I am surprised no-one else has beat me to this,but the DJI phantom 3 has been released and is not as expensive as you might think when considering that is packs the same tech as the DJI inspire 1 (such as lightbridge and the indoor vision sensors)

Today DJI has announced the new Phantom 3 quadcopter which is released in two flavors, the Phantom 3 Advanced, and the Phantom 3 Professional

With the previous DJI Phantom releases, DJI have usualy have one version in each phantom series as the budget option with no integrated camera, but today there was no mention of this as the naming of the phantom 3 Pro and Advanced leaves some scope for a camera-less version so you can use other third party gimbals or cameras such as a gopro.

Apart from the new fancy 4K camera the other neat features (inherited from the DJI Inspire) include a indoor optic flow sensor for indoor flight, and a ne GPS receiver that supports GLONASS like the new walkera drones. But my favourite feature is the integrated of the DJI lightbridge system built into the DJI phantom 3 allowing you to stream 720p video back home to your android or IOS device.

In terms of the 4K camera, some thought has gone into this, with a f/2.8 shooter now has a 94-degree fixed field of view which is narrower than the DJI Phantom 2 Vision + which means your videos and pictures will not be distorted with the fish eye effect. Furthermore the narrow field of view means that you are less likely to get any props or legs in the video when banking at extreme angles. Also you have more control over the camera allowing you to adjust things like ISO, Exposure, shutter speed and color filters etc..

As many of you might already be familiar with, Walkera has recently been using a variation of the Ardupilot platform in their recent multicopters.  But I think that the latest release, the Scout X4 seems to be using all the cool features of arducopter such as follow me, and waypoint navigation!  I am still to confirm if they are using arducopter firmware but from the looks of it I am pretty sure they are.  Not sure about the price either but since it includes the Devo F12 (retails for about $600 it will be over $1K, which is not too bad considering it will probably include a brushless gimbal and iLook+ with wireless video too.

Another cool feature is the fact that the ground control station will support both android and IOS devices via a Bluetooth datalink ground station, so it uses Bluetooth to communicate with your phone/tablet and it seems it will run at 2.4Ghz to communicate to the quadcopter so not sure about the range of the telemetry link and I am hoping this is not via wifi.

Features:

• Remote control: DEVO F12E FPV Transmitter 2.4Ghz and Video at 5.8Ghz
• Support both Apple IOS and Android based devices
• Waypoint mission planning / Designated flight
• Follow Me Mode / Record Track Back To Home
• Hybrid, can be changed from 4 for to 8 motors
• 2.4G bluetooth datalink ground station (BT-2401A/B FCC / BT-2402A/B CE)
• Flight time: Up to 25 minutes
• Flight range: up to 1500 meter
• Receiver: DEVO-RX707(CE) / RX709(FCC)
• Real time flight data (telemetry) monitoring
• Auto return to home (RTH)
• Motors: Brushless WK-WS-34-002
• ESC: WST-16AH(R/G);
• Battery: 6cell 22.2V 5400mAh Li-Po
• iPad holder with backup power
• Size: 335x335x275 mm.
• Rotor Blades Length: 233mm
• Weight with battery: 1770g
• Flying Weight: <2270g
• Larger Payload with the ability to carry a wider selection of cameras to be announced

Just wanted to share a quick video I took testing out the Iris quadcopter and the FY-G3 gimbal.  If anyone is interested they can find out more details of how I went about attaching it here, otherwise a short summary below :-)

I just made a quick mount for the longer arducopter legs, and a mount for the FY-G3 gimbal that uses the existing gopro 3 mount that comes with the Iris, so that it can be attached/removed without needed to do any modifications.

If you are looking for a nice way to mount all of your gear onto your multi rotor frame, you should have a look at our new stack up plates.  On the product listing you can choose what components you need so that you can create your own stackup.

If you are using AIOP or Multiwii boards with the same 5cm x 5cm footprint then you can also mount the included PDB on the stackup as shown.
You can also use some Vibration Dampers on the stackup for the flight controller.

If you are using an ArduPilot Mega 2.5+ board, then you can mount it as shown, you will also need to use some double sided tape to secure the board down.  This is a good idea because it also reduces the vibrations on the board so it will perform better.

As many might already know that we have been selling the PX4 Autopilot along with AR.Drone Empty Frames for a while now, but a bunch of customers suggested we sell the two together in a kit.  So we now sell ARPX4 Drone kits(for a lack of a creative name) for a lower price than the individual parts.  This includes the PX4 FMU, PX4IOAR boards, along with the ARdrone frame with motors.  A deans connector is also included for easy battery connection! (if you prefer XT60, we have an adaptor)

The original foam hull (indoor and outdoor) is also included so if you cut away some of the foam you can easily put it back on for added protection when you are flying around.  Its a great quadcopter kit for anyone interested in developing for the PX4 as its super simple to build and repair.

You can find out more information at our shop.  If you have any questions, please let me know!

After Chris posted about a new sonar mount on thingverse for Arducopter, I realised that everyone who purcahsed a Arducopter 3DR frame, has a potential sonar mount included in the kit.

All the kits come with a bunch of spares (arm, centreplate, stackup plate, and leg set)  We decided to use one of the spare leg sets that are included as a sonar mount. It is reccomended that you mount the sonar at least 3 inches away from the body to avoid electrical noise/interferance, the setup about is just over 3 inches away, but If you want to mount it further out, you can do so but turning the leg over.

You will need to buy some extra screws and nuts (M3 x 25mm).  I would suggest also getting some double sided tape to secure the sonar, as there is only a single hole to mount it on the end of the leg.

Hope this is usefull for anyone who has not figured this out yet.

unmannedtechshop.co.uk