I posted this on the FPV forum, but thought this might be a better crowd.

I get that APM 2.5 is specifically designed to function as an autonomous UAV, thus, not specifically designed for FPV. But given all the features of RVODS v.5, wouldn't that work just as well?

In order to use APM 2.5 for specifically for FPV you'd need to acquire an OSD and add some sensors (if you wanted that info). But as far as I can tell they are very similar.

What am I missing?

APM is a more sophisticated autopilot, with a full Ground Station for mission planning. It also is a universal autopilot, able to fully autonomously control planes, mulitcopers, traditional helis and even rovers.

APM 2.5 is designed to work with the MinimOSD board, which uses the APM sensor data and does not require additional sensors.

If all you want is to fly planes, mostly in FPV mode, then RVOSD is a good choice. But APM is designed to do much more than that, and allows you to migrate to full UAV missions when you're ready for that. (It's also open source, so you can add or change features if you'd like)

Wow! It's THE Chris Anderson! Thanks for the response.

I sort of took on a challenge that might be over my head. I have a thread on it at FPVLAB.com here

Basically, I going to build a Drone for the University of Minnesota's Itasca State Park Biological Field station. There are still a lot of things up in the air, especially money, but I keep getting told that it's going to happen.

It looks like initially it will be used as an airborne platform for ground observation. The scenario I was given was circling a remote beaver damn with a student being able to watch the damn in real time.

I'd love your opinion on an airframe. I think I've narrowed it down to two, the Penguin or the Techpod.

Some of that might depend on the funds we got for the project.

Also, the U of M has a UAV group. They have offered the use of their Drones (Ultra Sticks), but we would limited to LOS flight, their spotter and pilot would be in control, we would have to use the autopilot they developed. Pros and cons, as with everything. If we can come up with the funds, I'd like to figure things out and not have those limitations.

I think APM2.5 is the better option for this project and I've told the higher ups so. As I'm researching this, I'm trying to give those with the money several options with my recommendations. The two systems I found that I thought would work best are the two mentioned in the beginning of the thread.

Thanks for all the work you do.
Michael

Michael: sounds like a great project! I'd go with the Techpod, which is a Kickstarter project I backed. Wayne is a good guy and well integrated into the DIY Drones community.

Please join DIY Drones, where most of the APM community is. I'm only on RCG once or twice a month, so I won't be able to help much here.

Thanks Chris,

I am a member at DIY Drones. Perhaps I haven't played around with the settings enough, but I find the format of the forums a bit difficult. The categories seem too specific and I'm never sure where to post my questions.

I used to participate in the live chat a lot but that's going now. Any chance of bringing it back?

You don't have to select a category to post in; categories are just tags that make it easier for other people find older discussions.

I took out the live chat because it was slowing down the site's main page and not many people used it (I didn't hear any complaints when it was removed). But I can certainly add it back as a tab if you think it would be more popular now.

What Chris said; the APM is great.

MinimOSD is great, and with the extra code that was recently written, it just got a lot better. Having an autopilot would be very useful, even if you plan on doing just 99% FPV. Say you lose a camera, video tx/etc, tell the drone to return to home, etc.

APM is the one that you want get.