How can I use the Ai-deck with the Flapper Nimble+ (flapping-wing drone)?

[jjamm00]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to use the Ai-deck with the Flapper Nimble+, a flapping-wing drone based on Crazyflie 2.1.

Here’s my current situation:

I’ve successfully connected the Ai-deck to the Flapper Nimble+.

The LEDs on the Ai-deck light up normally, and the WiFi access point named WiFi streaming example is visible and stable in my WiFi list.

However, when I run the opencv-viewer.py (the standard Python3 WiFi video streamer example that works fine with a regular Crazyflie), nothing happens — the video stream doesn’t start.

And as expected, there is no connection log shown in the cfclient, since the Flapper Nimble+ doesn't directly communicate in the same way as the Crazyflie.

My question is:
How can I get the Ai-deck working with the Flapper Nimble+?
Is there something I need to change in the hardware, firmware, or example code to make the WiFi video streamer work with this platform?

Any guidance or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[gemenerik]

Exciting to hear you’ve got the AI-deck connected to the Flapper Nimble+. Just to clarify: the Flapper is not one of our (Bitcraze) products, and it may be hard for me to provide support. The AI-deck is designed to work with the Crazyflie ecosystem (Crazyflie 2.1, Crazyflie Bolt, etc.). Since the Flapper is based on the Crazyflie Bolt, I tested the AI-deck on a standalone Bolt, and in that case the WiFi streaming example worked as expected.

However, when I tried it myself on our Flapper, I ran into issues:

• Flashing the AI-deck via the Flapper did not work (even JTAG).
• I also wasn’t able to bring up the WiFi AP from the AI-deck when mounted on the Flapper.
• When forcing the AI-deck drivers I get a warning for GPIO conflicts.

Since the Flapper has its own specifics on top of the Bolt, I’d recommend looping in Flapper Drones’ support (or involving them in this thread), as they are in the best position to clarify what changes are needed to get it working.

[jjamm00]

Thank you very much for your reply!
I also experienced the same issues you mentioned: flashing the AI-deck via the Flapper did not work and I wasn’t able to bring up the WiFi AP from the AI-deck when mounted on the Flapper.

In addition, I ran into the GPIO conflicts warning when forcing the AI-deck drivers, but this was resolved after disabling the Flapper drone’s SD card driver.

It seems that using the AI-deck with the Flapper drone will not be straightforward, as you pointed out.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your insights, and I hope you have a great day!

[gemenerik]

Thanks for confirming, good to know you ran into the same things. Nice catch on disabling the SD card driver to resolve the GPIO conflict.

As mentioned, since the Flapper has its own specifics on top of the Bolt, I think the Flapper Drones team is best placed to advise on what changes are needed. Hopefully our notes here can help point them in the right direction.

Appreciate you sharing your experience, and best of luck with your experiments!

[nateyboy329-sketch]

Ok, so, I would recommend something similar to the Ai deck, ex. A Nicla vision, then connect it. This was my idea for when I buy my crazyflie 2.1 brushless. You could connect it via a proto, breakout deck. Though, you may need to mess with the c firmware, drivers and such

[gemenerik]

Using alternative hardware like could be interesting, but if the issue is with integration, moving outside the Bitcraze ecosystem might actually add complexity rather than reduce it.

If you are willing to share, what are some of the things that make you consider the Nicla Vision? That kind of input would be really helpful for us when thinking about the future of AI on the Crazyflie.

[jjamm00]

I apologize for the delayed response.
Thank you so much for sharing such a valuable experience!
I’ll look into Nicla Vision and try using it myself.
Thanks again!