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Book Review
Wired for War--The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century
P.W. Singer
Penguin (December 29, 2009)
While the mission of DIY Drones is to promote the development of amatuer UAVs in the hobby or even commercial worlds, but to the stated exclusion of military applications, it was unavoidable that, welcome or not, this site would be noticed by some on the military and government side of the fence. Indeed, in yet another instance, DIY Drones as well as its originator, Chris Anderson, received direct mention in the subject of this post, the book "Wired for War--The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century."
Introduction
The title not withstanding, Wired for War covers much more ground than how robots are used in warfare. Given that UAVs are most likely the primary interest of visitors to this site, I will say that if you just want to read about the cool, whizbang stuff going on in that arena, this is not the book for you. On the other hand, if you want an in-depth look at what the author and others consider to be the next RMA--Revolution in Military Affairs--and how it revolves around robotics, you will want to read this book. You might be surprised by some of what you read with regard to the acceptance of technology in general, and robotics in particular, among some in the military. Indeed, you might be disappointed.
On the Plus Side
Singer has clearly done his homework in that he has apparenty read a lot and interviewed quite a few people. He has given the reader a great deal of information, both technical and non-technical, as well as much think about. He goes into some depth with regard to the conduct of war in general and other social issues related to conflict. While this might seem to drag on at times, he ultimately makes the connection with how robotics might effect the conduct of war, how combatants might react to the presence of robots, and even how the decision to enter into a conflict might be effected.
On the Negative Side
At one point, Singer was throwing out so many social statistics that I wondered if this was going to be like one of those Carl Sagan talks where people showed up to learn about billions and billions of stars and galaxies, only to be lectured on the perils of nuclear winter. Like some of those people who walked out on Mr. Sagan, Mr. Singer nearly lost me when he found a way, in book on robotics, to insert the mantra relative to aspects of global warming that it is "without dispute..." Indeed, a great deal of information is presented that is not directly related to the technical aspects of robotics. This is only a negative based on my personal expectations, perhaps.
In the Middle
One observation of my own is that this is a book of observations. As already noted, Singer has done his homework. In the end though, few suggestions are given as to what to do with this wealth of information. Perhaps it's presented along the lines of 'I'll report, you decide.' This is not a how-to book on the effective use of robots in war.
Conclusion
I definitely recommend this book. It's not a quick read and, despite some of the one-liner reviews like "it blew my (expletive deleted) mind," it's far from just a gee whiz, whizbang discussion of ultra-cool technology. This is a fairly thorough look at the current state of robotics, what the future might hold, and what we need to think about with regard to the impact of robotics on all things related to war and conflict.
Initial design was embed the google earth in LabVIEW program. but I am not alway to watch the map.
It just be switched that I want show map.
The testing plane is Cessna.
During the testing, the proportional gain need be modified via airspeed for fitting the wide airspeed. I had alos added small integral gain for neutral point and feedback derivative gain from gyro sensor to increase system damping. Until now, the plane filght well.
I hope can use this FCU on this plane ASAP .... Orz
Designed especially for FPV (First Person View) camera flight!
Specifications:
Fuselage length: 1150mm
WingSpan: 1600mm
ARF Weight: 700~900g
Battery compartment size: Approx 200x105x22mm
ETA: Sep 19
More information here by clicking this link
The system use FY 606 2.4Ghz 100mW data link to send commands from the GCS. (4 km range).
- At any time, you may change the point to fly to by clicking on ―Click point‖ again, and selecting another point on the map.
- After the plane reaches the selected point, it will automatically engage auto circling with a radius of 120 meters and at a fixed altitude.
The FY21-AP upgrade will be available later this month.
Upgrade price: 220 $.
Read more about the FY21 AP autopilot: FY-21AP-VERSION-II-GCS-UPGRADE-v1.pdf
Presenting MissionPlanner Alpha 0.2.
This is a very early alpha of MissionPlanner, a mission planning tool for ArduPilot Mega. This
version is primarily built to test the mapping features, but it can produce an include file to use with ArduPilot Mega Waypointwriter. The software is published as freeware.
