OpenPilot News Forum

o.0, the best of the best gets bigger :)

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:06:09 +0000

this is going to be so cool, probably gonna be the lightest 700 ever! me drules
http://helidaily.com/sneak-pics-protos-700/

OS61FX or hybrid 5 rotor

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:40:25 +0000

I like this idea, seems a good solution for a heavy lift multirotor!

Microdrones Quad flies 1.5 hours on a battery

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:44:39 +0000

Get Turnigy badge, share your photo with it and win 150$ credit on HK

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:14:12 +0000

I've just found out that you can win 150$ credit on hobbyking, all you need to do is to post you picture with the Turningy badge and if you get enough "likes" from ppl you just might get elected for free credit

Have fun

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/sticknsnap.asp

New software release: 20120201-213a915f

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:18:13 +0000

OSX: OpenPilot-20120213-35fb0b3c.dmg
Windows: OpenPilot-20120201-213a915f-install.exe
Linux 32-bit: openpilot_0.1.0-20120201-213a915f_i386.deb
Linux 64-bit: openpilot_0.1.0-20120201-213a915f_amd64.deb

Important notes:

This upgrade will erase all your settings and you will be required to reconfigure your aircraft. This should be the same as previously EXCEPT for the input configuration (see below)
The new input configuration has worked for a lot of people, but be aware it is quite sensitive. When it asks you to move a stick, just move it gently and be careful not to move the other stick. If you do then you can simply click back and try again.
This provides a unified firmware for all receiver input types.

From the changelog:

2011-12-10
Merged a change that sorts the UAVO fields based on size. Because this changes
all of the objects, erase all existing flash files based on this.

2011-11-04
New Spektrum/JR satellite receiver driver implementation.
It now provides explicit selection of DSM2 (and DSMJ), DSMX (10bit) and
DSMX (11bit) serial protocol variations to better serve different frame
and resolution modes. The protocol name used now is DSM instead of
previously used Spektrum to make it less ambiguous when used with JR
2.4GHz radios.

2011-10-20
Inputs can be remapped to outputs to allow up to 10 channels of control. The
receiver inputs remap as follows:
Receiver 3 because output channel 7
Receiver 4 because output channel 8
Receiver 5 because output channel 9
Receiver 6 because output channel 10

2011-10-11
Fix for the Mac telemetry rates and specifically how long enumeration took.

2011-10-08
Make the flash chip need to be have bad magic for a full second before erasing
settings. Should avoid random lost settings.

2011-09-12
Max rate now ONLY applies to attitude and axis lock mode. Manual rate is the
only term that limits the rate mode now (and in axis lock when you push stick
only manual rate applies). Also integrals are reset when unused.

2011-09-09
Some large updates to the input system. Now multiple receivers can be
connected at once. A wizard was added for configuring the input channels. A
specific collective pitch channel was added.

2011-09-04
Improvements to the failsafe handling code for inputs. PWM power off is now
detected properly. Powering on transmitter for Spektrum Satellite no longer
causes a glitch on servos.

US Senate passes FAA Bill - GPS and UAS affected...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:08:00 +0000

Following the House’s passage on 3 Feb. The bill now awaits President Obama’s signature before it becomes law. Once enacted, the bill starts the clock on a number of deadlines the FAA must meet to safely integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace system. Chief among them is a deadline for full integration by 30 Sept. 2015.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTQWkUcZ1xQ1dsghw64wdlhY4Alg?docId=d3fb10dfb3ec492e9eea70c009bf9bb7

GRASP Lab does it again!

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:07:22 +0000

Wow now they seriously have the swarm working!!!!

The LAPD Crack down on legit use of drones....

