GridX documentation

The GridX user guide — the same one that is built into the app: ⓘ «Про застосунок» (About) → «Довідка» (Help). The app's interface is in Ukrainian, so on-screen labels are quoted as they appear, with their meaning in brackets.

Matches GridX 0.9.1 The text matches the in-app help.

GridX ground stations — GridX DJI / GridX Autel

A GridX station is the GridX GS app on an ordinary smart controller — no capture card, DAC boards or HID mouse: video, sticks, camera and touch all travel in software.

GridX DJI: DJI RC Plus / RC Plus 2 — Matrice 30 / 300 / 350, Matrice 4 / 4D, Matrice 400
GridX Autel: Autel Smart Controller V3 — EVO Max 4T, EVO II V3

GridX stations always come first in the station list, ahead of BlastPilot stations, with the type «GridX DJI» or «GridX Autel». On the local network they are found automatically; over the internet — through Netbird (see “Netbird network”). From there it works as with a BlastPilot station: connect, take control, open the video player.

Video comes as two streams (the bitrate of each is set in the station settings):

Екран НС: (Station screen) The station controller's screen: video, telemetry, buttons — your touches go here
Камера БпЛА: (Aircraft camera) The drone camera's video, direct

Controls — a built-in map for every controller, nothing to set up (re-bind in “Controls setup” if needed):

Sticks: Left — throttle / yaw, right — pitch / roll (Mode 2)
Wheels: Left — camera tilt, right — zoom
Take-off (ARM): DJI: L1 · Autel: left custom button · gamepad: 7
Land (DISARM): DJI: R1 · Autel: right custom button · gamepad: 8
Brake: Pause button (||) · gamepad: 5 — hover; cancels RTH and landing
Return home (RTH): RTH button, hold 1.5 s · gamepad: 6
Speed: DJI: F — slow · N — normal · S — fast; other controllers — normal
Recentre gimbal: DJI: C1 · gamepad: 1 · Autel: button on the station screen
Next camera: DJI: C2 · gamepad: 2 · Autel: button on the station screen
Record · Photo: The controller's record and photo buttons · gamepad: 3 · 4

Take-off and landing act at once, without confirmation. On the ground, take-off starts the motors and lifts the drone to a low height; in the air it does nothing. In the air, land brings the drone down (and confirms the landing when the drone asks); on the ground it stops the motors. Brake cancels a mistaken landing.

Motors — the ⏻ «Двигуни» (Motors) button in the video player's left panel (expand the panel with «Більше», More). It opens a description and the commands; they work only while you control the station:

Start motors: «Запустити двигуни» — on the ground: the motors start without taking off; throttle up to take off
Stop motors: «Зупинити двигуни» — on the ground: stops the motors (in the air — Land)
Emergency stop: «Аварійна зупинка» — motors off at once, in the air too — the drone falls; asks first

The emergency stop is for the worst case only: danger to people, the drone uncontrollable or flying away. Before it runs, GridX shows what will happen and the station's note for its drone: on DJI a stop in the air is allowed only by the aircraft setting in DJI Pilot 2 «Emergency Propeller Stop» → «Anytime»; on Autel the station sends the emergency propeller stop command. Check how your drone reacts on the ground, without propellers, before the first flight.

Link loss: if no control packets arrive from the pilot for more than 1 s, the drone hovers at once; if the link is not back within the time set on the station (30 s by default), it returns home.

The operator at the station always has priority: the Pause button or the flight-mode switch on the station's DJI controller take control away from the remote pilot. The station then ignores the pilot until the operator allows control again or the pilot takes it over once more.

Touches on the «Екран НС» (station screen) video work as on BlastPilot stations (see “Remote controller touch”): the station screen has buttons for take-off, landing, RTH, photo, recording, recentring the gimbal and switching camera.

Only GridX GS may run on the station controller — DJI Pilot 2 or Autel Enterprise must be closed, better still disabled: only one app can control the drone. GridX GS starts by itself when the controller is switched on.

Several drones on one station — all of it is done on the station controller, with no ADB and no computer:

Another drone: Station ⚙ → «Сполучення з дроном» (pairing with a drone) → «Почати сполучення» (start pairing), then the pairing button on the drone. On the ground only, up to 2 min
Firmware, calibration: Station ⚙ → «Штатний застосунок — обслуговування» (vendor app — maintenance): the station switches off and opens DJI Pilot 2 / Autel Enterprise
Return the station: Open GridX GS on the controller: the on-screen steps close and disable the vendor app, then «Повернути станцію» (return the station)

While the station is in maintenance it is not in the station list — pilots see it again as soon as the operator returns it. Installing and setting up a station:

https://github.com/GridX-App/gridx-gs

BlastPilot ground stations

The app looks for stations on the local network and among the Netbird peers automatically. Tap a station in the list to connect.

