Latest Activity

W. Joe Taylor commented on Joshua Ott's blog post B go Beyond Quadcopter/Car convertable
"My bad,  Just found the full Bio on B's Kickstarted site.  Should have looked better.  "My name is Witold Mielniczek.I graduated in Economics and later received a First Class Honours in Product Design and Robotics. In 2010 I…"
5 minutes ago
Matt Gunn commented on Matt Gunn's blog post Mapping Mission Ride Along
"Here you go. Have at it; Im looking forward to seeing the results. http://gunnphotoservices.com/aerial_mapping/agisoft/pics.zip"
8 minutes ago
W. Joe Taylor commented on Joshua Ott's blog post B go Beyond Quadcopter/Car convertable
"Who is B (name & company in UK)?  I suggest if you tell who you, you are more likely to gain trust so people will pay up.  That is the only thing holding me back right now... From your Kickstarter web site:  450 UK Pounds,…"
8 minutes ago
Dan Banks replied to Andrew Chapman's discussion Damaged winding, motor still runs?
"I unwound a cheap hobbyking motor specifically so I could learn more about motor windings and play around a bit.  That motor did have multiple strands in parallel, so I think you're on the right track.  I am not an expert by any…"
26 minutes ago
Bill Bonney posted a blog post

Understanding Fly-By-Wire B Mode Altitude Behaviour

A couple months ago I was testing ArduPlane and some of the different modes. I was not getting on very well in FBW-B* mode. If you look at the image below. You will see the purple track. I was loosing altitude and I couldn't understand why. You can see just before the path goes red, I'd lost a lot of altitude and was…See More
26 minutes ago
criro1999 commented on Marque Cornblatt's blog post Battle Drone Crash Test & DIY Walkthrough
"Nice and strong. Did you do an endurance test with and without this case? I believe the flat arms takes a lot of drag which results in a short time to fly. But depends of the purpose of using those multirotors. I did enjoy the show."
30 minutes ago
Cosma commented on Cosma's blog post Super I/O + Raspberry PI as the ultimate navigation computer?
"I am please to report that the project reached its funding goal today.  DIYDrones has been a great source of backers and the version with the AHRS has been the most popular one. Speaking of which, we are redesigning the AHRS part so that the…"
49 minutes ago
Nathan Asdourian replied to Craig Elder's discussion APM Copter 2.9.1.b has been released
"There is another very easy solution that you failed to mention. It also is not quite as drastic as disabling bluetooth. open computer manager, then device manager. Expand ports, you will likely have two, possibly more com ports labeled…"
1 hour ago
Eric S. replied to redge regis's discussion FTDI cable: 3.3v or 5v
"Note that VCC is 5V, only the signal wires are 3.3V according to 3DR and the cable manufacturer's spec sheet.  3DR's page states: "Note: The TX/RX signals are 3.3volts, making it even more flexible, the power supply is 5volts…"
1 hour ago
Nate Miller replied to Shyam Balasubramanian's discussion Mission Planner source code
"I found a great guide here. Solved all my problems."
1 hour ago
Martin Poller replied to Christopher Bero's discussion X Plan 9.70 + ArduCopter 2.9.b1 No Takeoff
"Hi Christopher, have you tried adjusting the throttle gain on the simulation page itself, where you connect to Xplane."
1 hour ago
Georacer commented on Georacer's blog post Altitude Comparison: barometer vs GPS
"I see where you are getting at. In the way I want to go about my project, here is a typical flight mission: Take off in a pre-set location Navigate around a set of waypoints that include height, relative to the take-off location Return to the…"
1 hour ago
Jesse commented on Joshua Ott's blog post B go Beyond Quadcopter/Car convertable
"That's pretty awesome! Can you imagine the reaction from someone watching you drive your little car around, then all of the sudden it takes off!"
1 hour ago
Euan Ramsay posted a blog post

