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Blimp Drone Project

Posted by Berto on June 30, 2011 at 3:40am

The DIYDrone Blimpduino's have been MIA for some time. A new version is promised so it will be interesting to see what those guys come up with next.   In the meantime some buddies and I have been building up our own arduino based  blimp drone. 

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  • Berto July 1, 2011 at 10:44am
    Hey Guys, thanks for the feedback. I started a discussion under the "My Project" Area.

    http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/200-indoor-autonomous-blimp

    I do not plan to sell anything. I barely have time to build my own!
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson June 30, 2011 at 4:00pm

    All true, but we weren't interested in releasing a blimp that couldn't navigate autonomously. If you can come up with a 3D navigation system using external markers/beacons, that would be awesome and we'd be interested in releasing that, too. 

     

    Our original version just circled around a single beacon, which wasn't cool enough for us ;-)

  • cwabbott June 30, 2011 at 3:05pm
    What would you mean by a "SLAM solution"? Remember, by definition, "SLAM solutions" don't require external markers (IR beacons, GPS sats, etc.) and have to build a map of their environment on the fly (hence the M for "mapping"), which means they do require hardware that's not "light/cheap", at least for now. However, the question is, why would you need something like that on a blimp? It seems not everybody would need something that sophisticated.
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson June 30, 2011 at 11:10am
    Just an update on Blimpduino. We're still looking for a light/cheap SLAM solution for Blimpduino 2.0. If you can find one and evolve the design, we'll happily put it back in production.
  • Axure June 30, 2011 at 10:52am

    Would you consider selling kits with different sizes of the baloon itself (while using common controls) ?

    This could be interesting for various usages - a small blimp for a kid, a bigger one (and tethered one, possibly) for mounting a camera. The latter would be great for providing long-time overview of specific places, from events (like the TWiT studio opening, Chris Anderson will know ;)), to actual security applications (Afghan forward operating base protection on the cheap. :))

  • d-creator June 30, 2011 at 4:42am
    Berto@ Can you share more on this project?
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