HobbyKing has a MINI APM
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=51498
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HobbyKing has a MINI APM
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=51498
You need to be a member of diydrones to add comments!
Comments
I like that, why couldn't 3DR just copy this and start selling it, after verifying it's functionality and quality of course!
;-)
Adam - I think you mean Hextronik rather than Techtronix.
John - Semantics, I know, but don't give HK too much credit. Technically they are not innovating instead of copying, they are innovating as well as copying.
Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on one of these little things. Thank you Jordi, Chris, Randy, Tridge, all other contributors, the entire team at 3DR and everyone else who make this stuff possible (including the good people at HK). I wont just be buying one of these, and I will not just be flying with Arduino based Ardupilot for a few more months either. I will probably buy several of these over the next 12 months, and it would be great if 3DR would be prepared to return the favour and 'copy' HK's open source hardware. I would be happy to buy my next on on a 3DR order (even if it cost a tenner or two more), but HK will do just fine!
I have just the right GPS to pair with this little mini APM too!
We have to give HobbyKing credit for innovating instead of just copying. I'm probably going to get one, just for that even if I don't really need it.
The point of open hardware is to give as many people as possible access to the design and encourage them to make improvements and innovate, feeding back to the original design. Having a big time "cloner" like HK do this, is kinda big. And reading the HK comments they also say that Eagle PCB files will be posted shortly, meaning they intend to follow the open source license.
@Craig
I think you make some very good points. Open source hardware is meant to speed the pace and reduce the cost of development, while acting in good faith. As with any business, there is always going to be competition, and that is hardly a bad thing. I'd say Techtronix actually operates in a different niche: cheap WYSIWYG vs. the latest hardware with full support that employs local people. Techtronix might even help to introduce new customers to 3DR with a lower barrier to entry. I imagine 3DR will do this themselves in the future with a simple, small, cheap flight controller.
Well, in this case you can hardly accuse HK of copying and, obsolescence or no, they have moved the game on somewhat. Whether they provide the Eagle files or whatever is a moot point, from my perspective, because now I can buy a "micro" APM that reuses code and features I'm already familiar with. I couldn't do this before, so I'm seeing this as 99% positive news.
If 3DR is in the business of selling hardware, then this is one area of innovation that they could consider. Not necessarily chasing ever increasing numbers of features and MIPS, but shrinking, integrating etc so that these things can be used in smaller and smaller autonomous critters.
I think that the mini APM is a great idea and the price is not so cheap as to be competition killing.
But, unfortunately, one of the things that has been consistent with a lot of the Chinese (copies) is the complete unwillingness to follow the same open source open hardware conditions that they acquired the stuff in in the first place.
Basically, if they copied it and made any slight change, they think they now own it and are free to do what they want with it.
And since most of this stuff is a very rapidly moving target, buy the time any legal action is engaged in, the world has generally moved on.
Here we are talking about a board that at this very moment is in the process of being seriously superseded, so at most all that requests or threats and eventual responses are going to do is delay things long enough till the point becomes moot.
This is an ongoing problem of Chinese business versus the rest of the world (a problem we largely created ourselves by our US business's wholesale setting up shop over their for the good prices).
It is very hard, especially for small business's to figure out how to deal with an entire country that will immediately copy anything you make and sell it for less than you can afford to.
I've come to the conclusion you really can't fight China effectively and the only way to survive in business is to figure out how to make it work to your advantage.
As consumers and customers, that is also true and for this to work out we all have to strive to achieve a balance.
If we all bought the cheapest stuff from China, 3DR would go out of business and then we truly would be up the creek.
To say nothing of the fact that the second hand and minimal support model of China re complex electronic devices really means that very often their flight controllers are more of a liability than an asset.
So, buy from China where it makes sense, but support your local 3DR too.
Best Regards,
Gary
@Andrew
>>>When does a completely re-worked layout become a new design in its own right? When does it depart from being a derived work based on an existing open-source hardware design? It seems a bit of a grey area to me.
It doesn't and there is no grey area. It is not re-laying out the board that is important. That is only part of the picture. Anything that is APM compatible is a derivative of the original ardupilot schematic - the ardupilot mega, the APM2, the APM 2.5, 2.6, as well as all of the clones.
http://www.oshwa.org/definition/
Sgt Ric, yeah, exactly.
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