Drone for development

[alex_h]

Hello everyone,I need some help and sadly it's one of those few times when google is not helping much. I've been playing around with quadcopters(mostly) for a while but all the once I have are pretty much entry level(I've got 3 or 4 in the 100-200$ price range) . But I decided it's time to make the next step.I'm looking for something very specific and I'm struggling to find something like this. I tried another forum but without much luck a few months ago. Round 2:What I'm looking for is a quadcopter with software development API for flight control(preferably open source API) with a full HD camera(again open for development) and the most important part - it must be able to support the weight and power an additional board of 48-50 grams, depending on how it will be attached. The board itself requires a 5 volt, 2 amp power supply. It's small and the weight is perfectly distributed inside a small 3d printed case so it should not affect the balance. I don't mind spending $1200-1300 or somewhere around 800 pounds if such a thing exists. The best case scenario would be if I can order it from somewhere in the EU - import taxes are definitely not among my favourite, especially when it comes to weekend toys Anyway - if anyone can help, drinks are on me!

[crazy_gadgets]

Not really an expert but I'm busy building my knowledge up to do something quadcopter based myself. I'm teaching myself robotics with the end goal of being able to build something autonomous that can do SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) Some links I have found along the way

Arduino based Arducopter UAV, the open source multi-rotor - Arducopter, the open source UAV multicopter this would be your open flight controller

The NodeCopter - Programming flying robots with node.js

5 Best Examples of How to Build a DIY Quadcopter -Into Robotics

hope this helps a bit

R

[alex_h]

My knowledge is nowhere near enough to build one myself - not at this stage anyway. Perhaps I'll have to find someone with a bit more experience than me. I did play with my arduino a bit - I managed to get it going with really cheap Syma helicopter - S107 with some instructions I found - someone had managed to reverse engineer the protocol and it was really easy to put together. This is what I used: http://www.avergottini.com/2011/05/a...oller.htmlWhat I have in mind is something really similar but with better equipment and instead of using an arduino, go for a single board pc. Either my raspberry pi or pcduino 2. I'm kind of leaning towards the pcduino - it's slightly bigger and heavier but it has the edge when it comes to hardware and it has a wifi module built in. Oh and the boot loader is open. Sadly I can't find a drone that I can set up without spending weeks trying to figure out how it works - the reason why I came asking here obviously.Thanks for the links, I'll have a look at those!

[crazy_gadgets]

From the research I've done it looks like a raspberry pi is not up to the job of flight control due to the lack of a real time kernel. There is a way to hack it I think but I can't find the link ATM.

I think your best bet would be to investigate the parrot drones and nodecopter they were doing some pretty cool stuff with them. Might be all you need

[Mwazzer]

As far as I am aware ardu pilot is open source and capable of waypoints and such, flight test does a very good video of this in youtube

[alex_h]

From the research I've done it looks like a raspberry pi is not up to the job of flight control due to the lack of a real time kernel. There is a way to hack it I think but I can't find the link ATM. I think your best bet would be to investigate the parrot drones and nodecopter they were doing some pretty cool stuff with them. Might be all you need

I'm well aware I'll have to get my hands really dirty to get it going. That's the beauty of it.

As far as I am aware ardu pilot is open source and capable of waypoints and such, flight test does a very good video of this in youtube

YOU WONDERFUL WONDERFUL MAN!!! That's so perfect!!! Exactly what I was looking for! Can't find a way to thank you enough!

[PKNEC]

Have a look at 3dr robotics. All your questions should be answered their. 3DRobotics | UAV Technology - 3DRobotics Inc

I have just ordered this for my build http://store.3drobotics.com/products/3dr-pixhawk

[Mwazzer]

No worries! Just something I remember watching on a "YouTube journey" glad it was of some help!

[3Flite]

Hello everyone,I need some help and sadly it's one of those few times when google is not helping much. I've been playing around with quadcopters(mostly) for a while but all the once I have are pretty much entry level(I've got 3 or 4 in the 100-200$ price range) . But I decided it's time to make the next step.I'm looking for something very specific and I'm struggling to find something like this. I tried another forum but without much luck a few months ago. Round 2:What I'm looking for is a quadcopter with software development API for flight control(preferably open source API) with a full HD camera(again open for development) and the most important part - it must be able to support the weight and power an additional board of 48-50 grams, depending on how it will be attached. The board itself requires a 5 volt, 2 amp power supply. It's small and the weight is perfectly distributed inside a small 3d printed case so it should not affect the balance. I don't mind spending $1200-1300 or somewhere around 800 pounds if such a thing exists. The best case scenario would be if I can order it from somewhere in the EU - import taxes are definitely not among my favourite, especially when it comes to weekend toys Anyway - if anyone can help, drinks are on me!

why dont you try something like this? It's got some unbelievable features for the price: Radio Control Planes, Helicopters, Cars, Boats, FPV and Quadcopters - Hobbyking 

[cjm180]

Can you do anything with an arduino?

[alex_h]

Have a look at 3dr robotics. All your questions should be answered their. 3DRobotics | UAV Technology - 3DRobotics IncI have just ordered this for my build 3DR Pixhawk - 3DRobotics Inc

That's what I went for - 3DR iris and if I manage to get everything running, I'll get the rtf x8. Ordered the pixhawk a few days ago - I saw open source and linux and I completely missed it. Now I need a new propeller - my dog managed to get a hold of it. Thankfully no damage except for the propeller. Haven't done pretty much anything yet, just reading the code and debugging. I'm guessing my weekends over the next 4 or 5 months are going to be fun...