My two birds...ready for flight now

Nicknamed "Laurel and Hardy", for reasons that should be obvious.Everything calibrated...time to get the PID's done! Well..once it stops raining and snowing here in Switzerland. :-(Some build annoyances, which I'll go into in an additional post.   Laurels bits (still missing his TM1000 telemetry though)…See More
1 hour ago

Developer
Olivier ADLER replied to AJEsq's discussion Arducopter 3.0 RC2 Crash (Suspected Bug with outputs to ESCs)
"The RC2 ESC beeping is normal. It is because the APM was erasing logs during boot too much frequently. This has been corrected in RC3. You must not fly with firmware verification errors. This could be the reason of the crash because of a corrupted…"
1 hour ago
jim C. commented on jim C.'s blog post mapping with condor drone and apm 2.5
"eduardo, flight autonomy are approximately 40 minutes with 10000 mha, Carries more tests later. I e seen your blog is very interesting your project I like your wing x260, very good flying ability. in the future I would like flight durations similar…"
1 hour ago

Start a discussion

Click here to start a forum topic below. Remember to select a category!

VIew all discussions

Click here to see all forum topics.

Forum

Damaged winding, motor still runs?

Started by Andrew Chapman in Engines/Motors/Props. Last reply by Dan Banks 26 minutes ago. 6 Replies

FTDI cable: 3.3v or 5v

Started by redge regis in 3DR Radios. Last reply by Eric S. 1 hour ago. 3 Replies

Mission Planner source code

Started by Shyam Balasubramanian in APM Mission Planner. Last reply by Nate Miller 1 hour ago. 5 Replies

X Plan 9.70 + ArduCopter 2.9.b1 No Takeoff

Started by Christopher Bero in Simulations. Last reply by Martin Poller 1 hour ago. 1 Reply

ArduPlane 2.73 released

Started by Andrew Tridgell in ArduPlane 2.x software. Last reply by Kay 3 hours ago. 85 Replies

915 Mhz air module 5v power requirements (mA)?

Started by Bob Doiron in 3DR Radios. Last reply by Bob Doiron 3 hours ago. 1 Reply

1.2.52 update = unresponsive drone?

Started by Dave Kellum in APM Mission Planner. Last reply by Dave Kellum 3 hours ago. 8 Replies

Site license

Creative Commons License
All content is free to use under a Creative Commons attribution license.

Videos

  • Add Videos
  • View All

Photos

Loading…
  • Add Photos
  • View All
 

Welcome to DIY Drones!


This is the home for everything about amateur Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Use the tabs and drop-down menus above to navigate the site. (About us/Site rules)

This community created the Arduino-based ArduPilot, the world's first universal autopilot (planes, multicopters of all sorts and ground rovers). The APM 2.5 autopilot hardware runs a variety of powerful free UAV software systems, including:

  • ArduPlane, a pro-level UAV system for planes of all types.
  • ArduCopter, a fully-autonomous multicopter and heli UAV system.

I'm new to all this--where do I start?                    Are amateur UAVs legal? (yes)

Examples of civilian uses of drones                   Glossary of confusing terms

Blog Posts

Understanding Fly-By-Wire B Mode Altitude Behaviour

Posted by Bill Bonney on May 24, 2013 at 2:44pm 0 Comments

A couple months ago I was testing ArduPlane and some of the different modes. I was not getting on very well in FBW-B* mode. If you look at the image below. You will see the purple track. I was loosing altitude and I couldn't understand why. You can see just before the path goes red, I'd lost a lot of…

Continue

My two birds...ready for flight now

Posted by Euan Ramsay on May 24, 2013 at 1:30pm 0 Comments

Nicknamed "Laurel and Hardy", for reasons that should be obvious.

Everything calibrated...time to get the PID's done! Well..once it stops raining and snowing here in Switzerland. :-(

Some build annoyances, which I'll go into in an additional post.

 

 

 

Laurels bits…

Continue

mapping with condor drone and apm 2.5

Posted by jim C. on May 24, 2013 at 8:30am 8 Comments

Because the latter one of condor drone tests went very well in the navigation, I decided to mount the camera aboard the condor photography for mapping and the results appear promising.

