SMARTPHONE USE

Hi people,I am new to all of this subject, I have been reading for quite a while now though.I am wondering, very hypothetical questions out of pure interest before I even start considering a build:As you run the ground station on a notebook, can I run it on windows mobile?Can I usb connect the Ardu pilot to a smartphone (with mobile internet access) via USB?And if I can do this, can I not simply acess the phone remotely and control the autopilot via mobile internet link on my smartphone?Would this theoretically make autonomous flight with in-flight waypoint upload and GPS coordinate & flight data livefeed to my notebook possible?Is there anyway to feed RC signals into my notebook and transmit them via internet connection?Any thoughts are greatly appreciated, I am trying to think as simply as possible here!I know there are Arduino GPRS boards, but in the smartphone I have semi live video feed etc whihc would at least come in handy for long range operating.Would I be better off using the conventional, tried and tested setup with signal enhancers if I want to increase the maximum effective range and scraping my smartphoen idea?Electronics skills etc are all available, go crazy with the theory if u like ;)Thanks for your thoughts!!

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  • While WIndows Mobile and regular Windows share a name and some visual elements they are two totally different operating systems. (Mobile is based off of PocketPC, a different beast) Transferring the program over would be require a lot of rewriting and I am not quite sure what you would end up with
  • 3D Robotics
    Mark,

    Dreams of flying long distances are how everyone starts. Then they learn that it's illegal. If you live in the United States and most other developed countries, you cannot fly beyond line of sight.

    We've done smartphone autopilots here in the past (see here for one example). All they sound good in practice, they're actually poor platforms. They've got poor GPS modules, long latency and it's hard to interface external hardware with them. Even worse, they're all different and the OSs keep getting upgraded, so maintaining code is a nightmare.

    If, however, you just want to use a smartphone for two-way wireless telemetry, you certainly could but it seems like huge overkill. Bigger, heavier and more expensive than Xbees. Given that you won't be flying beyond Xbee range, what's the advantage?
  • I think the idea is great in theory, but the big question is whether or not you are going to get any reception hundreds of feet off of the ground. Also, you need to think about whether or not the internet connection will be good enough to send it commands, and possibly stream your semi-live video. If you can figure out work arounds to these problems, more power to you! But remember you will be controlling a very expensive aerial drone, and a bad phone connection could destroy your drone, if you have good failsafes, or you are willing to take that risk, then go for it.
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