All comments are appreciated.
Working but not tested:
* Updated to the latest WaypointWriter file format (22010-08-23)
* Loading maps from Open Street Map.
* Resizing program window.
* Cashing maps on disk so the program can be used off line with downloaded maps.
* Building a Mission of standard waypoints. Click Add WP button to start adding WPs.
* Delete a waypoint by right clicking it in the list (not in the map)
* Creating an include file compatible with APM WaypointWriter.
* Loading and saving missions
* Editing waypoints: Move, insert, delete, edit properties (altidude)
Not working yet
* Creating commands other that waypoints
* Other map features as displaying "no fly areas" and other custom map-objects.
* Serial protocol to upload waypoints over the serial port.
* Mission height profile.
At this stage MissionPlanner can create a include file to be used with APM waypoint writer utility, but please be aware that the file generated can contain bugs.
Installation
This program runs on Windows (should run on xp and later) and consists of a singla.exe file. This file can be placed in any directory.
When the programs starts for the first time it creates a directory (c:/osm_cashe) on the c: drive for cashing map-tiles.
Zip file containing exe and this text can be downloaded here:
http://www.droid.se/downloads/MissionplannerAlpha_0_3.zip
Enter a longitude and a latitude and press Goto LaLo to load the map.
If the map doesn't show. Drag it a little bit after the tiles have been downloaded.
Please test it if you have a couple of minutes to spare.
Instructions
* Click "Add Wpts" button to add waypoints.
* Click and drag an existing waypoint to move it
* Rightclick a waypoint in the map or in the list ro insert, delete or edit waypoints.
* to quit adding waypoints click the "done" button.
* Click "create .h" button to create the include file for Ardupilot Mega Waypoint writer.
* Pan map by click and drag, This can not be done when adding waypoints.
Regards
Magnus
I've just added a new tool to both the SVN repository and the project downloads. It's a simple web page that you can download and use to graphically edit waypoints using Google Maps. A few of us have been using the alpha version for the last couple of months and felt it was ready to share with a wider audience.
You can download the file from the project's featured downloads, udb_waypoints.html or from SVN in the newly created "waypoint_editor" folder under the tools folder. Either way, save the file on your local machine somewhere and then open it with your favorite web browser. From there, you can choose to copy in your own waypoints file, or start with the sample waypoints pattern provided.
Modifying waypoints is pretty simple, either click on an empty space on the map to add a new waypoint, or click on an existing waypoint to edit it. Waypoints can have any of the supported flags assigned to them, set their altitude individually, and have their camera view point set individually. This version of the tool supports both absolute and relative waypoints. When the home waypoint (with the center dot on it) is moved, the tool will try to save your home location as a cookie (or using local storage if your browser is HTML 5 compliant) and restore it the next time you load the page. If you are using the relatively new "FIXED_ORIGIN_LOCATION" option in your waypoints, the tool will automatically use that as your home location.
As with almost everything in this project, your feedback is greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Adam Barrow
Update August 25th: Sorry for the confusion with the first version -- I've uploaded version 1.4.1 (check the title of the page to see what version you have) that should work much better. It has been updated to use Google Maps API v3 (v2 seems to be broken for some newer browsers) and I also fixed some issues with cross-browser cookie handling. Thanks again for all your feedback. Please let me know either here or on the UAVdevboard mailing list if you have any other feedback.
From IHeartRobotics:
"It looks like the Pixhawk team has made some more improvements to their ground control software. Most importantly some progress is being made towards interoperability so that various aircraft can use the ground control. MAVLink provides a telemetry interface that can be implemented on a microcontroller to enable autopilots and IMUs to connect to the ground control.
The documentation for the project is looking pretty good, which is how I found out that the software supports exporting data to MATLAB.
"
Heres a Screenshot of my current work on my Ardupilot Mega mission planner. If you want a look get it here http://vps.oborne.me/ArdupilotMegaPlanner.zip
This program captures lat,long and alt from google earth and creates a waypoint writer header file or you can write directly to the APM EEPROM. Using the latest command format. The command list is currently pulled from the APM source files, so it should always be up to date.
