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3D Robotics

ArduPilot Mega Now Available!

Posted by Chris Anderson on April 28, 2010 at 1:00pm


It's available now from Sparkfun! $59.95.


And cool home page promo on the Sparkfun site here.


Here's a quick FAQ for people just now coming to the site, or hearing about ArduPilot Mega for the first time:

  • It is designed to work with an IMU "shield" (board that fits on top) that contains all the sensors. That board will be available by the end of May. The latest info on the shield is here.
  • You'll need two right-angle 3x8 connectors to attach your RC gear.
  • The ArduPilot Mega code will build on ArduPilot 2.6 and be available in about a month.

We recommend this board just for people who want to beta test or tinker. For regular users who want a plug-and-play (ish) experience, it's best to wait a few weeks for us to release the IMU shield, code and documentation. (The Sparkfun board will also be tweaked a bit, with mostly cosmetic changes to make some pin labeling clearer, in the next batch.)

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Comments

  • Bryce Wilkinson April 29, 2010 at 11:05pm
    Wait, so what does this board have that makes it so much more expensive than the regular board.
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson April 28, 2010 at 10:44pm
    Code is probably a month off. Doug Weibel is leading that team and they're making good progress, but we'll want to do some serious flight testing before releasing.
  • Andrew Burns April 28, 2010 at 6:14pm
    Any news on code? This would be the ultimate low-cost autopilot for the Outback UAV challenge I think assuming the ground control software has a few key features (waypoint upload and real-time gain changing/plotting I would list as the most useful).
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson April 28, 2010 at 4:53pm
    The shield has been described many times, but the latest info is here.

    It's an IMU with absolute pressure sensor, USB native connectivity for ArduPilot Mega, onboard datalogging and easy expansion for telemetry and other sensors.
  • Taylor Cox April 28, 2010 at 4:16pm
    What does the shield have on it? The IMU and the airspeed sensor?
  • Developer
    Jordi Muñoz April 28, 2010 at 4:06pm
    Thanks everyone!

    The shield is almost here. I hope the board doesn't have design errors! (cross fingers!)
  • IKE April 28, 2010 at 3:45pm
    I have ordered 2-3 times from Sparkfun. The packages arrived in about 2 weeks and I used the minimum postage fee, no problems whatsoever. I live in Greece, if you are in the UK maybe it would be even faster.
  • Mike W April 28, 2010 at 2:45pm
    At Last!
  • John C. April 28, 2010 at 1:31pm
    I bet...now on to fun stuff!
  • Developer
    Jordi Muñoz April 28, 2010 at 1:26pm
    Relief!
This reply was deleted.