Expected early august at http://www.red5.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/1558/s/the-spy-hawk/category/100/
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Suarez's book, Kill Decision (out next week!), is about autonomous swarms of bio-inspired drones and is terrific. If you read and loved his first book, Daemon, as I did, you'll love this one. We had a great talk about real drones and where fiction suggest they may someday go.
Nice work on the concept here, from a French design student.
Early sketches:
(Via Core77)
Lockheed Martin has demonstrated technology in partnership with LaserMotive which can extend the flight time of their “Stalker” drone by 2,400 percent using a ground-based laser and potentially allow the drone to stay in the air indefinitely.
http://lasermotive.com/2012/07/11/successful-48-hour-laser-powered-uas-demonstration/
I decided recently after getting a chance to operate an Aeryon Scout that I would like to have a Quad UAS of my own. I have started my build of an H-Quad. The same design that was posted recently from FliteTest.com. It looked to be an easy frame to build and is essentially a X-formation Quad. Here are the preliminary photos and a list of parts. Since this is my first Quad build I would love to get as much input as possible. Thanks
Frame: Scratch Built H-Quad Frame
Motors: Turnigy D2836/11 750KV Brushless
ESC: Hobbyking SS Series 35-40 Amp ESC w/ 3 Amp BEC
Prop: x2 CC 11x4.7 and x2 CW 11x4.7
APM: APM 2.0 running Current ArduCopter Firmware.
Here are some pictures of th
e frame.
RECOVERED !!!
The balloon is in the air as we type. @ 40,000 = ft.
Check out call sign ke5vsh-1 on aprs.fi website. You can track the progress in real time from 15:30 GMT 9:30 AM MST
Earl
7-13-12
The webpage of owni.eu have published a excellent article with a lot of details about non common uses of drones.
Drones maked by hackers are taking the skyes for multiple porpouses: Wireless Aerial Surveillance Platforms, Occucopters, 3d printed drones, Journalism labs, eco-drones & drones for peace.
As I was going over my portfolio tonight, I noticed this presentation which I gave for my Technical Writing class at BYU. I figured I should post it here for any insights it may bring for others. Presentation attached below as a pdf.....
Two-thirds of new robotics startups are in the United States, according to research by the Robot Report.
These start-ups appear to be clustering in the Bay Area (Silicon Valley) of California, around Boston, Pittsburgh, Tokyo and Stockholm - all of which correspond with the locations of notable government or university-sponsored robotics research facilities, and in and around New York City. Each of those areas have ongoing entrepreneurial assistance programs for technology projects and provide nurturing and social get-togethers with prospective investors and fellow inventors and roboticists.
Note, however, that this is by no means a comprehensive list due to limited resources by the Robot Report, and may be biased to reflect English-language companies, which may have been easier to find. Also note that this is just startups: larger companies, such as our own 3D Robotics, have been graduated to the list of established firms (we're in the service robots for personal and private use category).
Frank Robe, the editor of the Robot Report, acknowledges the limits of the research and invites people to help make the list more complete:
Many other young robotic companies have pushed beyond the start-up phase into one of our other directory categories shown below. And many more are missing because they are too stealthy to have a web or social media presence just yet or are in a language that is difficult to search and translate. Hence my personal request: if you know of a robotics start-up that isn't included on the map, please send the information to: info@therobotreport.com.
Having imported and build a Hobbyking EPP-FPV aircraft, I would reccomend against UK buyers purchasing from the states since the postage and import duty was more expensive than the model itself and the quality of the kit was below what I expected. However I have assembled it and it has proven to be useful in my exploration into FPV. I have been reading this site now and will soon buy the APM2 autopilot. It seems as if there will not be enough space inside the plane to fit all of the equipment, so I am looking for another platform to house the equipment. I am not aware of any aircraft which is affordable to buy and meets my needs, so I am intending to build from scrach out of foam.
--UPDATE-- We've gotten a great response from the DIY Drones community, THANKS! Due to this, we've decided to do a special 1-week promotion... the TH9x is on sale for $69.95 from now through 7/20!! Anyone who ordered a radio recently from our site will receive a rebate or credit on a future purchase. Thanks again! --
I'm posting today to announce our new 9x DIY Upgrade Kit and reduced pricing on our TH9x radio, but first I want to share my epic love story with the 9x transmitter... the BEST radio for the DIY pilot. Well... it's not an epic story, but I do love my radio... (if not in the mood to read :) skip down to the bottom for links to the radio and upgrade kit.)
