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Posted by Chris Anderson on May 1, 2010 at 3:30pm

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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.

 

 

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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).

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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!3689354440?profile=original (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

  • flying toh October 4, 2010 at 7:13pm
    @Chris So i use

    #define GPS_PROTOCOL GPS_PROTOCOL_UBLOX
    #define GCS_PROTOCOL GCS_PROTOCOL_LEGACY

    All of my
    #define SERIAL0_BAUD 38400
    #define SERIAL1_BAUD 38400 U-blox GPS
    #define SERIAL2_BAUD 38400
    #define SERIAL3_BAUD 38400 XBee telemetry

    no conflict right?

    is it correct?
  • Dean October 4, 2010 at 7:11pm
    To continue my comment above, I just noticed that the setup software claims my throttle has a range of 1499 to 1500. Not sure how that happened, but I will try recalibrating. All of the other servo ranges look fine.
  • Dean October 4, 2010 at 7:03pm
    As I recall, the user is supposed to have full control of the throttle in stabilize mode (at least this is how it seemed to work in the alpha version of the code). I just performed my first beta upload and performed the radio and mode switch calibrations per the latest instructions. Manual mode works fine, but when I switch to stabilize mode the throttle powers up to about half and I have no throttle control with the RC transmitter stick. Any suggestions?
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson October 4, 2010 at 5:47pm
    Yes, use the Mega Planner for waypoints.
  • flying toh October 4, 2010 at 5:31pm
    Hi all, I have tested the ArduPilot Mega v1.0.3 alpha codes with Xplane and it is able to fly by waypoint. I’m also able to tune to Manual, Fly by wire B and AUTO mode.

    My drone,
    EPO cloud fly
    U-Blox GPS (workable)
    XBee module
    APM with IMU

    So, how to do program it to be able to fly the real thing? Do I still need to use the Ardupilot Mega Planner to load the waypoint in? Or there is any other method?
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson October 4, 2010 at 4:22pm
    Irvin, the APM Beta code works fine with Arduino 0021. Maybe you had a bad Arduino installation?
  • The Old Flyer October 4, 2010 at 3:47pm
    I just spent several hours trying to resolve '... library not found' issues with APM beta.
    I ran everything fine yesterday. (I am running the system on a breadboard) I would roll the board then tilt the board and the correct servos would respond. All was great!

    Last night I uploaded the new Arduino 0021 IDE. This morning I decided to document my processes for my partner, when, to my utter dismay, I got the dreaded ',,, library not found' error during the upload of the ArduPilotMega. I deleted, reloaded, moved directories, restarted the computer, etc. I even re-read the manual several times! All the things you do before the hair gets pulled out. THEN - I FOUND THE MY PROBLEM!! I went back to Arduino 0020 and got a good upload. I guess the bottom line is - watch out if you go to Arduino 0021.
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson October 4, 2010 at 9:10am
    I've now bolded that sentence in the manual so other people don't miss it ;-)
  • Joseph Schauber October 4, 2010 at 2:25am
    Chris Anderson please accept my personal apology. You are correct and I am wrong.

    To the community the mistake I made was not extracting the '.zip files to the "DESKTOP". Completely reading past the word without giving it a second thought.

    I have a series of 23 print screen Bitmap images that add up to a 16MB .zip file.

    Chris where is a good place to put it?

    Joseph Schauber
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson October 3, 2010 at 10:56pm
    Joseph: my only suggestion is that you do it EXACTLY like the example in the manual (okay, you can change "Chris" to "Joseph" ;-))
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