Finally I could adjust the settings. As a 3D plane P settings Servo Servo Roll and Pitch were adjusted upward.
Por fin pude ajustar la configuracion. Por ser un avion 3D los ajustes de P en Servo Roll y Servo Pitch fueron ajustados hacia arriba.
Es muy agil en la respuesta. Ya he volado ESTABLIZE, FBW-A,RTL y AUTO.
ARDUPILOT MEGA + OIL PAN. GPS y XBEE PRO S2, 2.4 mhz. Radio Futaba 9C,,72 mhz, PCM.
Bateria 1800 mah, tiempo de vuelo 8min.
El equipo queda muy bien instalado en la cabina.
Nothing too crazy, just a simple test of my stock Easy Star's performance. The 7.4v 1200mha battery and the 450 Brushed motor kept it in the air at 3/4 throttle for just over 14 minutes. It was a very windy day, with steady winds 5-7mph and a few gusts of over 15mph.
Next episode I'll see how high I can fly it!
The MTP3 is almost done, just waiting on some electronics to come in the mail. Then I'll be able to see what my own creation/ LiPo/ Brushless can do compared to one of the best kits I've ever flown.
Not that great of video, but you get the idea.
There is a better view at 1:02
No tail, just flapping wings, dressed as a real bird but fitted with a camera, costing $4 million. The new leading edge technology in spy drones recently unveiled and developed by a California company AV for the Pentagon. It can maintain a steady hover in gusts of wind, propels forwards, sideways and spins. Weighing only 19 grams and with a wingspan of 16 cm it is the smallest ever spy drone yet announced. It is described as an observation and surveillance platform capable of providing video feed from inside the building, and can fly indoors or perch on a window ledge.
Hooray, got to the point where I've got APM set up and in a plane (Hawk Sky). Now I need a bit of help diagnosing a flight problem.
I took off and got some altitude, and then flipped into stabilize mode. As you can see from the video, as soon as I did this, the plane started spiraling down and to the right.
I brought the plane back in and recalibrated gyros, but still couldn't get it to work.
Any advice appreciated!
Update: As noted in the comments, I had the ailerons reversed.
Revised ground test and setup notes here.
Following that, here's what I did to reset and try again.
A year and a half after its first autonomous flight, the gluonpilot finally has a powerful ground control station.
It borrows functionality of both the paparazzi ground control station (navigation blocks) and micropilot. Mission planning can be done before flight, but can still safely be modified during flight. Also included is a new configuration window that hides most of the advanced features, and allows newbies to configure their Gluonpilot in just a few minutes.
Read more about this in the announcement post.
Hot off the wires (needless to say, ArduPilot will be part of this. 32-bit, 100Mhz, yum!):
Atmel and Arduino Collaborate on
AVR and ARM-based Development Platforms
San Jose, CA, September 16, 2011 – Atmel® Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML), a leader in microcontroller and touch solutions, and Arduino, the leading open-source electronics prototyping platform and community, announced they are collaborating on several development boards usingAtmel AVR and ARM-based microcontroller (MCU) products. The new easy-to-use Arduino boards use several Atmel products including the Cortex-M3-based SAM3U MCU, ATmega32U4 and AVR UC3 MCUs.
Arduino is an open-source, community-based prototyping platform that offers accessible hardware and well-documented software to electronics enthusiasts. The community encompasses artists, designers, students, kids, hobbyists and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments. Committed to offering the shortest learning curve, Arduino has developed several boards featuring Atmel’s AVR and ARM-based MCUs leveraging its complete, flexible software and hardware environments.
Atmel and Arduino will be demonstrating several platforms in the Atmel-sponsored Arduino Pavilion including:
“Arduino is a grass roots community that has been working with Atmel AVR products since its inception,” said Massimo Banzi, founder of the Arduino Community. “We are thrilled to use Atmel’s ARM-based products for the first time in our latest development platforms. The new boards, based on the Atmel SAM3U ARM-based MCUs, include a complete, flexible eco-system that provides our community of developers with access to the most sophisticated, yet easy-to-use platforms for designing innovative and fun electronics devices,” Banzi concluded.
“We are excited to be a sponsor of the Arduino Pavilion at the Maker Faire,” said Alf Egil-Bogen, chief marketing officer, Atmel Corporation. “The Arduino community reaches a large group of university and hobbyist communities focused on developing new designs. We’ve seen this community grow from grass roots to a well-established organization of true enthusiasts and hobbyists. We are excited to work with Arduino on a variety of different projects in the future.”
