Love the conclusion: "No other system offers this much control for so little cost"!
You can read the whole thing here, but suffice to say it's a great intro to APM 2.5 capability and setup.
I'm a subscriber to Servo Magazine and this is a good example why: authoritative, clear and interesting guides to DIY robotics technology. Subscribe here.
Comments
Yes
Regardless of how the author ending up using an APM he is interested in UAV flight and has designed, built, documented, and written about multiple quad designs. I used one of his parts kits to build my APM equipped quad which is a solid performer. His Servo article got me interested in quads and got me to this site as well.
It seems he, like Chris Anderson and many of us on the forum, is interested in the larger opportunities, for all of us, brought about by the DIY/Maker movement. So in the end, quads are fun, DIY is rewarding, the Maker movement is all of the above, and like Chris states in his articles and talks, all of it comprises a cultural shift in the modern world which will have a dramatic impact on how "stuff" gets designed, built, and to (international) market over the next decades. It is as important and disruptive to modern culture and the printing press or electricity.
Pretty cool stuff...wouldn't you agree?
What firmware was he using before. I have a pretty in-depth understanding of the code, and I can't figure out what he's talking about when he says the APM "is now a full six-axis controller". It was before too. And the stabilize performance didn't change between 2.8 and 2.9. Alt Hold was the big change there. So is that what he means?
I think it's interesting how the author compared the NAZA to APM, he completely missed the fact that the APM is open source, can be coded by YOU, and does way points unlike the NAZA. While I feel the NAZA is a great platform for plug-n-play FPV flying (and it does have basic RTL), the opensource is the biggest thing to me, not the price.
Hi Michael,
The 3DR mention is very positive. Yes I have read the flyaway club and no I have not watched that presentation yet. Thanks for sharing it with me I'm watching it right now!
Josh
The positive exposure is nice, but I wish the description of features in AC2.9.1 was accurate.
Hi Josh,
You don't describe whether the 3DR mention is positive or less so.
Have you read this?
http://diydrones.com/profiles/blog/show?id=705844%3ABlogPost%3A1176...
and have you listened to this presentation?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMBLxmCQ5G8
Balance please.
MJ
Thanks for sharing this Chris! The article is super informative, interesting, and easy to enjoy. I'm setting up an account right now to subscribe. :)
P.S. I rarely read anything robotics related lately that doesn't mention a 3DR Product somewhere in an article!
Josh