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.

Hello all,

I've just moved over from the ArduCopter project, and would like to play here for a while. The transfer has gone really well, and the test platform is a Skywalker with a view to debug at install in a 80' supercub.

I do have a few question however / issues to sort with you guys if I may.

My setup is AMP / OilPan / MTEK gps / DIYdrones Mag / XBee 2.5. The sketch loads no worries with the only changes being:
#define GCS_PROTOCOL GCS_PROTOCOL_LEGACY

#define GCS_PORT 3

And the GPS protocol is MTEK.

All works as it should while powered in via USB, and with the XBee telemetry on another port, I get GPS lock and see all good data in the GCS, including a accurate GPS position. When I power the plane from the flight pack however, everything starts as it should, the blue led on the GPS goes solid, however the 3 leds on the oilpan never go solid. Data of the XBee shows the pitch, roll, yaw values, but never gets to show a home lock, as it does when powered of USB. I have read back some and seen the same issue mentioned. Is it a 'issue in progress' still? I dont see mention of it in the 'issues' tab in the repo.

Any help / comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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Comments

Daniel R Ramirez Rebollo October 12, 2010 at 9:41pm

Hey guy's with the alpha 1.0.1 code if I Upload it to the board plus the GPS and pitot tubes ,what should be the behavior of the system , I'm asking that because I will modify the code for just having 3 modes , I have tons of doubts . I'm using the hardware because for an engineering project I analized the control af an airplane with mathlab and simulink , but have no idea how you guys translate that into code . Where can I get that kind of help?
Matthias Badaire October 12, 2010 at 3:20pm

this has been fixed in current svn
Uwe Gartmann October 12, 2010 at 3:11pm

Last two days, I was playing around with the airspeed sensor. I use the MPXV7002DP, which was the only available at time of purchase. Pitot is also from the DIY Shop. Using the superp command line tool, the 'test' command has left me uncertainly. The data output was looking like the one in the documentation. I suppose code for this is still under development.

Put the steady plane to my desk, the raw ADC value goes around 3000, +-10. This means that the raw value can be divided by 10 to get a more precise data.

During the weekend, i will do practial tests to have some relations about the values from the sensor at different speeds.
George October 11, 2010 at 3:13pm

Thanks Chris,
Somehow missed that. (would love to give a really good excuse for missing 176/175..............but I cant think of one yet...) :-)
Cheers.
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson October 11, 2010 at 10:01am

George: that is a known issue (176). I think you can solve it by just rebooting your board for now, but we'll sort out the root cause soon.
George October 11, 2010 at 8:55am

From above,

Forgot to add, the system apparently completes it's ground start routine as all channels become active, motor will run and allows switching to different flight modes although the 3 oilpan leds never go solid.

George.
George October 11, 2010 at 8:46am

Hello all,

I've just moved over from the ArduCopter project, and would like to play here for a while. The transfer has gone really well, and the test platform is a Skywalker with a view to debug at install in a 80' supercub.

I do have a few question however / issues to sort with you guys if I may.

My setup is AMP / OilPan / MTEK gps / DIYdrones Mag / XBee 2.5. The sketch loads no worries with the only changes being:
#define GCS_PROTOCOL GCS_PROTOCOL_LEGACY

#define GCS_PORT 3

And the GPS protocol is MTEK.

All works as it should while powered in via USB, and with the XBee telemetry on another port, I get GPS lock and see all good data in the GCS, including a accurate GPS position. When I power the plane from the flight pack however, everything starts as it should, the blue led on the GPS goes solid, however the 3 leds on the oilpan never go solid. Data of the XBee shows the pitch, roll, yaw values, but never gets to show a home lock, as it does when powered of USB. I have read back some and seen the same issue mentioned. Is it a 'issue in progress' still? I dont see mention of it in the 'issues' tab in the repo.

Any help / comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

http://may.My/
Daniel R Ramirez Rebollo October 11, 2010 at 2:18am

@ Michael Yes I found the pdf manual and doesn´t give much information , I'll try to measure the PWM on the 3 position with an oscilloscope , by now I modifyed the code for using that 3 position switch just deleted some Flight modes and leave the ones I'm interested on not sure if its working tought . I'll let you Know later and thanks for the help.
Developer

Michael Smith October 11, 2010 at 1:15am

@Daniel - you can get 4 flight modes with a combination of a three-position switch and a receiver with programmable failsafe behaviour.

Assuming the manual I found for the Conquest 6 matches your radio, your best option is going to be to use the 3-position flap switch (channel 6), which will give you three flight modes. One of these modes may be the hardware failsafe manual mode (it's not clear from the Conquest documentation exactly what the output signal looks like for ch6).
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson October 11, 2010 at 12:02am

Flying toh: Yes, uploading waypoints via xbee will be supported in the next version of the code.

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