When I first got into RC, I immediately was attracted to the 9x transmitter. First, it was the price. You can't beat it. Absolutely the best bang-for-the-buck. Next were all the switches and knobs. This thing didn't look like a toy, and I was quickly realizing I would need quite a bit of functionality for my RC dreams. Then I learned about er9x. Most of you know about er9x, and it's cousin Open9x, but this is what makes the 9x the absolute best transmitter for the DIY pilot! Er9x/Open9x is open-source firmware that you can install on the 9x, replacing the factory firmware. It's written by RC pilots just like us, except they have mad programming skills. I would argue that you can't get the functionality that er9x offers in another radio... at any price. (Well, honestly, some of those ridiculously priced Futaba and JR radios may be pretty sweet, but now I have no need to know.)
The problem is that the radio was not designed to be upgraded by users. At the time, it required soldering six wires to tiny little pads on the mother board. This was not simple and there was a significant chance of ruining your radio. I also had to hunt down the parts and a USBasp programmer which ended up coming from 3 different stores. This took a month or so. Soon after, came the SmartieParts solderless programming board. This was (and still is) awesome. As long as you had a "version 2" motherboard, you could easily attach this board and it provided you an USB port to do all the firmware updating your nerdy self could manage. My brother was getting into the hobby, and I was like..."you HAVE to get a 9x." Hobbyking was backordered so he got one from HobbyPartz, as well as a SmartieParts board. Easy, right? No. The 9x he received was a "version 1" motherboard. It had the same functionality, but it wasn't compatible with the SmartieParts board. Bust out the soldering iron, we did. Did I screw up a microscopic resistor in the process? Yes.
This gave my brother and I an idea. Pilots obviously like this radio because no one can keep them in stock. Based on our trials and tribulations, we knew that far too few people were upgrading the firmware to turn this good radio into an amazing radio. With these two facts in mind, we starting working on a way to make this easy, and keep it affordable. We started an online store called ParkeFlyer (it's a play on my name, Parke), and began offering what we called the Flyer9x. This was a 9x radio fully upgraded with a LED backlight, nice thumb sticks, neckstrap, and of course... er9x installed. It was (is) a great solution, but now we're happy to announce the next iteration of our 9x offering.
Before I get into that, I want to acknowledge that this blog post is mostly an ad for my business. I feel good about posting this only because I really do feel that the 9x radio (with er9x) is the best radio for the DIY pilot. You don't have to buy from us, but regardless, we want to help this community get the most out of this radio.
ParkeFlyer is now selling a 9x DIY Upgrade Kit. This kit includes:
-- The new SmartieParts v2.2 solderless programmerwith LED backlight support. The programmer enables you to plug your transmitter into a PC or Mac computer through a standard mini-USB cable. Once connected it is easy to upgrade your firmware to er9x or Open9x. Additionally you can download model templates and backup your configurations.
-- LED Backlight Kit(white) - Everything you need to add a bright (but efficient) backlight to your 9x LCD panel. This unit is fully compatible with the SmartieParts programmer and the backlight software controls found in er9x and Open9x. Plug-and-play, no modifications are needed.
-- Thumb sticks- CNC milled aluminum and fully adjustable - adds style and feel to your 9x
-- Switch coversto color code. We find this helpful to differentiate the switches while concentrating on flying.
– Neck strap- Always comes in handy, even if it's just having a spare in your flight kit
The 9x DIY Upgrade Kit is for sale at ParkeFlyer.com for $49.95. This kit is everything you need to easily and safely upgrade a 9x. We're working on a video that details the entire process. This video will be released soon.
If you need a 9x, we are happy to say that we have TH9x radios in stock. And the best part is that the price recently dropped to $89.95 for a limited time --UPDATE: Sale $69.95--. This is the best version of the 9x we have found. It is guaranteed to be upgradable with our kit and it also comes with a removable transmitter module, making it super easy to upgrade to FrSKY transmitter modules and receivers (which we also sell).
Along with the radio, we have a 9x Battery Kit that comes with a rechargeable LiFe battery, custom adapter cable for plugging it into the 9x, and a custom charging cable as well. Super easy and no "bricking" your radio by accidentally plugging in your modded battery the wrong way.
