Discussions

Hi

I'm working on a feasibility study for autonomous flight using a ArduCopter, and i have just started, the ArduCopter is bought and built (Type is the quad on the store here). i was planning on programming a interface on the computer to fly the copter in a fly by wire sort of thing, so I'm having some problems getting the robot to run. I do not have an RC controller for testing atm. so I'm wondering the following.

1. When i plug in the battery the engines or ECS's beep a startup sound and then starts beeping and twitching every half second or so, is this normal?

2. Is it possible to spin the motors via the CLI interface in the Mission Planner software? Setup>Motors don't seem to do anything, as i don't have a RC controller available, manual tells me i have to run max/min throttle.

3. For the future of the project I'm planning on using one of 2 solutions, either continuously flagging with the GPS, or direct control emulating a controller on an android or windows phone device. But for starters I'm working on fly by wire from a computer, and this all leaves me with questions best asked than tested. 

3.1 Can i send GPS coordinated via the USB while the robot is in flight and will it follow them on its own? 

3.2 Can i send RC data to the copter via the USB (or do i have to use the receiver pins, in that case, does anyone know a good way? does there exist a USB to pin converter sort of thing?)

3.3 Would i have to rewrite some of the firmware on the robot to be able to send direct flight messages from the AI?