 

 …

Continue

Interesting-sounding drones conference in NYC in October

Posted by Chris Anderson on May 23, 2013 at 10:27pm 3 Comments

Continue

Roofs inspection test with VR Brain Pro on GolaKele Frame

Posted by Roberto Navoni on May 23, 2013 at 10:00pm 1 Comment

Dear Friends,

on VirtualRobotix we are working in new advanced platform based on GolaKele Frame and VR Brain Gold and PRO configuration.

This is first example of service where we use the our multicopter for roof inspection.

In the test use also Wookong DJI on other Hexa for doing some comparison on two different kind of…

Continue

Afterflight: A browser-based system for analysis and annotation of video and sensor data from UAVs.

Posted by Aaron Curtis on May 23, 2013 at 9:00pm 4 Comments

Several months ago I started working on a system called Afterflight to organize and browse my tlogs and dataflash logs, sync them with video, and view them along with a map GPS display. It still has a long way to go, but there is a fair amount of working functionality so I figured I'd get it out there…

Continue

Battle Drone Crash Test & DIY Walkthrough

Posted by Marque Cornblatt on May 23, 2013 at 7:23pm 9 Comments

Here is a short video of the design, build and crash testing of the Game of Drone's Battle Quad.  It's waterproof, bulletproof, and can fly away from almost any crash.

"Fly 'em hard and put 'em away wet.  They're only drones"


http://youtu.be/tjR2nm5tMks



Thirty Days (#17): 12-rotor close up

Posted by Joshua Ott on May 23, 2013 at 4:30pm 16 Comments

I had a couple of requests for a still shot of the 12-rotor beast that Joe and Justin cooked up, so here it…

Continue
 
 
 

Social Networking

Contests

Season Two of the Trust Time Trial (T3) Contest has now begun. The fourth round is an accuracy round for multicopters, which requires contestants to fly a cube. The deadline is April 14th.

A list of all T3 contests is here

Groups

Advertisement

UAV news from sUAS News

Google acquires kite-power generator

Google acquires kite-power generator

Well I did’nt see this coming. Using lots of UA tech Google invests in yet more cutting edge stuff (ed) Google has acquired a US company that generates power using turbines mounted on tethered kites or wings. Makani Power will become part of Google X – the secretive research and development arm of the search giant. The deal comes as Makani carries out the first fully autonomous flights of robot kites bearing its power-generating propellers. Google has not said how much it paid to acquire Makani, but it has invested $15m (£9.9m) in the company before now. In a statement posted to its website, Makani said the deal would “provide Makani with the resources to accelerate our work to make wind energy cost competitive with fossil fuels”. Rather than use fixed turbines to generate power, Makani has been experimenting with “flying wings” adorned with several smaller turbines that act as propellers as the craft takes off. Makani claims that mounting the turbines on a wing is more efficient as large numbers can be built with fewer materials than traditional tower-based turbines. In addition, the robot wings can land to avoid damage if wind speeds are too high or during bad [...]

Unmanned aircraft can protect crops from locusts

Unmanned aircraft can protect crops from locusts

by Gabino Martinez Serrano The world population is growing at a rapid pace. Today we are almost seven billion people and it is estimated that the figure will exceed 10 billion in 15 years. The world’s need for food will double, but the world’s arable land remains the same. Experts say that to increase performance, it is important to plant each crop where it can best develop, increase the yield potential of plant varieties and to reduce adversity posed by pests which have become a real problem. Failure to protect crops from pests would reduce harvests to just over half. Locusts are unique because they undergo a phase change. This means that under certain circumstances related to climate and population density, their behaviour changes and they move, eat and behave as a group, forming gigantic clouds and can travel great distances devouring crops in their path. These pests can affect 20 per cent of the surface of the earth, spreading through Africa, the Near East, and Southwest Asia. More than 65 countries may be at risk of swarms, invasion and reproduction. The last powerful plague occurred in 1988-89, threatening as many as 43 countries, one fifth of the world as [...]

