Being in the computing field, but a clear rookie here, I can’t help but think that there has to be some products that link PCs to RC. For example, flight control software that allows the computer to control the model in flight.

Thinking this through it seems to me that the problem to solve is getting data back from the model to the computer so it can react. However, I’m sure there are other obstacles.

I’m sure I’m not the first to try to create this link. Any products out there that support flight control with a computer?

I've heard plenty of people talking about such things but never heard of anyone getting it working. There's not really much call for having a computer fly your models for you. Most of us enjoy the flying. It's our hobby

Good luck - Steve

sounds kinda like you're talking about UAV's, computer-controlled gps surveillance drones and the sort. great. but are you going to be standing in the sun with your laptop to control your rc plane? you can't even READ most laptop screens outdoors. what's the fun if you don't control it?

Completely self-contained computers integrated with GPS capability have been used for certain tasks, but as stated already, we're in this hobby to fly ourselves. I'm sure you could find plenty on the web..
..a

Good point. However, computing is a hobby for me as well. It would be a kick putting them together.

Gee sitting back and watching a computer fly the plane for you. What fun would that be? Lets Dehumanize this hobby and let computers rule the world. Im in the computer business also. Flying my airplanes is an escape from the stress of my computer job. I don't think putting the two together would be a good idea.

Actually doing both would be fun. I program real time computers and this would be a very interesting project given the time. In my younger days I would work on the computer at work, then go home and program some more (still do, just not as often). A relaxing hobby if you will....

Real-time computers are small enough now that they could easily be fitted in a plane. Might have to be a little bigger plane than a park flyer to fit all the sensors.....


To get the plane to do rolls, loops and then land on its own -- that would be cool. However there are 'several' (only?) gotcha's that have to be addressed. Inputs such as airspeed, origintation, GPS position, height above ground, elevator position, aileron position, rudder position, throttle position are just a few that the program would have to have real time access to to do this properly. Not a trivial project by far....

Course you could start 'simple' by doing away with most of the sensors and just give commands from the ground with just the basic throttle, rudder, elevator, aileron to control -- you still would need some way of getting origintation feedback back to the computer (the 3 axis). Hit the 'L' key and watch the plane do a loop under computer control.... Hit the 'R' key and watch it roll.... Hit the left arrow key to turn. Hit it again to tighten the turn. hit the '-' key to level the plane.... This could be fun!!!

Hmmm... I bet we could use the trainer port on a TX to the computer to control the plane so a real pilot could take over it the computer goofs.... Now to figure out the origintation telemetry problem......obviously would have to be wireless....

I'd rather have a computer (robot?) build the plane so I could have more time to fly it.

How long will it be before I can teach one of these guys to do my building for me?

Robots

I seem to remember some one in a modeling magazine creating an auto pilot for a model helicopter. I think it just hovered and landed if a switch was flicked.

I wouldn't mind something to stop the trees at my patch grabbing planes.

if direction == trees then
turn_away;
end if;



Simon

I think for beginner planes it'd be cool if there was a receive signal strength monitor in the plane to automatically start circling back towards you if you get it more than XXX feet away from you... losing orientation by getting it too far away was one of the first problems I had as a raw beginner (I'm a partially cooked beginner now

When my dad and I first started playing around with IR for indoor rc planes our first tx was a laptop computer that used the rs232 port and a program I wrote in VB to drive the ir transmitter. It was hard to control and wasn't very successful. We've graduated since then.

Dan

Check out this site at MIT that was mentioned in the Heli forum by Phoenix-IT:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2002/robochopper.html

It's a computer controlled helicopter that they have a pilot take off and land because others have already proven that part.

quote from MIT It is also easy to operate. While a pilot on the ground manually directs the machine through basic maneuvers like takeoff and landing (autonomous takeoff and landing have already been demonstrated by other researchers, including those at Draper Laboratories), the rest can be done by a person without any training. "Anyone can fly it. I can fly it. You can fly it,"

Here's the other thread.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...threadid=28265

Sounds like an interesting project, best of luck,

BC