessel approaches the mark. So, the alarm could be either a property of the vessel or the target waypoint whichever is more efficient to code/implement.

Besides establishing the right of way safety of the new course, this alarm may trigger pre-arrival activities also important for safe operation on the new heading (reefing and sail changes, sail dousing, more hands on deck, transfer to diesel power) power) comfortably before the actual course change.



COMMENTS?????

[rgleason]

I was wondering if we should be able to generate a Watchdog Alarm for the ACTIVE ROUTE/ACTIVE WAYPOINT on arrival

Yes, download it and try.
https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/do...afety:watchdog

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by BILLY_BUDD

I hope this is the right forum for this discussion!

While experimenting with my ST4000 autopilot in TRACK mode using ROUTES defined in OpenCPN I thought it would be useful to incorporate an arrival alarm.

Now for starters the ST4000 does alarm on arrival at a waypoint within a route, the autopilot does not advance to the next waypoint until until arrival is acknowledge by pressing the TRACK button (the literature indicates that the purpose was to confirm conditions ie. traffic/right of way before the course change. Seems reasonable.

This seems unreasonable to me. I just sailed up a winding river and there was no traffic. Presumably you are adjusting sails at course changes already not actually sleeping although this might be possible on downwind course changes.

Furthermore, under autopilot, the course is already changing all of the time by to a greater or lesser degree. Otherwise cross track error, and arrival radius wouldn't exist, because the autopilot would be perfect and not need these. Therefore the argument for verifying it is safe to change course actually applies for holding the same course under autopilot, so either way you need to make sure it is safe, so acknowledging is annoying.

So... the autopilot route plugin has confirmation as optional.. to me, this is just extra thing to click all the time and I would never use it.

In my example (I can think of others) waypoints were selected before and after crossing a traffic lane or ship channel. The radius of the arrival is of course is a default property of the route waypoint (Arrival Radius) but, this feature does not alarm at the Nav Station, only at the Autopilot Control Head.

It seems that an OpenCPN alarm would be a good idea.
I was wondering if we should be able to generate a Watchdog Alarm for the ACTIVE ROUTE/ACTIVE WAYPOINT on arrival

This seems like a good idea for a watchdog plugin alarm. It is not difficult to do. I just implemented pypilot specific autopilot alarms for watchdog, but nothing to do with route following yet.

This might be something like an anchor watch but exclusion vs. inclusion. Or like a AIS style guard zone that is triggered by the LAT/LON of the ACTIVE WAYPOINT as your vessel approaches the mark. So, the alarm could be either a property of the vessel or the target waypoint whichever is more efficient to code/implement.

I am thinking the alarm would go off whenever the boat enters the arrival radius of any waypoint on the active route. An option would make it only trigger on the final waypoint if you wanted a separate alarm or only alarm at the end.

Besides establishing the right of way safety of the new course, this alarm may trigger pre-arrival activities also important for safe operation on the new heading (reefing and sail changes, sail dousing, more hands on deck, transfer to diesel power) power) comfortably before the actual course change.

Do you want a different alarm radius than the normal arrival radius??

Should it be able to alarm a certain estimated time before the waypoint arrival?

Should it have an option to alarm only if the boat is likely to jibe or tack at the waypoint (turn through the wind) ?


What about alarm if the autopilot fails to follow the route? This could be caused by many possible reasons, like autopilot switched off, or the route being too hard on the wind.

What about alarm if the cross track error exceeds a certain value?

What about alarm if ais detects a ship that will maybe collide along the intended route if we make those turns?

[BILLY_BUDD]

A. This seems like a good idea for a watchdog plugin alarm. It is not difficult to do. I just implemented pypilot specific autopilot alarms for watchdog, but nothing to do with route following yet.

Agree. Watchdog feels like the right place

B. I am thinking the alarm would go off whenever the boat enters the arrival radius of any waypoint on the active route. An option would make it only trigger on the final waypoint if you wanted a separate alarm or only alarm at the end.

Yes. Does the Arrival Radius have any other associated functions? Does the alarm radius trigger communication of the next course? Or is that handled some other way? Google maps uses a different technique on the highway for this concept. Ie. “Exit right in half a mile. “. Why? To allow the drive time for any maneuvers to facilitate the future command. Whatever they may be, speed up, slow down, execute lane changes. We are all comfortable with this technique. We may or may not wish to use voice interpreters. After all we have the liberty of taking our eyes off the road.

C. Do you want a different alarm radius than the normal arrival radius??

I think for our purposes, the alarm when necessary would be somewhat anticipatory in nature. And in open water, not always required. To cut down on the nuisance alarms.

D. Should it be able to alarm a certain estimated time before the waypoint arrival?

See above, time or distance doesn’t matter to me. I thought allowing the active waypoint to alarm a forward looking guard zone might be an elegant way to accomplish much of there considerations. Alarm distance, alarm reset, and alarm update to new destination on arrival.

E. Should it have an option to alarm only if the boat is likely to jibe or tack at the waypoint (turn through the wind) ?

A nice idea but maybe a future if we fall in love with simple notification.

F. What about alarm if the autopilot fails to follow the route? This could be caused by many possible reasons, like autopilot switched off, or the route being too hard on the wind.

This is more to the point. In turning over control of the vessel, what command information is critical to success! You may find yourself using autopilot to address casualties personal or mechanical. As such supervisory alarms could/would be a great idea!

G. What about alarm if the cross track error exceeds a certain value?

See above. There is a watchdog course alarm but, maybe we could bundle it better under to general concept of Route Management.

