Expected to come in for less than $300 the camera equipped quad is tasked with playing Augmented Reality the AR part of the name, games.

How they will work is well explained on there swish website along with the chance to win one! http://ardrone.parrot.com/parrot-ar-drone/en

The quad itself is not going set the load lifting world alight nor is it going to have a tremendous range. It will use  inbuilt accelerometers present in iPod touch/iPhone to control the quad via a wifi link. This innovation might lead us quickly to more intuitive control of UAS  that non pilots will quickly learn. That could be the game changer.

Parrot AR.Drone is made of carbon fiber and high resistance PA66 plastic.

The heart of the AR.Drone contains MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanicals Systems), three axes accelerometer, two gyrometers [one axe & two axes], one ultrasound sensor and two cameras:

• The first camera, located underneath, is connected to an Inertial Measurement Unit. Thanks to this unit, the AR.Drone is capable of measuring its horizontal speed and performing mind-blowing stationary flights. The system of images comparison enables it to compensate turbulences due to the wind during outside flights.

  These technologies are usually used for professional or military applications and have been adapted to gaming universe for the first time.

• The second camera, at the front of the quadricopter, broadcasts and streams on the iPod touch/iPhone screen what the drone is seeing as if the player was in the pilot’s position.

  This camera plays a major role for video gaming thanks to the use of form recognition: it enables augmented reality.

  For example, the front camera will recognize another AR.Drone in the game battle between two quadricopters, or tags which will turn into obstacles, monsters or robots on the screen of the iPod touch/iPhone.

  Video streaming has been enhanced compared to the development version of AR.Drone introduced at CES. Also, the front of the hull has been strengthened to better protect the camera.

  The players can choose the camera they prefer or display the two cameras simultaneously on the screen of the iPod touch/iPhone.

Tri-copter successfully flown with IMU AttoPilot in a stabilized and assisted attitude mode (Co-Pilot type mode). Planning to offer as a commercial product, likely as part of the standard IMU Atto autopilot system.

GPS + IMU INS filter for heading (without magnetometers!) with uncorrected drift of 2.5 degrees per minute under real flight conditions (tested in flying wings), this has been added to overcome the latency of GPS heading. The GPS heading values are de-weighted depending on the average amount of turning (dHead/dt) over the last few seconds. As mentioned above, even if GPS (measurement) input % is dropped to 0%, I find the estimated heading remains accurate to within 5 degrees for up to 2 minutes. With even very minimal GPS measurement input, this method stays well converged AND allows very fast turns (up to 60 degree bank angles!) without heading overshoot. This means your UAV can execute a 90-180 degree snap similar to a pylon racer and continue on the course without over-shooting the path or over-steering. And in case you are wondering, NO: wind does not confuse this filter in any of my testing, and CenTexFlyer can tell you the kind of conditions we were flying the IMU system in last week… worst possible.

Pitch Airspeed / Throttle Altitude method added (old default was pitch for altitude and throttle for airspeed), plus ability to mix it with old method spread proportionally from mix% A to mix% B over altitude error amount C to D. The mixed method is producing truly spectacular results in altitude and airspeed control. Specifically for hing-wing trainer and motor glider afficianados this method allows AttoPilot to work with your preferred airframe. Even for flying wings, the method gives superior control and saves power by not allowing over-speed condition in steep descents like the old method could allow. Developed a new control method that is almost 100% self tuning – this method is the one that controls airspeed via pitch. User only has to supply a single tuning constant.

Enhanced Assisted flight mode with max roll = 60 degrees, pitch = 45. You can really crank the turns and climb out in ARC assisted mode now. AttoPilot has absolutely no problems (IMU convergence) with high attitudes and g-forces for extended durations. Also implemented enhanced rate dampening methods in assisted flight mode that allow use of 60 degree rolls without spinning up the angular momentum of the airframe too much.