ESCC to use donated unmanned aerial vehicles for science

ESCC to use donated unmanned aerial vehicles for science

Ted Shockley MELFA — Launching unmanned aerial vehicles from the Eastern Shore could be a financial plus for the area, and Eastern Shore Community College is positioning itself for an associated educational and training partnership. A link between the two was seen recently when an Aerosonde aerial vehicle donated to the college was unveiled in front of a gathering of staff members and industry experts. “We have something tangible, real, that the students can see,” said College President Linda Thomas-Glover of the unmanned airplane, which from wing to wing was bigger than a typical dining-room table. The particular model was used for years out of Wallops to gather weather data and has flown into hurricanes, said Jon Borcik, a program manager for AAI Corp., which oversees the Aerosonde program. He called it a “coming home mission” for the plane, a fitting place for an aircraft based at Wallops to continue its ­service. The plane will be used to stimulate an interest in science and also be studied by various college classes. The donation was arraigned by Peter Bale, board chairman for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and a former program manager for Aerosonde North America at Wallops. At a [...]

Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems Achieves Milestone C Approval

Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems Achieves Milestone C Approval

Insitu announced today that RQ-21A reached Milestone C under the Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS) contract with Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). The achievement will enable the program to transition from the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) phase to a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase and enter initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E). “This milestone represents the dedication and commitment of the entire government and industry team to executing a challenging and fast-paced EMD program,” said Ryan Hartman , Insitu’s senior vice president of Integrator Programs. “I couldn’t be more proud of the Insitu team. Our greatest asset is our engineering talent and this event represents yet another significant engineering achievement for them.” “This milestone and the LRIP decision is a great accomplishment for our NAVAIR and Insitu team. The rapid development, systems engineering and testing has been superb. The sense of urgency and driving force behind our NAVAIR and Insitu team has been, and continues to be, the simple fact that the RQ-21A UAS will be the first organic & dedicated multi-intelligence UAS for U.S. Marine Corps and Navy tactical commanders.  The real-time, actionable intelligence and maritime domain awareness coming from multiple sensors off an expeditionary and ship-capable Group [...]

NM drone testing center could soon face competition

NM drone testing center could soon face competition

Dan Mayfield New Mexico could lose its lead on unmanned aerial vehicle development when the Federal Aviation Administration lays out a new set of rules that allow more airfields to test UAVs, a state leader in the industry said. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Test Center, an airfield run by New Mexico State University and the FAA, is the only FAA-approved UAS, or drone, flight test center in the nation. The center logs data from about two flights daily of commercial drones, which weigh anywhere from 15 ounces to 600 pounds. But last year the FAA said it will authorize six more sites for drone testing. “As soon as the FAA opens the door, there will be an explosion,” said Dennis “Zak” Zaklan, the director of the UAS FTC. “At this point, nobody knows. It depends on the FAA. It creates competition.” http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2013/05/22/drone-test-center-could-face-competition.html Bookmark It Hide Sites

UAV news from Flight Global

Maritime Heron UAV supports European airspace trial

Europe has advanced a project to prove the feasibility of using satellite communications to enable UAS operations in non-segregated airspace ...

Brazilian navy begins UAS evaluation

The Brazilian navy has begun to evaluate two Israeli-made unmanned air systems for maritime surveillance missions ...

Indian air force to launch micro UAS evaluation

The Indian air force is to evaluate several micro unmanned air systems from around 10 companies in early May ...

VIDEO: Eurocopter demonstrates unmanned EC145

Eurocopter has unveiled an optionally piloted vehicle (OPV), based on its EC145 light twin, which has been in development since September 2011.

Israeli F-16 downs another Hezbollah UAV

An Israeli air force Lockheed Martin F-16 has shot down an unmanned air vehicle launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah militants ...

© 2013   Created by Chris Anderson.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service