My main concern as repeated a number of time in a number of other posts is the safety aspect needs to be a primary focus on this APM project.
So far many suggestions have been ignored to date. We really must all demand a better fail-safe functions and AT MINIMUM A WAY TO KILL THE MACHINE! if it gets out of control. This is a MUST!!
Why can we not have the 8th channel and have it recoded for multirotors so we can select this for a KILL switch function?
Let all look at and discuss some better options for better safety here.
Replies
Failsafe options are always a plus to have, giving one a piece of mind. In addition to looking at additional failsafe options, what about having the 2 APM's installed in an aircraft with some sort of crosstalk/comparison between the two and if one fails in some way (looses power, internal fault, loss of GPS signal, etc.) the software will ignore the faulty one and use the "working" APM. I know this is the "norm" in most modern aircraft, having this sort of redundancy is another form of "failsafe". Not sure about difficulty of implementing something like this but it is something I would be interested in having.
Hi I use a simular device from robot shop ( a RC controlled relay ) but I put it in the speed control input to the ESC on my airplane, that way when I use left rudder (not connected on my flying wing) to control the relay I have a sure method to make certain that the motor is stopped BUT I still get the GPS data so I know where it comes down to earth and hopefully find it again.
You could connect this to channel 8 of your receiver:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=...
Use it to switch off the +5V to the APM. That'll kill it!
Demand? Must?
You have a good idea - (although perhaps would be better implemented in hardware to cope with a non-responsive APM). I like it and maybe would use it for my big quad, but this would get more attention if it was spec'ed out as a feature request. Or better still coded up and submitted for review.
Usually developers who contribute to open source projects in their free time don't appreciate 'demands' or being told what their primary focus should be.