Blogs

Uh oh:

"Both Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV) and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) have been identified by the Department of Homeland Security as a welcome layer of protection for ports and harbors. But insufficient attention has been paid to the potential for attacks by similar unmanned systems that could be built cheaply to easily penetrate port defenses. So says Dr. Mark Patterson, director of Autonomous Systems Laboratory at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science [shown].

Patterson focused on the threat of DIY maritime unmanned vehicles in a morning presentation at day two of the AUVSI 2011 Symposium at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. He says that sites like diydrones.com and robot competitions show that very sophisticated platforms can be built with limited resources.

“The bad robots are coming," said Patterson. "It’s the logical outgrowth of what you can buy off the shelf.” And it is made more likely by the rapid development of subsystems that can be used to build unmanned vehicles, he said."

I have never had a major crash (except some stupid nosedives) until today.

After the first waypoint ArduPilot suddenly decided my EasyStar was to high, and before I could recover control it disappeared behind some tress.
It was quit a loud bang when it hit, whatever it hit.

Lucky it wasn't dead, so I could track the plane from the sound of the engine.

So after walking about half a mile I found it neatly placed about 50 feet into the air, utmost on a branch:

First I climbed a ladder halfway up into the tree, and tried to free climb, but I just could not reach it.

I work as a linesman (I believe Americans call it that? Climbing in poles and maintaining the electric grid and so on.). So I drove all the way to work and back (1 hour drive) to get my climbing gear, some rope and a chainsaw.

Then I had to climb the neighbouring tree, and from there I tried to throw a rope around the branch the plane was wedged in. Finally, after almost an hour high above the ground I got it down.

Luckily I didn't need to use the chainsaw, which I would. Leaving the plane was not an option, even if the falling tree would have crushed it.

Amazingly, there are some minor dents here and there, but that's the only damage. The tail section has come a bit loose, but some glue and she is up flying again.

So, it turns out my major crash wasn't so major after all, only a lot of work and sweat.

I found this super light (4 gram) mini OSD on the Hobbyking site. Price is only US$ 8.95 and maybe lower if your are long time member of Hobbyking.

Super Simple Mini OSD 

Easy to install and configure the Super Simple Mini OSD connects directly between your cameras video out and the transmitters video in. 2 Super Simple Mini OSD units can be used together to display voltage for up to 4 individual 2~3 Cell Lipoly batteries.

Features:
Voltmeter & Stopwatch
Double Voltage Input (Up to 4 voltage inputs, requires 2 x Mini OSD units)
Programmable Display Content
Supports NTSC & PAL

Specifications:
Weight: 4g
Dimensions: 51 x 18 x 8mm
Working Voltage: 7.2~12v

More infomation at the hobbyking site: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=19369&aff=132929

I thought I would show some pictures of my Skywalker plane setup.  My Skywalker is the default from FPVFlying.com. 45A esc with what appears to be a Moxie motor (no id on it). I built a wooden frame to be able to transport the UAV without having to worry about it falling over and breaking the Elevator off.  Don't expect much, its just a piece of plywood with some scrap 2" X 4" pieces.

Here my plane is nice and secure.  Also you will notice this also provides a great way not to loose your rubberbands.

Tail Feathers all nice and secure as well.

I cut out the side door slot and used Extreme Packaging Tape (3M) to create a nice hinge (inside and out).  The door remains shut on the right side because of a set of magnets purchased from Radioshack,

Here is the door open... (overlook my jagged cutting of the styrofoam).  And people thought there would be no need for Popsicle sticks in 2011!

And of course, the star of the show.... Introducing the Ardupilot Mega and its Beautiful IMU (called the oilpan).  For those that don't know, the IMU measures movements of the plane so that the computer (Mega) can correct course and attitude... ok that was simplistic but you get the picture.

In the nose I have the Xbee. This is a Transciever that allows the Ardupilot Mega to send information to the ground with all of flight dynamics to be displayed and/or recorded during flight.  Also, Configuration data can be sent to the plane on the fly... such as a new GPS waypoint to travel to.  Pretty nice huh?

Thanks,

Peter J. Fischel

Flying dirty in our neighborhood. You wouldn't believe the amount of people that are hidden in houses sometimes ... they all came to watch and cheer.

Now that people are using more and more Sonars on their ArduCopters we have seen a lot of different reports on behavior of sonars when they are close to main electronics. Also there has been mounts made from plastic spoons and knives.. We decided to make a bit more elegant mount for it.

