After finishing several life cycle of designing and making the prototype of HeX, we came across an idea demonstrated in the following picture:
As you can see in the photo, what if there is a gadget which can be plugged on an iPad and turn it into a RC transmitter to control a drone with a programmed interface to simulate the real ones. In our imagination, more awesomely the interface also has a spot for FPV (first person view).
The reason why we're imagining this is because it might be more portable, more affordable and more enjoyable.
Recently we have found it technically feasible by knowing an open sourced product called iphly (http://www.iphly.org/ ). It is a gadget plugging onto an iPhone and translate the signal coming out from the audio jack into the RC signal that a drone understands.
Our concern is the technical feasibility doesn't really make the necessity. So what do you guys think?
Will fans get used to the way to control a drone after years of fumbling a RC transmitter?
Replies
Thanks for reply.
by following the specification from iphly, we made a remote control which goes like this(BTW, thanks a lot for iphly)
like you guys have said, we found it's hard to give the drone a proper control by using the tilt actions of iphone. So right now we're going to modify the codes from iphly into a joystick simulation interface.
range?
I fly with a much better telemetry range than R/C range. There have been situations where control via telemetry could have saved the day, but laptop groundstations and joysticks would be too cumbersome and unreliable. I am trying (also) to make an IOS controller for that, but using MAVLink protocol and displaying position, artificial horizon etc on the display instead of doing only RC signal output. In an emergency it could be used for some very basic flight control until within RC range again.
I was thinking of using inertial sensors and CoreMotion to use the IOS device as a vitual control yoke. Touchscreen is not used except for throttle.
For precision flight or flight in manual mode, I would rather have my sticks!
Regards, Soren
Perhapse someone just wanting to guide the copter in a general direction could live with it. But for me personally (and I suspect others too) having experience with R/C and the precise control sticks, there is no way. I would not feel like I was controlling the copter.
I have a ZeroUAV YS-X6 Autopilot that can be controlled by either Android touch screen or tilt action, and I have never used it other then as a novelty to show others.. If you plan on doing any kind of coordinated maneuver involving more then 1 axis at the time, it falls apart.