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Ever wonder if anyone was going to let you cut loose with your drone?  Been looking for local drone types but just can't seem to find them?  The North Texas Drone Users Group (NTDUG) is a support and networking organization in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  Our goal is to provide a community for locals building and flying their own drones – we welcome everyone from novice to expert and from regular RC to advanced drone designs.  We host regularly scheduled fly-ins at a variety of locations throughout the DFW metroplex that has included AMA RC airfields as well as private patches of land in the middle of nowhere!  We hold classes on basic RC components and construction as well as putting together more advanced classes such as drone safety and drone construction.

If you are looking for a group of people to hang out with and perhaps help with outreaches to high schools, helping to put on demonstrations or just witness a good and expensive crash or two then come on out!

NTDUG is currently sponsored by 3DRobotics, Dallas Makers Space, and Unmanned Research Association thus providing the organization and its community with extensive resources and education ranging from the garage tinkerer to engineers to formerly deployed personnel.  We are also part of a larger network of Drone User Groups which are based in other states.

NTDUG is still new yet we are already establishing a platform for the future formation of teams to compete in upcoming competitions and larger community based projects such as Search and Rescue Operations.  We greatly welcome your presence at our next event coming up on July 13th, as well as hearing your input on how we can improve the image of drones in our ever changing society.

Hi,

I've seen huge improvements in terms of sensor fusion algorithms implementations into the APM 2.5, but none of those changes have been made to the ArduIMU v3. As a result the arduIMU is EXTREMELY sensitive to vibration and drift. I have taken a look at the APM sensor fusion code(in an attempt in port it over) and I noticed every thing is pretty much in a custom library.

This makes the code especially hard for someone like me(who doesn't know how to use the libraries) to port over, but it should be fairly easy for someone who knows how to use the libraries to port over. 

I don't really know any developers on diydrones but I would love to team up with some of them and improve the arduIMU code. I mean it hasn't been updated since August 2012. I have made improvements myself which improve its speed and ease of interfacibility......I just don't know where to post them? 

The arduIMU is the only affordable sensor board on the market which comes with sensor fusion software already installed. The software just isn't very good. Why do I feel like this project has been abandon. It wasn't even transferred to the new downloads page.

Any suggestions?

 A dozen police officers apprehended a man who flew a radio-controlled mini helicopter over the Pretoria hospital, where former president Nelson Mandela was being treated on Friday.

The multi-copter had a rotating camera and was in the sky for a few minutes. A multi-copter looks like a spider. It has several arms attached to a central control unit. A rotor is mounted on the end of each arm.

As soon as the gadget landed in the hands of one of the controllers, police rushed to the area. Hundreds of people, including journalists, mobbed the officers as they escorted the man and his helicopter into the hospital.

Minutes later, police officers returned and took the gadget's remote control from another man.

The helicopter apparently belonged to FC Hamman Films, a private film company. It was not clear what police did with the man or the helicopter.

According to Reuters Hamman, a South African freelance film-maker, was escorted away by police along with the helicopter camera he was flying with his 21-year-old son Timothy outside the hospital.

"As far as I know, I didn't do anything wrong," Hamman told Reuters by phone from the office in the hospital compound where he was taken by police. He said he was waiting to be interviewed by senior officers and for them to view the footage filmed.

"We were careful not to fly over the hospital," Hamman said.

He said he had intended to offer to media organisations the aerial shots of intense activity around the hospital, where crowds of jostling journalists have mingled with well-wishers paying tribute to South Africa's former black president.

Hamman said he had already used the home-built flying camera in other film projects and had also assisted police with surveillance work in operations against suspected drug-dealers in the Johannesburg suburb of Eldorado.

Police had not so far pressed any charges, he said.

"You can't fly one of those things without a permit," one police officer said at the hospital after Hamman was escorted away. Pretoria police declined to comment further.

Ok, so I eventually got one of my quads working on 3.0.1! Did the compassmot, and eventually started loitering correctly!Also did a vibe upgrade - double moongel corners for APM and the jdrone motor mounts (props were already balanced). The effect has been dramatic. Used to be +/- 5 on Acc z...now....this:

Bump in the middle was a hard landing after I forgot to ramp up throttle to 65% before switching to stablise....AGAIN...:-(

If we zoom in, we get this:

X and Y:

It flies, alt holds and loiters like silk...I tune Loiter back a bit to 0.8 though, and it moves a bit, but doesn't get fidgety.