Mount can be mounted on which ever arm and it can hold both LV and XL Maxbotix Sonars. It is made from PolyCarbonate so it dampens vibrations automatically.

It needs minor finetuning and after that it will be put on store. All earlier mounts still stay on store as they work great too, this is for users who want/need to move sonars out from main frame.

Same mount from bottom view.

Mount places Sonar as far as possible from the main electronics and also motors/propellers and this way provides best most silent area for it to work.

This mount can be used on Tris, Quads, Hexas.

Will the final mount look like this... We shall see :)

Next in our Meet the Developers Series is John Arne Birkeland, who along with Olivier Adler, who you'll meet next, leads our PPM encoder team.

The PPM encoder is a bit of software you never hear about, mostly because it works really well in the background converting RC signals into something it's easier for a microprocessor to use.  It's the software running on APM's Atmega328 secondary processor, and it also serves as the board's failsafe.

APM currently uses a derivative of the original Paparazzi PPM encoder code, but John Arne and Olivier found that it didn't handle certain radios and channels above four well, so they rewrote it (it's here--they're still looking for beta testers!)

More importantly, they've also written a brand new PPM encoder for the Atmega16u2 chip, which is used in the PhoneDrone board and future DIY Drones products. This is, I'd venture to say, the best PPM encoder ever written, and will make these products rock-solid in handling RC signals from all sources.

Over to John Arne!

Name: John Arne Birkeland

Home: At Karmøy, an island located at the west coast of Norway.

Hi all friends .

This new Open Source case for Ardupilot Mega & GPS module & Receiver module & Telemetry module & Airspeed module .

Telemetry module = Xbee Pro 900MHz

GPS module = GS407 U-Blox5 GPS 4Hz

Receiver module = Hitec Optima 9

Airspeed Sensor = MPXV7002DP

Assembly Animation :

Download Clip 1 (1.59 MB)

Download Clip 2 (1.67 MB)

Mass properties :

Mass = 61.75 grams
Volume = 382.15 cubic centimeters
Surface area = 1940.78 centimeters^2

Center of mass: ( centimeters )

    X = -1.69
    Y = -1.59
    Z = -7.44

Principal axes of inertia and principal moments of inertia: ( grams * square centimeters ) Taken at the center of mass.

     Ix = (1.00, 0.02, 0.01)       Px = 891.24
     Iy = (0.01, 0.00, -1.00)       Py = 2488.92
     Iz = (-0.02, 1.00, 0.00)       Pz = 2930.28

Moments of inertia: ( grams * square centimeters ) Taken at the center of mass and aligned with the output coordinate system.

    Lxx = 891.98    Lxy = 32.27    Lxz = 19.30
    Lyx = 32.27    Lyy = 2929.77    Lyz = -1.27
    Lzx = 19.30    Lzy = -1.27    Lzz = 2488.69

oments of inertia: ( grams * square centimeters )Taken at the output coordinate system.

    Ixx = 4469.32    Ixy = 198.80    Ixz = 796.73
    Iyx = 198.80    Iyy = 6526.87    Iyz = 731.40
    Izx = 796.73    Izy = 731.40    Izz = 2822.34

Download All File (4.4 MB)

Created by ZXO003  & SolidWork 2010

ArduCopter user Octivir broke his original frame, so he decided to build a new one using carbon fiber arrows from a department store and 3D printed parts, which has now posted to Thingiverse:

So I purchased an Arducopter Pre-assembled and tested, Something I rarely do. Maybe it was a subconscious action then, that within a week I had smashed it into the ground?

Now I am designing and rebuilding it, testing and learning and really enjoying it. 

Some pieces survived and I had initially thought to design things as a replacement/upgrade. Now I think that would be silly to tell people to "Print these, and buy these 'special' parts", so I am making the attempt to make this frame fully DIY...

I haven't really been documenting the process, but initially it seemed there would be a slight weight savings in the carbon fiber/ABS parts vs the stock arducopter aluminum/acrylic parts. 

Maybe some different construction methods could be used to increase savings?

This is very much a work in progress, but thought I'd get the idea out in order get some feedback and enable collaboration.

Instructions

The goal:

Get some carbon fiber shafts.. Got mine at walmart for $3 a shaft(29 inch, ~8mm dia. arrow shafts), I estimate it will take 6-8 of these, depending on desired frame size..

Print parts.

Use 3mm hardware to assemble nuts and bolts

(Via the MakerBot blog)

All Y6s out there, motor mix changed, there also no more Top/Bottom speed ratio setting (for now).

So check the motors setup on your frames, before and after :) you load new code. 

