Blogs

The hilarious Flite Test crew has a video review of HobbyKing's new Skywalker-style FPV/UAV plane. I've got one on order--it looks good and BIG.

Click through to the description of the video for a full list of the components they used.

From Makezine: "French brand Faiyue is advertising their shoes with this stylized video portraying a make-your-own flying shoes kit."

Just a quick announcement that the ArduCopter project has been boarded by (friendly) pirates! The "ArduPirates" refers to a great group of quad hackers over on RC Groups who have been making many useful additions and fixes to official ArduCopter code. Now that the ArduCopter team has released the "NG" branch as ArduCopter RC2 and is moving on to the next version (code named ArduCopter Mega, or ACM) that's built on the mature ArduPilot Mega codebase, we've asked the ArduPirates to take over further development of NG. They've already made great leaps, and you can expect lot of energy and innovation there.

As ArduPirates NG versions are tested and documented, we'll release them as official ArduCopter releases as zip files on the official site.

So going forward, once ACM is released, there will be two well-maintained codebases to chose from. They'll share the same core libraries, so you can be confident in core functionality. But they have different "flavors" and styles, and hopefully lead to healthy cross-fertilization.

Please see this post by Norbert Machinek (Captain of the Pirates) for more details.

I thought this article might be of interest to this community.  It starts:

"In September 2010 the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC vetted the TransAtlantic Model (TAM) and selected it as an historic artifact..."

The short article (letter, actually, from Maynard Hill) can be found HERE.

Tom Pittenger shared this video demo of how you can fly the UAVDevBoard (or possibly any other autopilot) over the Internet via an Andorid phone.

Here's his illustration of how it works:

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Update Aug 2011:

After a great deal of tests, this option for telemetry did not work for our us, I now have a working telemerty kit option which can be seen here, and you can buy the Telemetry kit from www.buildyourowndrone.co.uk

*********************************************************

The Xbee 868 how ever an older module it still has a great deal to offer and as some of you might remember this post as the original fix there has been a lot of other fixes that came to light hardware (Quick_and_Dirty) and software thanks to James and Noth666 but in A recent post of mine, we discussed the options for the UK and I came upon a new fix that seems simple yet effective enough to get the advantage of the offered 40km range as stated Here.

What you must do is reset your Xbee through the UART, modify the telemetry output to stop for a (guard time) amount of time, send the "escape sequence (+++), wait for another "guard time" and then send the reset command (ATFR). In this case the escape sequence is changed from the default (+++) to @@@ because the telemetry for Ardustation for example contains the +++ sequence and because of this there is great risk of putting the XBee in command mode when you don't want to.

I made contact with Marcus Fahlen and he was kind enough to supply a great deal of information on his work, and work around, the following information & code is the work of Marcus Fahlen, and with his permission I have added it below, I'm at this point where I need help on where and how to implement the code and from which pins, just to make sure

// XBee control functions by Marcus Fahlén

// sends a reset command (ATFR) through the

// UDB telemetry UART.

void xbee_reset( void) ; // This routine runs from the "servoPrepare.c" module in MatrixPilot

// main code directory. There is a flag i "options.h" for enabling or

// disabling the use of this code.

//

// This setup is for the 868 XBee PRO module which has a duty cycle

// of 10% (6minutes continuous transmission). Because of this I have written

// this piece of code that is meant to reset the XBee module at a choosen

// interval. I have done a lot of experimenting with different settings but

// I still have to find one that works 100% (count up to the guard time,

// send the escape characters, count up another guard time and then send

// the reset command. I don't bother to listen for any "OK" to check if

// the procedure was successful. That would demand bi-directional

// control code which I'm not capable of producing at the moment.

//

//

#define XBEE_PRE_GUARDTIME 25000

// XBEE_GUARDTIME : use approx 50000 for the "guard time counter"

// if your XBee is set up fo 50ms guard time.

// I have had greatest success with 50ms guardtime. I'm not sure why,

// but the shorter guardtime the more critical the timing becomes.

// Then again, longer guard times often results in a state where the

// XBee is in command mode but never recieved the reset command?

// This highly unwanted state ends when the XBee command mode "times-out"

// before it returns to "normal" operation. This time-out period is settable in

// the XBee and should of course be as short as possible.

