Takeoff_Landing

Houdini Digital Asset (takeoff_landing) for simulating drone takeoff and landing sequences with collision avoidance, speed limits, and queue-based launch.

HDA: houdinitools/hda/takeoff_landing.hda

Parameters

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
Type type_ofMenuTakeoffTakeoff matches each ground position (input 1) to a point of the first figure (input 2). Landing keeps each drone on the ground position with its own point number and reverses the queue order; turn on Reverse for landing to play it as a descent.

Limits

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
Min distance m min_distanceFloat2Distance in meters the simulation keeps between any two drones. It holds only with enough margin in Soft bounce; check the result with the Checker.
Soft bounce soft_bounceFloat2.05Distance in meters at which drones start steering away from each other, ahead of Min distance. Keep a real margin above Min distance (1.5 × Min distance is a good start): with a thin one drones reach Min distance at full speed and come closer than it.
Ground max speed ground_max_speedFloat1Speed limit at ground level, in m/s. The allowed speed grows from it to the drone's own limit at 10 m above the ground, so drones leave and touch the ground gently.
Reset sim reset_simButton—Clear the cached simulation and run it again.
Enable correction solver enable_correction_solverToggleOffRun the simulation a second time, following the result of the first pass. Use it when the first pass still leaves drones too close.

Support

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
Vertical flight limit vertical_movementFloat60Height in meters each drone climbs straight up from its ground position before it turns toward its target.
use_more_spaceToggleOffGive every queue its own climb height: each next queue climbs space_value meters higher, so queues do not meet where they turn.
space_valueFloat2Extra climb height in meters for each next queue, when use_more_space is on. Hidden when use_more_space == 0
Queue interval queue_intervalFloat2Seconds between the starts of consecutive queues. The queue of a drone is the queue point attribute of the ground positions.

Output

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
Use custom flight path custom_pathToggleOffFly from the climb point to the target through the custom path curve (input 3) instead of straight. Drones spread around the curve as a stream.
Scale Factor Scale_factorFloat1Width of the drone stream around the custom path curve, multiplied by Scale Ramp along it. Hidden when custom_path != 1
Scale Ramp Scale_rampFloat ramp—Width of the drone stream along the custom path, from the start of the curve (left) to its end (right). Hidden when custom_path != 1
View previewMenuSimWhat the viewport shows. Sim: the simulated flight. Destination: drones that reached their targets in green, the rest in red. Speed, Intersection, Acceleration: drones over the drone's own limits or Min distance in red. Custom path connect geo: the stream around the custom path.
Reverse for landing reverseToggleOffPlay the simulation backwards, so a climb from the ground becomes a descent. Turning it on stores the current frame in Sim last frame: first go to the frame where all drones have reached their targets.
Sim last frame sim_last_frameInteger1Frame of the simulation that the reversed playback starts from, usually the one where all drones have reached their targets. Set from the current frame when Reverse for landing is turned on. Hidden when reverse == 0

Usage

  1. Select type — Set Type to Takeoff or Landing
  2. Connect inputs — Input 1 = ground positions, Input 2 = target positions, Input 3 = custom path (optional)
  3. Configure limits — Adjust speed, acceleration, and separation parameters
  4. Set support params — Set Vertical flight limit for max altitude, Queue interval for staggered launch timing
  5. Preview — Use View to cycle through simulation result, destination points, or validation overlays (speed/intersections/acceleration)
  6. Reverse for landing — Enable to play landing in reverse; Sim last frame auto-captures the current frame as the end point

Video tutorials

Dronatello Course #26 — Building the Takeoff Sequence for Your Drone ShowWith the main show validated, it's time for takeoff. We position the animation within the permitted flight area, load the takeoff preset, and run the calculation until every drone reaches its starting position.
Dronatello Course #27 — Creating the Landing Sequence from Your Takeoff DataLanding reuses your takeoff data. We set good transition values, calculate a first-in-first-out landing, and simply reverse the animation to bring every drone smoothly back to the ground.