Blogs

iDrone announced!

Posted by Ryder on June 8, 2010 at 10:30am

Yesterday, Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4g... and to my ears, he was really announcing not the latest phone from apple, but the "iDrone". As I heard him talk about the new gyro built into the phone... I started adding the feature set... a fast CPU, lots of memory, built in GPS, compass, accelerometer and now a gyro... of course it could pilot a UAV!

With the built in cameras, it could do photo and video recon... and since it has two cameras (provided they can both be made to operate at the same time), add a couple of mirrors and the craft could do 3D images in real time... to assist in terrain mapping or landing.

It sports a good set of software development tools and on the whole, probably weighs less than all of the same components placed together, and at only $200 it's ecoconomical.

This is a project that could really get off the ground!

drone, gyro, iphone

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of diydrones to add comments!

Join diydrones

Comments

Ryder June 8, 2010 at 9:57pm

A lot of you blokes are sniveling whiners... You have a choice... "Be warned... that $200 price tag comes with a requirement of a service contract, you may want to factor that in"... I get "The iPhone is NOT $200!!!!!!!!"

Guys, get some beauty rest and try again with VASTLY more constructive comments. please. I am beginning to think that this group is NOT a good group to get support from.
Moderator

Alex June 8, 2010 at 9:55pm

One thing you may be forgetting on top of it all, is you will need some external component to drive servos. Ari made a device for using Iphone as r/c transmitter and said he had loads of problems trying to get apple to allow him to use the ports he needed. Instead he ended up emulating pwm with the audio port. I don't relay have any ideas how one would read the radio transmitter inputs you give if flying in manual mode?

All of us are not trying to sound negative about it but there are way more advantages of using a diy board than using an off the shelf phone, ie quality of GPS receiver, gyros, accelerometers, are much better plus you can add barometer, airspeed sensors, all which will make for a much better autopilot if you ignore the major weight difference.
I think it was Chris A who used a windows mobile device a few years ago do make an autopilot, many others have also gone down this road, but by all means give it a go and prove us wrong!
Ryder June 8, 2010 at 9:52pm

No Bill, it's not. It is because as far as I know, the first 3-axis gyro in a phone was announced today which happened to be an iphone, which means it is the first phone (to my knowledge) that is ready to fly a drone. If you think that no other phones will have 3-axis gyros, then you'd have a point. Then it would be iphone all the way. I don't believe that, do you?
will y. June 8, 2010 at 9:35pm

The iPhone is NOT $200!!!!!! I hate it when people say that. It's only that cheap if you enter a two year contract where you have to pay a lot extra for a special iPhone plan. The cost of the "$99" iPhone 3g is actually like $900, and this is even more. If you want to buy it without a contract, be prepared to spend near or over $1000. Just buy a dedicated IMU.
Ryder June 8, 2010 at 9:30pm

As it turns out, someone did put a gyro inside an Android as a hack... interesting.
Ryder June 8, 2010 at 9:19pm

I don't think that the point is the "iphone". I think the point is "phone". I this case, the equipment set packaged in the iphone is a good match for what uav's need. Are there Androids that have gyros in them?
Lew Payne June 8, 2010 at 9:09pm

Good catch, Bill Porter. I agree. It seems to me that some people are woo'd and ah'd by technology, for the sake of technology, when they (as technical people) should know better (as critical thinkers).
Ryder June 8, 2010 at 7:59pm

We've already established that it is economical (20% less expensive than Martin's system). And what is practical about do-it-yourself drones in the first place? If practicality and quality was the point this would be just "drones.com" and we'd all be using hardware similar to what the military uses.

If, on the other hand, common people using off the shelf tech and experimental innovation to do uav's is closer to the point, then iDrone fits right in...

So instead of comments about how it won't work (or wont work well), how about comments that seek to get around the potential shortcomings and make it a useable concept? Vibration isolation... code techniques to get more from gyros... ways to lighten the system.

When did innovators get into the naysayer business? I missed that memo.

The Drones Club
Ryder June 8, 2010 at 5:44pm

Well of course it's not going to be the same quality... it's less expensive.
This is not a quality pissing contest. It is an idea to use a phone as a UAV controller. What is your problem with that?
Ryder June 8, 2010 at 1:47pm

Actually, the iphone 4g price is only $200. Not $500. So it is $50 cheaper than the $250 Martin mentions. And I can't think of a single reason why the gyros would be inferior and uhappy with vibration. They might be, but there is no known reason for that to be the case. One would have to test them.

I suppose that the 3D would be a problem, although doing it through one camera is also possible (I saw it done at the last Maker Fair), but that is really not anywhere near the core of this idea.

I agree that the phone is probably heavy... one could ditch the large battery, and probably even the rear glass cover, and get the weight down. But you will never come close to getting a DIY board as light as apple has their board. Not remotely close. ALL of the iphone electronics is just mere grams.

It's the 10 hour battery and display/glass that is the issue, and that may not have to fly at all.

Imaging using google maps to set way pts! That would rule.

grams.it