Sorry to see this. It was a beautiful bird (see below). It used the AttoPilot autopilot.
From the team's Twitter feed:
We had an RC Lockout in Maunal Mode at 25M AGL while coming into land on Saturday. More photos on the website soon :(
Moments before:
HI, I was busy at Christmas and didn't do anything on the Uav, so yesterday got into it and got the 2nd wing glued and mounted the rear wing tubes.
richie
From Hackaday:
[Jouni] sent in his quadrocopter build that was inspired by the Japanese spherebot we caught earlier this year. [Jouni] used a carbon fiber frame to prevent the copter from bumping into things. Other things bumping into it are another story entirely.
Flying over the Hoover Dam with a custom-made Quadcopter. Entertaining the tourists until the po-po takes over. All in good fun, though, especially since we asked for permission.
Not sure if it was posted before, looks it wasn't. Enjoy.
(Click the picture for the Youtube video)
Some onboard video taken from my quadcopter in the Kalahari desert, South Africa, bordering the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Sorry not GoPro quality and there's no sound.
Separate Mediatek GPS's on both ArduPilot Mega and the Remzibi OSD. A Hobbyking 420 TVL camera provides the video sent back to the ground via a BOB Fox 700 1.2GHz transmitter. Radio is a Hitec Aurora 9.
Some FPV videos to follow when I get to edit them.
Software is v2.3, with PID's fairly high.
And yes, that is a "kalahari-ferrari" in the beginning
This voltage protector offers 3,300,000 uF of energy storage in a small and lightweight package.
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more powerful multicopters bring us the opportunity to use bigger cameras, very big and complex gimbals, and of course big and powerful servos.
a servo, being a motor, needs a big available "immediate" energy, which means high current, when it starts moving.
capacitors are used to store energy for fast discharge application, and most of us know the "voltage protector" devices for RC, which are usually about 10,000uF capacitors that are plugging in the RC receiver and will give more stability and stored energy,
with the latest developments of EDLC (electric double layer capacitors) and high energy capacitor,
the ability to use them in the RC field is now possible.
.
Hi Guys,
My new OpenLRS Rx Multi boards arrived yesterday.
It is most simple quadro system, because controller firmware working into the RC receiver's processor :)
No need to any wiring for sensors or controllers, just plug your ESCs and fly.
Circuit %100 compatible with our other OpenLRS Rx v2 boards and including extra 2 pot, 3 axis Gyro(ITG3205) and 3 axis Accelerometer(ADXL345). I will share the codes and schematics into the product page.
I used modified MultiWii v1.9 on my receiver but you can load other opensource projects that they are using Arduino Atmega328 base. OpenLRS Rx v2 including I2C for sensors, a FTDI port and PWM pins as servo output.
I'm waiting to spring days for flying outdoor and writing some autopilot codes into the board for stabilizing my planes and RTH functions.
Have a nice weekend
Melih
Came across a short article on a new low-cost UAV system:
http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/16/lehmann-aviations-lfpv-uav-packs-gps-autopilot-11mp-cam-1080/
John Robb has a great post which riffs on the Harvard work we wrote about last year on "pop-up fabrication" of micro flyers (shown in the video above).
The FAA currently estimates that there will be 30,000 drones licensed to operate in US skies by 2020. It's a misleading estimate.
Why?
It only counts large, professional drones (and even that estimate is low). It doesn't count all of the small/micro drones operating below ~400ft and at slower airspeeds. How many micro-drones will there be by 2020?
Tens of millions (tens of billions if there is warfare or repression driving it -- and given the problems we are facing, there will be) and they will look something like this (depicted: The Mobee):
How do we get to that number?
Simple. You print them by the sheet.
Here's the latest step in that development. The microrobotics team at Harvard discovered a new manufacturing process that allowed them to go from
- assembling drones by hand a month ago with an 85% error rate to
- manufacturing them by the sheet with nearly zero defects/failures in assembly.
Think about that for a second.
