[Noisebridge-discuss] occucopter hackers

Fri Jan 6 06:56:02 UTC 2012

There is the Maple Leaf or there is the Raspberry Pi.
http://leaflabs.com/devices/maple/
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/maple-mini-p-861.html?cPath=132_137
http://www.raspberrypi.org/

Both would have the raw speed.

On Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 7:11 PM, Brandon Edens <brandonedens at gmail.com>wrote:

> I'm dying build to my own hexacopter and will eventually. I think I'm
> going to have to slowly accumulate parts.
>
> In the meantime I just bought one of these cameras to play around with
> http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8667
> $9.95 is pretty cheap.
>
> Of course you need something with a reasonably fast I/O to pull the data
> off of it. Maybe > 28MHz ? 640x480 * 3 * 30 ?
> Beagle Bone has the clock speed; seems pretty cheap at $89. That doesn't
> solve any of the wireless / power issues. If its tethered then I'd try to
> use the cable that its connected to for data/power.
>
> The more off the shelf setup could be something like one of those really
> cheap Android phones like the Huawei Comet phone I got from Bestbuy for
> $150. I'm sure you could probably get it even cheaper. That solution is
> kinda already there. In terms of weight; it might be a whole lot lighter if
> you stripped off the casing, touch screen, and keypad. I haven't
> disassembled mine yet so can't give any feedback on what the pcb and camera
> alone weigh. To be honest I have misplaced mine but will probably find it
> soon.
>
> I can help whip up an Android app at a moment notice if needed.
> Brandon
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 12:46 PM, Corey McGuire <coreyfro at coreyfro.com>wrote:
>
>> I didn't mean that to come off in an angry tenor.  And I wasn't
>> responding to you. Rather, the person with the need.  Feel free to solve
>> this problem your own way.
>>  On Jan 5, 2012 10:54 AM, "Jake" <jake at spaz.org> wrote:
>>
>>>  I still don't think it's a good idea, nor do I think it will please law
>>>> enforcement for obvious safety reasons.
>>>>
>>>
>>> damn, you woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
>>>
>>> yes, i am expecting to have to write an autopilot program from scratch.
>>>
>>> by neutrally buoyant, i mean slightly heavier than air.
>>>
>>> it's an airplane, so it has to move forward to fight gravity, and when
>>> it is told to stay in one place it should end up flying directly into the
>>> wind.  If the wind is faster than what is needed for zero climb/fall it can
>>> aim its prop down to reduce lift, and if the wind is too slow it can
>>> automatically circle the spot.
>>>
>>> yes it will have a battery, and use electricity.  It will also carry an
>>> android phone.  I don't think this is too much weight for a balloon.
>>>
>>> other people have talked about a tethered balloon.  I am not stopping
>>> them, however I want something a lot better.  I understand that I will need
>>> to write software.
>>>
>>> I am not trying to please the cops.
>>>
>>> If anyone wants to help design the envelope shape, please contact me off
>>> list.  I'm looking to copy this design:
>>>
>>> http://solarship.com/
>>>
>>> -jake
>>>
>>> On Thu, 5 Jan 2012, Corey McGuire wrote:
>>>
>>>  What is the expectation of flight time?  If it's anything longer than 20
>>>> minutes, may I suggest an alternative?
>>>>
>>>> K.I.S.S.
>>>>
>>>> Balloon with tethers.
>>>>
>>>> Nothing relying on power and control is going to either withstand wind,
>>>> have
>>>> endurance, be lite enough to fly, or is going to stay in one spot.  And
>>>> nothing is going to have autopilot/autohover for less than $2000
>>>> (http://www.mikrokopter.de/**ucwiki/en/**KomplettsetUebersicht<http://www.mikrokopter.de/ucwiki/en/KomplettsetUebersicht>)
>>>> unless someone
>>>> is willing to spend a lot of DIY time.  One cannot will a device into
>>>> existence that posses enough of all of these traits to beat a balloon
>>>> with
>>>> tethers.
>>>>
>>>> Besides, you'll need someone on the ground focused entirely on flight.
>>>> Being that third person view in three dimensions is a challenging task,
>>>> you'll find that most people get exhausted after almost no time at all.
>>>>
>>>> If you are still sold on the "something powered" solution...
>>>>
>>>> How do we fix flight time:
>>>>  *  Small blimps bob around like a buoy.  You'll get sea sick trying to
>>>>    watch the video.  Not only that, they'll sail off unless you have a
>>>> very
>>>>    decent power supply.  Also, anything neutrally buoyant in open air?
>>>>  How
>>>>    are you going to get it back down?  I invite you to solve this
>>>> problem
>>>>    FIRST.
>>>>  *  Anything battery powered is straight out.  Lifting a battery in to
>>>> the
>>>>    air means short flight times - period.  Grow the battery, increase
>>>> the
>>>>    amount of work required to fly.  Quickly, your battery outweighs it's
>>>>    capacity.
>>>>  *  Fuel poses another problem.  You can't simply turn fuel craft on and
>>>>    off.  If your craft goes out of control, then you have a spinning saw
>>>>    blade looking for a target.  There are solutions...but will they
>>>> work to
>>>>    the satisfaction of, say, the police?  Believe it or not, there are
>>>> laws
>>>>    to this effect, and they usually require flying outside city limits.
>>>>  *  Anything "copter" or "rotor" is going to eat through fuel because
>>>> they
>>>>    do not benefit from the mechanical advantage of wings.  Basically,
>>>>    flight time requires wings.
>>>> Once you've solved flight times, control is still a problem:
>>>>  *  Who is going to put the craft in a steady hover/flight pattern?
>>>>  *  Will you have a rotation of pilots?
>>>>  *  You can afford an auto pilot?  GREAT!  YOU still need to know how
>>>> to fly
>>>>    and YOU still need to watch your craft at ALL TIMES.
>>>>
>>>> So far, through investigating this, I have found the following recipe:
>>>>
>>>>  *  http://diydrones.com/profiles/**blogs/ardupilot-mega-home-page<http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/ardupilot-mega-home-page>
>>>>  * http://www.hobbyking.com/**hobbyking/store/__17227__**
>>>> Phoenix_2000_EPO_Composit<http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__17227__Phoenix_2000_EPO_Composit>
>>>>    e_R_C_Glider_ARF_.html
>>>>  *  http://coxengines.ca/product.**php?productid=453<http://coxengines.ca/product.php?productid=453>
>>>>
>>>> I still don't think it's a good idea, nor do I think it will please law
>>>> enforcement for obvious safety reasons.
>>>>
>>>> My recommendation? Balloons with tethers.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler - Albert
>>>> Einstein
>>>> Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - Leonardo Da Vinci
>>>> Perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when
>>>> there
>>>> is nothing left to take away - Antoine de Saint Exup?ry
>>>> Keep It Simple Stupid - Kelly Johnson
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> Brandon Edens | brandonedens at gmail.com | brandonedens.org | key 0x42248B92
>

-- 
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler - Albert
Einstein <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein>
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - Leonardo Da
Vinci<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_Da_Vinci>
Perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there
is nothing left to take away - Antoine de Saint
Exupéry<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry>
Keep It Simple Stupid - Kelly
Johnson<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Johnson>
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