Today's installment in the Meet the Developers series is Michael Oborne, creator of the awesome Mission Planner. If my memory serves (it's been a couple years), Michael first got involved when he wrote a Xplane interface utility for the original ArduPilot so it could do a hardware-in-the-loop simulation. Today, an echo of that original utility, now vastly improved and enhanced, is the Simulation tab in the Mission Planner.

Michael's superpower is the ability to add any feature or fix any bug overnight. It's really quite amazing. I send him an email with a suggested feature or change before I go to bed in California, and when I wake up the next morning, there a new version of the Mission Planner with that implemented! Plus all the features he's adding anyway.... He may sleep, but we've seen no evidence of it ;-)

Credit also to his partner, Samantha Nelson, who did the lovely redesign of the Mission Planner. You'll be seeing more of that green and gray/white design in some future DIY Drones sites.

Over to him!

Name: Michael Oborne

Home: Albany, a small country town in Western Australia.

Background: IT with general interest in electronics/flying planes and heli’s, which led to quads and UAV’s

We've released APM 2.22, which has a bunch of bug fixes and improvements. MAVLink startup is now much faster and will work even if the hardware fails the calibration test. A bug in the driver for the new 5883 magnetometer is fixed. Various (mostly minor) navigation bugs fixed. MAVLink comms are also improved.

It's now available for download via the Mission Planner. Remember to go through the setup process again after loading (always a good idea after loading new code).

For those who need the source code, it's here. The next version of the code, 2.23, will have full camera control (both autonomous stabilization and point-of-interest following and a full suite of MAVLink commands) implemented.

Meanwhile, the Mission Planner continues to improve in leaps and bounds, thanks to the tireless work of Michael Oborne (subject of the next Meet the Developers post). New features that have been introduced in recent versions include:

• MAVLink logging is now on by default. Every MAVLink connection you make will be logged
• You can record your video! Just right click on the HUD as shown in the image above.
• Quadcopter hardware-in-the-loop simulation now works on both Xplane and FlightGear, just like the plane HIL sim
• Almost all APM and AC2 setup can be done via MAVLink. No need for the CLI switch or DIP switches!
• Lots of other performance and useability enhancements.

I have a spare Mega 1280 where the serial input line is bad.

So how to program it with no FTDI serial0 input ?

Notice the ISP pins in lower left ?? Thats how !

I use a program called eepc that is used to reprogram the er9x R/C TX. It does it via a $14 usbtiny ISP device from Sparkfun. Google for the er9x firmware update.

The Arduino program compiles a hex file you can use with the eepc program.(hold down the shift key and do compile in arduino. See where the hex file ends up and use it for ISP.)

Use the -F override in eepc to program the m1280 chip with m64 setting.

So if your program doesn't need serial0 input, here is the way to program and get arround the blown input pin.

For those of you that are not getting GPS locks, waiting 20mins for a lock or loosing GPS locks, you may want to add this to your list of possible reasons.

An article from CNN Tech: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-05/tech/solar.flare.gps_1_solar-flares-coronal-mass-ejection-solar-cycle?_s=PM:TECH

We're the peak of the 11-year solar cycle, so double-check your GPS, and watch where you're going.

On Thursday, the sun unleashed a massive solar flare (see video of the flare and how its effects have been moving toward Earth). Solar flares can disrupt radio communications, including devices that use Global Positioning System technology, such as cell phones, airplanes and car navigation systems.

So if you're relying on your GPS for driving directions, to find your location on your phone's mapping tool or for any other purpose, have a backup navigation system handy, such as a printed map.

Even more important, pay close attention to where you are and where you're going. Don't rely solely on your GPS to give you directions.

In 2006, research from Cornell University proved that solar flares can cause GPS devices to lose signal. This can cause these devices to temporarily misrepresent your location or otherwise malfunction.

"If you're driving to the beach using your car's navigation system, you'll be OK. If you're on a commercial airplane in zero visibility weather, maybe not," said Paul Kintner Jr., head of Cornell's GPS Laboratory. In fact, the Cornell researchers warned in 2006 that 2011 would probably see lots of GPS disruption.

In addition, solar flares can disrupt power systems.

This week, National Geographic reported: "Under the right conditions, solar storms can create extra electrical currents in Earth's magnetosphere -- the region around the planet controlled by our magnetic field. The electrical power grid is particularly vulnerable to these extra currents, which can infiltrate high-voltage transmission lines, causing transformers to overheat and possibly burn out."

Across the nation, electric utilities and grid operators are preparing to respond to such problems.

