A company called RobotAV has released a standard $80 Nitro Models Predator with an autopilot and RC system already installed. Sounds great until you get to the price: $2,500!
To be fair, it's an IMU based autopilot and has other cool stuff like a gyro-stabalized nosewheel (not sure why, since the Predator with a standard steerable nosewheel handles fine on the ground). But it seems to have its functionality crippled to avoid regulatory or AMA issues.
It isn't a programmable autopilot; instead it just seems to have return-to-launch and manually-triggered circling--no programmable waypoints. No ground station and the autopilot functions are just controlled by RC, so it sounds like it's designed mostly for FPV flying rather than true autonomous flight
Given that you can make an identical-looking ArduPilot-powered Predator that's fully autonomous and programmable for less than $500, I'm not quite sure what accounts for the astronomical price. Does anyone know more about this outfit?
"I'm not quite sure what accounts for the astronomical price. "
Integration costs and IMU autopilot costs. Behind an IMU alone you typically have a good PhD full time for a year or three. Also you are paying for an integrated and functional solution. Not an open-source project that can be messed up with a bug by any amateur that has CVS access rights - even it they use open source they keep their private, professionally testd version and have their own extensive regression test suite etc. Open source coding is good for scientific exchange and low-importance home systems but not for high-integrity projects.
He won't make a dime on it, but if you're going through the trouble of an IMU you might as well stabilize the nosewheel. People use gyros to get realistic takeoff rolls.
They also have a software add on that will allow the RobotAV to take off on its own. There is also a failsafe where if it becomes unstable during lift off you can take control immeadiately by just moving the controls.
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Integration costs and IMU autopilot costs. Behind an IMU alone you typically have a good PhD full time for a year or three. Also you are paying for an integrated and functional solution. Not an open-source project that can be messed up with a bug by any amateur that has CVS access rights - even it they use open source they keep their private, professionally testd version and have their own extensive regression test suite etc. Open source coding is good for scientific exchange and low-importance home systems but not for high-integrity projects.
They also have a software add on that will allow the RobotAV to take off on its own. There is also a failsafe where if it becomes unstable during lift off you can take control immeadiately by just moving the controls.
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