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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

  • Alex March 21, 2011 at 9:37am
    @Chris  now i can upload info(software) to Ardupilot/oilpan but i cannot receive info from it. It exists a method to test if the solderings were done ok, connection between PC and Ardupilot is ok ? In this stage i am right now : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdDreoL0klU  Thanks
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson March 20, 2011 at 8:57pm
    Larry: aside from doing an unbricking procedure, I'm not sure what to do with your modules. I've never seen that issue, even with the latest modules from Sparkfun.
  • Larry Baraniuk March 20, 2011 at 8:50pm

     Yes Chris , I did read that note in the manual while trying to program the module but that didn't work for me , in fact the XBP09-BP modem option completely disappeared from my list of options on the Modem Configuration screen.

    It was only showing 24 series options.

  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson March 20, 2011 at 8:36pm

    Larry,

     

    That's old language from the original ArduPilot manual--I've removed it.  Sparkfun has recently screwed up their Xbees by ordering them with mesh networking firmware, which needs to be overwritten for our purposes. The manual explains how:

     

    Note: recent Xbee modules may ship with different firmware and X-CTU may try to download new code, which will probably fail (cancel it). If your Xbee module is reporting that it's an XBP09-DM (rather than the correct XBP09-DP), do the following:

    In the Modem Configuration tab select XBP09-DP from the drop-down menu and write it to the module. It will work for a while, then give you an error. Go to the first tab, select 9600baud and read it, which should work. Now go back the Modem Configuration tab, read it and it should now say XBP09-DP. Change the VID and baud rate to what you want (999 and 56k for me) and write it. Now it should work.

    Because of this, we're going to start offering Xbees and other wireless modules that are set up right, straight from the factory. People shouldn't have to deal with that nonsense.  But if you follow the above instructions, it should be fine.

  • Larry Baraniuk March 20, 2011 at 8:19pm

    [Unbricking an Xbee
    ¶IMPORTANT NOTE: Sometimes Xbee modules get corrupted due to signal coming in before power on bootup. To avoid this, ALWAYS disconnect the signal wire (the blue one in the photos above) to the onboard Xbee adapter before powering up. Only reconnect them after the rest of the UAV has power. ]

    The blue wire actually is the ground wire.

    From a hardware point of view, this makes sense.

    The hardware must be powered up and settled before it can accept software.

    Thanks Doug B for the Important note.

    The bottom line is that this telemetry crash happened to me.

    I just got this module 2 weeks ago . Is it an outdated version because I wasn't able to download the lastest

    software for it and that is why I had to clone it to my ground module.

    When I performed a Com Test/Query Modem it indicated that it was Modem type : XBP09-DM

                                                                                                                 Firmware Version : 1151

    When I tried to intiallly read the module , it couldn't read it and it tried to down load the latest version

    but it couldn't do that either ( and that was pointed out in the manual) so I had no other alternative than to clone it to the same parameters as the ground module as mentioned before.

    I'm just dealing with the cards that were given to me.

    Thank again Chris , for your quick response

  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson March 20, 2011 at 6:51pm
    Patrick: see what Darren said. He's right. This is not an issue with APM.
  • Darren March 20, 2011 at 6:32pm
    are you talking about xbee unbricking? as I was led to believe this was caused by the use of +++ in old gcs data streams. this led to the xbee going into program mode, and wouldnt come out of it after receiving further serial traffic that corrupted the settings. since I've had mine i've never locked them out... and i belive all instances of +++ are gone especially since going to 2.0 with mavlink data links.
  • Patrick March 20, 2011 at 5:41pm
    There isn't the issue of Xbee's becoming corrupted with the APM?
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson March 20, 2011 at 5:39pm
    Larry: what Xbee powerup issues? There were some on the original ArduPilot, but there shouldn't be any issues with APM. We've used dozens of them and never seen a problem.
  • Larry Baraniuk March 20, 2011 at 2:27pm

    I just received  my X-plane DVDs  and installed the software into my computer but I still have a problem with my plane not going to waypoints at my desired altitudes. I still need to hack at that issue.In the meantime I' got my

    X-bee modules working and I had problems programming the module for my plane and found that the best thing to do is to clone it to the  same parameters as my base module .I also had to reprogram it again because of the power- up issues that have been noted. Having to go through the power-up process is inconvenient ,so I going to build a power-up delay circuit similar to http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/how-articles-provided-our-membe... .

    http://issue.In/
    See related links to what you are looking for.
This reply was deleted.