Hi everyone,
I want to show you my new (first) drone working with ardupilot 2.5 on the frame x525 v3 with props 11x4.7 the rest specification is on the following picture. I please for comments or suggestions, I don´t have so much experiences
Sorry for my english :) Martin (17) Czech republic
From Mashable:
Small drones may soon take to the skies above Earth's top with the aim of making survival there easier for both humans and wild animals. Such unmanned aircraft flown represent the first in a coming wave of Arctic drones that could watch out for oil spills, track ice floes and migrating whales, or help the U.S. Coast Guard in search and rescue operations.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently gave its first restricted approval for two commercial drone operations in the Arctic — a first step toward routine use of drones by companies aiming to monitor rich fisheries, expand oil-drilling operations and send more shipping across the increasingly ice-free summer waters of the Arctic Ocean. But several companies had already partnered with the University of Alaska Fairbanks to conduct experimental tests of drones in Alaska under FAA waivers or certificates of authorization.
"We've done work for oil companies, but it's also research because they and we are trying to figure out if unmanned aircraft are effective and good for the job," said Ro Bailey, deputy director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Such work can benefit scientists and Alaskan citizens as well as oil companies. Unmanned aircraft operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks have helped check out oil pipelines for energy giant BP, counted Stellar sea lions in the Aleutian Islands and guided a Russian fuel tanker to deliver emergency supplies to Nome, Alaska.
Preventing Man vs. Wild
Human interest in the Arctic has skyrocketed as the melting ice opens new opportunities for energy exploration and shipping. Small drones weighing less than 55 pounds (25 kilograms) offer the promise of both helping and monitoring such commercial activities in the territories once ruled by polar bears, sea lions and whales — all while keeping an eye out to prevent unhappy encounters between humans and wildlife.
An unmanned Aeryon Scout drone flown by the University of Alaska Fairbanks stayed on the lookout for polar bears during a fuel resupply mission to Nome in January 2012. The small drone (on loan from BP Alaska) also helped monitor ice conditions as the Russian fuel tanker Renda and the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy made their way into Nome's harbor.
"We helped lay out the path for the fuel hose from the fuel tanker to the storage tanks, and we did some monitoring to help humans wandering around to not encounter polar bears," Bailey told LiveScience. "A polar bear encounter is not good for the humans, as you might guess."
Drones may also help oil companies to watch out for wildlife movements when planning where to drill for oil or lay out pipelines. In a worst-case scenario, drones could spot mammals or birds affected by oil spills and help cleanup efforts by keeping an eye on the oil spills themselves.
The two recent FAA approvals for commercial operations have focused on this type of work. ConocoPhillips plans to use an Insitu ScanEagle drone to survey ice floes and migrating whales in Arctic oil-exploration regions off the Alaska coast this summer. Similarly, an AeroVironment Puma drone received the go-ahead to help emergency responders monitor oil spills and wildlife over the Beaufort Sea just north of Alaska.
Learning to Fly Cold
Small drones have proven surprisingly tough in the face of the harsh Arctic climate. The extreme cold temperatures reduce the battery life of drones and cut down on flying times, but Bailey said the unmanned aircraft tested by the University of Alaska Fairbanks have performed well overall. The university has even helped engineer improvements for some drones and the instruments they carry.
"In our experience, the unmanned aircraft work fine in temperatures 30 [degrees Fahrenheit] below," Bailey said. "We have more problems with our laptops, because laptops don't like the cold at all."
The sturdiness comes in handy for studying the natural hazards found in the Arctic environment. Drones can help spot the heat signatures of wounded people trapped in collapsed buildings in the aftermath of an earthquake, or map the borders of Alaskan wildfires with infrared vision. They can also evaluate the risk of avalanches or monitor glacier lakes capable of unleashing sudden floods.
Cutting the Red Tape
Such drone activities may become even more frequent if the FAA can eventually finalize the rules for type-certified unmanned aircraft — a certification of safety and airworthiness that would allow anyone to buy and operate the certified drones without special waivers or certificates. (Pilot licenses would still be a separate issue.)