However, all is not perfect. The motors all seem to be spinning at different rates when level! (I was buzzing about a bit at the end).

There is another problem though...after the hard landing, IT WONT ARM! I have to go to MP to press arm from there. I simply don't know what the problem is. A new failsafe in 3,0.0?

At the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) 11^th annual Student Unmanned Air Systems (SUAS) Competition held at the Patuxent Naval Air Station, the Cornell University Unmanned Air Systems Team (CUAir) came in first place.

Team Lead Phillip Tischler said of the team’s win at the competition, “it was a great victory not just for the team members, but also for everyone involved - our sponsors, the Cornell community, and friends and family. Without their support, we would not be where we are today. We have been working hard all year to achieve this monumental feat, and I have no doubt the team will only improve in the coming years.”

The AUVSI is the world’s largest non-profit organization that promotes interest and advances in unmanned systems, both air and ground. In their annual SUAS competition, unmanned air vehicles developed and outfitted by student teams attempt to execute autonomous flights to locate, identify, and classify targets on the ground using on-board imaging systems, as well as perform a Simulate Remote Intelligence Center (SRIC) task, which involves connecting to a directional wifi network and obtaining mission data. The entire mission, from take-off to landing, must be completed within a 30-minute time frame.

This year, the AUVSI experienced a record number of applications for the 2013 competition. As a result, strict constraints were imposed on mission setup, mission flight, and cleanup time requirements to accommodate all teams. CUAir took to the challenge head-on and placed first Overall, first in Mission Performance, and first in Journal Paper out of over 30 teams from around the world including India, Canada, Turkey, and the United States, making CUAir the world champions.

CUAir’s plane, Hyperion, gracefully navigated various aerodynamically difficult maneuvers, and all systems performed smoothly from start to finish. In fact, CUAir was one of the few teams at the competition that created a completely custom airframe, which allowed for more flexibility in designing and building a plane to complete the competition flight.

The imaging system worked flawlessly, taking crisp pictures attached with geotagged data, as Hyperion navigated the designated search grid. All ten targets were found, four more than the next best team, and CUAir was the only team to find the off axis target. Additionally, CUAir was one of only a handful of teams to perform the SRIC task.

“It was great to see the year’s hard work culminate in such an amazing ending, and it sets the bar high for next year,” says the rising 2013-2014 Team Lead Joel Heck. “We definitely plan to keep the intensity high.”

Take a look at competition results and Team Lead Phillip Tischler's insight regarding CUAir's success here. CUAir is also in the spotlight on the Cornell Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering homepage here.

Don't forget to Like CUAir on Facebook here! Visit the CUAir website here.

Updated pics:

I have cleaned up the placement of the electronics on the CDAutoRover and added my newly received Turnigy 9X.  Worked out the 6 flight mode settings.  I have something I am going to test for the temporary switch into Channel 7,  I am going to try out using the Rudder, since it jumps back to center  - calibrate it with center and just to the far right.  Hoping that will allow me to toggle - I read many have flashed the Turnigy 9X to the er9x, I don't feel like doing that yet, but may eventually - alot of people really like it.

So I didn't like having all the jumper wires - so I went looking for male to male end servo connectors, easy to find servo extenders male to female ends - so I got some male connectors with open wire, put my own ends on:

Much cleaner I think:

So I am going to put in an order for the Telemetry kit for the APM 2.5+,  I really wish I had just ordered that with, anyway as soon as it stops raining, going to try out my new modes and my rudder as momentary switch trick.  I will report back on that.  

Also this weekend, I am going to be getting a number of the pieces 3D printed for the Quadcopter build.

I recently had a piece posted on Slate comparing society's reaction to 3D printing and drones. It is excerpted below.

You can read the original version at http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/06/28/drones_3_d_printing_and_our_distorted_views_of_new_technologies.html

I have a developed a sensor network which detects gunshots for anti-poaching purposes. When a gunshot is detected, the event data is sent to a sensor server for further analysis and triangulation of the gunshot location. Currently the prototype is running on Arduino Due boards with Xbee coms but this will soon be changed to a less power consuming custom PC board with incorporated and more secure communications.

