Winner of Sparkfun AVC now selling homebrew autopilot

Antonio Liska, who has won the Sparkfun AVC for two years with a homebuilt autopilot, is now selling a commercial version of that hardware. It's called the "Goose" and it's just airplane-only at the moment and closed source, but it has impressive features:

Hardware:

Optional Built-in electronic speed control (ESC)

Supports Spektrum, Hitec Optima receiver or a GCS joystick for RC backup

Current Sensor

6 PWMs

6 Serial Ports

3 Spare 10bit ADCs

Removable SD card for data logging

Non-removable 4kbit flash memory

Standard .1inch servo headers

Standard Deans power connector

Complete voltage regulation for servos and accessories 5v/3.3v/3v

Capabilities:

Multiple flight modes selectable via GCS:
Standard RC

Fly-By-Wire
R/C sticks control roll pitch and airspeed

Takeoff (Runway or hand)

Flight plan
Orbits and way-points

Land
Land in the selected location

Return-to-launch

Taxi
Follow a ground path and optionally enter takeoff mode

Configurable triggers for servo and digital IO

Error monitoring – messages displayed on GCS
Motor malfunction

File system checking

GPS serial connection

Voltage checking

Multiple Failsafes
Low voltage

Loss of communications

Mission boundary crossing

Loss of GPS

Watchdog output pulse

Parachute deployment

Hardware in the loop simulator with FlightGear

Manual tuning of PID loops in flight

Flare sensor
MaxSonar

Sharp IR SHARP2Y0D02

Pressure Altitude

Lifetime flight statistics are logged for various min/max conditions

Fast Fourier Transform for vibration analysis during integration or preflight

Fat file system for compatibility with PC

Sensors:

3 ST Micro Gyros

3 ST Micro Accelerometers

2 Freescale Pressure sensors (MPX5004 and MPXH6115)

1 Temperature

Ublox GPS is Externally connected

The price is $1,899 for the Pro version and $899 for the Lite version with some of the features above removed. A full PDF of differences between the two is here.

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Comments

David June 14, 2011 at 9:10pm

I can attest to both Antonio's skill set and and Sevenboarder's evaluation of the product. I had a chance to look at Antonio's system in Australia and I can say it was extremely compact and neat. Even though I have not flown with it myself, I trust seveboarder's evaluation becuase I have worked with him on many UAS projects and he is an excellent systems engineer. Best of luck with the business!
Developer

Mark Colwell June 14, 2011 at 5:40am

Antonio has a very good track record and should charge a fair price for services. Considering cost of MicroPilot, he should do well in professional market, Procerus AP is a real good contender too.

Congrats on starting your new business!
Moderator

Gary Mortimer June 14, 2011 at 2:49am

Good for him, he was a worthy winner of the competition and gave it a jolly good go at the OBC.
Chuck June 14, 2011 at 1:33am

When will HappyKillmore have it integrated into his GCS?

Isn't that the gold standard for autopilots.
Dano June 13, 2011 at 11:46pm

Nice work but one size does not fit all... airframes that is
Kirill June 13, 2011 at 10:07pm

Firstly, I thought that this autopilot could be a competitor of APM. However, with this high price few people will want to purchase it. Nevertheless, it's very good homebuilt project.
Russell B. Sutton June 13, 2011 at 9:36pm

$1900.... Really? Good Luck with selling out of those. I'll stick with the APM. :o)

This reply was deleted.