Power feed-forward scheduling in turns to better maintain altitude. This automatic correction is applied in autonomous mode to add extra throttle depending on roll angle. This method makes a few basic assumptions but is in fact model-based (as opposed to fudge-factor would be like “hey… maybe add 5% extra power if the roll is > 10 degrees”). It is also easy to turn off if you don’t want it, but I find it adds value so I always use it now.

Motor Start via G-force trigger during autonomous launch. Video coming… This optional feature has been hard-set internally to trigger at 3 G’s total felt force. Intended for small hand-launchable sUAS like plank wings (I might make a REALLY tiny plank wing and call it a Planck wing – nerd joke I just made up)

Automatically Tuned Navigation (and it is wind independent as well). Finally took my notes from last year on this one and implemented it in the code. Works as I had hoped. I have even had IMU autopilot customers think they tuned their navigation perfectly and they are all proud of themself, while in reality they had no control over the tuning and the autopilot did that for them. But I will let them enjoy their euphoria and not spoil it.

Some other heavy-hitter modelling and features are coming as well.

Saving of SET.txt to Internal non-Volatile memory. Now you no longer need to have a SET.txt on the micro SD card in order to fly. There are neat little methods to extract the internally settings to the SD card in case you want to know what is in the Atto. These types of features will also be supported through the GCS.

V1.9 created (has most code advancements from the IMU put back into a thermopile autopilot)

Corrected the Xbee modem compatibility issue in code for the V1.8 control board (no hardware fix is required). There had been a logic level issue, but I found a robust fix in code.

Enhanced ground setup procedure. Fix of some old bugs that could allow servo over-travel during ground test, AND added an automatic cycling test of the camera trigger during this procedure.

In what may be a UK first an sUAS has been lost in the centre of a major city within Class A airspace.

John Wallbank, who owns photocopying and design company, Copycat based in Edinburgh is offering a £500 pound reward for the return of the X6.

No doubt the after recent changes to UK airlaw the CAA will take a great interest in developments.

Read the full story here:- http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Mystery-as-20k-39spy39-helicopter.6001183.jp

The flight, which lasted 49 minutes, marks a significant milestone in the development of the Coyote for military uses and scientific research.

“This is a major step forward for this innovative and one-of-a-kind system,” said John Wall, vice president of aviation programs for BAE Systems.

Initially funded by the U.S. Navy, the Coyote weighs only 13 pounds and has a 58-inch wingspan. During freefall, the system is designed to emerge from a sonobuoy, unfold its wings, and begin a directed flight path. Equipped with sensors or cameras, it can perform intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions while the host aircraft remains in safe airspace.

NOAA funded the test flight, using its WP-3D Orion aircraft, to explore the Coyote’s potential use in weather research. Future testing will assess the system’s suitability to be dropped into a hurricane or tropical storm to measure wind speed and other data critical to forecasting.

“Small unmanned aircraft systems are important tools that can help improve our understanding of the environment,” said Lt. Cmdr. Nancy Ash, NOAA manager for the Coyote project. “The Coyote has demonstrated the potential to provide researchers with valuable observations of high-wind environments.”

The following Notam was released yesterday.

It includes catchy bits like this…

Be advised that noncompliance with the published NOTAM may result in the use of force.

For one week the following aviation based activities will be banned.

THE FOLLOWING OPERATIONS ARE NOT AUTHORIZED WITHIN THIS TFR: FLIGHT TRAINING, PRACTICE INSTRUMENT APPROACHES, AEROBATIC FLIGHT,
GLIDER OPERATIONS, PARACHUTE OPERATIONS, ULTRALIGHT, HANG GLIDING, BALLOON OPERATIONS, AGRICULTURE/CROP DUSTING, ANIMAL POPULATION CONTROL FLIGHT OPERATIONS, BANNER TOWING OPERATIONS, MODEL AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS, MODEL ROCKETRY AND UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
(UAS).

All sensible stuff if you are protecting an important person for a week, but will it open the flood gates to ban sUAS and model flying within class A airspace in the USA?