The FAA is also looking to create permanent airspace corridors for drone operations in the Arctic, as charged by Congress through the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. Those corridors would be open to drone flights for research, commercial or government purposes.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has submitted an application to become one of six new FAA test sites for drones chosen at the end of this year. University researchers expect the demand for small drone operations to only rise whenever drones can finally fly with less regulatory hurdles.
"We are already tapped with more work than we can handle," Bailey said. "Once the rules are established, they'll cut down on paperwork, but won't cut down on work."
Image: University of Alaska, Fairbanks
A carbon case box was added to hobbyking last night for the apm 2.5. Carbon-fiber is conductive and does deflect/obsorbe 2.4ghz so i wonder if this would provide any mag shielding ?
This is my first real UAV. I have taken off the ramp shuttle and am re-working my landing gear to be much lighter but still ramp launched. I have been inspired by the amazing projects on this site for a long time and finally made the leap into the world of FPV flight. Once I test this thing out, it may be time to start learning how to set up an autopilot!
I have been looking into the Ardupilot and think this rig might be a good candidate. I want to add a few distance sensors to see if I can fly it fast and close to water on a lake. Comments and tips on improvement are appreciated!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-UAV-for-research-and-photography/
Thanks
~MW~
In the video we present the development process of new technologies within the VR Lab.
The first step is to evaluate different potential ideas at this stage and a lot of importance 'given to the design, Italy known for great design studios and even within our group we have creative people who represent the future of italian design, the best choice is to be able to develop a mechanical level the product, check through the simulation that the drone is able to withstand the stresses to which it will be subjected during the flight and then verify the integration of the mechanical components with electronic ones.
Once you've designed the drone virtually, we make the first prototypes with 3D printers and carry out flight tests and validation.
A long and complex process but in the end a great satisfaction to see a materialized our dream.
more info will be available in the next weeks
original blog post : http://www.virtualrobotix.com/profiles/blogs/black-ops-drone-2-0-is-coming-one-day-with-vr-lab-developer
Best
Roberto Navoni
Anyone else building an autonomous rover perhaps for Robomagellan or Sparkfun AVC? Do you have a multiplexer on your one-off, scratch built autopilot solution? If not, I built something just for us. :)
Picture your robot driving right at a curb or a wall. No problem, just take over with an RC multiplexer installed. It's saved my bacon plenty over the last couple years. APM users no doubt have many similar experiences with their built-in mux.
They're now available for pre-order for $12. I'll be ordering R0.2 boards soon.
Now, you may recall the AVC prohibited RC transmitters. Well, the mux on Data Bus been invaluable during testing, primarily. I'll be using one of these boards on Data Bus in prep for The 2014 AVC.
Don't ask me how these might work, but it's fun to think about at least. From Mashable:
If you've ever wished your house would automatically clean itself, so you could get a little free time — you're not alone. An industrial-design student in Colombia has conceptualized an automated cleaning system in which flying robots would do all the dirty work.
Designer Adrian Perez Zapata came up with "Mab," which harnesses hundreds of mini-robots equipped with a cleaning solution to tidy up homes. Zapata, 23, is among 20 semifinalists in the 2013 Electrolux Design Lab competition. This year's theme is "inspired urban living," so undergraduate- and graduate-student participants can submit design solutions in the categories of social cooking, natural air and effortless cleaning.
The Mab concept requires users to load water and a chemical substance into the system's spherical core. The cleaning liquid is then distributed to 908 mini-robots, which are each equipped with propellers for flying. After that, the mini-robots are dispatched, scanning the home and cleaning surfaces with droplets of fluid. Dirt is captured and carried back to the core. The little bots would be powered by the solar energy collected via their wings.
Electrolux Design's Thomas Johansson called Mab a "bold solution, which mimics the collection of honey bees."
Yes! Another APM 2.5 powered quadrotor took to the air in South Carolina. All that energy, time, effort and planning paid off this evening with the maiden flight of my entry into the DIY Drones sponsored Instructables Drone Contest. The build is HERE.