I've final finished setting up the worlds first (to my knowledge, and until proven otherwise) ArduPlane F22 Twin EDF with thrust vectoring, flaps, slats, and retractable undercarriage. It flies using delta wing mixing. With 6S 4000 mah.
Take off weight: 2.0 kg
Max thrust: 2.5 kg
Pre-flight complete, with Manual, Stabilize and FBW modes currently programmed. This should make this aircraft easier to fly. With a huge elevator on the back I might have to reduce the pitch PID substantially.
More goodness from the engineers down the hill from me at UC Berkeley. The quad can see and catch ping pong balls! Life is good if you've got a Vicon motion caption system and an Ascending Technologies quad (ie, a big research budget).
From IEEE Spectrum:
This technique is called LBMPC (that's Learning Based Model Predictive Control), and you can see it in action when the quadrotor needs to move sideways to catch the ball, as it figures in the fact that it's going to drift a little bit after it cancels out its lateral movement. Clever.
Due to the recent shift from a Subversion to a Git repository, you'll need to use the latest versions of the Mission Planner to ensure that you'll be able to get the latest ArduPlane and ArduCopter firmware. Versions from 1.0.67 up will pull from the correct Git repository.
Google Code has currently got a file download glitch, which they're working on. So in the meantime, I've put the latest version of the Mission Planner (1.0.68) in a public DropBox folder here.
UPDATE: The regular Google Code repository is now working again.
Once Google has got the download issue fixed, the Mission Planner will be available in the download section as usual.
First flight today in full manual mode with a brief session on stabilization mode. Plane: Slowstick - short wings, spinning 8x8 carbon prop, rudder elevator only.
Autopilot: Ardupilot mounted on stick in box from Bask Aerospace.
Ground Station: APM uploaded lastest firmware and using xbee link for comms to laptop.
Flight Report: Like all good flights it went well until the plane flipped onto its back and then I throttled back and waited for the hard landing / crash. Slowstiks are not good inverted is all I have to say not possible to recover from low altitude as I was setting up for a landing.
Flight Data: Mavlink worked well, captured data plays back on APM planner.
Things to do Now: will investigate flight data to see if it was an autopilot input or just the wind.
Satisfaction Factor: 7/10
richie
Picture above: Wind Tunnel Testing anyone? its not really for my planes but I get to work on some interesting stuff - I own and run a test laboratory here in brisbane.
I was looking for audio system for my car and came-across very interesting hardware from Dension !!!
The Dension WiFi RC is a plug & play wireless RC receiver.
It allows you to control your RC car, boat, tank, construction machine or any other RC vehicle with your iPhone using WiFi. The iPhone application, available for free in the App Store, lets you drive with on-screen joysticks or by tilting the phone, while watching the real-time video stream coming from your vehicle.
You can quickly access 8+4 channels of output, adjust the sensitivity and trimming, just like on a professional transmitter.
The Dension WiFi RC adds a brand new, high-tech and fun way to drive your RC models.
Features:
- 8 PPM output channels for Servo or ESC control
- 4 digital outputs (on/off)
- 4 digital inputs (on/off)
- 1 analogue input
- Failsafe function
- Battery voltage monitoring
- Up to 2 digital USB cameras (with an external USB HUB)
- Microphone input
- Speaker output
- Video recording
Compatible with the following devices:
- iPhone 3, 3GS, 4 with iOS4
- iPod Touch
- iPad
- Android*
Technical specs:
- Dimensions: 44 x 28 x 18 mm
- Power supply: 6 – 16V
- Comes with Tamiya power connector
- 266 Mhz ARM9 processor
- 16 MB SDRAM
- 4 MB FLASH
- 2 USB Host ports
- 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Infrastructure and AP modes
- Power consumption:
100mA @ 6V idle,
200 mA @ 6V cam. & WiFi on- Open protocol*
Write your own transmitter application for any smartphone / tablet to control the way you want.- Software SDK*
Add new applications to the embedded Linux operating system of your WiFi RC. No-one has an FTP server on wheels yet :)*Under development. Available via software upgrade in mid-2011.
Get it here 129,00 €
WiRC module
USB Camera
USB WiFi stick
Android App Under development
Looks like, that have some potential . ! ?
DSEi is the world's largest fully integrated security and defense exhibition, or at least that is what the website says. The claim is bold, but with over 1300 exhibitors from nearly 100 countries, the claim looks on paper to be valid. Once inside London's ExCel conference center, you certainly get the feeling that the promotion literature is true; the place is huge and completely packed with exhibitiors, armoured vehicles and display stands.
