PX4 User Guide (v1.12)

# Acro Mode (Multicopter)

Acro mode is the RC mode for performing acrobatic maneuvers e.g. flips, rolls and loops.

The roll, pitch and yaw sticks control the rate of angular rotation around the respective axes and throttle is passed directly to the output mixer. When sticks are centered the vehicle will stop rotating, but remain in its current orientation (on its side, inverted, or whatever) and moving according to its current momentum.

MC Manual Acrobatic Flight

# Technical Description

RC/manual mode for performing acrobatic maneuvers e.g. flips, rolls and loops.

RC RPY stick inputs control the rate of angular rotation around the respective axes. When sticks are centered the vehicle will stop rotating, but remain in its current orientation (not necessarily level).

# Stick Input Mapping

The default roll, pitch, and yaw input stick mapping for Acro mode is shown below. The curve enables a high turn rate at maximum stick input for performing acrobatic maneuvers, and a zone of lower sensitivity close to the stick center for small corrections.

Acro mode - default input curve

This roll and pitch input stick response can be tuned using the MC_ACRO_EXPO and MC_ACRO_SUPEXPO "exponential" parameters, while the yaw stick input response is tuned using MC_ACRO_EXPO_Y and MC_ACRO_SUPEXPOY. MC_ACRO_EXPO and MC_ACRO_EXPO_Y tune the curve(s) between a linear and cubic curve as shown below. MC_ACRO_SUPEXPO and MC_ACRO_SUPEXPOY allow the shape to be further tuned, modifying the width of the area of reduced sensitivity.

Acro mode - expo - pure linear input curve Acro mode - expo - pure cubic input curve

Note

The mathematical relationship is:

, where f = MC_ACRO_EXPO or MC_ACRO_EXPO_Y, g = MC_ACRO_SUPEXPO or MC_ACRO_SUPEXPOY,and r is the maximum rate.

You can experiment with the relationships here (opens new window).

# Parameters

Parameter Description
MC_ACRO_EXPO Acro mode "exponential" factor for tuning the stick input curve shape for roll and pitch. Values: 0 Purely linear input curve 1 Purely cubic input curve. Default: 0.69.
MC_ACRO_EXPO_Y Acro mode "exponential" factor for tuning the stick input curve shape for yaw. Values: 0 Purely linear input curve 1 Purely cubic input curve. Default: 0.69.
MC_ACRO_SUPEXPO Acro mode "SuperExpo" factor for refining stick input curve shape for the roll and pitch axes (tuned using MC_ACRO_EXPO. Values: 0 Pure Expo function, 0.7 reasonable shape enhancement for intuitive stick feel, 0.95 very strong bent input curve only near maxima have effect. Default: 0.7.
MC_ACRO_SUPEXPOY Acro mode "SuperExpo" factor for refining stick input curve shape for the yaw axis (tuned using MC_ACRO_EXPO_Y. Values: 0 Pure Expo function, 0.7 reasonable shape enhancement for intuitive stick feel, 0.95 very strong bent input curve only near maxima have effect. Default: 0.7.
MC_ACRO_P_MAX Max acro pitch rate. Default: 2 turns per second (720.0 deg/s).
MC_ACRO_R_MAX Max acro roll rate. Default: 2 turns per second (720.0 deg/s).
MC_ACRO_Y_MAX Max acro yaw rate. Default: 1.5 turns per second (540.0 degrees/s).

← Orbit Mode (MC) →