The idea behind this tube and plate project was to reduce the amount of hardware and aluminum used in an effort to reduce weight and cost. The ultimate goal would be a lower cost build that high school kids could afford. Of course a DJI clone air frame is cheap, but as I mention in the Instructable..
Creating/making uses cognitive processes and develops/enhances motor skills.
I chose not to use GPS on this build, again as a cost reduction effort and motivation for a school build. It would be a great project for a STEM program. A different motor mounting method was used for this build...
Rather than fighting to access motor screws through a couple of holes in the bottom of the arm, the arm area below was machined away to make it easy to install the screws. I used the same 'angle mount' idea from my first quad but as these motors were larger, I had to machine some relief into the side walls to allow the screw heads to clear. Sure, I could have reduced the heads of the screws or perhaps found some screws with smaller heads but, this fix provided the simple fix. (Psst... hey 3DR.. if you 'borrow' this idea for AC-4, I will be flattered.)
I am working on my new CNC machine so it was not ready to make the holes for me. I devised a jig, used on the previous quad for marking the holes on the arms.
The width of the jig is the width of the arm material (0.75 in square). The jig straddles the arm and then the holes are marked.
So, how did it fly? Not bad considering I didn't check the battery level prior to the flight. The flying weight of the WBQ was just under the weight of my first quad. The difference was this quad uses the heavier motors (gold vs purple). I was surprised by this when I pulled the motors out of their bags. The motors were 3DR units bought off a DIYD member who had posted them in the Buy/Sale/Trade forum.
Three throttle up/lift off runs were made: Throttle Out is graphed below.
The first hump was to ensure that the controls were right way around. Some tendency to roll right was noticed but with almost no tuning of the PID variables, I was not surprised. The second cycle, obviously longer was more relaxed and I was able to almost take my thumb off the directional stick. By the third cycle it was becoming fun. As the battery faded, you can see that I commanded more throttle to maintain hover..until the APM finally decided the battery was done. Stabilized mode was used for this evening's flights.
Pre-flight problems? Yep -- mostly just two:
If the two problems had not surfaced, I had hoped to get my wife to take some photos. Alas the tests were done near the cover of dark and in partial carport lighting shining onto my driveway. I do want some photos of it in the air to update the Instructable build and to show the skeptics that it really does fly.
My plans for this quad are mainly to educate and demonstrate that the material costs for an quadrotor can be held low but still not utilize what I call 'Minimalist Adaptations'. There still exists a need for young people to take raw material, use their minds, and create something interesting, useful, and fun. The greatest benefit is they might learn something practical in the process.
Build on!
-=Doug
If somebody else had ideas about using old APM1's and soon to become old APM2's for some different purpose than autopiloting - probably you will want to connect some hardware, right?
I have gone through what I could find of documentation, and measured what was not documented.
Here is a brief overview of the connections on APM1 and APM2 that are available, once external servo wires and external (voltage, current, airspeed etc.) sensors are removed. Especially the APM1 "oilpan" shield has many routed but unused pin connections.
Not included are: UARTs, SPI and I2C, as they are pretty obvious.
External ports APM1:
Where nothing else is mentioned, connections are to the ATMEGA2560.
APM1 PWM inputs:
PWM inputs IN0..IN8: PD0..PD7 on the PPM encoder ATMEGA328p. They are hardly useful for general purpose IO, as there is only the single PPM wire to communicate to the ATMEGA2560 via.
PL0 (ICP4) is the ATMEGA1280/2560 PPM input pin.
APM1 PWM outputs:
PWM output OUT1: PL4 (OC5B) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT2: PL5 (OC5C) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT3: PB6 (OC1B) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT4: PB7 (OC1C) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT5: PH5 (OC4C) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT6: PH4 (OC4B) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT7: PE5 (OC3C) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT8: PE4 (OC3B) via 220R resistor
Unknown pin on oilpan: PB5 (OC1A)
Unknown pin on oilpan: PE3 (OC3A)
APM1 Analog:
A0: PF0 via 10k resistor
A1: PF1 via 10k resistor
A2: PF2 via 10k resistor
A3: PF3 via 10k resistor
A4: PF4
A5: PF5
A6 ("expansion port"): PF6
A7:("expansion port"): PF7
APM1 Other:
PD0, PD1 are I2C. PD2, PD3 are UART1. PE0, PE1 are UART0.