Modern tools for rapid prototyping are so precise (< 5 microns of error across the entire sheet), cheap (that a small drone lab can access them), and fast (design it on the computer lead straight to manufacturing) that nearly everyone can do this (or will be soon).
Some more detail
One of the manufacturing breakthroughs was the use of folding techniques (ala origami and children's pop up books) and hinges to cleanly assemble a 3D shape from a 2D sheet. Very slick.
Ryan Calo, a Stanford law professor who specializes in the legal implications of new technologies, published an article the Stanford Law Review in December that I've only just now read. It's very interesting and worth reading the whole thing (it's not very long), but here's an excerpt:
There is very little in our privacy law that would prohibit the use of drones within our borders. Citizens do not generally enjoy a reasonable expectation of privacy in public, nor even in the portions of their property visible from a public vantage. In 1986, the Supreme Court found no search where local police flew over the defendant’s backyard with a private plane.[5] A few years later, the Court admitted evidence spotted by an officer in a helicopter looking through two missing roof panels in a greenhouse.[6] Neither the Constitution nor common law appears to prohibit police or the media from routinely operating surveillance drones in urban and other environments.[7]
If anything, observations by drones may occasion less scrutiny than manned aerial vehicles. Several prominent cases, and a significant body of scholarship, reflect the view that no privacy violation has occurred unless and until a human observes a person, object, or attribute.[8] Just as a dog might sniff packages and alert an officer only in the presence of contraband, so might a drone scan for various chemicals or heat signatures and alert an officer only upon spotting the telltale signs of drug production.[9]
In short, drones like those in widespread military use today will tomorrow be used by police, scientists, newspapers, hobbyists, and others here at home. And privacy law will not have much to say about it. Privacy advocates will. As with previous emerging technologies, advocates will argue that drones threaten our dwindling individual and collective privacy. But unlike the debates of recent decades, I think these arguments will gain serious traction among courts, regulators, and the general public.
You can also read his related essay in the Huffington Post, which also adds the following:
One contributing factor here may be the impossibility of visualizing privacy violations in the modern age. What does a privacy violation even look like? Maybe somewhere, in some distant server farm, the government correlates two pieces of disparate information. Maybe one online advertiser you have never heard of merges with another to share email lists. At most one can picture the occasional harmful outcome; its mechanism remains obscure. This lack of a mental model for contemporary privacy harm makes it hard to inspire judges or spur legislative action.
The introduction of government and private drones into our cities will feel very different to the public and perhaps to the courts. What data there is suggests that Americans are nervous around robots. They may associate drones in particular with violence and the theater of war. The proliferation of drones in our skies could lead to a privacy moment, all of our amorphous fears about new technology watching us suddenly corporeal and immediate.
It is for this reason that I believe drones could end up being good for privacy law. The backlash against their use could unravel long-standing doctrinal presumptions against privacy in public, supporting a mosaic theory of privacy such as that on appeal to the Supreme Court from the D.C. Circuit in United States v. Jones. Moreover, it could cut against the argument that people have no privacy interest in contraband or that there has been no privacy violation as long as a person does not see anything s/he should not. These would become itchy-shirt arguments, no longer feeling quite right.
"Unmanned Drones go from Afghanistan to Hollywood". A few small errors, but otherwise pretty sound. Excerpts:
This past January, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a highly unusual warningagainst the use of drones by real estate agencies. The LAPD sent a letter to the California Association of Realtors, a trade group, warning that Realtors “who hire unmanned aircraft operators to take aerial photographs for marketing high-end properties” were in violation of FAA rules and local motion picture filming ordinances. Users were warned that the LAPD's Air Division intends to prosecute violators in the near future. However, the letter appears to be hot air: Unmanned aircraft flying at heights under 400 feet are currently unregulated by the FAA. [DIY Drones editors note: that's not true.]
What makes the letter even more interesting is that it was written on behalf of FilmL.A., a private corporation that serves as a public-private liaison between the motion picture industry and local government. FilmL.A., which is largely responsible for issuing filming permits, was founded as a result of Los Angeles City and County's privatization of their film permit offices. Amateur UAV aficionados have noted that filming via UAV does not require the costs incurred via a conventional film permit. In addition, FilmL.A. represents crane operators, who have a vested interest in restricting UAV use for motion pictures.