Requirements
.net framework 2.0+
Google earth browser plugin http://earth.google.com/plugin/
It should run under mono
Functions
Read from your current APM and edit
Write new missions directoly to your APM
Open other peoples EEPROM data, view there missions etc.
EEPROM is saved to file on read - for those more technicly savy. - and to share with friends
View EEPROM - ability to display some internaly saved setting like gyro offsets etc.
Write a Waypoint writter header file, for use with waypoint writter.
To use it.
open it.
click Open defines.h - and point it to your ardupilot mega source directory
select your com port
click either read or write (after adding a few WP's)
arduimuMTK.zip
Earl
Yup, it now has 2 platforms instead of that plastic truck shell.
Here is a picture to remind you what it looked like
Here are some photos of the building of the dual platform. Its made from lexan, each platform measuring 12"x5.5". Holes were drilled for the spacers and for the pegs that hold the platform to the chassis.
It is still the same old setup (compass, GPS, and my custom board), but i am trying to think of things to add. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment. The compass is mounted on the top deck with a custom bracket made of polymorph plastic.
Senior Telemaster UAV Drone[Mechanical Part]
Parts:
- Ready Built Senior Telemaster, Yellow (OVERSIZE) / Product #: HLA007 / URL:
- SuperTigre SUPG0235, 11003544, G90 Ring w/ Muffler / ****
- Exacto Knife / Joe's Hobby Barn
- Gripper Pads / Menards
- Drill / Amazon.com
- Sharpie / Menards
- Hangar 9 / Heat Sealing Iron / Joe's Hobby Barn
- 1/16'' Drill bit
- Philip screwdriver
- #8-32 Stove Bolt, 2 1/2" Long x 5/32" Diameter Round Head, Qty. 6 / Menards
- Tool Shop High Speed Steel Drill Bit, 5/32" / Menards
- #8 Flat Washer Zinc / Menards
- #8 Lock Washer Bronze / Menards
- DU-BRO Cat. No. 158 / Steel Landing Gear Straps / Joe's Hobby Barn
- DU-BRO Cat. No. 690 / 32 oz. (950cc) Fuel Tank / Joe's Hobby Barn
- DU-BRO / Pushrod Connectors / Joe's Hobby Barn
- Master Airscrew / 15x6 in. K Series Propellers / Joe's Hobby Barn
- DU-BRO Cat. No. 257 / Heavy Duty Hinges / Joe's Hobby Barn
- Futaba S3004 standard size servos / Joe's Hobby Barn
- EXRA115 Expert Electronics/ Servo Extension 12" Standard / Joe's Hobby Barn
- SIGSH710 / Easy Hinges / Joe's Hobby Barn
- DU-BRO Cat. No. 125TW / 1-1/4" Dia. Tailwheel / Joe's Hobby Barn
- SIGSH709 / L.G. Retaining Straps with screws / Joe's Hobby Barn
- DU-BRO Cat. No. 257 / Heavy Duty Hinges / Joe's Hobby Barn
- DU-BRO Cat. No. 376 / Tailwheel Bracket / Joe's Hobby Barn
-
Building the Senior Telemaster ARF
Step 1: Landing Gear
Our team made changes with the strap material. We were concerned about the original strap material because during installation stress fractures were observed, which is illustrated on Figure 1. So, we substituted the plastic straps with the Gripper Pads found in Menards. The Gripper Pads, shown on Figure 2, material is more flexible, variable in size and easy to manipulate. Also, due to concerns of its strength, we increased the number of straps from 4 to 6 as shown on Figure 3.
Figure 1: Stress fracture on the original strap
Figure 2: Alternative material for strap
Figure 3: Display of changed straps
unchanged recommendations:
- 2.60mm Aluminum screw replaced with Metal Material screw
Step 2: Installing the Glow Plug Engine
We decided to use the SuperTigre G90 engine considering the heavy payload of camera system, communication system, and sensors, over the SuperTigre G60.