//*****************************************************************************
// XBee control functions by Marcus Fahlén
// As for noe it only sends a reset command (ATFR) through the UDB telemetry UART.
// Hopefully it will be able to perform more sophisticated control functions later
// like output power management based on distance to base station and other circumstances
// that calls for a variation in output power.

void xbee_reset (void) ;

unsigned int xbee_skip = 0 ;
long guard_time = XBEE_PRE_GUARDTIME ; // XBEE_GUARDTIME : approx nnn for 10ms guard time 

void xbee_reset( void)
{
 ////// Skip every other run through this function.
 if (++xbee_skip < XBEE_RESETPERIOD) return ;
     unsigned int delay;
     for(delay=0;delay<guard_time;delay++);     // pre escape sequence guard_time 
         serial_output( "@@@" ) ;     // send escape sequence
       for(delay=0;delay<guard_time;delay++);     // post escape sequence guard_time
     serial_output("ATFR\r\n") ;
     xbee_skip = 0 ;
     return ;
}

// Maybe the reason for the reset routine missing is that it becomes

// "disturbed" by the interrupts running on the UDB? If an interrupt occurs between the

// the time where the "ATTENTION" command is being sent, but before the "reset" command is

// sent, I think causes the "hang state" that I have a lot of trouble with.

// The only thing to do is to calculate the timing need carefully, and maybe disable the

// interrupts all together while the "reset" command is being sent. That would assure that the

// reset is carried out as fast as possible. (50ms guard time times two + the time it takes to

// send the command characters)

//

// Use a command mode timeout of 200ms (ATCT2) which is the shortest possible.

// As described above, there is a chance that the routine "misses" and leaves

// the XBee in a non-transmitting state (comand mode), but it will only last for 0.2sec

// if setup as described. Then the XBee exits the command mode and resume normal operation.

//

// Also change the default escape character to "@" since the the telemtry

// output uses lots of "+++" in its data.

#define XBEE_POSTCOMMAND 10000

www.buildyourowndrone.co.uk

Here is where you can get the info and powerpoint from the recent webinar on the FAA RUlemaking. Seems the AMA is really pushing the "No rules for AMA members and no recreational use without the AMA" line. Seems to me they want to make everyone join the AMA whether they need it or not. The AMA has done nothing to "supervise" model aviation in its entire history so why should the FAA think they will do so if given that power? Sounds more like an AMA money grab to me. The AMA is doing nothing in this process for anyone but the AMA, this is not their NPO tax exempt stated purpose.

 I seriously hate this attitude from an NPO supposedly being the voice for "all model aviation". Guess they need a way to boost their falling membership numbers. Nothing like a monolpoly without rules to make that happen. I honestly hope the FAA will tell the AMA to stick it and give us reasonable rules for all recreational users. IMHO The AMA is little more than an insurance company looking to make more money.

AMAJPO_Updt_12-15-10.pdf

As is customary and traditional, we announce each new thousand members. Now we're at 13,000 members. Growth is continuing to accelerate. We now add an average of one new member every 70 minutes. Given the screening process to accept new members (they have to fill out an admission form and be approved by a moderator, a process that is designed to avoid spammers, which we've been quite good at keeping away), this is not bad at all. At the current rate, we'll break 1 million page views a month by Feb.

Here's a great video buildlog of Nitroplane's new fiberglass and carbon RQ-11 Raven clone (1-1 scale). I've got this kit and it looks very good, a real step up from foam for those who want lots of interior room. My only reservations are what looks like a fragile wing attachment with two screws, and this video review's discovery that it needs six (!!) ounces of clay in the nose to get the CG right.

Been debating whether to chase aerospace jobs in LA or keep doing short contracts in Silicon Valley.  It looks like you're just going to get short contracts these days.  LA looks like the main Aerospace environment but it's quite a move & we've heard horror stories.

Our dumpy apartment was 15 years old when we moved in & now it's 25 years old.  It's the longest we've ever lived in the same place & we've done the 680 commute twice as long as our dad.  It was convenient living next to a golf course for flying & astronomy, but the area has become too bright for astronomy, we reached the limit of what flying can be done on a hobbyist budget, & commuting insane distances to live where you fly was becoming a bit insane.

Our last flight was some skywriting on Sep 26 to test the helical uBlox 5 & the IMU in 6 DOF mode.  Was disappointed in the number of satellites & glitches were just as likely as the patch antenna.

With the IMU in 6 DOF mode, was doing attitude hold flights & crashed.

Attitude hold mode & not position hold is what you want for video.  Unfortunately it seems we've reached the lifespan limit for this airframe.  Tried ordering new motors from hobbyking with the cheapest shipping & the USPS lost it.  $55 gone.  Consider the $30 shipping a requirement.

The last photo of us was on Sep 23.