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:44:17 +0000

Wow, more sadness. I think the LAPD are making a mistake, but who am I to judge...
Here is the news story.
http://latimesblogs....ate-agents.html

Further, a friend sent me this link, this is a must read for anyone trying to make this hobby a business, and anyone who needs to stay in the "know" about the state of UAVs in america:

http://www.globalsec...n_2009-2047.pdf

The Revolution is coming

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:13:12 +0000

One of the problems with this project is we don't tell you guys enough about the exciting things coming up. I kind of like that OP is about something solid that really works, none of this marketing bull that seems to be everywhere these days, we tend to be the counter to the hype machine and just get on and do good stuff. However, it also means we don't tell everyone what is happening or what we are doing. As any pilot will tell you, it's aviate, navigate then communicate, we tend to not get to the communicate part often enough, still better than the guys that do it in reverse.

We need to tell you about the Revolution a bit more firstly it flies:

You must also understand that this is an early video with early software, it has not even been tuned well, as always with OP videos, we show the warts as well. We posted video of our dev work with the CC and had a few people trying to judge how it flies from it, simply you can't. Some comments on early the CC videos were not that positive which is a bit funny as I think CC is way up there in terms of performance. It kind of put us off doing this again but hey, that's the current status of the Revo, the video show it flies but not how well it flies. There are a few types of Revo out there, that one is the 2nd variant, the first variant has also flown, all are experimental currently and we made special boards to test a variety of sensors, we can even switch them in flight if we wanted on variant 1.

What is the Revolution?

It's a new breed of Autopilot using the STM32F4 Microcontroller, this is important as it contains a hardware floating point unit which is a huge advancement for hobby class autopilots, of course OpenPilot has been 32bit since day one, the FPU is another step up the performance ladder.

The Revolution is an Autopilot for Multirotors, Helicopters and Fixed wings, it is a full 10DoF, Mag, Gyro, Accel & Pressure. As the CC has manged to fly many types of aircraft and also ground vehicles the Revo will of course do this also, just better but at the end of the day we are targeting things that fly (CC has also been in a rocket or two as well, more on this when we have video).

Where's the Pro?

People still mention the Pro, the Revolution replaces it. Why did we do this? Because we knew about the new sensors and MCUs and we wanted to use them to give people the best possible hardware, I personally hate it when a company brings out something that they know is going to be replaced quickly and then it's dropped. This is why there was no Pro sold to end users, it flew very well, in fact exceptionally on Multis (including position hold 10 months ago) and Fixed Wing navigation however, when it was ready we knew it would not have the longevity we wanted so did not want to appear to play the planned obsolescence for profit game, we leave that to others.

Revolution Features

The size of the Revolution is just slightly bigger than the CC, it has 8 PWM outputs, 8 PWM inputs, it has the flexi port of course and a bunch of additional connectivity options, also Spektrum and S.Bus support like the CC. We also have been working with the author of PyMite to add Python scripting to the Revolution & Pro for quite a while, an idea that has already been borrowed by another Autopilot after we mentioned it on FLOSS Weekly a year ago.

Please, don't get too excited yet, we still have a lot of work to do and the idea with the Revolution is release it people when it can do navigation type tasks and very well. Like the CC, we want this to work well when it is released, releasing stuff that is half done just isn't fair to anyone and there are a lot of places you can already get that. The normal pattern we follow will happen: Developers first, Testers & Diamonds (yes that is what they are for) and then everyone else. This keeps it fair and the people with the most interest in OP, get the hardware faster.

OP Production Issues

I know it has been a frustrating few months, trust me I *really* know! There is good reason for it, with the CCs we have been having issues with gyro supply, we have been getting some gyros that are just out of spec or faulty. It is not our imagination or demand for perfection, all these gyros have been returned and they have been replaced by Invensense confirming that they are out of spec. So everyone thinking "why not make more" because its a huge risk to do so and a huge delay getting the gyros changed.

You know how this project is funded? Credit Card debt, each batch of CCs costs us over $20,000 to make, this is done on credit card debt as we have no money, if we have a bad batch of boards, we (well me) are in real serious trouble. I know everyone wants a board, I know its frustrating but please understand that side of it and what we are trying to do with OP. There is no mega corporation behind it, in fact no one with any money hardly at all (our lead firmware developer is on welfare) and it is a huge risk and stress to get these boards out. We are just a bunch of guys that got together and do something for passion and the love of it, there is a small donation on the boards only just too keep the lights on. This is why clones suck, we get barely enough money to keep going yet some people want to take that away.

