Posted by Jeff Taylor on January 21, 2010 at 2:00pm
This is the first working version of turn rate limiter starting beta testing now!For those not familiar, this is a project aimed at providing a cheap, easy to use shield for beginners. It only requires this board and the ArduPilot main board to fly the plane, very simple!
I got only a mild version of Jordi fever, only the pressure sensor was affected :D
Certainly it's being stabilized in a way. It will definitely keep an Easy Star upright during normal flight :D
After the initial release we may integrate roll into the equation as well but that won't be necessary for anyone with a 3 channel plane like Easy Star.
You will be most thankful for the yaw gyro in situations where a slow flying plane is headed into the wind and a gust causes the ground speed to slow to zero or less. It will keep the plane on track while the GPS course is showing erratic headings.
Actually, to be precise, ArduPilot will be doing limited stabilization--that's what the yaw gyro is for; if you were only doing navigation, you'd only need the GPS--but only enough to keep a relatively stable plane flying straight and true. It's best for three-channel planes like the EasyStar, because the rudder is most closely correlated to the yaw gyro.
It was designed in Eagle. My best guess as to its final release is sometime in March, sorry for making you wait! Right now all information is cloaked in secrecy ; )
Yes it just sits right on top of Ardupilot. The pressure sensor is used to maintain proper airspeed. Ardupilot won't be doing any stabilization per se... instead it will rely on a stable airframe to keep itself at a normal orientation. It will control altitude and direction.
I hope it will be simple enough to attract more people from the r/c world into UAVs!
I'm just trying to understand it's use. It plugs into an Ardupilot and is an old school ap that provides navigation via stored waypoints and rudder? How is the pressure sensor used? Does the Ardupilot continue to provide stablization when using this shield?
I like the fact that you focused a project toward us beginners - Thanks
The release date and cost are still a bit up in the air. Once it starts flying it will be easier to tell.
Mark, the pressure sensor actually melted while I was using an infrared rework station. Since then I've used a reflow oven successfully without any melting parts.
I'm not sure why it's called a turn rate limiter but it's an older type of autopilot that performs no stabilization, only navigation using the rudder to control the direction. It will be a nice, light and simple system you can drop into an Easy Star and get off the ground right away!
Comments
After the initial release we may integrate roll into the equation as well but that won't be necessary for anyone with a 3 channel plane like Easy Star.
You will be most thankful for the yaw gyro in situations where a slow flying plane is headed into the wind and a gust causes the ground speed to slow to zero or less. It will keep the plane on track while the GPS course is showing erratic headings.
Yes it just sits right on top of Ardupilot. The pressure sensor is used to maintain proper airspeed. Ardupilot won't be doing any stabilization per se... instead it will rely on a stable airframe to keep itself at a normal orientation. It will control altitude and direction.
I hope it will be simple enough to attract more people from the r/c world into UAVs!
I like the fact that you focused a project toward us beginners - Thanks
The release date and cost are still a bit up in the air. Once it starts flying it will be easier to tell.
Mark, the pressure sensor actually melted while I was using an infrared rework station. Since then I've used a reflow oven successfully without any melting parts.
I'm not sure why it's called a turn rate limiter but it's an older type of autopilot that performs no stabilization, only navigation using the rudder to control the direction. It will be a nice, light and simple system you can drop into an Easy Star and get off the ground right away!
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