Policing this would be next to impossible, but one over zealous official on a break in town for doughnuts might just make an example of little John and his park flyer.

No RC flying!

Alex Snowdon is submitting a Subject Access request under the Data Protection Act . The police are then required to supply any images in which he appears. Follow the story at his blog http://luna17activist.blogspot.com/2009/08/case-of-derbyshire-drone.html

With 2000 people attending, Derbyshire police potentially faces a large mailing list for  images. This action might be a deterrent and make the police think again before using the AirRobot.

Telling the Police you were there and where you live might not be the best of ideas for the protesters.

How many less obvious cameras were pointed at those individuals?

Image copyright Jonathan Warren / jwarren.co.uk

The AscTec/MIT team managed to develop the most advanced and robust indoor MAV between the announcement of the mission in 2008 and the competition in 2009. By doing so the team was able to finish the mission in the first year. This result had no team ever reached before in the history of the competition. “We knew that we have to design something complete new in order to match these high requirements. Only the best hardware currently available in combination with a stable flying and reliable platform as the key prerequisite would be good enough to get the chance to finish this Mission. The AscTec Pelican is a very flexible and robust platform with a high payload. For the flight control we used the latest version of our well known and very reliable Autopilot sensor board.” says Michael Achtelik from Ascending Technologies, responsible for the mechanical design of the UAV.

AirRobot Quadrocopter

An AirRobot quadrocopter was used to keep an eye on the BNP rally at Codnor in Derbyshire this weekend. The German made sUAS was used to watch anti fascist groups protesting against the BNP rally.

Photojournalist Jono Warren witnessed the UAV inaction.

Image copyright Jonathan Warren / jwarren.co.uk

Image copyright Jonathan Warren / jwarren.co.uk

Image copyright Jonathan Warren / jwarren.co.uk

The sUAS leaves the operators hand flies a pre determined route and then lands back at his feet.

Makes me consider if enough or the right image will be taken in this somewhat random approach.

More information from the developers site http://www.pointandtoss.com/

Throw and forget sUAS

The aim of this article is to help bring some clarity to the subject of unmanned aviation. There are so many abbreviations and acronyms out there that the subject can sometimes be confusing, which distracts from progress. The terms mentioned below are the fundamental elements that form part of unmanned flight. So let us begin…

UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

There are many variations of the unabbreviated form of UAV, namely; Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Unmanned Air Vehicle, Unmanned Airborne Vehicle, Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle, Uninhabited Air Vehicle, Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle, Unoccupied Air Vehicle as well as many other names. In some cases this has even been expanded to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (UAVS).

Officially, according to the United Nations and NATO, UAV is the abbreviated form of the term Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

It is basically a reusable remotely piloted aircraft. UAVs are either controlled from a remote location or fly autonomously on a pre-programmed flight plan or a combination of both. They are used in a variety of roles including surveillance, reconnaissance, search and rescue, surveying and many more.

UAS – Unmanned Aircraft System

The United States’ Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defence have officially adopted the term Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for a UAV, this was adopted in order to reflect that UAVs are not only aircraft, but systems which include ground stations and other elements besides the actual aircraft. This term not widely used as yet but is spreading through both military and civilian industries because it is the correct term to describe a UAV.

GCS – Ground Control Station
A ground Control Station (GCS) is the ground based control element of an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). From this station the UAV can either be piloted by a human directly or the automated flight plan can be modified.

SUAS – Small Unmanned Aircraft System
A Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) is just a man portable UAS. It has no officially

defined size specifications but in general it is small, easily transportable and usually only requiring 1 or 2 persons
controlling the entire system.

MAV – Micro Air Vehicle
According to the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States, a Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) is a UAV which has dimensions not exceeding 15 centimetres.

NAV – Nano Air Vehicles
According to the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States, a Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) is a UAV which has dimensions not exceeding 7.5 centimetres.

UCAV – Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle
An Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) is an armed UAV
designed to attack a target using weaponry.

Drone
A Drone is just a commonly used name for a UAV.