As some of you may have noticed at the recent SUSB Expo in San Francisco, we’ve been busy working on a brand-new, consumer-friendly quadcopter. The day has finally come to officially take off the wraps and show it to you all. Here it is: Iris.
3DR Iris provides the autonomous functionality you’ve come to know and love in APM:Copter with a next generation PX4-based 32-bit autopilot (UPDATE: this has now been announced, and is called Pixhawk) and an all-in-one housing.
Building on the existing 3DR family of multi-rotor vehicles, Iris is compact, ready-to-fly, and fully autonomous. Navigate from takeoff to landing with point-and-click mission planning and configurable GPS waypoints, all from your mobile device or computer. Iris supports the full set of features offered by APM:Copter, including loiter, altitude hold, return to launch, circle, follow me, acrobatic flying mode, and more. With a stylish, durable, and sleek body, Iris is designed with a wide angle between the front arms to provide a clear view for an on-board camera--add a GoPro Hero 3(R) to capture your favorite moments from a unique perspective.
Features:
Multiple control options provide redundancy and flexibility: RC, computer, phone, tablet
Built-in data radio for real-time mission monitoring, data-logging, and control
Powerful cross-platform ground station/mission planning and analysis software that runs on Windows, OS X and Linux, providing simple point-and-click programming and configuration
Mobile apps allow intuitive “draw a path” mission planning
Picatinny rail mounting system integrated in the arms provides painless mounting for future accessories (stay tuned!)
Camera options include a live video link with programmable on-screen-display, and will soon support a fully integrated stabilized camera gimbal with autopilot control
GoPro(R) compatible camera mount
Available with a 9-channel RC transmitter pre-programmed for the most popular flight modes.
GPS waypoints allow for professional-grade mission capabilities, such as: mapping, scripted cinematography, scientific research, and other applications where repeatable flight plans are required
Robust arms and feet produced from Zytel Nylon(R) for the ultimate in wear, abrasion and impact resistance over a wide temperature range. They are easily and inexpensively replaced if required.
Auto takeoff and landing along with Return-To-Launchpoint command at the press of a button or under programmable failsafe conditions
Follow Me function for the ultimate "selfies". In this mode, Iris will follow (at an adjustable distance) any ground station device equipped with a GPS antenna and one of our 3DR telemetry/control radios
Geo Fencing provides a virtual box to keep your drone within a user-selectable space
Failsafe programming options bring peace of mind in the event of lost control signal/GPS or low battery conditions
External micro-USB port
- RGB LED for status and orientation
Buzzer for audible status and warning messages
Safety switch adds a second level of protection against inadvertent start-ups
Open source flight code, ground station software and electronics are all freely distributed under standard open source licenses. This means that Iris' capabilities are always improving and expanding with a simple firmware update!
Specifications:
Motor to motor dimension: 550 mm
Height: 100 mm
Weight (with battery): 1282 grams
Average flight time: 9-14 minutes
Standard battery: 11.1v 3.5Ah lithium polymer with XT-60 type connector, weight 262 grams
Propellers: (2) 10 x 4.7 normal-rotation, (2) 10 x 4.7 reverse-rotation
Motors: AC 2830, 850kv
Telemetry/Control radios available in 915mHz or 433mHz
PX4-based 32-bit autopilot with Cortex M4 processor
3DR uBlox GPS with integrated magnetometer
Iris is currently available in a developer release for experienced operators to participate in the ongoing development of this exciting new product. Iris developer pre-orders are available now from store.3drobotics.com and will ship September 16th. Operators not interested in development are encouraged to wait for the consumer release of Iris coming soon!
Official press release can be found here.
Comments
@Shawn Burns
Let's hope the main FPV camera isn't the GoPro, ask anyone who's been doing FPV for more than a week and they'll tell you the GoPro is a terrible FPV camera. Most CMOS based camera's are pretty crap for FPV. TBS doesn't use the GoPro as an FPV camera, its used for the HD footage you see in their video's. They fly with CCD based board camera's like the ones they sell on their site.
Anyone know yet if the FPV will be pulled straight from the GoPro and then transmitted back to some FatSharks (TBS style) or will it be a separate FPV camera like 3DR offers in their FPV kit... I hope the first, mainly for better battery conservation, but also because it would keep that nice clean look without having to start putting things on the bottom of the quad, requiring a landing gear (also takes away from that nice clean look)
Update: we've now announced the autopilot used in Iris. It's called Pixhawk and will be available as a stand-alone product in October. Details and pre-orders here.
Veikko,
The standard battery weighs 262g.
The gimbal with camera and the long legs weighs ~390g.
Chris,
I've got one question for the follow-me function, will it automatically control the pitch of the gimbal to keep the subject in view or will it just lock heading to the subject?
Thanks!
Followme works quite well. Copter will chase me around the Bike park like a well trained puppy.
@Chris.
Is there any work being done to address GCS altitude changes in followme?
Great! Thanks for a quick response.
Just bought it!
Keep up the good work! Looking forward to make some cool videos when mountain biking here in Santa Cruz, as well as start tinkering with the code of the follow-me mode.
Regards,
Oystein
Yep!
Great to hear Chris.
(The 3DR support did not know this BTW.)
So to sum up, if I order the IRIS with the following options I will be all set?:
FlySky FS-TH9x RC
&
Telemetry 915 Mhz (US).
Ready to buy. :-)
Oystein: Everything you need for Follow-Me to work with Android devices is included! (ground telemetry radio and Android cable). You just run the free Andropilot or Droidplanner apps on your device (assuming it has built-in GPS, which most modern Android devices do) and the copter will follow you at any distance/altitude you choose.
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