Octocopter Aerial Imaging Platform

Hello all,

I am planning to build an octocopter for aerial photography. So far I plan to use Carbon Core's octo1000 frame and the mega radius camera mount. I have been skimming forums and following leads for information to achieve my goal. I am not an engineer or electronics guru but i am persistent and love to learn. I am mechanically inclined and have a fixed wing pilots license, hopefully these backgrounds will serve me in this adventure. I hope to document my build and all of my research and design for others to learn from.

I welcome any and all input. I know i will fail, probably more than once, but maybe you can help me avoid some of the novice mistakes someone in my position may encounter. I will also probably come across as ignorant to some of you. Please understand I am trying to learn.

My goal is to create the smoothest, most reliable professional aerial photo/video platform available. I would also like to incorporate ardupilot for gps hold and waypoint navigation including FPV for consistent shots and angles. As well as the "follow me" feature and possibly the "terrain hug" sonar feature. Im sure this description will evolve as the project progresses.

Thanks in advance for your input,

-B

Ok so.... The latest is trying to decide what flight controller to use if i dont use ardupilot. At this point I am actually leaning towards taking the plunge into arducopter. At first the sound of an out of the box setup such as the DJI WKM sounded nice. But i dont like to do things the "easy way" or sometimes even the "right" way. Also i think once i get the ardupilot tuned i will end up being happier with it's versatility.

As far as motors I have been recommended AXi 2826/12 motors with hobbywing ESC's.

I was also wondering how power is distributed to everything aside from the motors. I assume the flight controller and various sensors all need power.

Any input on these or any other part of my project would be greatly appreciated.

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Barton Stein January 22, 2012 at 7:29pm

Ok so.... The latest is trying to decide what flight controller to use if i dont use ardupilot. At this point I am actually leaning towards taking the plunge into arducopter. At first the sound of an out of the box setup such as the DJI WKM sounded nice. But i dont like to do things the "easy way" or sometimes even the "right" way. Also i think once i get the ardupilot tuned i will end up being happier with it's versatility.

As far as motors I have been recommended AXi 2826/12 motors with hobbywing ESC's.

I was also wondering how power is distributed to everything aside from the motors. I assume the flight controller and various sensors all need power.

Any input on these or any other part of my project would be greatly appreciated.
Duran - ALTI January 22, 2012 at 1:10pm

Hey Barton. We specialize in octos for film and production and use arducopter in our systems. We will have our first batxh of systems ready within two or three weeks. Weve been flying many jobs and tv shoots, film etc with ourcurrent rig wich is droidwoxlrx ad8. Our new frames and cam mount will be very cool super smooth and affordable. We will mainly do full ready to fly kits with everything required but will also sell frames seperately as well. With our current system, weve flown about 1500 flight without a single issue. Check out this vid i loaded yesterday of a quick test flight over the weekend.

http://vimeo.com/35455735

if yiu need any advuce or hwlp with yiur build pop me a mail anytime. Info@steadidrone.com
Gareth Rens January 21, 2012 at 12:09pm

Im not sure if you found this blog, but perhaps it might help:

Check out blog posts 1-14.

http://diydrones.com/profiles/blog/list?user=0v3uy1u12mpkw

G:)
Karla Jean Fripp January 21, 2012 at 12:07pm

Hi Barton. What camera are you going to use?

This reply was deleted.

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Octocopter Aerial Imaging Platform

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