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APM: the Universal Autopilot

Posted by Chris Anderson on December 20, 2011 at 3:30pm

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I just had to a share a bit of pride that I got checking out the latest release (1.1.11) of the Mission Planner. Look at all those vehicles APM now supports!!! To say nothing of all the hardware-in-the-loop simulations at the bottom left of that screen. And ArduRover, ArduBoat, and coming soon, ArduBlimp (successor to Blimpduino) and ArduTank (!).

I think we just need to add ArduSub and ArduRocket and we've got the entire world of vehicles covered. Not bad for $200 ;-)

This why we call APM the Universal Autopilot. As far as I know, this sort of one-autopilot-does-everything has never been accomplished before. So proud of the dev teams!

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Comments

  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson December 27, 2011 at 10:52am

    John: Yes, with a physical board you can simulate with a "Hardware in the loop" sim, which does not require any programming (you just load the code with one click in the Mission Planner, just like flight code)

  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson December 27, 2011 at 9:09am

    John: don't worry about it. That SIL code is just a fun side experiment for advanced Python and Arduino developer types. It has no relation to the normal ArduPlane/ArduCopter code. The actual board doesn't require any programming at all. 

  • Brad Hughey December 26, 2011 at 7:56am

    In APM v1, there was a bit of an issue with mechanical vibration inducing noise into the sensor signal(s).  Has the incorporation of the monolithic MPU-6K mitigated this concern?  How much mechanical isolation is appropriate for the new version?

  • whynotflydisquad December 26, 2011 at 12:03am

    oh Hardware in the loop i see

  • whynotflydisquad December 25, 2011 at 11:50am

    whats the HIL simulator do ?  how do you use it ??

  • Anish December 24, 2011 at 2:31pm
    @f1 1/8 th scale would do, that has been my initial test platform :) so far
  • steve December 24, 2011 at 10:37am

    That seems a little big for what I'm wanting. Any advice on a good off road type of vehicle with enough room for APM and video gear? Better if it comes in a kit because I need to transport it unbuilt at first. I'm thinking something with a 50cm wheelbase.

  • AVS December 24, 2011 at 10:03am

    Hi Bill,

    I agree with everything you have said and eagerly look forward to your quad announcements.

    Thank you for making all of this possible

    Fab

  • DaveyWaveyBunsenBurner December 24, 2011 at 9:34am

    @Bill

    Very pleased to hear you are also working on quads!!!!

  • T3
    William Premerlani December 24, 2011 at 9:08am

    Hi Fab,

    Just to be clear, from what I have read, I think the APM community has done a super job. (I have not "kicked the tires", so I do not have any first hand experience.) As far as I know, they support more types of aircraft than any other open source autopilot, UDB included. And their system is jam packed with technical goodies.

    Also, although MatrixPilot supports a large number of types of fixed wing aircraft and has some great technical features, it does not yet support quads, boats, Segway clones, or rockets. I am presently working on quads, but I have no immediate plans to support boats, Segway clones, or rockets. The controls for Segway clones and boats that I implemented were a one-of-a-kind. And Frank Hermes has taken over support for rockets.

    Best regards,

    Bill Premerlani

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