John Bogdan, director of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, told The Associated Press that a number of such blasts is expected over the next three to five years -- and the biggest flares are yet to come. On a scale of one to five, he likened this week's flare to "probably a two or three."

This week's flare (called a "coronal mass ejection") registered M9.3 on the "Richter scale of flares," about the highest level in the "medium" category. Larger flares that fall into the "X" category can cause global radio blackouts, but large M-class flares also can cause radio disruptions.

This is one of a series of recent bouts of severe space weather, as the solar cycle approaches solar maximum in 2013. Other major flares came in February and June, and more may follow. A good place to follow solar activity is SpaceWeather.com.

In the meantime, keep those maps handy.

One of the best UAV platforms if you're a decent RC pilot is the HobbyKing Skyfun. Loads of room inside, and it's easy to distribute gear in the cockpit so the center of gravity stays right. It also handles the wind really well.

I had a great day flying with it today, and tuned the APM PIDs pretty well for the frame (I turned down both pitch and roll P's a bit). Here's a sample of the RTL circle with a pretty stiff wind. Not bad!

The Skyfun config file is now posted in the manual's config repository. You can load it via the Mission Planner.

well the folding frame is done. i am currently waiting on the glue to dry on the motor mount/ nacelles, but the frame is done and folds perfectly, i made the arms a little longer then i first intended. i am hoping to get a little more stability out of it this way, the distance from motor shaft to CG is 600mm, giving a total diameter of 1200mm, yes this is a big Y6, and a Y6 that should have plenty of power, the motors i am using are the avroto 2814 @770 KV. as i mentioned in my last post, what i have not mentioned yet is how much static thrust they deliver, with the 12x3.8 CF props. in independent  testing these motors developed 60.3 oz of thrust, and 423 watts of power at 14.8v, the ones on my tricopter will pull a huge amount of weight, at the expense of flight time that is, so i think that 6 of these should be able to lift the 3D cam i like to fly with as well as an SLR or video camera. the frame is very light and very strong it folds open and locks into place with little CF spring tabs on each side of the frame box, each motor nacelle has a 3 led nav light mounted in it, in red, green, and white, as well as having a very small zeon strobe on the belly. 

i like3 the idea of all the parts and pieces being enclosed on a multirotor aircraft, it just looks more finished than having wires and components visible. and enclosing the motors makes sense to me for the same reasons.

this frame will mount to a flat sheet of CF that will then have all of the avionics attached to it like ESC's RC radio Rx, video Tx, main control stabilizer etc.. as well as providing a place to mount the battery and  all of this can then be enclosed in an egg shaped body giving a very nice slick aerodynamic shape to the whole aircraft.

the pictures i have attached will give a good idea of where i am heading with this

Cheers

Heino, Jeff E and myself have been working on updating Ardustation code to support Arductoper 2.

I think our code is ready for general use.

- Automatic antenna tracking, tested with ReadyMadeRC Antenna pan/tilt unit (even had my ContourHD cam attached to the directional antenna!)

- Manual antenna tracking (aka Antenna Test)

- Edit/View AC2 Params included PIDs

- Flight data display

Credits to Phillip Anthony Smith for updating Ardustation to support Mavlink (ArdustationPS).

Source code is available here

http://code.google.com/p/ardustation-ii/

I met up with martin today (buildyourowndrone.co.uk) to take some video of my Arducopter Traditional Heli and his Quad.

I have got rid of all the wobbles and oscillations, After a few days of talking to randy, he made some changes to the code in the trunk (svn?) you will have to excuse my ignorance. I uploaded it and could see that the changes he made had drastically reduced the swash plate jitters.

I am now only working on the stabilise mode just so that i can get near to setting the full gps hold.

The swash plate is set for full 10 degree cyclic, and the collective pitch is +10 - 10 which gives really good control, as much as i would normally run in my other Helicopters. When flying you will see that when i come hard off the cyclic there is a small bounce but nothing to worry about as the swash levels itself. I think even in a steep dive the APM would level it with no problem at all.

So the next job tomorrow is loiter mode (gps + altitude hold). 

To any one who is thinking of using the APM in a Engine helicopter, i would have no problem fitting it, just make sure you use gyro pads to insulate the viabrations. I'll be installing one into my SpectraG camera ship.

Martin brought his Quad to the field, i was really impressed with how it flew in the windy conditions.

I may well have to invest in one once my helicopter is finally sorted out.

Thanks to Randy for all his hard work with the code and also to martin :)

Finished movie:

 raw footage: