ArduPlane home page

Convert any RC airplane into a fully-autonomous UAV!

Just add the APM 2 autopilot to any RC aircraft and it becomes a fully-programmable flying robot with a powerful ground station and Mission Planner.

Features include:

Return to Launch with a flick of your RC toggle switch or a mouse click in the graphical Ground Station
Unlimited 3D GPS waypoints
Built-in camera control
Fully-scriptable missions
One-click software load, and easy point-and-click configuration in the powerful Mission Planner. NO programming required!
Replay recorded missions and analyze all the data with a graphing interface
Supports two-way telemetry with Xbee wireless modules.
Point-and-click waypoint entry or real-time mission commands while the UAV is in the air
Fly with a joystick or gamepad via your PC--no need for RC control!
Built-in failsafe will bring your aircraft home in the case of radio loss

All instructions and software are here.

APM 2 is an open source, Arduino-compatible, pro-quality autopilot. It is the most advanced IMU-based open source autopilot available today, and provides an entire UAV control system with scriptable missions with 3D waypoints, in-flight uploading of commands and powerful ground station software.

APM 2 supports any kind of of vehicle with a one-click change of code. Available code include ArduPlane (fixed wing), ArduCopter (rotary wing), ArduRover (ground vehicles) and more.

Everything you need to create an ArduPlane UAV:

* APM 2.5 autopilot with GPS ($179)

* [Optional] Telemetry kit ($75).

You'll also need a at least a five-channel RC radio setup, a soldering iron, a mini USB cable and of course something that flies! (We're partial to the SkyFun delta wing (right) and
Bixlee 2 powered glider (left) or its equivalents ourselves).

Resources:

Manual
Source code/firmware

Note: ArduPilot Mega requires no programming, but it's open source and you're welcome to modify it if you'd like. If you are going to play with the code, you can use the free Arduino IDE to edit and upload the code to the ArduPilot board.

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Comments

Developer

Michael Smith May 21, 2012 at 10:10am

Funny you should ask:

https://store.diydrones.com/3DR_RadioTelemetry_Kit_915_Mhz_p/kt-tel...
Malu Msooityo May 21, 2012 at 5:53am

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone have an idea on how the communication range of the APM 2.0 Autopilot can be increased beyond that provided by the Xbee wireless bluetooth modem? I am working on this board and the range is my challenge. I will welcome suggestions. Thanx!
Nenad V May 18, 2012 at 3:52am

I have plank flying wing with two motors Left and Right on leading edge, and moving horizontal stabilisator back, without rudder and elevons.Radio is Futaba6EX with R617FS receiver.I use Futaba elevon mixing on CH1 and CH2 for diferential motors control and CH3 for horizontal stabilisator control.

Is it better for my flying wing to use Arduplane system with elevons mix, or Arducopter system ,tricopter version ,but vith control two motors and one servo for horizontal stabilisator.Is it possible to make setap for this?
Gustav Kuhn April 9, 2012 at 9:58am

Ok, reloaded firmware, deleted, erased eeprom, reconfigure every thing.

Still no values in the Yaw block, but what the heck, it flew beautifully :-)
Gustav Kuhn April 8, 2012 at 11:11am

Hi Chris, yes I did redo the config process.

No, I didn't save the previous config, it was default anyway.

Wev'e just had a weekend of storms, but tomorrow appears ok, so I reloaded everything tonight, test again tomorrow.

Still a bit confused about the lack of data in the yaw block, anyone else flying ST Models Discovery or similar, that can share configs?
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson April 8, 2012 at 11:00am

Gustav: Did you go through the config process again? Did you load your config file from your previous settings?
Gustav Kuhn April 8, 2012 at 8:10am

Hi guys, I loaded the latest firmware, and the previously well behaved plane flew like a dog.

I noticed that there are no PID values for yaw in the config window, and can't remember what was in the older firmware.

Other than being an idiot, what did I do wrong ?
vbeeeks March 6, 2012 at 9:08pm

Can the APM Planner be run on beefed up Raspberry Pi (Arm/Debian OS) connected to 7" LCD, if yes then I'd order this and tweak for Ground Station - laptops are too heavy for outdoor use. Pls note I haven't yet flown my Arduplane on APM1 - just on track - following the forums. Autopilot FPV are my realms I want to explore.
Shashank Sunil February 20, 2012 at 7:10am

Hello,

I was wondering if it is possible to replace the Xbee module with a modem using an RS-232 cable. I know there are uart to RS-232 converters available. Using such a converter can I just connect the ardupilot to a modem. Also, using such a setup can I expect the features at the ground control station such as collecting data and controlling the UAV with a joystick possible?

In short, I would want to replace the xbee module with an actual RF wireless modem such as 9XTend-PKG-R . Any help on this topic would be appreciated.

Thank You
Martin Szymanski February 9, 2012 at 8:59pm

I am not sure of the Freq of your Xbee but adjacent interference, from the Xbee, to a receiver can cause problems.

Front end overloading being a xmitter is to close can be a problem. Inverse distance square in inches or any other unit has a rule with RF. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse-square_law

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