I have been before and this year a curious realisation struck me: Drones. What had previously seemed like the preserve of the bigger companies like Boeing or LockheedMartin (showing off their remotely controlled/autonomous helicopters and aircraft), is being more and more taken up by the smaller, niched companies as well. UAVs in particular featured prominently, from the large types rivaling the Westland Lynx helicopter parked outside, to micro-sized quad copters and everything in between. Foolishly I had not taken a camera, so I apologise in advance for the lack of quality photographs, but I still had my iPhone, and at least I managed to get some shots!
I'd like to start by talking about quads... Just about every major manufacturer had one on their stand, usually about the same size (call it between 15" and 18" between opposite motors) and all boasted roughly the same sorts of features. Yes, you got GPS and HD video, but the battery life is still only roughly 30 minutes, so the performace is still roughly the same as the ones that people on this site, me included, build ourselves and use. All have the same mission though, to safely observe over the visual horizon, be that a house, a ridge or in woodland.
One company, more usually known for making soldier field kit, showed off a range of three to me, the smallest being a baby FPV version (HD of course) that was barely bigger than my hand. The control unit and two quads fitted neatly in a small daysack and weighed barely anything. Want something bigger? How about one that had two HD cameras (down and forward)? They had that too in a form factor that was not much larger than the peewee version. Need more payload? How about a Y6 with external camera mounts? Apparently they had a bigger one that could lift 9 pounds (!) bt it was too big to fit in their stand.
Ok, so quads aren't your thing. One Itialian company was demoing a roughly 2m flying wing with a gimbled camera mount in the drone arena (it was tethered to the ceiling and transmitting imagery back to the "troops") but I was drawn to a small, black UAV with short, stubby wings. Constructed mainly from carbon fibre, it's weight was low, but it had an endurance of about 2.5 hours. The main draw was it's portability though, as the wings were designed in such a way that they could be rolled around the body allowing the entire UAV to be transported in a three feet long tube not much wider than about five inches, roughly the size of a modern light anti-tank weapon. When deployed, and it flight, it would look like a crow, albeit a fast one!
I also got to meet people from the team that produced the printed airframe that I, and others, posted on here a few weeks ago: 3T (http://3trpd.co.uk). In addition to a "fresh" airframe hanging from the ceiling, the one from the news item was on display in the corner of the booth, running a test program to move the control surfaces in sequence. I asked about the construction and was told that it is primarily bayonet-type fixing, but there are only four sections in total and the control surfaces are built in to the individual sections; no gaps, no joins. If you break a section, you simply print out another and clip it on. Fixing appears to be so last year.
I was actually quite surprised by it, not in the least because the airframe's skin is actually quite rough. I'm used to EPP foam or film coverings and these are by and large quite smooth surfaces, but this was almost furry, like sharkskin. There was no denying the performance though. If you haven't seen the film, please do so. It is a testament to what is capable NOW and a glimpse of what could be possible in the future. (New Scientist Article)
That brings me on to 3D printing. Strolling away from the 3T stand, I saw what looked like printed sections of wings. A quick chat later and I found out that they were single section wings with a square-section honeycomb reinforcment. The wing flexed a little rotationally, but was very solid up and down and weighed almost nothing. The quality was also very good, the only way I could tell it was printed was by the sharkskin feel to it and slight pixellation (for want of a better word) on some of the thin parts of the wing. Given that the wing was about two feet in length, I had assumed that it must be two sections joined, but the printer that had made it could apparently handle component heights of up to 900mm and a maximum width of 900mm. Following the pointed finger, I looked across and saw a pump manifold appearing before my eyes. I've wanted a Makerbot for a while now, but I am going to have to apologise to Maker Industries. I _really_ want that printer. It might look like a cupbard crossed with an oven, but I'm sure I could find a place for it in my workshop!
The big driver for every company I spoke to seemed to be simplicity. The concept of de-skilling the use of these recon vehicles seemed to be at the forefront of everyone's designs. Our own HappyKillmore is doing a good job with the GCS, but soldiers just need a rugged tablet that they can use to both tell the UAV where to go and then display the video back. Controls are more Playstation than Star Trek now, and the unit costs are coming down as the core technology becomes smaller and cheaper. Reapers and their kin might still be the preserve of the military and their friendly nations, but the time of the prosumer UAV is here and, to be honest, I think that there is very little between us and the big boys when it comes to a lot of things. They might have access to newer, smaller technology, or better composites, or faster prototyping facilities, but that trickles down. It's only a matter of time.