PG0 is SW1 the unused button (AFAIK completely ignored in Ardupilot soft).
PG1 is the "slider switch" (AFAIK completely ignored in Ardupilot soft).
PORTC is routed to Oilpan (JP14). PC0, PC1, PC2 are the three LEDs.
Which port is driving / did drive the relay? It is Arduino Pin47, PL2?
PE6, PE7 and PL6, PL7 are the Oilpan DIP switches (AFAIK completely ignored in Ardupilot soft).
External ports APM2:
Where nothing else is mentioned, connections are to the ATMEGA2560.
APM2 PWM inputs:
PWM inputs IN0..IN8: PB0..PB7 on the PPM encoder ATMEGA8U2. There is a serial connection between ATMEGA8U2 and ATMEGA2560, so a custom firmware on 8U2 could forward (slow) data to/from 2560 from/to the port.
PL1 (ICP5) is the ATMEGA2560 PPM input pin.
APM2 PWM outputs:
PWM output OUT1: PB6 (OC1B) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT2: PB5 (OC1A) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT3: PH5 (OC4C) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT4: PH4 (OC4B) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT5: PH3 (OC4A) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT6: PE5 (OC3C) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT7: PE4 (OC3B) via 220R resistor
PWM output OUT8: PE3 (OC3A) via 220Rk resistor
PB7 = OC1C (NOTE Ch.9 out is not supported in firmware!!!)
APM2 Analog:
A0-A7: PF0..PF7 = ADC0..ADC7 (used for analog signals)
A8: PK0 = ADC8
A9: PK1 = ADC9 or PB7 (default) jumper selectable. PB7 via 1k resistor.
A10: PK2 = ADC10 or PL4 (default) jumper selectable. PL4 via 1k resistor. PL4 = OC5B
A11: PK3 = ADC11 or PL5 (default) jumper selectable. PL5 via 1k resistor. PL5 = OC5C
The most tiny autopilot in the world was introduced yesterday by the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands.
Named Lisa/s, she comes in at the scales with just a mere 1.9 grams, the 2*2 cm board has everything that a multirotor needs. Among the sensors are a 3 axle gyroscope, compass, barometer and a gps module. It also includes Superbitrf, which allows it to be in contact with a groundstation and a rc controller at the same time.
It runs on Paparazzi and will go on sale via 1bitsquared in January 2014.
More info (in dutch) here and a video:
The GoPro® compatible connector attaches to the chassis with two bolts, it's easily replaceable if necessary.
Flying low over flowers - West Coast National Park, South Africa
Setup:
Drone: Freedom, FPVSA
Radio: Dragon-link
Controller: Wookong
Battery: 5000 mAH 3S.
Video: 1.3 ghz TX from ReadyMadeRC
Flight time: 8 - 12min
Video recording: GoPro black edition and Sony flight cam.
Another TBS disco build...
Summary:
Flies surprisingly well! It still seems a bit "pendulum-y" in pitch, but on the whole, it flies very straight and true. Needs a fair bit of power to get in the air though. But yet another unrequested land event for reasons unknown. I wasn't stressing it at the time. I have one of these nearly once a pack.
Stats:
Take off throttle: Around 65%
Flight time: Around 14 minutes, pushing it around.
Compassmot: 0%. Yup.
Vibes: Good (and this while pushing it around a bit). Full sticks will take it to the recommended +/-5 limit though.
COG: With a 5000mAh 3S, I'm on the furthest internal rungs on the frame. This in turn pushes the APM to overhang the Core a fair bit. This meant putting in 4x 6mm risers, and balancing the APM on these, using double moongel corners. A whole section of moongel was placed over the core, which helped keep the APM level.
