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3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on May 31, 2008 at 10:16am

Tom,

You might want to look around this site some more. What you're looking for is what we do. Start with this one, which will give you a sense of how it's done.

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Permalink Reply by Tom on May 31, 2008 at 10:20am

Cool - what payload can these UAVs carry?

Can any of the UAVs carry around 2kg to 3kg, or am I looking at around 0.5kg?

Thanks

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3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on May 31, 2008 at 10:35am

The bigger the plane, the bigger the payload. Most of ours are pretty small (48"-65" wingspan) and can only carry about 1-2Kg. But you can use any plane you want as the platform. A Senior Telemaster. for instance, can carry more than 5kg.

But why do you want to carry so much weight? No combination of electronics and sensors is going to weigh more than 1kg.

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Permalink Reply by Tom on May 31, 2008 at 10:49am

1kg? Really? That's cool.

What payload can the predator airframe carry?

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3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on May 31, 2008 at 11:06am

Almost nothing. Maybe .5kg.

Again, why do you want more? It makes people suspicious when people ask about larger payloads, since there are few good (or legal) reasons why that's necessary.

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Permalink Reply by Tom on May 31, 2008 at 11:15am

Well I was thinking of using what would amount to most of a laptop in one, but I've been looking around a number of sites and it seems like most of the flight/gps/camera work is done by electronic circuit boards instead (and thus I see why they don't weigh so much).

So do most people buy off the shelf electronics or can you design your own if you want to. Also, how do you get the data (e.g. camera, gps) back to the ground - do you just use a wireless link with a laptop?

Thanks

Tom

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3D RoboticsPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on May 31, 2008 at 11:58am

Please just click on the link I've given you or any of the examples on the front page of this site. All the answers are there.

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Permalink Reply by James Ross on May 31, 2008 at 4:55pm

You'll need a larger UAV if you're planning on carrying a computer. We used SIG Kadet Senior aircraft at Penn State with Ampro ReadyBoard 800's. We used this to run software remotely which would send commands to the onboard Piccolo autopilot to do whatever.

Maybe a Pico, Micro or Mini ITX board would suit you.

Typically, more advanced autopilot will use a wireless data modem. Search for AeroComm or XBee. Transmitting video is done with aerial video systems found here:
http://diydrones.com/profiles/blog/show?id=705844%3ABlogPost%3A788

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