Posted by Scott James on January 28, 2008 at 1:37am
Hi,I can see myself building many UAV’s over time but I'm not sure what to try first?Up till now I have been flying RC Helicopters. (One day I want to attempt to turn my Trex into a UAV, after successfully mastering it in planes first).Has anyone successfully made a UAV using the Cell Phone platform? (using the code from the GeoCrawler 2 project) Please tell me your experiences as I am curious to find out if it is just a build and fly, or if you have to edit the code allot to get it to work. I am not looking for a how to guide, I just want to make sure I’m not biting off more than I can chew!! I have just started to learn VB and don’t want to take on too much to start with.I like the Cell phone platform as I can see a large scope to customise the code integrating all the phones features (MMS and SMS) to also be controlling other devices that could be onboard (better cameras, video equipment etc...).If the Cell phone option seems too hard for me right now I might give the Pico pilot NA a go!Any comments would be appreciated.Thanks Guys!
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I would say the Basic Stamp autopilot. As a high school student I am making good progress on it (working on a ground prototype to make sure I get everything right) so it shouldn't be too tough for you. This site and Parallax offer a LOT of documentation on how to use it, so it's very beginner friendly.
The cellphone autopilot has only been ground tested (because I'm having trouble getting it to read text messages from my carriers; others say they have not had this problem). Although the code is in good shape, it will need some tweaking to work for you, not least because the GPS waypoint algorithm assumes northern hemisphere ;-)
Here is a discussion about autopilots not subject to US rules, although I've never used any of them so can't vouch for them. Obviously, the more money you're willing to spend the more options you'll have. Additionally, you may be able to find a used PicoPilot on eBay that wouldn't be subject to export restrictions.
Of the projects here, the best combination of ease of programming and expansion capacity is the Basic Stamp project.
I just got an email back from U-NAV. (also just found a post on this site as well)
The Picopilot (as of Jan 2007)is only avaliable in the USA. Bummer.....(I'm in Australia)
Replies
The cellphone autopilot has only been ground tested (because I'm having trouble getting it to read text messages from my carriers; others say they have not had this problem). Although the code is in good shape, it will need some tweaking to work for you, not least because the GPS waypoint algorithm assumes northern hemisphere ;-)
Here is a discussion about autopilots not subject to US rules, although I've never used any of them so can't vouch for them. Obviously, the more money you're willing to spend the more options you'll have. Additionally, you may be able to find a used PicoPilot on eBay that wouldn't be subject to export restrictions.
Of the projects here, the best combination of ease of programming and expansion capacity is the Basic Stamp project.
The Picopilot (as of Jan 2007)is only avaliable in the USA. Bummer.....(I'm in Australia)