PID's:
- V config selected
- Roll and pitch linked
P: 0.145
I:0
D: 0.008
- Yaw - P bumped to: 0.225
All other dynamics settings at factory default (I've made changes to RTL and failsafes though).
Specs:
- TBS Disco version 1.3 with "Core" (inc the worst screws ever to come out of china btw)
- APM 2.5+ with double moongel corners
- APM power module
- External "2.6" GPS
- DJI riser (cut to 5cm...c'mon 3DR, some longer wires for the new unit please!)
- Rctimer Simonk 30A OPTO escs with one twist in power cable and shortened to 3cm before soldering
- Spektrum AR8000 (telemetry disconnected this time)
- T-Motor 2216-11's
- Graupeur e-power 1050 props (will upgrade to CF once flight tuning is done)
- Immersionrc 5.8 25mwW + bluebeam (yes, that's *way* underpowered!)
- 433mhz 3DR telemetry
- Nano-tech 5000mAh 3S.
First flight post-PID calibration. Some high frequency vibes at the edge of frame; not sure what's causing those yet. PID's too high? Flew FPV via gopro and crappy whip aerial while waiting for bluebeam and CCD; was ok actually - surprisingly good range!
Another major update of DroidPlanner (v0.12.3). The nice feature this time is the touch-path-planning.
The update
The new version has the following updates ( v0.12.3 over v0.11.4):
Droidplanner v0.12.3
Droidplanner v0.12.2
Droidplanner v0.12.1b
Droidplanner v0.12.1
Droidplanner v0.12.0
The video shows how to use the new path planning feature. The other nice thing is now if you don't have a telemetry board you can do a direct connection with a usb cable, to program your APM on the field.
More info
For more information I suggest the DroidPlanner Wiki page. And if you just want to know how to connect your APM board, or what android device you can use just follow the links.
And as always if you want to help consider making a donation via paypal, or by buying this app (via the app google takes a 30% cut).
If you want to help even more, consider joining the development team, or reporting a issue/bug/improvement on GitHub.
Following on from the very successful H quad with vibration isolated arms I decided to build something that would lift a DSLR or larger.
Is seems a hex has marginal chances of surviving a single drive failure so I opted for an octa. The H8 was quite an attractive layout but the loss of efficiency and lift was too much so I decided to build a flat 8. It also had to fold down to less than 35cm wide if possible. I wanted to keep a vibration isolation system but the method used on the quad was not suitable. I opted for a separate frame which carries all the heavy and vibration sensitive items like controller and camera, all suspended on silicone ‘O’ rings. Rings can be added or tightened to ‘tune’ the system. Provision is in place for z axis O rings if required but with 6 rings it each corner it is already very stiff in all axis.
I was part way through the build and struggling to get the folding arm system working nicely when my son ordered a 3d printer. I was very sceptical despite their popularity on this site.
After the first few printed items came off I wondered how I ever managed without one and my poor son didn’t get a look in – sorry Leo.
Once all the plastic parts are printed it doesn’t take very long to cut the carbon to length and assemble it.
eCalc suggests it will have a max TOW of 8kg (inc 3.3 kg payload) and hover time of 11 mins at that weight. More realistically, with a DSLR and 4 x 5AH 4s is should be about 5.3kg and 22 mins. (This is using MT4008-12 with 14x4.7 props)
I am considering a production run of these frames once this one is proven.
As the third and last episode of these summer flights in France, I played around with a great little quad, from Walkera, the Ladybird. It looks like a toy really but it is a full fledged quadcopter with amazing compacity:
-the controller board integrates all of the electronics : ESCs, Radio receiver, Accelerometers (6-axis), etc
-in a tiny form factor: the board's size is a little bit more than 1,5 inch WxL:
This is truly amazing. You can program it in the equivalent of our APM "Stabilize" mode or "Acro" mode.
In Acro mode you can do flips and rolls! (i broke quite a lot of shells => foresee replacement parts).