On Sep 18, flew in attitude hold mode to get closer to the camera. Then switched to autopilot. GPS glitched. PID limits were too high & she flipped over.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Hi Guys

This is my new ground station (and my smiley face)

I'm developing this software since 3 days (yes i know i'm too fast, because this is my job since 20 years)

It's working with my new SimpleOSD telemetry protocol over FrSKY's bidirectional RC modules. Protocol is very simple and it is sending all gps+battery values in 21bytes pack (1bytes deviceID+18bytes data+ 2bytes end of line data).

Features:

• It is OpenSource (under LGPL license)
• Live Video
• Live Google Maps position
• Video Capturing with all compression codecs.
• Data logging and others.

And i will add OpenLRS telemetry support with IMU and other sensors on Alpha version of firmware. Then i'm planning to design a PC based Autopilot system into the ground station. Because PC based programming easier for most of pc programmers.

You can follow my all FrSKY telemetry projects from this link

And this is the google code page of OpenFGS project. http://code.google.com/p/openfgs/

Please contact with me for being  the project member, all developers are welcome.

Thanks for reading

Melih

I Love Robotics has posted an excellent analysis of how the Kinect compares to other SLAM solutions, such as the Neato Lidar and Hokuyu lasers.

Here's an excerpt, but do read the whole thing. It's fascinating:

"The depth image on the Kinect has a field of view of 57.8°, whereas the Hokuyo lasers have between 240° and 270°, and the Neato XV-11's LIDAR has a full 360° view.

In addition to being able to view more features, the wider field of view also allows the robot to efficiently build a map without holes. A robot with a narrower field of view will constantly need to maneuver to fill in the missing pieces to build a complete map.

One solution would be to add more Kinects to increase the field of view. The main problem is the sheer volume of data. 640 x 480 x 30fps x (3 bytes of color + 2 bytes of Depth) puts us at close to the maximum speed of the USB bus, at least to the point where you are only going to get good performance with one Kinect per bus. My laptop has two USB buses that have accessible ports, and you might get four separate buses on a desktop. Assuming you down sample until it works computationally you still have to deal with power requirements, unless your robot is powered by a reactor, and possible interference from reflections to deal with.

Another simpler approach is to mount the Kinect on a servo to pan horizontally, this however reduces the robot to intermittent motion where it is constantly stopping and scanning. Depending on your robot's mechanical design you may be better off rotating the robot."

ArduCopter Beta 2 release

After a long wait we are delighted to finally release our second official firmware for ArduCopter. This code is our intermediate code (code name NG) that is a step towards reconciling with the full ArduPilot Mega framework. The next version (codename ArduCopter Mega, ACM) will be fully compatible. As always, be careful when testing fully new software.

Our development group has been flying this software on many ArduCopters without any problems but still it does not mean that is won't have any bugs, there might be one just behind the corner. Tho we have been trying to nail them all down.

Thank you for whole ArduCopter/ArduPilot Mega teams for this great release.

Always check our latest release notes and test instructions from ArduCopter Wiki pages.

Main new features:

• New architecture. This puts us on the path of integrating fully with the main ArduPilot Mega code, which brings compatibility with all the UAS tools (ground stations, mission planners, datalog analysis, and a full two-way flight command language) that are already in place with the fixed-wing UAVs. As a result of this back-end code migration, you should see full UAV features come to ArduCopter more quickly going forward and rotary-wing development keep pace with the fixed wing versions.

• CLI (Command Line Interface) for easy and quick configuration: The ArduCopter Configurator still works fine but some of tests have been moved only to CLI. The CLI allows people with Macs and Linux to set up ArduCopter without having to run the Windows-only Configurator.

• GPS position hold: This has been tested with MediaTEK GPS that comes along with ArduCopter kits. Expected hold will be around 3-5 meters from activation location. ArduCopter can still be manually flown with position hold on, but it will return to the hold position when you release the sticks.

• Magnetometer support: The DIY Drones magnetometer is now in stock and fully supported.

• Altitude hold: This barometer assisted altitude hold works while user has activated GPS position hold. It is possible to alter altitude even when position hold is on with throttle.

• Easy X and + configuration: You can choose between either X or + flight modes by simply moving a DIP switch. (Note that the APM/IMU must be mounted in the + position, regardless of which mode you're flying in. This may change in future versions of the code, but for now it simplifies installation for most users.)

• Helicopter code: preliminary and flyable code for more traditional helicopters. Code has been tested around world with some Trex450 style copters.

• ESC calibrations for official ArduCopter ESC's

Here's a video of GPS position and altitude hold working:

Quick install notes:

--Download the code and unzip the ArduCopter RC2 folder to your desktop. It will include two folders: "ArduCopterNG" and "libraries"

- Move the libraries folder into your regular Arduino sketchfile folder, replacing the libraries that are already there. Delete all the old libraries folder and copy this one in instead.