That's it for the sales pitch. Come check out our site. We've got several other items not mentioned here, and please let us know if you have any questions about anything 9x related. We certainly don't know everything, but we're happy to help where we can. We're relatively new to the DIY Drones community, but I've already learned so much from this. We'll do our best to give back. My first APM2 is on order so I'll soon be getting very familiar tying ArduPilot and the 9x together.
Thanks--
-- Parke
Links:
ParkeFlyer.com
FS-TH9x Transmitter
9x DIY Upgrade Kit
9x Battery Kit
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ParkeFlyer.com
---- Fly Now ----
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“Boca Bearing Company started with humble beginnings as a ball bearing supplier to the Radio Control (RC) hobby market. As the years progressed, we started offering a wider variety of bearings appropriate for use in various different applications from industrial to hobby and recreational uses. Many of the young men and women that enjoyed playing with RC vehicles as kids eventually grew up and went to work in advanced manufacturing industries such as robotics, optics, engineering, applied physics and other hands-on fields,” said Allen Baum, president of Boca Bearing Company. “These customers took us along with them and helped to expand the company’s product line and focus. Today Boca Bearing Company’s product line can not only be found in RC cars, RC helicopters and RC engines but also in turbine flow meters, unmanned autonomous vehicles, robots, semiconductor manufacturing, MRI machines, packaging equipment and much more. We’ve created this contest as a way to thank our global customers for their commitment to our business and to innovation.”
More here
Jose Augusto Santaella has been doing some great mapping work with his APM-powered Maja. Check out his mosaic gallery here.
Sounds like fun if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area!! These are the same people who got held by airport security when they tried to bring quadcopters into the UK.
Join Liam Young (AIR ’11) and Kate Davies of the nomadic design group Unknown Fields Division as they take up temporary residence at Headlands. Employing contemporary surveillance technology to map the post-militarized Marin Headlands, the group will hack the landscape to imagine extraordinary futures.
Collaborators assembled from the worlds of art, architecture, and technology will guide sorties across diverse local terrains. Laser-scan forests using hi-res, long range optics; deploy infrared night vision cameras to peer through the mist; and build a fleet of drones to map from above. In these shifting fields of nature and artifice, participants will re-examine preservationist attitudes toward the natural world, the ecologically fragile, and the technologically obsolete.
Workshop Dates
Program Session: September 7-September 12, 2012.
I've been using a Skywalker for taking aerial maps. By destroying my previous camera, I've learned two things:
1. Protect the camera lens from dust upon landing
2. Protect the camera from batteries during rough "landings"
So I've come up with the solution in the video above.
It works incredibly well! A sample of a stitch while using the system:
Click here for the full-resolution (14MB) image: http://www.cde.co.za/share/Stitch2.jpg
Compared to Google Earth:
Fun with drones!
They're not drones, but we love 3D printers here, too. The Columbia Aerodrome team has designed a load of lovely historic models for 3D printing on Shapeways.
From Hackaday:
The XBee Handheld Controller may be just the ticket to remotely control any project that comes off your workbench.
This isn’t the first remote controller we’ve seen that does just about everything, but it is the first one to include an XBee wireless transceiver to easily interface to your robotics project. The controller comes in two models, the Q4, which uses four Playstation-like joysticks, and the Q2, which uses proper remote control gimbal joysticks. Both the controllers have a slew of buttons, toggle switches, four rotary pots and a 2×20 LCD display.
After the break you can check out [Paul]‘s pitch explaining what these controllers can do and showing off a hexapod robot under the control of his Q4 controller. A very neat project, and we can’t wait to see this controller out in the field.
As is customary and traditional, we celebrate every new 1,000 members here and share the traffic stats. This time it's 27,000!
There were 1.4 million page views this month, tied for our record. It took us less than four weeks to get this latest 1,000 members--we're averaging about one new member every 40 minutes.
Thanks as always to all the community members who make this growth possible, and especially the moderators who approve membership applications and blog posts and otherwise answer questions and keep things ticking here. We've got about 60 moderators now, but if anyone would like to join this group, please PM me. If you've been here for a while and have been participating, you'll fit in great.
Hi all,
I created a new group for spanish speakers in DIYdrones, some times in Spanish the terminology is quite different, or we can not explain very well technical things in English and we need some space for discussions...
So, Spanish speakers, Welcome!