Meanwhile, drone filming for real estate and location scouting continues unabated. Boutique drone firm HeliMalibu specializes in photography and video of luxury real estate properties via drone aircraft. HeliMalibu uses a custom multirotor UAV which is equipped with multiple cameras and flies autonomously. The drone, which looks like an H.R. Giger helicopter, has filmed many of Los Angeles' ritzier neighborhoods. According to The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Miller, HeliMalibu's services were used to sell the Bel-Air home of ex-Architectural Digest owner Bud Knapp, along with the Holmby Hills residence of Paramount CEO Brad Grey. HeliMalibu also provides services to the feature film industry, such as filming car races.
California-based Air Drone Productions, which advertises its work on reality show Gene Simmons' Family Jewels and Disney's Road Dogs, has a 45-minute battery life “Cinema Flyer” UAV drone aimed the film industry. The drone has multiple camera setups and a one-mile video transmission range.
....
Another manufacturer, German firm DroidAir, specifically targets the motion picture industry. The company's flagship product, the $6,500 DroidOne, is manufactured in China and targeted at both the European motion picture industry and police departments. Their drone is custom-designed for a stable camera mount and has a half-hour flight range.
The FAA has sporadically persecuted firms engaged in filming via UAV. One company, MI6 Films, which provides commercial aerial filming services, was apparently issued a spoken cease and desist order by the FAA. Users on industry bulletin boards have also reported similar troubles.
For UAV operators, however, domestic drone use is poorly regulated, and the possibilities are hypothetically unlimited. Drones that perch on building ledges can be used by private detectives and crusading magazines/blogs alike. UAVs mounted with cameras for low-flying aerial use can just as easily be used by legal forensic teams or location scouts trying to figure out the next Law and Order spinoff. FAA regulations for commercial, non-military or police drones are widely expected to be issued this year. Informed observers believe the FAA will formally approve six U.S. test sites where drones can share airspace with other traffic without the need for special permits. That strange new sci-fi world of camera-equipped, pilotless planes swooping through the air? It's here.
It's done. U.S President Obama did sign the bill for full integration of UAS into the national regulatory framework by Sept. 30, 2015. Small UAS (under 25kg) will be cleared to fly by mid-2014.
Some reactions already: http://www.examiner.com/libertarian-in-west-palm-beach/presidential-candidate-concerned-over-u-s-drone-program-within-america
Read more on that matter on Diydrones:
- http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/transponders-shrinking-to-meet-faa-drone-demands
- http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/congress-passes-uav-bill
Note: This video is available in 1080p. Use it!
I finally have an update on the object tracking software I started back in these two posts:
http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/object-tracking-working-on-mission-planner-integration
http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/object-tracking-proof-of-concept
Here is whats new:
1. Added support for the Pololu Maestro USB Servo Controller (Thanks Chuck!)
2. Added tunable PID controller that takes the X/Y error and converts it into an output for the USB servo controller
Todo:
1. Add zoom (this will be tricky)
2. Add option to select either 360 degree servo or regular fixed position servo
3. Test outdoors with real tripod mounted gimbal
4. Polish up the UI and provide a beta copy to you guys!
It is coming along nicely! I am really happy with the software so far. As soon as I have a field test I will post another video. Also, I am still planning on integrating it into the mission planner. Time has been scarce (it always is).
Anything you would like to see? Just leave a comment.
_____________________________
Adam Rivera
I met some new industrial robots in the flesh at ATX West (Automation Technology Expo). Nothing particularly groundbreaking here, but the speed and dexterity of the latest generation is remarkable (many were too fast for my phone's camera frame rate). There were a ton of these 4 and 6-axis delta robots (ones with 3 skinny steel arms). Also saw the very cool Festo adaptive gripper (first clip holding Cadbury egg) and some giant 3D printers. Like a kid in a candy store.
