Start here and learn how to fly Ware drones!
Required viewing for Remote Deployments (COVID-19)
Watch the below drone walkthrough video before your first flight!
Further information about operating the Skydio 2 drone can be found on Skydio's website in the Skydio 2 User Guide.
Reviewing the above will help with understanding how to manually fly the drone, if needed.
Understanding drone flights
Ware drones are pre-programmed to operate in a safe manner while accurately collecting information needed for delivering robust inventory reports.
The drone flight workflow
- Drone flies and captures data
- Drone is returned to Nest and charges batteries
- Data is automatically uploaded from the drone to Ware servers
- Inventory reports are delivered in the Ware Portal
Use the Ware Skill inside the Skydio 2 app to operate your drone.
You must first create a Skydio account with your work email to get access and authorization to the Ware Skill.
If you are deploying Ware remotely, or if it's the first drone you receive from Ware, your drone will likely have a mini test pattern programmed in it for you to practice with and familiarize yourself on.
Once you've accomplished your first test flights, contact your Ware representative to advise them that you're ready for access to the full pattern.
Drone flight pattern
The drone flies a predictable pattern and avoids most obstacles but it is useful to understand its tendencies before you fly:
- Drone takes off vertically from its Launch Pad to its starting point
- Drone flies to its RIGHT in a vertical lawnmower pattern
- Drone returns to its starting point
- Drone flies to its LEFT in a vertical lawnmower pattern
- Drone returns to its starting point
- Drone executes a 180-degree spin so that it faces the opposite side of the aisle
- Drone flies to its LEFT in a vertical lawnmower pattern
- Drone returns to its starting point
- Drone flies to its RIGHT in a vertical lawnmower pattern
- Drone returns to its starting point and LANDS on the Launch Pad
The above image is a visualization of the drone's vertical lawnmower flight pattern. The number of up-and-down sections will vary from facility to facility.
The above diagram shows where to align the launchpad in the aisle and where flight observers and onlookers should stand.
As the drone flies, it is capturing imagery that is post-processed in order to extract key data points for inventory reporting. Those reports are available via our software, the Ware Portal.
After the drone lands from its autonomous flight, bring it back to your Nest to recharge the batteries and upload its data to the Ware servers for processing.
The default, at-rest state of your Nest should look like this:
Notice that the drone is plugged into the USB-C wall outlet charger and that the drone's battery is removed from the drone. You can charge the drone battery separately.
- IMPORTANT: If the drone is on firmware 7.0.300, the battery must remain attached to the drone when plugging in the USB-C cable. The drone cannot power-on with the cable by itself if on firmware 7.0.300!
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, UPDATE THE DRONE’S FIRMWARE IN THE SKYDIO 2 APP. IGNORE ANY “UPDATE” ALERTS WITHIN THE APP SETTINGS.