List order: GridX stations (GridX DJI, GridX Autel) always come first, then BlastPilot stations; within each group, online stations before offline ones, then by name.

Only one operator can control a station. To take control, press «Перехопити керування» (Take control) — on the station details screen or in the video player panel. The previous operator loses control at once and gets a notification.

The controller type is detected at start-up. For Autel, DJI Matrice and Mavic stations the layout below is built in — nothing to set up. For all other types (FPV, UGV, Ardupilot, Betaflight, carriers, repeaters…) the operator assigns the channels — see “Controls setup”.

Controls setup

What each channel does is decided by the vehicle's flight controller (Betaflight, Ardupilot), so a map is set up once per station type. There are two ways into the editor:

With a station: Station screen → «Налаштувати керування» (Set up controls)
Without a station: ⚙ «Налаштування» (Settings) → «Схеми керування» (Controls maps) card → «Налаштувати схему…» (Set up a map…)

With a station: on the first connection to a station of a new type the editor opens by itself; after that, use «Налаштувати керування» on the station screen.

Without a station — no connection needed: on the station list screen tap ⚙ (Settings), scroll to the «Схеми керування» (Controls maps) card (after «Вузли Netbird mesh») and press «Налаштувати схему…». Pick the station type: GridX stations, BlastPilot smart controllers, other BlastPilot stations, types seen before — or enter the station's usecase name in the «Інший тип» (Other type) field. It is the same editor, with a live view of the channels on your controller. The saved map takes effect as soon as you connect to a station of that type. Saved maps are edited with the ✎ button in the same card.

A map is set up for the controller you are using (Autel, DJI or gamepad): the bindings point at its buttons and sticks. For another controller type, set the map up on that controller — or import it (see “Sharing controls maps”).

To bind a controller element to a channel:

Tap the channel in the list on the left (for example, CH1).
Press «Призначити рухом» (Bind by moving).
Move a stick or wheel more than halfway, press a button or flip a switch — the app picks that element itself.
Choose the mode (for throttle, see below) and press «Зберегти» (Save).

If nothing is detected within 15 seconds, binding is cancelled. You can also pick the element by hand in the «Елемент пульта» (Controller element) list — it holds only your controller's elements, filtered by the kind of signal. The «Зараз активні» (Active now) line shows which elements the controller is sending right now.

Axis: Direct · half travel · incremental
Button: Hold · toggle · pulse · 3 positions
Switch: Positions → 988 / 1500 / 2012 µs or your own values (F / S / N on DJI)
App: A switch on the screen — currently «Зарядка НС» (GS charging)
Not assigned: Fixed value (1000 / 1500 / 2000 µs or your own)
Template: Default AETR, the smart-controller map, or a copy from another type
Reset: Delete the saved map and return to the default

Autel's right wheel reports motion only while it is being rolled. If «Призначити рухом» does not notice it, roll faster or pick «Праве коліщатко (зум)» (Right wheel (zoom)) in the list by hand.

Smart-controller sticks spring back to centre: in «Пряме» (Direct) mode a released throttle stick gives 1500 µs (≈50 %). For an FPV throttle choose «Половина ходу» (Half travel) or «Інкрементальне» (Incremental).

The bars to the right of the channels show the output values live. The station receives the saved map — changes take effect after «Зберегти» (Save). A map is stored separately for every station type and controller type.

Autel Smart Controller V3 — Autel / DJI stations

Left stick: Throttle / yaw
Right stick: Pitch / roll
Left wheel: Camera tilt
Right wheel: Camera zoom
Left custom: Custom function 1
Right custom: Custom function 2
RECORD: Video recording
PHOTO: Photo
||: GS power — on / off

The Pause button (||) switches the ground station's power on and off while it is held. It is not a flight pause.

DJI RC Plus and RC Plus 2 — Autel / DJI stations

Left stick: Throttle / yaw
Right stick: Pitch / roll
Left wheel: Camera tilt
Right wheel: Camera zoom
F / S / N: Mode
C1: Custom function 1
C2: Custom function 2
L1: Video recording
L2: Custom function
R3: Custom function
||: Pause
R1: GS power — on / off

On DJI controllers the ground station's power is controlled by R1, not by Pause — unlike Autel. The Pause button has its own function here.