- Open the ArduCopterNG.pde file in Arduino and check that the #defines in that file and ArduUser.h meet your requirements. Typically the only one you will need to check are magnetometer orientation (if you're using a magnetometer):

#define MAGORIENTATION  AP_COMPASS_COMPONENTS_UP_PINS_FORWARD       // This is default solution for ArduCopter
//#define MAGORIENTATION  AP_COMPASS_COMPONENTS_UP_PINS_BACK        // Alternative orientation for ArduCopter
//#define MAGORIENTATION  AP_COMPASS_COMPONENTS_DOWN_PINS_FORWARD    // If you have soldered Magneto to IMU shield as shown on the wiki

- Upload software to your ArduCopter electronics

- Run the CLI by changing position of SW2 switch and reboot your APM--towards the servo rails is CLI mode; towards the GPS connector is flight mode. Open the Arduino serial monitor, setting baud rate to 115200 baud and ensuring that "Carriage Returns" are enabled. You should see a command line on the monitor. CLI instructions are here.

- Run and all necessary settings like factory reset and IMU level calibrations along others your might need.

- Make normal flight preparation tests before connecting your propellers

- Fly safe....

Installation and latest information, please do check our ArduCopter and ArduPilot Mega wiki sites for more information.

ArduCopter NG, NG specific details and test procedures

ArduCopter Wiki, for all quad and heli based information and updates

ArduCopter Heli, especially for ArduCopter heli modifications. It is flyable and needs more beta testers.

ArduPilot Mega Wiki, for general electronics related information and also fixedwings

Last but not least, the release code: ArduCopter RC2

The Google Code team reports some good news. (I love that there's a "20% Robotics Task Force" at Google, which refers to the 20% of their time that they're allowed to spend on cool projects that they love):

"Today we announced a fun 20% robotics project that resulted in three ways you can play with your iRobot Create®, LEGO® MINDSTORMS®, or VEX Pro® through the cloud. We did this by enhancing App Inventor for Android, contributing to the open source Cellbots Java app, and beefing up the Cellbots Python libraries. Together these apps provide new connectivity between robots, Android, the cloud, and your browser.

You can start empowering your Android phone with robot mobility by picking the solution below that matches your skill level and programming style:

• App Inventor for Android
  This is an entirely cloud based programming environment where you drag and drop elements into a project right within your browser. The latest features for robots include a low level Bluetooth client for connecting with many serial-enabled robots, and tight integration with LEGO MINDSTORMS. There are seven LEGO components in all, with NxtDrive and NxtDirectCommands used for driving and basic control while NxtColorSensor, NxtLightSensor, NxtSoundSensor, NxtTouchSensor, and NxtUltrasonicSensor are used for sensors.
  
  Also be sure to try out the social components to connect with Twitter, andTinyWebDB for hooking up to AppEngine. All of these can be used together to make your phone a powerful robot brain. 
  
  
• Cellbots for Android
  
  We wanted to offer a flexible application that could drive multiple platforms and support different control modes. To do this we created the Cellbots Java application which currently supports four robot platforms and allows additional robot types and UI control schemes to be added using the standard Android SDK. It is entirely open source and available for free in the Android Market so you can try it out right away. 
  
  With it you can use the phone as a remote control with D-Pad, joystick, accelerometer, or voice control inputs. Then try mounting your phone to the robot in brain mode where you can stream video back to a web browser and make the robot speak using Android’s native text-to-speech. For those of you with two Android phones, we support remote-to-brain mode where you can ask the robot for its compass heading or change the persona on screen. 
  
  
  
• Cellbots Python library
  
  The 20% team got together to create a more modularized version of the popular Cellbots project, which is all open source code. The goal for the Python library is to allow developers an easy way to demonstrate the features on Android phones suitable for robots. There are commands to make it speak, listen, record audio, take pictures, get a geolocation, and of course provide the I/O to the bot.
  
  The Python code is the most flexible in terms of connectivity with support for Google Talk chat over XMPP, HTTP through a relay or direct connection, telnet, and voice input. To use it you just need to install the Scripting Layer 4 Android and enable the Python interpreter. Then copy over the Python and config files to the SD card and script away. 
  
  

We hope this gives developers, hobbyists, and students a head start in connecting the next generation of cloud apps to the world of robotics. Be sure to push your mobile phone’s processor to its limits and share the results with the Cellbots Google Group. Try using Willow Garage’s OpenCV for Android or the new Gingerbread APIs for gyroscopes, enhanced OpenGL graphics, and multiple cameras!"