H. What about alarm if ais detects a ship that will maybe collide along the intended route if we make those turns?

Another great idea since AIS do not alarm if boats have parallel courses, I have seen where a minor course change will quickly set off a collision risk. This is especially true of operation near harbor entrance with fast moving cargo and cruise ships. You can’t hang at the nav station all day watching to see if a close call will develop. With the speed of cruise ships and large commercial vessels they can be on you in a heart beat. It’s a good idea to decide to stay clear in a forward thinking manner. Since for the most part they will be unwilling or unable to change course and speed.

Note: As an aside. Is it possible to imagine Watchdog handling other useful alarm conditions. Engine temperature rate of rise, bilge pump running nonstop? For instance most boats will not reveal that they are taking on water until their feet tell them and the continuously running bilge pump has been overwhelmed.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by BILLY_BUDD

Agree. Watchdog feels like the right place

B. I am thinking the alarm would go off whenever the boat enters the arrival radius of any waypoint on the active route. An option would make it only trigger on the final waypoint if you wanted a separate alarm or only alarm at the end.

Yes. Does the Arrival Radius have any other associated functions? Does the alarm radius trigger communication of the next course? Or is that handled some other way? Google maps uses a different technique on the highway for this concept. Ie. “Exit right in half a mile. “. Why? To allow the drive time for any maneuvers to facilitate the future command. Whatever they may be, speed up, slow down, execute lane changes. We are all comfortable with this technique. We may or may not wish to use voice interpreters. After all we have the liberty of taking our eyes off the road.

With standard route following, as soon as you reach the arrival radius, the next waypoint is activated. If confirmation is required, it will not activate until confirmed.

With the autopilot route plugin, there is an additional route following mode "Route Position Bearing" mode. In this mode, arrival radius is not used. Instead, the autopilot follows a continuous course along the route. This has several advantages, mostly it gives smoother turns, and doesn't overshoot turns the way standard route following logic because there are no discontinuities at each waypoint. It is much easier to tune as you can set the radius smaller for tight areas. This is the mode I usually use with good results.

F. What about alarm if the autopilot fails to follow the route? This could be caused by many possible reasons, like autopilot switched off, or the route being too hard on the wind.

This is more to the point. In turning over control of the vessel, what command information is critical to success! You may find yourself using autopilot to address casualties personal or mechanical. As such supervisory alarms could/would be a great idea!

There is already autopilot alarm if the heading error exceeds a certain value, but nothing to do with failure to stay on the route.

G. What about alarm if the cross track error exceeds a certain value?

See above. There is a watchdog course alarm but, maybe we could bundle it better under to general concept of Route Management.

The course alarm is not to be confused with future route alarms. These are completely separate... the course alarm is simpler and has nothing to do with routes.

H. What about alarm if ais detects a ship that will maybe collide along the intended route if we make those turns?

Another great idea since AIS do not alarm if boats have parallel courses, I have seen where a minor course change will quickly set off a collision risk. This is especially true of operation near harbor entrance with fast moving cargo and cruise ships. You can’t hang at the nav station all day watching to see if a close call will develop. With the speed of cruise ships and large commercial vessels they can be on you in a heart beat. It’s a good idea to decide to stay clear in a forward thinking manner. Since for the most part they will be unwilling or unable to change course and speed.

as far as I know, AIS does not transmit the intended route of the other vessels, so ths would be limited to comparing their course and speed with our own speed and intended route. It is difficult also because our speed may change when our route changes due to currents, or different wind angle.

Note: As an aside. Is it possible to imagine Watchdog handling other useful alarm conditions. Engine temperature rate of rise, bilge pump running nonstop? For instance most boats will not reveal that they are taking on water until their feet tell them and the continuously running bilge pump has been overwhelmed.

Yes sure, this is probably a good discussion for the watchdog thread.

[rgleason]

Sean has updated his Pypilot Autopilot Route 0.3.0 plugin. It compiles and opens in Opencpn, but I have not tested it.

[donovanes]

Hi, I tried installing the autopilot route plugin but didn't succeed. I built it directly from the git library last updated Aug 28 2018. There were a few errors building it but finally managed after updating to wxWidgets 3.0.2 Linux 32 bit wxGTK.

I am using OpenCPN version 4.8.8 Build 2018-11-06 and getting the following error message in the log:

21:11:30 PST: PlugInManager: Loading PlugIn: /usr/lib/opencpn/libautopilot_route_pi.so
21:11:30 PST: Error: /usr/lib/opencpn/libautopilot_route_pi.so: undefined symbol: _Z26PlugInHandleAutopilotRouteb
21:11:30 PST: PlugInManager: Cannot load library: /usr/lib/opencpn/libautopilot_route_pi.so

I suspect it has to do with the wxWidgets version that built the library.

Any tips on how to fix this?

Thanks!

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by donovanes

Hi, I tried installing the autopilot route plugin but didn't succeed. I built it directly from the git library last updated Aug 28 2018. There were a few errors building it but finally managed after updating to wxWidgets 3.0.2 Linux 32 bit wxGTK.

I am using OpenCPN version 4.8.8 Build 2018-11-06 and getting the following error message in the log:

21:11:30 PST: PlugInManager: Loading PlugIn: /usr/lib/opencpn/libautopilot_route_pi.so
21:11:30 PST: Error: /usr/lib/opencpn/libautopilot_route_pi.so: undefined symbol: _Z26PlugInHandleAutopilotRouteb
21:11:30 PST: PlugInManager: Cannot load library: /usr/lib/opencpn/libautopilot_route_pi.so

I suspect it has to do with the wxWidgets version that built the library.

Any tips on how to fix this?

Thanks!

This is a symbol in opencpn. Did you build opencpn from git?

[donovanes]

OpenCPN is from the Openplotter distribution (1.02)