C3, Return home (RTH), 5D, L3 and R2 are read and shown on the controls test screen but are not sent to the station.

Gamepad / keyboard (other devices, emulator)

On a device without an Autel or DJI controller, controls are read from a gamepad or the keyboard. Keyboard axes return to centre as soon as the key is released.

W / S · A / D: Left stick: vertical · horizontal
I / K · J / L: Right stick: vertical · horizontal
Q / E · U / O: Left · right wheel
1 … 8: Buttons 1–8
Z / X / C: Switch: position 1 / 2 / 3
Gamepad: Sticks, triggers as wheels, A B X Y L1 R1 L2 R2 — buttons 1–8

In the emulator, click into its window first so the keyboard goes to the app.

Ground station charging

Charging is controlled by a virtual switch in the app — there is no separate button on the controller. The switch appears only if the station's controls map has a charging channel (CH15 on Autel / DJI stations).

⚡: Video player: button in the left panel — opens the description and the switch
GS details: The «Зарядка НС» (GS charging) switch on the station screen

The switch drives the station's real charging circuit and acts immediately.

Multiple cameras

If a station has several cameras (UGV, multicam), the video player shows them at the same time. The layout is remembered for each station type.

▦: Left panel: choose the layout (side by side, stacked, 2×2, picture in picture…)
Camera ▾: Window menu: another camera, full screen, reload the stream
Double tap: Camera to full screen and back
Divider: Drag to resize the windows
Small window: Drag to move; drag the corner to resize

Remote controller touch

In the video player your touches are sent to the remote controller. It behaves like a familiar mouse, even though you use a touch screen.

Tap: A click at the same point of the remote screen
1 finger — move: Move the cursor
2 fingers — move: Scroll (mouse wheel)
3 fingers — move: Drag with the button held

You do not need to move the cursor to click: tap anywhere on the screen — the click happens exactly there.

A three-finger drag grabs what is under the cursor, not what is under your fingers. So first point the cursor with one finger, then drag with three. Lifting any finger releases the button.

Scrolling works while the cursor is over an area that can scroll. The same two fingers (moving up and down) also scroll horizontal areas — for example, the home-screen pages of the remote controller.

Three fingers also perform the remote controller's system gestures. First point the cursor with one finger at the right edge of the screen, then swipe with three fingers:

Home screen: Cursor to the bottom edge, three-finger swipe up
Notifications: Cursor to the top edge, three-finger swipe down

DJI controllers have only an indicator bar at the bottom of the screen, not Back and Home buttons as on Autel. That is why this gesture is the only way there.

Netbird network

GridX finds stations on the local network by itself, with no setup. To see stations over the internet you need a Netbird mesh network: install and set up the Netbird app on the controller, then add the stations' IP addresses in the GridX settings. The official Netbird app does not let other apps on the device read its list of peers, so GridX cannot get these addresses automatically.

Settings: «Вузли Netbird mesh (IP наземних станцій)» (Netbird mesh peers — station IPs) — one address per line

GridX stations are added the same way. Install Netbird on the station's controller and join it to the same network as the pilots' controllers. The station's Netbird address is shown on its screen — the «СТАНЦІЯ» (Station) card, «IP (Netbird)» line. Add that address to «Вузли Netbird mesh» — the station appears in the list.

If your Netbird network uses restrictive access policies, allow connections from the pilots to the GridX station: TCP 8765 and 8443, UDP 5641 and 5650, plus UDP for video (WebRTC).

1. The Netbird app for Android — from its GitHub releases page:

https://github.com/netbirdio/android-client/releases

2. To join the BlastPilot network you need a setup key. Request it here:

https://docs.blastpilot.achilles-rnd.cc/enroll

This page opens only from devices already connected to the BlastPilot network — for example, a laptop running BlastPilot desktop. From the controller itself it works only after it has joined the network.

3. Once the request is processed you receive a PDF by e-mail with the Netbird management server address and the setup key. These two values are what you enter in the Netbird app — as described in the official guide:

https://docs.netbird.io/get-started/install/android

Where to find the addresses: for BlastPilot stations — in BlastPilot desktop, in the ground station list or on the station details page; for GridX stations — on the station's own screen.