There were various concerns that were brought up in the process of installing the glow plug engine on the plane. According to the instruction manual of the engine, it requires us to keep the Fuel Pick-up line no lower than 3/8" from the high speed needle. This creates various issues in installing the engine. After searching the web and asking experts in building RC planes, our team concluded that the muffler's pressure fitting into the vent of the fuel tank would be enough pressure to overcome any fluid-dynamic discrepancies for a smooth supply of fuel to the engine. So, after drilling a set of four holes in thinking to mount it up-side down as shown on Figure 4, we finally came to install the engine on as shown on Figure 5. Both #8 lock and flat washers were used on the #8-32 stove bolt that was cut into size.
Figure 4: Failed attempt to mount the engine inverse
Figure 5: Final engine mount
Step 3: Installing the Tail
I've now had a chance to fly the production-model Parrot AR.Drones enough time to have a good feel for how it it flies under a range of conditions, and how it differs from the prototype that I've been flying for six months. Here's a brief review:
The package: The box comes with the AR.Drone, indoor and outdoor bodies, a 1,000 MaH LiPo battery and charger, plugs for various country electrical outlets, and a target.
Indoor flight: This is where the AR.Drones shines. Press one button, and the props spin up, then shift into high speed for a rock-solid take off. It then hovers at about three feet, waiting for further instructions. In n00b mode (right button), you can rotate and go up and down. In pilot mode (left button), you can fly forward and back, left and right. Combine the two, and you basically have a full range of control.
The optical-flow position hold works best on a textured surface, like a patterned carpet or tiled floor. On a totally featureless floor (concrete or smooth, unpatterned carpet) it can tend to drift a bit.
As you fly over furniture, the ultrasonic altitude hold can get confused. Sometimes it goes up as you fly over a sofa, say, and sometimes it goes down. Sometimes it gets so confused the AR.Drones goes to the ceiling. But in general, it does a quite good job.
Total flight time is a bit less than 10 minutes in my experience.
Outdoor flight: This is not the AR.Drone's strongest suit. For starters, it won't fly higher than 15 feet (the range of its ultrasonic sensor). Also, the position hold really only works when there is no wind. Once the wind picks up, the AR.Drone has to tilt and shakes, and the optical flow camera loses its lock. Sometimes that means it just drifts, other times it will scoot off in a random direction after a wind gust.
But if there is no wind, you can fly as far as the wifi connection will let you (I've tested up to about 100 feet)
iPhone interface:
iPhone interface: The iPhone software is significantly updated from the prototype. As mentioned above, the right button is the equivalent of rudder and elevator, while the left is ailerons (if you'll forgive the plane metaphors). If you release the buttons, the AR.Drone will hold position wherever it is.
My video was laggier than the video shown above; I estimate a .5 to 1 second delay.
One cool thing about the software is that it will update the AR.Drone's onboard firmware if there is an update available (this had to be done with a special USB cable with the prototype).
The current version of the iPhone software is still a bit buggy. About half of the time it falls back to the iPhone's desktop rather than launching the AR.Drone interface.
Gameplay: I haven't tested this. But I do have two AR.Drones, so I'll try to borrow a second iPhone/iPod Touch and give it a try later and update this review.
Ok, I didnt build it all myself, credit goes out to my mate Kim who cut holes and spent a fair bit of time with me on the build :)
So anyway, I wanted a UAV that did something... useful...
Live video is a pain, really easy to do if you dont go the legal route, but when it comes down to it, 10mw is just no fun in the city.
The next best thing has got to be mapping, strap a camera and trigger the shutter, too easy.
Other than that I wanted something under 1kg which isnt too much of an ask if you plan the build properly.
So here is a list of the parts which I ended up using for the aircraft:
- WindRider EleBee Flying Wing
- High power metal gear servos... cant remember the name unfortunately
- MicroDan motor
- Castle 25A ESC
- Castle 10A BEC
- Xtend900 Radio Modem
- AttoPilot v3.0 AHRS IMU
- Samsung WP10 digital camera
- Futaba R319DP RX
- 2100mAH Lipo's
So after flying it manually we went down to some farmland to try autonomous, test the Millswood GCS / data link & give the autopilot some photo triggers.
