Max's Posts (12)

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Batto - Testing the MAV I built for mapping

Ok, I didnt build it all myself, credit goes out to my mate Kim who cut holes and spent a fair bit of time with me on the build :)

So anyway, I wanted a UAV that did something... useful...

Live video is a pain, really easy to do if you dont go the legal route, but when it comes down to it, 10mw is just no fun in the city.

The next best thing has got to be mapping, strap a camera and trigger the shutter, too easy.

Other than that I wanted something under 1kg which isnt too much of an ask if you plan the build properly.

So here is a list of the parts which I ended up using for the aircraft:

  • WindRider EleBee Flying Wing
  • High power metal gear servos... cant remember the name unfortunately
  • MicroDan motor
  • Castle 25A ESC
  • Castle 10A BEC
  • Xtend900 Radio Modem
  • AttoPilot v3.0 AHRS IMU
  • Samsung WP10 digital camera
  • Futaba R319DP RX
  • 2100mAH Lipo's

So after flying it manually we went down to some farmland to try autonomous, test the Millswood GCS / data link & give the autopilot some photo triggers.

All went very well but the photos were rather bland, blurry and meh.

I wasnt expecting too much from that camera, I thought I may have picked the wrong type. The lens was internal and small but it was shock and dust proof.

Regardless, the flight went great and as expected.

Up early the next day to go flying with the guys, brought along Batto for another test. Exactly the same flight plan as yesterday, but today the AttoPilot was setup to cut the motor, level off & snap the picture every 70 meters.

Video below.

So, very happy with the results today!

The uncompressed 12meg photos from the camera look fantastic, alot better then I would have thought.

Hopefully ill get a chance to head out to a friend’s property and let Batto loose over his crops.

If anyone can think of a better canopy than the coreflute one ive installed let me know, it works great but looks very cheap :)

Max

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Sneak peak at the new AttoPilot v2.0 line up

Here is a sneak peak at the the new AttoPilot v2.0



AttoPilot v2.0 will be replacing v1.8 & v1.9 and be available in 4 flavors.

AttoPilot 6DOF IMU



AttoPilot v2.0 Thermopile


AttoPilot RTL
(Same as above...)

AttoPilot PPK



Pricing is still being confirmed, you can expect price drops across the complete range starting at around $250 for the PPK.

RTL will be cheaper than the v2.0 waypoint unit.

IMU system is looking at coming down significantly also.


Documentation & specifications should be ready within the week, once everything has been confirmed and stock has arrived the AttoPilot International website will be updated with all the new info.


Cant wait to try the RTL in my Multiplex Fox ;)

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KML screenshot of 2 separate flights.


Once the airframe is tuned sufficiently the SET file will be added to the AttoPilot website for download.

When RTL is engaged the aircraft will complete a rectangular path before its return home, this can be triggered as many times as you like in the same flight.

AttoPilot's Geo-referencing / camera trigger options can be used to provide detailed overhead mapping.

This is the first AttoPilot which can be shipped without any export restrictions.


Part 1 - http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/testing-amp-tuning-the

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I haven't quite got enough cash to outfit my Skywalker airframe yet, so I've installed the new AttoPilot v1.9 RTL into my Multiplex Funjet to play around with the tuning / have some fun ;)

This is the new RTL which features a rectangular return to home path, when you engage RTL the aircraft will cover a 500m x 200m path centered around the area where you switched on RTL.
Once this path has been flown the aircraft returns to home and loiters above.

My grand idea is to have the Skywalker fitted with a nice 10megapixel camera looking straight down, along with a nice FPV setup to remotely fly and trigger the RTL at an area. The system would then just map the area automatically, once its done I can choose to fly it to another area and repeat the process straight away.

Anyway, the Atto-Funjet is just to get some experience tuning the autopilot & see how nicely we can get it flying the RTL path.

I'll post up all the onboard video, KML's and SET file changes as I go along.

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Outback Challenge featured in tonights show of Catalyst in Australia

"A group of aeronautics enthusiasts are attempting to meet the challenge of unmanned flight. Paul Willis dropped in to check out the annual UAV challenge in Queensland. Planes will crash and burn, some won't leave the ground, but will Outback Joe be saved for the very first time?"

Click link for the video
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2836783.htm
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My Ardupilot Funjet

Here is the latest vid, code changes are in the video... anyone have any comments?? :PWell a long time has passed since my "ardustar" flew.Been flying more FPV then anything but I pulled my finger out and slapped my ardu in the funjet - been meaning to do it for so long.Anyway it hasnt flown yet but all the gear is installed and ground tests have been completed!So tomorrow morning is the big day...Im using the stock standard 2.4 ardu code but setup for v tail mixing of course.Im assuming its going to be very twitchy... ill have a play with the code at the park but I think 2.5 will be getting installed as soon as its released.Also put a complete FPV system on the funjet along with 180 degree pan, ill tune the autopilot according to what the camera see's on the plane, should be easy to see if any oscillation problems are resolved that way...Anywho here are the pictures I just took :)Hopefully it will still look this nice tomorrow after the tests hehe...

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My Ardupilot v2.0 code mod's

After the 1st test flight and seeing the plane wobble too much ive edited the code to make the following changes...Original code#define roll_P .8 //roll PID proportionalRudder to sensitive1st test#define roll_P .5 //roll PID proportionalNo wobble at all but wont turn...2nd test#define roll_P .65 //roll PID proportionalStill too sensitive but much better then .8 & seems to turn with alot of authority, would roll violently in the cross wind (was about 10-20knots)Ill have to go down 1st thing in the morning when there is no wind, might also drop it down to .6 and see how it flys.Max
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