Even if you don't have a CC and have another board, I think OP has changed things for the better in the hobby and why we want to stay around, thanks to CC a lot of projects and businesses have been forced to lower their prices, of course we also get a bunch of hate for operating as we do from them, I understand why, I don't care but I understand it The other projects benefit a great deal from OP, we do a massive amount of R&D which they use, we have features and ideas that they borrow and things like our GCS caused a lot of other projects to step up their game as well. Our code is now also appearing in other Autopilot projects and hopefully we can benefit from this by getting patches and fixes back from them.

Although we test and test the CC boards and of course with the gyro issues test a massive amount, some of those gyros that are out of spec have shown their problems after they have been sent. We can't have this, its beyond acceptable and not at all what we are about. I have personally had quite a few hobby things that arrived faulty and it sucks so much, excitement of a new toy turns in to disappointment and frustration. I never wanted to do that to anyone with OpenPilot but alas it has happened despite out best efforts.

This leads us to a finding a solution, we have a new board called the CC3D, prototypes of this have been made and do fly but it is still early days for the new sensors, the CC3D must at least match the performance of the CC of course and we need to do testing to ensure this happens. This involves, testing on a range of Multirotor sizes, Helis and fixed wing as well, but we have to make sure the CC3D is solid.

New Mems Multi-axis, Low Current Sensor

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:37:49 +0000

http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=237555&cid=NL_UBM+Electronics

Massive Solar Flare to Hit Earth this Morning

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:23:51 +0000

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

Developers: Git Server moved

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:16:29 +0000

For performance reasons we moved the git server last night. This affects only developers with git keys as they will get a warning about the host key changing, simply delete the git.openpilot.org entry in your .ssh/known_host file and all will be good.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet?

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:33:44 +0000

The idea the the OpenPilot project could be shut down because a hater posted to our site scares the heck out of me. I am not from the USA, but I think this question is worth knowing about and thinking about by all countries.

CC Board status update please?

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:38:59 +0000

Well now we're a month out from the last limited release and blurb about CC production status. Could someone in the know please share with those that wait?
Thanks

"Fake-Alarm !" Anybody wants a Coptercontrol open pilot Multirotor flight controller

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:44:07 +0000

Guaranteed to work:

http://www.ebay.com/...=item1c22b2dd7e

What is it
Multirotor controller with Autolevel
Flybarless heli controller with Autolevel
Fixed winged UAVcontroller

32 bit STM32F103RE ARM Cortex-M3 processor at 72MHz.
Gyro: IDG-500 and ISZ-500 for 500 deg/s in 3-axisAccel: ADXL345
Flash: 4 megabits

No warantees good luck with the bidding.

Like they say:

Quote

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Ps: I'am not the Seller

New feature, the member map

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:18:55 +0000

A new addition to the forums just before New Year!

Add your location to the member map.

Russian Fixed Wing Pilot Flys RTH using CC Board

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:18:07 +0000

On Christmas Eve, an Open Pilot user "Astron" in Russia configured a CC board to use the Corvus build and GPS to Return to Home...

Nice Work!

Here is the translated link from the OP Russian forums

http://translate.goo...92%23entry45392

Welcome to NORAD Tracks Santa

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 04:30:44 +0000

For those who are interested in current events.

Welcome to NORAD Tracks Santa

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/

National Geographic using Multi-copters!

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:54:04 +0000

Interesting articles about a National Geographic photographer using multi-copters and FPV for pictures in Africa for the magazine.

http://boingboing.ne...the-scenes.html

http://ngm.nationalg...ieldtest_ngdmpr

http://ngm.nationalg.../story-proposal

AUS/NZ copter control sales december 2011

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:04:40 +0000

Well, still waiting on stock (last track and trace info was 15th Dec in the Melbourne bulk mail facility) so......

I think I will list the boards (if they have turned up) on boxing day, as usual will send out an email beforehand, and when they go up, but check the store at lunch time, should have them packed up and posted by the 30th

I like the sound of a "boxing day" sale, heck all the retail stores do