The idea of completing your quadcopter/hexa/octo existing arsenbal with such a small addition is obvious for me: you get the best training platform, ultra resistant to shocks, and much better than a simulator. It really behaves like a real quad int he flying sensations (very sporty one). With this I learned to fly my more expensive and serious drones in different orientations, something I would never had tried with "expensive" material. (and I do not like the artificial simulators to train). Further it is half the price of a software simulator !!!
It flies and sounds like a drone (you'd think a big insect is flying near you) : when we will have killed all of the bees, we should have some robotics substitutes... The attached video shows some fun with it.
Hi all,
I got a Wikipad (an Android tablet that targets gamers) to experiment with as a ground station / second TX, mostly because it has dual joysticks. There is a lot of work to be done until it has RC-controller like capabilities. First step was a workaround for the design flaw that no USB data ports are exposed when you have the tablet snapped into the joysticks. I did the mod and then made this guide:
Hope you guys find this useful! I will be working to add Wikipad support to Droidplanner and maybe Andropilot too.
Aaron
NOW LIVE ON KICKSTARTER
Hex is a nanocopter that uses 3D printers to change its look. With the recent outbreak of 3D printers, this is one of the first applications of 3D printers in consumer goods for personalization.The look of Hex is completely customizable by the plug-and-play 3D printed shells provided by the team. There are many different designs available that can be directly mounted on top of the circuit board. Creative people are also able to design their own shells.
Hex has four to six propellers and can be controlled using mobile devices and is very easy to fly. The control methods have made the physical control stick remote control redundant. Hex has the capability of carrying a webcam that lets its users to take photos and videos from the air, and stream video in real-time on a tablet or a smartphone.
Being completely open source and Arduino compatible, makers and programmers will find Hex especially interesting as they can easily modify its behavior and make it do even cooler things!
Hex uses Bluetooth 4.0 for communication between the smartphone and the circuit board. Hex can also carry a Wi-Fi webcam for real time video stream flow to the smartphone. In addition, Hex with a 5.8G Radio module and a pair of First Person View glasses can let users experience what it really is to be in the air.
Hex will be officially launched on the popular crowdfunding site, Kickstarter, on August 26, 2013 and the developers are raising $10,000 for their innovative open-source nanocopter. Many rewards are on offer for pledges varying from $9 to $2999.
(Sorry embeded video didn't work but here is the link)
http://wtvr.com/2013/08/24/watch-drone-crashes-into-crowd-at-great-bull-run/
Great piece in the Guardian. Nice DIY Drones call-out, too. Sounds like they're using our stuff!
In Peru, home to the spectacular Inca city of Machu Picchu and thousands of ancient ruins, archaeologists are turning to drones to speed up sluggish survey work and protect sites from squatters, builders and miners.
Remote-controlled aircraft were developed for military purposes and the US is increasingly using them to attack alleged terrorists, but the technology's falling price means it is increasingly used for civilian and commercial projects around the world.
Small drones have been helping a growing number of researchers produce three-dimensional models of Peruvian sites instead of the usual flat maps – and in days and weeks instead of months and years.
Speed is important to archaeologists here. Peru's economy has grown at an average of 6.5% a year over the past decade, and development pressures have surpassed looting as the main threat to the country's cultural treasures, according to the government.
Researchers are still picking up the pieces after a pyramid near Lima, believed to have been built 5,000 years ago by a fire-revering coastal society, was razed in July by construction firms. The same month, residents of a town near the pre-Incan ruins of Yanamarca reported that miners digging for quartz were damaging the three-storey stone structures.
And squatters and farmers repeatedly try to seize land near important sites such as Chan Chan on the northern coast, thought to be the biggest adobe city in the world.
Archaeologists say drones can help set boundaries to protect sites, monitor threats and create a digital repository of ruins that can help build awareness and aid in the reconstruction of any damage.
"We see them as a vital tool for conservation," said Ana Maria Hoyle, an archaeologist with the culture ministry.
