3D Robotics

3689421720?profile=originalToday's Developer is the genius behind the HK GCS, which you all know and love. We'd had ground stations before, but Paul Mather was the first to really do them right. I still remember the day he rolled out recording and replaying missions, which was mind-blowingly cool. And when he added voice synthesis, I felt a real surge of pride in how our hobby projects were growing up to rival pro tools. 

 

What's particularly impressive about the HK GCS is that it's a universal ground station; it's compatible with all the leading amateur-grade autopilots, which took a huge amount of coordination and patience by Paul.  Finally, a special credit to his ability to go without sleep. He's on the east side of the US, which means our Sunday dev calls start at midnight his time and sometimes go to 2:30 am. He not only stays up but he's smart and articulate at a time when most of us would barely be able to spell our name.

 

One last note: The name HappyKillmore dates back to his online multiplayer game days (CounterStrike, if memory serves), and is maybe not the one he'd choose today if he were picking one that wouldn't be misinterpreted in the drone world ;-). So do him a favor and call the ground station "HK GCS". HK stands for, er, "HK" now.

 

(And Paul, Settlers of Catan isn't an obscure Euro game anymore! We play it all the time with my kids. Love it.)

 

Over to The Man:

 

3689421814?profile=original

Name: Paul Mather

 

Home: Brunswick, OH, USA (About 20 miles south of Cleveland). I’ve lived in Ohio my whole life but have made it out of the country a few times for work and vacation.

 

Day Job: Freelance Software Developer, Phone System and IT work for small to mid-size companies. I purchased a phone company (voicemail, extensions, etc) last year. There seem to be peaks and valleys and some months I have lots of free time. Other months not so much.

 

DIY Drones role: HK’s Ground Control Station, Modifications to the ArduPilot ConfigTool (Added Google Maps), Remzibi’s OSD PC Config Tool, ArduIMU Test Application. Hoping to branch out into Android when I finally get some free time!

 

Background: I have a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from the University of Cincinnati. Never did anything with it. I’ve been writing software since my parents got me a Commodore 64 in the early 80’s.  I got my first R/C car in the late 80’s. A Team Associated RC10.  That turned into about 5 cars before I left for college. Then there was about a 10 year break in my R/C obsession. I got back into it in 2001 after a friend of mine got his dura-plane up and running (after spending 10 years on a shelf in his garage). I was hooked again. Trucks, planes and helis this time. . I’ll take credit for turning Alex Greve (IBCrazy on RCGroups) on to FPV. I don’t know much about antennas….but he seems to be taking the FPV world by storm! Our failed attempts at the ball diamonds in Sagamore Hills seem to have had quite an effect on him.

 

Other interests: I’ve got two kids. 3 ½ and 15 months and I’m a stay at home dad one day a week. They’re tons of fun and sometimes make me wish I had kids younger in life. Seems like I’m going to be a senior citizen before they’re in high school!  I brew beer 4 times a year.  I’m lucky to have a brewery very close that actually lets you go in and brew. Then come back in 2-4 weeks and bottle. No preservatives. Tasty stuff! Once a week I host a board game night where we play “euro” games (games nobody’s heard of).  Dominion, Thunderstone, Settlers of Catan, Steam, Power Grid, Puerto Rico, Agricola. “A few acres of snow” is on it’s way…

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Comments

  • I had a few friends with an Amiga and Apple II's...it was always a point of contention between all of us....as everyone's computer was "better" than the other persons'.... For some reason my buddy with the Amiga used to always show me some silly fractal program as proof it was better... but then I'd show him my 10 drawers of pirated video games...and say "beat that!"

     

    Jeff, that is just right down the street. I used to work in Broadview for about 5 years between 2003 and 2008....How many years ago did you move away?

  • Hey Paul, I grew up in Broadview Heights before moving out West. My first ArduPilot flew at the Sagamore Hills Township Park and I have access to a private field just down the road now! Wish I knew back then you and IBCrazy were neighbors!

  • Your work is elegant and thoroughly well thought out. Respect
    Commodore days were pioneering days. Mind you I had to fiddle with casettes!! My first was an Exidy Sorcerer (eek) Then I began playing with 6502 machines and turned an AppleII into an animation planner/controller for a rostrum camera (which got me my first job) - Ah yes...and the Amiga. What a great machine that was. Those were fun days.
  • Thanks guys. Yup. I had a 300 baud modem. Upgraded to a 1200 and funally a 2400 (lightening fast!) One of my most memorable beginnings in software was modifying a BBS to add some minimal functionality and lots of very tacky colors. I had dual 1541 drives....never made it to the 3 1/2 floppy on my C64. A few years later my parents bought a 8086 (with an amazing 40MB hard drive). I still played games on my C64, but my attempts at programming were on the 8086...

      

    I probably should have included "Why HappyKillmore?" That name I picked in 1999 when I started playing first-person-shooters on my PC. Up to that point I had owned several game consoles (the last one I bought was a PS2, but before that, Atari 2600, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast and PS1)... so this was the first system I was able to play online and choose a "Handle." So I was a fan of the movie Happy Gilmore and thought HappyKillmore would be a good name. A few years later, I joined RCGroups and chose that as my handle on there as well. I also registered the domain name HappyKillmore.com. All of this not really thinking about my future involvement with UAV's and Ground Control Stations.

     

    So fast forward a few years and I regret my choice in names. It doesn't quite give the right impression when you say you're using the "HappyKillmore Ground Control Station" when trying to convince people who know nothing about R/C that they are both safe and non-military....

     

    I'm glad to hear you're playing Euro games too Chris! I just got Quarriors! in the mail today and we played "Last night on Earth" last night for the first time (a zombie game if you can believe it)....

  • Thank you very much for all your work on the GS! it is awesome!
    Ahh..the C-64, coupled with a 300Baud "Mighty Mo" modem, to access all those "Pc-Board" BBS out there....and let's not forget Compute's Gazette and all the machine code we were typing to get some software going! Off Course, we had a 1541 Flopy Drive, chattering to store it all! LOL! Bring back memories?
  • I was curious about this HK guy but didn't want to be nosy. Thanks for the chance to meet the developers. I have similar family situation and may try your "euro" board game night. Yep, old c-64. 

  • Developer

    Hi Paul, nice to meet you!

    A toast to people who started with a Commodore! =)

    Cheers!

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