"Impressive modeling, but...is there a point to going into that much detail? If it's just for fun that's cool of course. It's just that as someone who does a good deal of modeling electro-mechanical systems for my job, I've almost never had a need…"

"@John, check out the Teensy. Arduino compatible with a real USB interface. Cheap too!"

"Looks like the Parrot can be controlled by Android too now. That certainly opens up a lot more options. You can even get a netbook to run Android."

"I wonder why GPSs are never offered with I2C or SPI communication options. It'd be nice not to be limited to serial."

"I really wish there was an inexpensive device that bundled something like the wifi shield with a wireless webcam"

"While the PC route may seem cheaper right now (considering you already have many of the components), think about what will happen the first time that boat takes on water. Swapping out an arduino will cost a lot less than swapping out a mini pc. With…"

"Sounds fantastic!

How were you able to measure altitude while looking down? Does that require the sensor to notice a sort of zooming in and out effect of the features it sees? Seems like that would be tough while also moving.

I look forward to…"

"Interesting idea... but it sort of seems like Rube Goldberg way of flying. Going analog leaves you open to all sorts of new problems. If your main concern is robustness, it wouldnt be too hard to add a watchdog timer to your digital AP and have a…"

"Honestly, I find it a bit troubling that they run into the same problems we do. I mean, I know it's a new field and these companies are learning as they go... but at that price I'd expect something a bit more thought out"

"Ric, pretty sure you won't find N130s with these screens preinstalled.

I'm a bit disappointed at the price. They kept saying that these cost no more to manufacture than conventional LCDs, and they're aiming to put them in $75 laptops. Guess that's…"

"I like the simplicity. Though it seems to me those arms are going to be weakest along the axis where you'll be seeing the greatest forces (vertical). If you find that to be a problem, 2 layers (possibly even thinner ones) with some standoffs in…"

"Thanks Chris. Good to know. I'm a bit surprised the AR.Drone can't handle the outdoors better. With gyros plus optical flow running on an ARM9 it should be pretty capable. Hmm, unless the response time of the actual motors isnt great.

Taylor,…"

"Just curious, what was I watching here that couldn't be done with the AR.Drone?"

"Here's a cheap serial bluetooth module.

I've been looking at xbee to the phone as well. Unfortunately, getting a wired serial connection to the phone can be pretty tricky (and quite possibly impossible on non-HTC phones). Having to go bluetooth to…"

"I'm pretty sure 3G (and all cell phone transmissions) have pretty awful latency. Probably no good for doing anything like control, though fine for telemetry, updates, or a delayed video feed."