Hoyle said the government planned to buy several drones and the technology will help the ministry comply with a new business-friendly law that has tightened the deadline for determining whether land slated for development might contain cultural artefacts.
Commercial drones made by the Swiss company senseFly and the US firms Aurora Flight Sciences and Helicopter World have all flown over Peru.
Drones are already saving archaeologists time in mapping sites – a crucial but often slow first step before major excavation work can begin. Mapping typically involves tedious ground-level observations with theodolites or pen and paper.
"With this technology, I was able to do in a few days what had taken me years to do," said Luis Jaime Castillo, a Peruvian archaeologist with Lima's Catholic University and an incoming deputy culture minister who plans to use drones to help safeguard Peru's archaeological heritage.
Castillo started using a drone two years ago to explore the San José de Moro site, an ancient burial ground encompassing 150 hectares (0.58 sq miles) in north-western Peru, where the discovery of several tombs of priestesses suggests that women ruled the coastal Moche civilisation.
"We have always wanted to have a bird's-eye view of where we are working," said Castillo.
In the past, researchers have rented small planes and strapped cameras to kites and helium-filled balloons, but those methods can be expensive and clumsy. Now they can build drones small enough to hold with two hands for as little as £650.
"It's like having a scalpel instead of a club. You can control it to a very fine degree," said Jeffrey Quilter, an archaeologist with Harvard University who has worked at San José de Moro and other sites in Peru. "You can go up three metres and photograph a room, 300 metres and photograph a site, or you can go up 3,000 metres and photograph the entire valley."
Drones have flown over at least six archaeological sites in Peru in the past year, including the colonial Andean town Machu Llacta 4,000 metres (13,123 feet) above sea level.
Peru is well known for the stunning ruins of the 15th-century Machu Picchu, probably a getaway for Incan royalty that the Spanish were unaware of during their conquest, and the Nazca Lines in southern Peru, which are best seen from above and were mysteriously etched into the desert more than 1,500 years ago.
But archaeologists are just as excited about other chapters of Peru's pre-Hispanic past, such as coastal societies that used irrigation in arid valleys, the Wari empire that conquered the Andes long before the Incas, and ancient farmers who appear to have been domesticating crops as early as 10,000 years ago.
With an archaeology budget of about £3m, the culture ministry often struggles to protect Peru's more than 13,000 sites. Only around 2,500 have been properly marked off, according to the ministry.
"And when a site is not properly demarcated, it is illegally occupied, destroyed, wiped from the map," said Blanca Alva, an official with the ministry charged with oversight.
Steve Wernke, an archaeologist with Vanderbilt University exploring the shift from Incan to Spanish rule in the Andes, started looking into drones more than two years ago.
He tried out a drone package from a US company that cost about $40,000 (£26,000). But after the small plane had problems flying in the thin air of the Andes, Wernke and his colleague, engineer Julie Adams, teamed up and built two drones for less than $2,000.
The drones continue to have altitude problems in the Andes, and Wernke and Adams now plan to make a drone blimp.
"There is an enormous democratisation of the technology happening now," Wernke said, adding that do-it-yourself websites such as DIYdrones.com have helped enthusiasts share information.
"The software that these things are run on is all open-source. None of it is locked behind company patents," he said.
There are some drawbacks to using drones in archaeology. Batteries are big and short-lived, it can take time to learn to work with the sophisticated software and most drones struggle to fly in higher altitudes.
In the US, broader use of drones has raised privacy and safety concerns that have delayed regulatory approval. Several states have drafted legislation to restrict their use, and one town has even considered offering rewards to anyone who shoots a drone down.
But in Peru, archaeologists say that it is only a matter of time before drones replace decades-old tools still used in their field, and that the technology can and should be used for less destructive uses.
"So much of the technology we use every day comes from warfare," said Hoyle. "It is natural this is happening."
Photo credit: "Peruvian archaeologist Luis Jaime Castillo flies a drone over Cerro Chepén, one of thousands of ancient ruins across Peru. Photograph: Mariana Bazo/Reuters"