All went very well but the photos were rather bland, blurry and meh.
I wasnt expecting too much from that camera, I thought I may have picked the wrong type. The lens was internal and small but it was shock and dust proof.
Regardless, the flight went great and as expected.
Up early the next day to go flying with the guys, brought along Batto for another test. Exactly the same flight plan as yesterday, but today the AttoPilot was setup to cut the motor, level off & snap the picture every 70 meters.
Video below.
So, very happy with the results today!
The uncompressed 12meg photos from the camera look fantastic, alot better then I would have thought.
Hopefully ill get a chance to head out to a friend’s property and let Batto loose over his crops.
If anyone can think of a better canopy than the coreflute one ive installed let me know, it works great but looks very cheap :)
Max
I've now had a chance to compare the old 63" Nitroplanes Predator with the new 98" Reaper, which is finally in stock. There's no comparison. Compared to the awesome Reaper model, the Predator is a toy. The new Reaper has a fiberglass and balsa/ply body, solid fittings and landing gear and about twice as much internal room. Very solid model and tremendous finish quality.
Here's another shot (I haven't assembled the Reaper's steerable nose gear yet)
Here's the cockpit view (I haven't put the servos in the Reaper yet, but you can get a sense of the size difference. Also note how much room there in the big canopy):
I haven't flown the Reaper yet, and my only concern is that it's very short-coupled (like all Predator models) and may be pretty twitchy in the pitch axis. But I sure feel more comfortable putting it in the air than I did with the little one, which had a bad habit of tip-stalling. I think the flaps on the Reaper are going to help a lot with solid landings.
I probably won't fly this until Sept, since it needs the servos and motor installed. But it's looking good so far!
Last week in Colorado a 46% scale RC plane flying a demo at a charity event at a private airfield got clipped by a full scale biplane with two people in it. Apparently, the video has been taken down from Youtube but there is a short article and a copy of the video over on Jalopnik (I have attempted to embed the video above). You should probably watch the whole video and read the article to get a sense of the event and the airfield before jumping to any immediate conclusions regarding blame.
I think this is a decent indicator of the complexities and responses you can expect when incidents like this eventually occur that involve amateur, unpiloted vehicles...the general aviation guys will say "get those toys out of our way!" and the UAV people will probably say something equally one-sided.
You guys with a lot of experience at managed RC events will probably see a lot of things that I don't see. The FAA is investigating, of course, and I imagine that there will be plenty of blame for just about everyone involved by the time the report comes out. A few feet one way and it would have been a near miss we might never have heard about and a few feet the other way would have produced multiple fatalities that might have defined the future of this hobby.
Hello all, (relative) newcomer here. I'm working on a FPV project with abit of a different control mechanism, that I hope to piece-by-piece get up to "UAV" status. Instead of a traditional RC TX/RX setup, I decided to go with a USB joystick ran through one of of sparkfun's USB host shields. This goes to an arduino, which does the USB processing and sends control commands over an Xbee. A picture is worth a thousand words:
What's inside the box, you may ask? Just an ATX power supply. Sadly, there wasn't even room for the arduino in there along with it... oh well.
Things are going well for my project though, and I hope to be putting in my order for the easystar sometime next week. Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions.
There it is. The cheapest $47 bare board uBlox-5 available + $14 shipping.
As flimsy as it is, the hope is it'll be obsolete by the time it falls apart. The helical antenna only has 3 solder points, so the $90 brand name version probably wouldn't last longer. Knowing the wars about diydrones product offerings, we're not going to tell you where to buy the $47 special.
Voltage regulator attached.
Now your 1st look at the helical antenna. The rubber enclosure slides right off, revealing:
Is it a revolution in lighter weight, omnidirectional reception or another gimmick like fiber optic servo cables?
Unfortunately a killer commute & difficulties with the Air Force have this myth inching along. Have some commute footage instead.
