I wanted to share a video of my new Hubsan H107C HD micro HD camera quadcopter flying in some fairly heavy winds. I specifically shot this piece of video because it showed the flag waving, and gave some video evidence of flying conditions. It handles surprisingly well given the conditions, and I would be willing to put it up against non-gimble shot video from bigger systems in similar conditions.
Hubsan, the company who made the quad I fly in the video, has now come out with a micro FPV RTF quad for around $200, and I spoke with one of their representatives recently who offhandedly mentioned micro GPS units. He changed subject when I tried to pursue that thought further. It will be interesting to see if a Hubsan x4 with GPS will be coming in the not so distant future.
I have spoken of these micro quads for awhile now, and most recently spoke of the above quad here. In short, I think we will see more of these smaller aircraft coming along. Earlier this year, the British military started fielding micro-drones from Prox Dynamics, a company working on building smaller UAS for various applications. Larger aircraft will always have their place and purpose, but I will make my prediction now; micro UAS will become big business. I also think smaller, "friendlier," drones will become very commonplace and perhaps, even in most homes. Imagine being able to do a basic roof inspection after a storm without having to climb a ladder, or (in more northern climates) more directly observe the amount of snow accumulated on a roof to determine if a collapse is imminent following a blizzard.
If the DJI Phantom is to UAS what the home PC is to computers, micro-drones will be the smartphones.
ADDED THOUGHT: There are projects to interface a PC or smartphone with this quad as seen here. I have a question for the community at large, what is the smallest, lightest GPS board with telemetry which could send a signal back to be used by a PC? I might like to try building a feedback system to allow a computer to navigate this quad remotely. I love tinkering, and have wanted to do a project like this for awhile. Thanks!
Comments
http://www.hubsan.com/products/HELICOPTER/H109.htm
I attempted some high altitude flying on Sunday. This thing gets small QUICK! I was slightly worried it wasn't going to come back to me.
Just arriving at DX: http://dx.com/p/hubsan-x4-h107c-2-4g-4ch-r-c-quadcopter-w-0-3mp-cam...
Price is US$ 61.10 shipped
http://dx.com/p/hubsan-x4-h107c-2-4g-4ch-r-c-quadcopter-w-0-3mp-cam...
Someone with knowledge of Chinese language?
http://s.taobao.com/search?q=h107c&keyword=&commend=all&...
Thank you, I will have a look at it!
Thabks for your link BTW. I will look into it.
doesn't specifically say one or the other. Given the price, my guess would be no. The SD C models seem to go for prices ranging from $55 to $70. The HD version goes from $75 to $95 generally. I can post the link for BangGood's store with the HD, but they are currently out of stock it looks like.
HeliStorm: Not sure if reliable, but these say that they have them in stock around October, 30: http://www.directsource4u.co.uk/multi-rotor-copters/hubsan-fpv-x4
fwiw
Edit: Is it this quadcopter you have been using in the video: http://dx.com/p/hubsan-x4-h107c-2-4g-4ch-r-c-quadcopter-with-camera... (RTF - US$ 60.90 incl shipping).
DealExtreme has a whole range of spare parts for the H107C: http://dx.com/s/h107c%2bquadcopter
I am trying to get my hands on an h107d to test. Who is a reliable source? BG, whom I normally deal with, does not have them in stock yet.