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Opportunities in Aerial Robotics 2014

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Opportunities in Aerial Robotics 2014+
By Craig Issod
ccc Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

PDF Copy of this Document:OpportunitiesinAerialRobotics2014forward

Overview
The author believes that aerial robotics is a burgeoning new field with numerous opportunities. However, overestimating the market may cause a classic “bubble” in these companies as the buzz around the industry grows. As with other budding technologies, the vast majority of companies entering this field will fail. This is especially true with aerial robotics as much of hardware is produced by large commodity manufacturers (intel, etc.). Also, much of the software is open source – which means there is unlikely to be a “Microsoft of the drone biz”.

On the positive end, it appears that the use of aerial robots is only limited by our imagination – technology has already produced most of the parts and will move forward much quicker than the total integration of any particular package(s). To the uninitiated, I like to explain it as follows. The real nerds among us have been pining for the “robotic revolution” for 30-40 years, but vast barriers have always stood in their way. As an example, look at the products from the robotic leader – Boston Dynamics:
http://www.bostondynamics.com/ [Read more…]

Why are there so few negative reviews on drones and quadcopters?

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I’ve delved far enough into this endeavor to notice something which I have seen in MANY industries. That is, a lack of truly critical, negative and accurate reviews of many of the products!

Understanding the Issue

I could tell endless stories about this same tendency in other fields – for instance, I was in the heating equipment business for other 20 years and saw tens of thousands of customers buy things which were not suited to them…because marketing and sales efforts were a lot stronger than neutral and accurate information. A good part of my career was, and still is, spent in dispelling the myths and educating consumers about the realities of said products.

Open a boating magazine and you are VERY unlikely to find negative reviews about boats. The same goes for a lot of other items – and the reason is usually very clear…..CONFLICT OF INTEREST.  Boat magazines make their money from the very same manufacturers whose boats they review. It’s not a stretch to say that a negative review could lead directly to lost revenues and profits. This is the exact reason why Consumer Reports is a non-profit and accepts no advertising. It’s the only way you can even attempt to be neutral….but there is more! Not only does a review have to be neutral, but it also has to be accurate. Consumer Reports has millions of dollars in lab equipment which they use to actually measure quality, longevity and other metrics.

In addition to the conflicts of interest, other human foibles enter into the mix. Two of them in particular are the $800 “turkey” theory and the tendency to look at products from only your own (or the reviewers own) point of view. Examples:
[Read more…]

Your FIRST AR Drone Modification should be landing gear!

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Ok, so you’ve decided to get an AR Drone! Congratulations and good flying…

BUT, before you take off with that machine, here is some advice which may help your drone last much longer. It’s a simple modification called the zip tie mod. You’ll find many examples of it by searching the web for “AR Drone zip tie mod”, but let me simplify this for you.

The AR Drone comes with feet which look like this:

Ar Drone Leg, Motor, ESC and Gears

Ar Drone Leg, Motor, ESC and Gears

Note that the AR Drone feet are hard plastic and also contain a number of sensitive parts, including the motor and a circuit board. A hard landing, which you will have MANY of, will eventually damage some of these components or even break the AR Drone cross frame. You can purchase custom foam landing covers on eBay, but IMHO the zip tie or similar mod will work better due to the better “give” of the material on a hard landing.

The mod is done using fairly long (cable) ties – start with some which have a length of at least 12″ or more and cut to size. Try not to use very heavy ones, as thinner ties add less weight to your quad and also will function a bit better as shock absorbers. With kudos to some who have come before me, here is a pic from parrot forum users Candu1 and UFO Doctor, who made these mods years ago and actually tested them scientifically!

Easy as Pie!

Easy as Pie!

OK, so the basic steps are:

1. Obtain cable ties and electrical tape.
2. Put tie around bottom of landing feet and pull tight.
3. Place end of tie (it may help to cut a point onto it) so it enters the hull right where the cross arm does – only insert in a small amount (1/2″ or less).
4. Wrap a small piece of electrical tape around the zip tie and crossarm to hold the tie to the arm.

Since the devil is always in the details, let me remind you of some issues….

1. Make sure the quad is perfectly level after installing these! Set it on a known flat surface and measure from the ground to the original landing feet. If you don’t do this right, your quad will be incorrectly calibrated when it boots up!

2. Don’t use too much tape – in fact, I might suggest cutting the tape in 1/2 lengthwise in order to save weight. If the tape breaks on a hard landing, that generally means it helped in shock absorbing – and it’s cheap enough to replace!

3. Some folks use small zip ties instead of, or in addition to, the electrical tape.

Once your AR Drone has this modification, it will be superior in just about every way – it will be able to land and take off in taller grass and on rougher surfaces also! The one caveat is that, if you tend to get your AR Drone stuck in trees often, that the zip legs can get hooked on branches and make it harder to recover. This is yet another reason for not using too much tape to secure the tie to the cross arms!

Pic by Keenmetal (HK)

Pic by Keenmetal (HK)

A basic video of this modification is shown below.

Note – below are the Amazon links for the AR Drone and some popular replacement parts, batteries,etc.

Syma X1 – a great starting Quadcopter for less than $40

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If you are interested in flying or learning about quadcopters AND if you have a small outside area to fly around in (or a large open basement or garage), the Syma X1 may be the best way to get started…

Note – we also now suggest the Syma X5 – it is more stable, so easier to fly. BUT, you won’t learn quite as much about control due to it’s great stability.

