Crazyflie flying issue with ai deck

[yeko31]

Dear Bitcraze Community,

I'm using the ai deck 1.1, flow deck with crazyflie 2.1+ for vision based navigation project. I noticed that crazyflie can't fly in a linear motion when i fix the ai deck on top of it. Then i removed the ai deck and tested(only with battery holder+flowdeck) sbs_motion_commander example for both take_off_simple and move_linear_example. Then, the drone flies without any issue. Following is a video when i tested sbs_motion_commander move_linear example. Kindly seeking guidance on this to solve the problem. (crazyflie firmware i used was 2025.02)

issue.mp4

Thank you for your time.

Yehan.

[gemenerik]

Hi Yehan,
Thanks for reaching out. Just to clarify - you're running the same sbs_motion_commander examples, and flight works fine with just the Flow deck but has issues when the AI-deck is added on top?
Have you tested any other examples with the AI-deck attached, or is this specific to sbs_motion_commander? I'm trying to determine if it's a general flight issue or something specific to this example.
Could you also confirm your exact hardware setup (I'm assuming 250mAh battery with the 2.1+, but let me know if you're using a larger one) and whether you're running completely stock software or have any custom modifications? The Flow + AI-deck combo should work fine weight-wise, so I want to rule out configuration issues before we physically reproduce this.
Thanks!

[yeko31]

Hi Rik,

Thanks for the reply.

1. Yes, i ran the same example in both the scenarios( with vs without AI deck)
2. I tried using a manual PS controller in the altitude hold option while maneuvering the drone, i observe similar kind of issue when the ai deck is connected on the top. I think its a general flight issue only when the ai deck is connected.
3. Flow deck+Ai deck+250mAh battery+cf 2.1+
   I ran the original 2025.02 firmware on cf and ran this code on the ai deck.

Do you think

1. changing propellers(i observe some scratches on my propellers)
2. changing the battery( the length of pin headers are not enough for the 350mAh battery when fitting the flow+ai decks and drone experiences the same above issue then also)
3. changing to the thrust upgrade kit
4. PID tuning?
   might solve the issue?

Thanks,
Yehan.

[gemenerik]

Let's try to narrow it down. Have you tried controlling the CF in another way? Can you try the command based flight control in the bottom right corner of the flight tab in the client? What runs on the AI-deck should not interfere. It may be the added weight instead. However, the configuration you have should work. I have used the 2.1+, AI-deck and Flow deck with 250mAh battery together extensively.
It is, however, a little bit at the limit of stable flight performance though. So making sure the battery and propellers are in good state in that case makes sense. And in that case the thrust upgrade kit could also help. Regarding your questions: the 350mAh battery does allow more burst current, but it also adds weight and I'm not certain it provides more thrust with the standard motors. PID tuning likely won't help much in this case either. Before buying anything, let's exclude that it is a problem with the assisted flight control you used.