Sadly, I missed out on the "My other vehicle is unmanned" bumper stickers that were being given out, but I do have a copy of "Unmanned Systems" magazine to read through.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__19335__Skywalker_FPV_1680mm_ARF.html
Australian scientists have developed a novel autopilot that guides aircraft through complex aerobatic manoeuvres by watching the horizon like a honey bee. Allowing aircraft to quickly sense which way is up. By imitating how honeybees see, engineers and researchers have made it possible for planes to guide themselves through complex manoeuvres with speed deftness and precision.
more from ABC - Catalyst
This is a bit off-topic, but my MakerBots are some of my favorite open source hardware and 3D printers are a cool prototyping tool that we use a lot at 3D Robotics. The New York Times ran a great diagram of how they work today (click for larger size):
The FPVRaptor is an attractive and superbly designed FPV platform with a a host of neat features that make this model one of the best in its class.
For toughness and reliability, the model features a blow moulded fuselage which utilizes Nylon and is virtually indestructable, the flying surfaces are all made from tough EPO foam. From point of view of practicality, the wings are plug in and the model requires no glue for assembly, everything simply screws together. The outer canopy is purely for looks and is used when the FPVRaptor is flown as a glider, it unclips in seconds to reveal a camera ready platform, complete with a pan/tilt servo mounting hole that has been pre-moulded. This large camera platform/wing cover is secured by a quick release latch and once removed, reveals huge canopy area for mounting batteries and FPV equipment onto a pre-fitted ply plate. All servos, motor & ESC are of course pre-installed.
The plug in wings have mouldings for adding flaps if desired and there is also a moulded C of G indicator on the underside of the wing for quick pre-flight checks. There is no doubt that this is a superbly designed, high quality FPV model at an excellent price. It would be fair to say that it is more attractive to look at than most FPV platforms, not to mention much tougher, the FPVRaptor will give the RC Pilot hours of enjoyment for many years to come!
Specifications:
Wingspan: 1600mm
Length: 1044mm
Flying Weight: 950g
Motor: 2812 1400kv brushless Outrunner
ESC: 30A w/BEC
Servo: 9g x 4
Price for this Plug and Fly plane (just add your rc gear, a battery and fpv stuff) is US$ 73.45
More information at http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=18764
I've been throwing around a few ideas for a hexacopter frame and have settled on a aluminum arm and fiberglass plate sandwich type frame (is there a more technical term for it?). The goal is to carry a digital SLR for aerial photography, though I'll work out the camera bits after I get past the basics of just getting it flying. From prop tip to prop tip it will be about 42 inches. The two plates in the middle are about 11.5 inches diameter and will be cut from 1/8th inch thick G10 fiberglass. The aluminum arms are 1 inch with a roughly 1/20th inch thick wall. The props will be 12 inches by 3.8 pitch.
The blue boxes under the arms are the batteries, the red boxes on the fiberglass plate are the speed controllers, the three boxes in the middle are the APM, GPS, and receiver. Bolts will hold the plates and arms together and other items will be double sided tape and probably Velcro for the batteries.
The machine to cut the fiberglass should be functional in a week or two at which point I'll be finalizing the design and cutting out the parts. If anyone is interested I'll document that process (tool selection, creating the code, etc.). Until next time everybody have a good one!
From Robots.net:
The explicitly named “Bioinspired Integrated Multi-Modal Locomotion” is a project of Carnegie Mellon’s University, NanoRobotics Lab. The module use a mechanism with folding bars that are spring loaded via a system of wired similar to a human knee’s tendons. This mechanism is able to rotate lengthwise. Pointing downwards acts like a spring that launch the robot and at its trajectory highest point it rotate and becomes a wing shaped surface that enables it to glide. It is a clever way to use the same thing for two very different purposes. Read more at the project’s website:nanolab.me.cmu.edu/../MultiModalLocomotion/
I've been checking out Upverter, which is a YCombinator startup that's aiming to the the "GitHub for electronics" and open source hardware. So far it looks like they're very much on the right track, with excellent social and workflow tools built into a Web-based schematic editor.
They don't do PCB design yet and the parts library is still relatively small, but it's worth checking out. It would be very cool if they can find a way to be compatible with the new Eagle V6 XML files. That way you could use Upverter as a version control repository/collaboration environment, while still using Eagle's best-of-class libraries and PCB design tools.
Look what showed up in my Google ads! The APM-ready Scout UAV carbon fiber quadcopter frame is now available.
$360 complete with ESCs, motors and props seems like a very good deal.