X1 Quad with UFO Shell

X1 Quad with UFO Shell

Instead of breaking expensive machines and parts, your total investment is less than $40. If you crash it or don’t like it, you can still sell what is leftover for $20 just for the parts! Not much ventured, and much knowledge and experienced gained.

The X1 comes with various plastic body covers (UFO, Bee, Spaceship), but the insides are all the same. Your $40 buys you the Quadcopter, a battery, a plug-in USB Charger, the transmitter (controller) and a spare set of rotors (propellers). If you want to buy one, here’s a quick link to Amazon and one of the better prices out there:
Syma X1 4 Channel 2.4G RC Quad Copter – Spacecraft

Syma X1 Transmitter

Syma X1 Transmitter

No assembly is required. You simply remove it from the box, insert 4 AA Batteries in the transmitter, charge up the small LiPo (lithium polymer) quadcopter battery and you’re ready to rock. The battery inserts into a plastic holder on the bottom of the quadcopter as shown.

X1 Battery Holder

X1 Battery Holder

Basic Flight Operation

The X1, as well as many other multirotor aircraft, must be place on a very level surface soon after the battery is inserted. This allows the gyros and other instruments/sensors to calibrate themselves properly. The Syma will flash it’s red LED very quickly (approx. 10 times!) to let you know it is done with the calibration. After this, turn on your transmitter, making sure the throttle (left stick) is fully down. The Transmitter will make a series of beeps and then stop once it is bound to the X1.
Now you are ready to fly!

It’s beyond the scope of this mini-introduction and review to detail the operation – that will come soon in our forums and other articles – but here are a few videos which show the X1 flying – as well as one which shows the flying from the point of view of the Syma. In this case, the quadcopter was carrying a small camera to record the footage.

Some quick words of warning about this and other Quads. Those propellers can hurt you! Make sure your transmitter is powered off before you handle the drone.

Cons

Although it can be a great starting quad, the Syma performs poorly in most any wind greater than about 5 MPH. Experienced flyers may be able to keep it under control when it is slightly windier by switching into expert mode, which allows the quadcopter to have higher rates of pitch (angle of flight).

More information on the Syma can be found in our forums at the continuation of this blog post thread:

https://droneflyers.com/talk/threads/syma-x1-a-great-starting-quadcopter.71/

Note: Syma also now has a X3 model, which offers propeller guards and a nicer looking canopy. The guards will allow for some bumping into walls and furniture with less problems.
Here is a link to the Syma x3 Quadcopter.

Unboxing the Syma X1

Outdoor Flight and Flipping

Outdoor Flight high and away on snow

Once you get good at the controls, you should be able to fly it like these guys in China!

2012 and 2013 – The REAL Rise of the Drones!

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A recent NOVA special entitled Rise of the Drones was quite informative on the emerging technology, although much more focused on the Military and surveillance angle.

Rise of the Drones - 2013 is the year of the Quadcopter and Multirotor!

Rise of the Drones – 2013 is the year of the Quadcopter and Multirotor!


The program can be watched online or on your favorite PBS station.

However, there is another revolution in these aircraft occurring right now! They go by many names – Quadcopters, Multirotors, UAV’s and even “toys”, but these amazing pieces of technology are very real and are about to transform our world and our lives in many ways. What’s more, you and I and others who are hobbyists, photographers, pilots and/or just have interest in technology can participate in this revolution at a very low cost. Read more after the break….
[Read more…]

How to fly a quadcopter

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The AR Drone is very simple to fly but does not fly like anything else on the market. If you are going to move up to bigger or more advanced quadcopters you are going to need a different set of flying skills. In this article we are going to start learning how to fly them and help you get your copter off the ground.

The first thing you need to know is that flying a quad is exactly like flying a R/C helicopter. The controls are exactly the same so if you have helicopter experience, you can easily fly a quad while flying a quad is excellent practice for flying a helicopter.

[Read more…]

Why Doesn’t My AR Drone Fly Smooth?

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AR Drone 1.0 Model

Hang out in any AR Drone forum long enough and you will hear people asking why their drone doesn’t doesn’t fly as smooth as the YouTube videos they have seen. Videos show fast forward flight with smooth transitions to full stop or other smooth maneuvers. However, when you fly your fast forward flights end almost in a backflip and sometimes a scary loss of power. What is wrong with your AR Drone that it doesn’t behave the same way? The short answer….it’s probably you.

What I see quite often with new users is while the drone is in forward/reverse or left/right flight, a new owner will take their finger off the tilt control. This action will cause the auto-pilot to kick in and try to stop the drone as quickly as possible. For example, if you are in fast forward flight and just take your finger off the controls the nose will pitch up very sharply as the drone tries to come to an immediate stop. Usually, it will just recover and all will be good. However, on some occasions, things can go terribly wrong. With the bottom not pointing at the ground anymore, the altimeter can get confused and the drone will think it is too high, shutting down the motors. If the drone is too low, it might stall and hit the ground. If you have the altitude limiter off, it can think that it is transitioning into blind-flight mode and take off vertically, causing a fly-away.

Is there a solution to this? There sure is. Instead of pulling your finger off the tilt control, keep your finger in place and tilt your device in the opposite direction. Surprisingly enough you can stop an AR Drone extremely quickly while keeping it completely under control.

The main message here is “don’t panic” and always think ahead about what you are doing. As soon as you start moving forward, think about when you are going to want to stop instead of thinking about where it is right now. This kind of control is actually pretty hard to learn when flying around your house or a small backyard. Once you get the drone out to a decent sized area, at least 75′ x 75′, you will have enough room to really to learn the controls.