I wish to incorporate fixed wing UAV’s in this concept with as little human interaction as possible, no manual transfer of event waypoints, no manual take-off etc. The entire system must be automated. The Aircraft will be switched on and docked on a catapult launcher which will be controlled by a microcontroller. The APM telemetry link will be established and connected between the aircraft and the GCS.  

As per the attached image the entire process will be as follows,

1. Get event data from the sensor network

2. Triangulate the gunshot source and provide a GPS coordinate.

3. Generate a UAV script which might look as follows:

• TAKEOFF (from home position)
• LOITER @ -24.123456, 24.123456 (until a new command is issued via APM Planner or failsafe gets triggered)

4. Send this UAV script to APM planner which includes

• Instruct APM Planner via a script to upload the waypoints to the aircraft
• Instruct APM Planner via a script to do an automated MISSION START command

5. Send a command to the launch controller to trigger the catapult launcher and release the aircraft

How can I do the following?

1. Send a Take-Off command and waypoint information (script) directly to APM Planner

2. Initiate the Mission Start Command from a script immediately after the Waypoint upload has been confirmed maybe via a script without having to push a button.

3. I have used TCP ports for numerous software interactions; can a TCP Server port for commands from other software be opened in APM Planner?

Has anyone done something similar already?

I posted this way down in the comments of my other recent post about the MAXboard, but I thought I'd share it here where more people would get a chance to see it. You'll notice that I refer to it as the "Bomb Squad Helicopter" in the video, that's because it was originally designed for them, but once I got it together I realized that maybe it was good enough to share!

I'm trying to kickstart this thing, so if you're interested in supporting me, please head over to the kickstarter page. To those that have backed it already, thank you!

There's way more info on the kickstarter page as well, so if you have questions, you might want to look there first or check out this thread on the MAXboard.

Thanks everyone! -Michael

I ran into the following post at RCGroups which describes a potentially critical error condition with the 3DR power module.

I cannot verify the claims but at least they appear well founded so I'll leave it to the tech guys to comment on that.

Post URL: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24505558&postcount=2048

Post by jabram:

These folks over at DIY Drones did not mess with the pins
http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/ap...ment%3A1044651

They did experience a spike when disconnecting Lipo while performing ESC calibration of all ESC at once.

How does one assemble a multicopter without messing with pins ? CANT BE DONE -

Disconnect Lipo BEFORE messing with any wiring.

Check, double check, triple check you wiring modifications carefully, VERY CAREFULLY before connecting Lipo

DIY Drones Power Module that you have faith in is a primitive amateur design.

I do not recommend anyone use the DIY Drones Power Module.

The switching regulator chip 3DR use in the simplistic amateur design Power Module is only rated at a Maximum input voltage of 18V, The manufacturer of the chip ONLY recommends it for use with a 12V input supply, hence my "amateur" comment, they did NOT read or did not comprehend the datasheet..

It is extremely easy for a Lipo spike when connecting or disconnecting it to exceed 18V, specially when using a 4S Lipo and can also easily occur with 3S Lipo

Back in March Chris Andersson posted about Team Ziphius, who won Engadget's Insert Coin innovation competition with their FPV mobile-controlled aquatic drone. Since June 24 there is a Kickstarter project for the Ziphius.

Ziphius is the first app-controlled aquatic drone that plays augmented reality games and shows autonomous behaviors. A drone that responds to your smartphone or tablet (Android and iOS) commands in real-time. It allows you to see more than meets the eye and take pictures or videos of your aquatic experiences.

Specifications:

• 1 hour play time on a full battery
• 300 feet range
• Upload video's directly to YouTube or pictures to Twitter or Facebook
• Speed: 6 mph
• Equipped with 720p camera
• Always upright
• Adorable

A functional prototype does exist. There are some refinements needed that the team is working on, but they are ready for the next step, Industrial production. Therefore the designers of the Ziphius are looking for $ 25,000 in funds: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ziphius/ziphius-the-aquatic-drone

Not strictly Drone related, but if the weight and power requirements are manageable, the new Kinect sensor from Microsoft could be pretty amazing as a navigation/obstacle avoidance/3D mapping tool. And it can see in the dark and read your pulse rate.