Last Thursday, February 9 was dedicated to the Day of Science in Russia. I was invited on meetup to present ArduCopter project. There were journalists from television, some of them were really interested in quadcopter, therefore, they made a small report. Unfortunately, I had to speak in Russian, but, I hope, you'll catch the idea from the video. You can find more videos and photos from this event below.
Here is a short demo in the hall:
This is how my booth looked like:
Flying in Death Valley with the Zephyr and a HobbyKing RadJet. (verbal permission from a ranger on site! normally R/C is banned in Death Valley be sure you get permission!). Death Valley is an amazing place for FPV. The salt flats and surrounding area are pretty challenging RF-wise. We managed to reach 5km, then the video link started to deteriorate. R/C was still within a reasonable safety margin but surprisingly weak too.
From the Times and Democrat newspaper in South Carolina:
A remote-controlled aircraft owned by an animal rights group was reportedly shot down near Broxton Bridge Plantation Sunday.
Steve Hindi, president of SHARK (SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness), said his group was preparing to launch its Mikrokopter drone to video what he called a live pigeon shoot on Sunday when law enforcement officers and an attorney claiming to represent the privately-owned plantation near Ehrhardt tried to stop the aircraft from flying.
"It didn't work; what SHARK was doing was perfectly legal," Hindi said in a news release. "Once they knew nothing was going to stop us, the shooting stopped and the cars lined up to leave."
He said the animal rights group decided to send the drone up anyway.
"Seconds after it hit the air, numerous shots rang out," Hindi said in the release. "As an act of revenge for us shutting down the pigeon slaughter, they had shot down our copter."
He claimed the shooters were "in tree cover" and "fled the scene on small motorized vehicles."
"It is important to note how dangerous this was, as they were shooting toward and into a well-travelled highway," Hindi stated in the release. He said someone from SHARK called the Colleton County Sheriff's Department, which took a report of the incident.
The Colleton County Sheriff's Department filed a malicious damage to property incident report.
The incident report went on to state that "once shot, the helicopter lost lift and crash landed on the roadway of U.S. 601."According to the report, Hindi told the responding deputy the group's remote-controlled aircraft "was hovering over U.S. 601 when he heard a shot come from the wood line. The shot sounded to him that it was of small caliber."The deputy noted in the report that he was unable to speak to anyone at Broxton Bridge Plantation following the incident.
Hindi estimated damage to the drone at around $200 to $300.
Hindi said he will seek charges against those who shot down the drone.
"This was SHARK's first encounter with the Broxton Bridge Plantation, but it will certainly not be the last," Hindi said in the release. "We are already making plans for a considerably upscaled action in 2013."
(Above Assembled jDrones Hexa)
jDrones ArduCopter goes color
Original ArduCopters made by jDrones have been getting several upgrades and upgrades will continue to come as promised. First series of upgrades are new and fine looking Black and also Carbon ArduCopters. Kits are now on packing area and after packing process is ready,order pages will be updated with new options.
On picture above is one of our Assembled Hexa ArduCopter with black and slick look.
Not only Hexa was updated also quad has been going through several changes. Our Quad kits have now too several color options along with different materials. You can have quad in black too and even with colored arms.
If you want even more cool looking birds, don't forget our Carbon frame.
And for people who loves carbon we can provide nice little closeup from central frame. Now that looks cool doesn't it :)
And as everyone knows jDrones high quality frames these all frames follow our original quality packing and cutting requirements that we always been having. You won't receive parts that does not fit, all parts have been manually checked and tested before packing.
There are several other frames coming too on Q1, stay tuned and fly hard but fly safe.
Jani /jDrones
From Makezine:
Forbes blogger TJ McCue sent us a link to this awesome Kinect project with gesture-controls an S107 RC Helicopter. The builder, cdoughty29 on YouTube, writes:
The Kinect detects my hands, head, and hips. This information is translated into X, Y, Z coordinates, processed with some 7th grade Algebra, and then sent to the Arduino Uno over the serial port. The Arduino receives the signal and converts it to a 38 kHz Infrared signal that the S107 can understand.
