New site: DIYDrones.com

[zlite]

Hi all,

After many months of lurking here, I wanted to introduce myself and my projects. I'm Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired Magazine by day and an amateur UAV-maker by night. We (me, my kids, and a few crack programmers) are now working on four UAVs:

1) An off-the-shelf one based on the Picopilot (this is the benchmark one we measure the others against).
2) One based on a Lego Mindstorms autopilot with GPS integration.
3) One based on a GPS-equipped cellphone autopilot. Commands and imagery are sent by text message!
4) One based on a custom Basic Stamp board and software.

The aim is to see how cheaply we can make a full-featured UAV, with the ultimate aim of creating an aerial robotics contest for high-school (and maybe even middle-school) students. Right now we've got the price under $500, which is cheaper than anything else I've seen out there.

You can read more about these projects at a site I've set up for them at http://diydrones.com/ (http://diydrones.com)

The other contributors in this forum have been a real inspiration (and education), so I hope to return the favor by documenting our projects and sharing the source code freely to help others enter this new frontier of robotics.

[icebear]

Chris,

Thanks for posting and sharing your project!

I really like the concept of a DIY UAV contest.

Looking forward to hearing more and just wanted to say good luck from my side of the atlantic...

/Bjorn

PS: Great magazine :D, of course!

[Tom Harper]

zlite,

Our club (Socorro Chile Proppers) is interested in promoting the kind of contest you propose. We envision it as a course that every entrant must complete with a UAV. The winner is the one with the cheapest solution.

Would like to discuss it further.

Tom

[zlite]

Tom (and any others).

I'd be delighted to work with any of you to make this a reality. Best to reach me by email--chris@wired.com--although I'm a regular reader of this forum, too.

Chris

[Arthur P.]

Another link for your front page: http://www.mikrokopter.de/

[Aeroflot]

Another link for your front page: http://www.mikrokopter.de/
I love this project but do you have some English instructions, and how does this compare to the other quadcpoter http://www.uavp.de/index.php?lang=en
who also don't have an english version.

[Unterhausen]

I love this project but do you have some English instructions, and how does this compare to the other quadcpoter http://www.uavp.de/index.php?lang=en
who also don't have an english version.I like this:At first please check out your liability-insurance for your modelaircraft , before a damage occurs!

[Arthur P.]

I love this project but do you have some English instructions, and how does this compare to the other quadcpoter http://www.uavp.de/index.php?lang=en
who also don't have an english version.

Different controler, specially designed ESCs --although it has now been identified that some commercial ESCs such as the Arkai YGE30;s can easilly be adapted to be accessed over the I2C bus--, lower powered motors due to ESC limitations, and partially a different group of people although there is a LOT of crossover with the same names posting on both forums and some people flying both MK and UAVP craft. I think that due to the crossover these projects will both flourish and eventually merge.

A number of people in both groups are also looking at upgrading the avionics to Arm7 processor power like I am as the current PIC and AVR processors are strained by the stabilisiation, and may lack the oomph for optimal GPS integration to full UAV status.

Both projects are run by enthousiasts going as far as making small runs of PCBs and offering them for sale. This of course has limitations with respect to the supply chain. I-m still waiting for my UAVP kits ordered some 7 weeks ago. Moving towards more off the shelf components with an eventual move to ARM7/8/9 or XScale microcontrolers may help.