You know the story: a FPV flier who goes by the handle of Trappy decided to prove something to someone and pulled a stunt in NYC a few weeks ago, filming a flight that went from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Statue of Liberty, and posting and promoting it online. This has generated a huge amount of controversy in RC/FPV/UAV circles. We discussed it here, and suffice to say it was the general sense of most commentators that this was Very Bad: dangerous, reckless and casting our hobby in a very poor light.

The problem is that Trappy, who is actually a very accomplished FPV pilot with many impressive (and usually safe) videos before this one, flew a Zephyr around Manhattan in Class B Restricted Airspace, in the landing patterns of three major airports and far beyond line-of-sight. He also filmed it and sent it to the media, where it was widely shown on national TV. This is not only in violation of FAA rules, but it's also the kind of thing that can ruin it for all of us if legislators take this example as an opportunity to crack down on our hobby.

What should he have done instead? Well, if he wanted an aerial tour of New York City, he could have had a great one on a simulator. Thus the theme of T3, Season 2 Round 1: Synthetic Trappy!

This is a simulator round. It's winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and too cold for many DIY Drones members to fly. That's a perfect time to brush up on your UAV "hardware in the loop" (HIL) simulation skills. It's a great way to test your autopilots and code on the workbench in realistic but totally safe conditions by connecting them to a PC Flight Simulator like XPlane or FlightGear.

Your mission is to do the following: program your autopilot to recreate Trappy's mission and make an autonomously-created video that simulates the one Trappy made, showing the safe way to fly planes around NYC: in a simulator only!

WRONG (Trappy's original video):

RIGHT (A rough simulation of the flight in Google Earth):

Here's a KMZ file (shown at top) that roughly covers Trappy's route, as best as we can tell from the video, which probably involved several flights and has edits and out-of-order bits.  Here is the tour file that was used to create the above Google Earth video.

Contest:

Your job is to create your own FPV NYC video, not by touring in Google Earth as I did above but instead by recording a simulated UAV flight using a HIL setup.

Here's how to get started with HIL simulation in ArduPilot Mega. You may want to use Happy Killmore's GCS to record your HIL sim and then replay it in First Person mode. Or maybe you have your own GCS or HIL setup that can do even better.Other autopilots have different HIL sims.

The judge (Gary Mortimer, as usual) will rank the submissions on closeness of simulation of Trappy's video, creative use of a UAV sim, and autonomous maneuvers that are particularly impressive (such as swooping down on bridges and alongside buildings). We don't really expect anyone will closely duplicate Trappy's routes; instead, we're more interested in the sim and mission-planning techniques you use. Crappy videos with cool tech will score well ;-)

As always, post your submissions in the comments below. Just an embeded YouTube video, a KMZ file of your simulated flight and description of your setup.  Winner will get their choice of a MediaTek GPS module or a magnetometer, but all entrants will get points for Season Two of the T3 contest.

Submissions must be in be 12:00 midnight PST on Sunday, Jan 30th.

Not one of ours, thankfully. From the article:

"Holloway said the aircraft that crossed into the U.S. air space is a mini orbiter unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the Aeronautics Defense System.

It is designed for use in military and homeland security missions, and is capable of conducting over-the-hill reconnaissance missions, low-intensity conflict and urban warfare operations, and any other related close range mission."

From MrKimRobotics: When you can print electric traces and semiconductors, a lot of things change.  Obviously, this is a long way from printing out the kind of high-density computronium you get from TSMC, IBM and Intel, but you do get some nice benefits.  For one, no fab plant to send parts to.  While it’s entirely possible to fab low tech devices in, say, a pizza oven, organic semiconductors are going to be a better path for DIYers, due to the dramatically reduced overhead (if higher per-unit cost) and due to the lack of an anneal, which can be pretty hard to do with a pizza oven.  Also, all-low-temperature manufacture means you can mix the fabbing process with plastics and other delicate materials.

For all of you out there who like the twin boom style of airframe, it looks like Bormatec, the company who makes the Maja airframe has just released a new model call the "Vamp".  It has the same wingspan of 1800mm and similar fuselage minus the tail section.  Features folding wing and tail section.  Here is a pic and the link: http://www.bormatec.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88&Itemid=91&lang=de

Here are some vehicle models that are currently under development. The simple 3d models display control input and attitude information to the user. This is much more intuitive than charts but the models require very limited cpu resources and can run on most laptops. You can find all of the vehicle models and scicoslab blocks on the oooark sourceforge site: https://sourceforge.net/projects/oooark/ These models will also be incorporated into qgroundcontrol soon.