Robotics and drones

Uav main focus

 * Diydrones arducopter Preferred for Quad frames and helicopter.
 * Gentlenav Matrixpilot, preferred fixed wing solution.
 * Openpilot Had the lead, but arducopter took the lead.
 * Quad_frames and Vibration Flexacopter is the preferred solution for building a quad copter due to its vibration isolation ability with wire rope.

Links
Add http://code.google.com/p/afrodevices/ doc sometime
 * Machine design Links to old archive.org books on bevel, spur, worm gear design.
 * Lidar, Slam
 * Hvlabs robotics control software opensource. PID tuning
 * Dew robotics
 * iCub robotics
 * http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/visually-guided-return-to-base Automatic landing.
 * http://en.robotis.com/index/product.php?cate_code=101010 Linear actuators for robotics PID control over CAN bus
 * Diydrones arducopter obtained the copyright on Aeroquad and is preferred solution for Quad frames. See GPL and BSD.
 * Kickstarter Uav projects on kickstarter.
 * erlerobotics.com Linux version of pixhawk diydrones.
 * Carbon tubes Spin own carbon tubes at 10% the cost of commercial versions. http://www.xwinder.com/
 * Uav links
 * Igus robotics
 * Uav suppliers
 * Hardware hacking, Gears robot(belts, pulleys, servo's building blocks(modular))
 * Electric Car
 * South Africa uav http://www.steadidrone.com/
 * Gentlenav Preferred opensource UAV project.
 * Uav clones
 * Maxrotor Kickstarter project
 * Autoquad uav
 * Uav robotics
 * Battery rc
 * Quad frames
 * Virtual robotics Quad IMU
 * Multiwii quad FreeIMU code project
 * Vibration Reducing vibration to the IMU
 * RoboTics, MannedSystems combine with Antenna tracking
 * OsmcRobotics GPL project on Yahoo groups.
 * Uav airframes
 * Gimbal
 * Antenna tracking
 * Rhino uav protection
 * CncControllers
 * Uav pepperball gun, Uav power generation, PCB manufacture
 * http://www.ohwr.org/projects/white-rabbit
 * UAV Outback Challenge Use same image processing ideas to look for intruders on farms

categories

 * SACAA
 * http://sasecurity.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Uav_airframes
 * http://sasecurity.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Uav_project
 * http://sasecurity.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Uav_quad
 * http://sasecurity.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Gentlenav
 * http://sasecurity.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Robotics
 * http://sasecurity.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Rcgear Long range radio gear, rc hobby, servo's tx,rx etc.
 * FPV

Uav external links
http://www.fightingwalrus.com/, https://github.com/fightingwalrus/iGCS  Fighting Walrus™ creates the best personal drone experience for iOS on Apple devices. The iDroneLink™ accessory and iDroneCtrl iOS App allows you to control your personal drone with your iPad or iPhone at distances up to a half mile.
 * http://myfirstdrone.com/

Intro
Combine www.Skydrone.aero video over cellar networks with suitable UAV project and fitted with Thermal imaging cameras. UavAirframes A few hundred UavAirframes fitted with cheap Gentlenav from Uav robotics and un-cooled $3500 ThermalImagingCameras streaming images over a 400Mhz WiMax link, patrolling the major Afghanistan routes will prevent IED attacks.With FpGa real-time image stabilization is done on the Mpeg4Compression, DVR stream, negating cross winds destabilizing the video image. This same principle can stop crime in South-Africa as well as piracy on the high sees. South-African law is tolerant of civilian drone usage - Drone swarming.

Gentlenav Matrix pilot is the only project able to loiter an UavAirframes in a circle above a target, making the IMU dizzy proof. It is the preferred solution for fixed wing Inverted v-tail navigation using a Logo script, DCM algorithm. Gluon Pilot and Paparazzi uav navigates a plane uses EKF. Gentlenav determined that that there is a 0.08sec delay in the magnetometer readings and compensated for this using feed-forward control and enabled automatic in-flight gyro calibration. Eliminate RF interference (http://sasecurity.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Wifi_construction), place pcb inside plastic box, painted with copper-paint, constructing a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage.

Copy the Quad frames flexacopter wire-rope and DJI Wookong IMU on aluminium block idea for the Vibration problem. The quad frame as a system should function as a low-pass filter, the idea is not to stop all vibration but to cut-off high frequency vibration preventing IMU saturation and distortion of video in 8khz band(resonant frequency of gyro). Diydrones are aware of the fact that the wire-rope concept(http://www.flexacopter.com) solves the vibration issue but are reluctant to copy the idea.

As an UavAirframes circles in a spot its IMU gets 'dizzy' or saturated but Gentlenav solved the problem. Fixedwing speed control is achieved using the kinetic energy of the craft, thus a plane will dive to gain airspeed in addition to increasing throttle.

In strong winds the effective airspeed measured by the air speed sensor differs from ground speed, Gentlenav solved this by maintaining a constant ground speed irrespective of wind speed. For UAV'S to be useful it must be able to loiter in a loop over a target for any point of time and be able to maintain a path in any direction at an angle to a strong cross wind. The UAV will have to point its nose in a direction away from its intended path to compensate for the wind, meaning the vector calculations integrating GPS and magnetometer readings will be different than if there were no wind. In no wind the nose of the UAV is pointed in the desired direction of travel. Openpilot, Diydrones arducopter and Gluon Pilot fixed wing code can't compensate for cross winds, their code only works in calm weather. (this problem was fixed by diydrones).

Openpilot using EKF had a major edge over the DCM algorithm implementation of QuadroCopter, Quad frames until William Premerlani figured out the correct mathematical model of a quad. The diydrones DCM/EKF hybrid is now the preferred solution over Openpilot. William Premerlani made key mathematical breakthroughs in the modeling of drones.

Human hearing
Drive the electric motors at 20khz above the range of human hear with PWM. Existing boards drive motors at 4khz to conserve power, but it makes a noise within the human hearing range.

Aluminum vs carbon fiber
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MG4z6rnbpE Drill holes in aluminium Quad frames to reduce weight, much more cost effective then carbon legs.

Books
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NOGSQPS

http://makezine.com/review/

http://makezine.com/magazine/make-39/open-source-robotics-a-buyers-guide/