From Engadget:

The new Kinect for Windows sensor won't be available publicly until some point in 2014, but developers can apply for an early, $400 development kit starting right now (due before July 31st at 9AM PT), Microsoft announced today. In that $400, developers (if accepted) will get early SDK access, a pre-release "alpha" version of the device, a final retail version (at launch), and private access to both APIs and the Kinect for Windows engineering team (in private forums and webcasts). Should you get in, you'll find out more come this August.

Some info on the new Kinect are at this page: Unofficial Kinect Info Page

I have to think a bunch of labs are going to jump on this.

2nd test with the gimbal: 2 axis, pitch and roll stabilized by a homemade mechanical gyroscope. Using a GoPro

In this second test, I added another joint so it can move freely in 2 axis as seen in the beginning of the vídeo. The performance was nice although i performed some very aggressive movements.

PS: i didn't use any bearing in joints, it's just a bolt, that's why the vídeo has some vibration. When I correct CG and replace bolts for bearings the performance will improve

Apologies for partly jittery video due to unbalanced props and only 1 axis of the camera gimbal was working.

Custom frame Hexacopter (APM 2.5 and ArduCopter v2.9.1b) flying a pre-planned mission autonomously over water, with full auto mode from takeoff to landing. Flight was performed flawlessly! Kudos to 3DRobotics!

Using FatShark (Attitude SD) Goggles I was able to follow the entire flight with live video streaming. Head-up-display (HUD) via MinimOSD also works perfectly.

NB. Any fellow dutch flyers interesting in setting up a get-together sometime?

First I acknowledge lianpinkoh's post, "Channel Mixing in Turnigy 9XR for Arducopter/Arduplane" as this was the post I started out with.  The method I explain below is only a Modified version of lianpinkoh's that is more taylored towards arduplane rather than arducopter and that does not require the servo cable to channel 7.

Below are the uses for the switches I am using:

This Mixing schedule (shown below) sets up the three switches shown above to do the following:

1.) The switch on the left will return the Aircraft to manual mode(mode 6) no matter what mode it currently is in.  Think of this switch as activating/deactivating the other two.

2.) The Middle switch is a three position switch and will switch between three different modes.

3.) The switch on the right is a two position switch.  This switch changes between one set of three modes and another.

If the left switch is flipped up, the 6 modes are activated as follows:

Mode 6: Middle switch: Down, Right switch: down

Mode 5: Middle switch: Middle, Right switch: down

Mode 4: Middle switch: Up, Right switch: down

Mode 3: Middle switch: Up, Right switch: Up

Mode 2: Middle switch: Middle, Right switch: Up

Mode 1: Middle switch: Down, Right switch: Up

Again, if the left switch is flipped down, the middle and right switches are ignored and the aircraft will return to manual mode (Mode 6 in arduplane).

Connect receiver CH6 to APM CH8 for arduplane.  

Let me know if you have any questions!

The EMC shielding material reduce magnetic interference that is good to ArduCpoter3.0.

Measurement of magnetic interference becomes half by 60micron meter low-loss,high permeability nano-crystalline material.

Without magnetic shield

Magnetic shield applied

Magnetic shield material is Hitachi FINMET low-loss,high permeability nano-crystalline material.

http://www.hitachi-metals.co.jp/e/prod/prod02/p02_03.html

Similar material from 3M™ High Permeability Magnetic Shielding Sheet 1380 will also work.

The aerial part starts at 4:20.  The full list of winners and some more photos are here. 

Using a homemade mechanical gyroscope, i created a gimbal to stabilize my GoPro camera.
In this first test, my gimbal has just one axis (pitch) so if i change the roll angle it will happen the gyro precession (it will not stabilize correctly). Precession is what happens when a spintop is desacelerating and doesn't stay in the vertical orientation anymore.
In the beginning of the video I didn't pay attention to this, but later on, I could move forward and backwards, and the results were interesting! Check it out
Next time i'll try with 2 axis to see what happens ;)

   I like the design, It  flies quite aggressive don't you think?

Cheers