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Ask HN (again): What is the best affordable programmable drone?
Almost a year ago, a HN participant asked about the best affordable programmable drone: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8989411
I'd like to ask the question again. Are there any new contenders for the best programmable drone, ideally for $100 or less? I have two daughters, nine and seven years old, who have just seen a demonstration of a drone by a friend of our family's, and they're hooked. Before we purchase one, I'd like to take the opportunity to buy a programmable one so I can mess around with it, too (and teach the kids to program it).
EDIT: Ideally, I'd like something like this, but programmable/hackable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MNG37C2/ref=s9_simh_gw_g21_i1_r?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=01GMYMFRR2QNC3AT5DG0&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop
Thanks!
- joellarsson 11y agoI think http://bitcraze.io http://bitcraze.io might be a good fit. It's a bit more expensive($180) but have a lot of open source apps and libs that you can play with.
- Palomides 11y agoWhat sort of drone are you looking for, and what sort of programmable? This tiny $20 quad has a hacked, open firmware: https://hackaday.com/2016/01/07/open-source-firmware-for-a-mini-quadrotor/ https://hackaday.com/2016/01/07/open-source-firmware-for-a-m...
- ph0rque 11y agoIdeally, something like this, but programmable/hackable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MNG37C2/ref=s9_simh_gw_g21_i1_r?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=01GMYMFRR2QNC3AT5DG0&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MNG37C2/ref=s9_simh_gw_g...
- giancarlostoro 11y agoIf you can crack open the controls and connect a board to it you could technically hack it. If you're on about with it's own firmware / sdk then that's a slightly different story. I've seen controllers being re-purposed (though not yet seen a drone's controller)
- BtM909 11y agoJust link to the product without all the ref parameters... It feels like you're just dropping links for referral fees: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MNG37C2 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MNG37C2
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- nivla 11y agoAmazon's referral values always ends with "-20" and is usually placed under the parameter "tag". OPs link doesn't have any referral attached to it. For those who aren't familiar with Amazon's links, it may be hard to figure out how to detach it while still keeping it valid.
- ph0rque 11y agoSorry about that, I quickly copied a link from my wishlist and didn't look to clean it up. No referral link intended.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- wazari972 11y agoI'm really happy with this little drone, the Eachine H8. If you play video games, it's super quick to learn how to control it, and it's very resistant to crashes. ... and now I learn that I can hack the firmware! so for an "affordable programmable drone suitable for children", I think that's the best answer (it's just $14 on banggood). Buy spare batteries though, and maybe with budget < $100, buy two of them :)
- Pietertje 11y agoUnfortunately I cannot help you with your question, I haven't found anything cheaper than building your own. And that's going to cost you >200USD. I do have some advice before you invest in a drone. Buy a cheap non-programmable mini-drone first ~15 USD. Flying a drone is not easy, you'll crash a lot in the beginning and you rather wreck such a mini-drone than a more expensive one. Plus, mini-drones are almost indestructable.
- xur17 11y agoDefinitely a good idea, and you should do the same if you are going to buy a DJI Phantom Drone too. I've been pretty happy with the Hubsan X4, and it stands up to abuse fairly well. I'd hesitate to recommend anything much smaller than that, as they tend to be a bit harder to control.
- Merad 11y agoThis is good advice, but if you're fairly confident that you're really going to get "into" quadcopters I recommend starting with something larger like the Syma X5/X5C. They're more expensive (~$50) but far more versatile - can fly outside with a range of 150-200m or more, and are actually quite a bit easier to control because their size gives them stability and makes it easier to see the drone and its orientation.
- deutronium 11y agoSorry for being slightly off-topic, does anyone have the Yizhan Tarantula x6 - It's around £35-40 and from a number of videos I've seen, is able to carry a GoPro. I fancied getting that for shooting some video.
- oskarth 11y agoFreudian reading: I read OP as What is the best affordable programmer drone?
- heraclez 11y agohttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/728836843/codrone-learn-to-code-with-programmable-drone https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/728836843/codrone-learn...
- lucb1e 11y agoForking off this question, if I may, I am looking for the same thing but with a budget of around $250. If anyone knows something good but doesn't post it because it's >$100, please reply to this message. Many multirotors you see on webshops are finished and ready to fly, which tells me nothing about their repairability or hackability. There are also kits which I'd prefer (so I can learn what's in there and how to put it all together) but they have nearly the same issue: can I replace or add components, or is this combination the only way it's going to fly? Is there room to add components, like a missing GPS module? Or could I swap out those motors for stronger ones in a year without needing to replace 90% of the electrical system? Does it run open software that I can modify or do I need to overwrite its firmware to do that? All that is a bit difficult to judge as a beginner (I can fly alright, but not build) and I've been casually looking around for at least three months now, coming back to this point every time I saw something cool. (@OP, ph0rque, if you think this pollutes the thread, reply and I'll edit/remove it!)
- notspanishflu 11y agoHave a look to Erle Copter. http://erlerobotics.com/blog/home-creative/ http://erlerobotics.com/blog/home-creative/
- sprobertson 11y agoThe CrazyFlie + CrazyRadio: https://www.bitcraze.io/crazyflie/ https://www.bitcraze.io/crazyflie/ You do the assembly, and the CrazyRadio provides you with a USB interface to control it. There are onboard sensors (gyro, accelerometer, compass, and altimeter) but I'm not sure about adding your own.
- ph0rque 11y agoNah you're good :)
- edtechdev 11y agoThere is only one kid-friendly programming tool that connects with drones: https://tickleapp.com/devices/ https://tickleapp.com/devices/ and it only appears to work with Parrot drones, the cheapest of which is $99. In case you don't have an ipad, there are other visual coding tools that work with robots, but not drones, like Scratch. Someone did make a hack to connect Scratch to the Parrot AR Drone, which is more like $300: https://github.com/campk12/ScratchForARDrone https://github.com/campk12/ScratchForARDrone
- jsjohnst 11y agoThe Parrot AR Drone isn't quite in that price range but is very programmable and works decently well with Node.js libraries. I once controlled five of them at the Yahoo! Open Hackday in a swarm using a Leap Motion controller. Everything my team wrote for that hack was in JavaScript (leap motion interface, parrot flight controller, and server that linked it all).
- jsjohnst 11y agoHere's most of the source code from that hack: https://github.com/jsjohnst/leapcopter https://github.com/jsjohnst/leapcopter And here's a promo video I made after the hack to show at work the following week: https://vimeo.com/76095888 https://vimeo.com/76095888
- CCoffie 11y agoI'd have to say your best option would be the Parrot AR Drone. It's probably will be higher than your price range but it's definitely worth it. I personally have one and have even programmed it to dance to music. It's extremely easy to work with and there are numerous libraries out there for most languages. I highly recommended it, you don't even need to modify the drone to start developing for it. I've built my own quadcopter and would have to say I still prefer the AR Drone when it comes to development.
- arihant 11y agoFor a starter drone even $100 is a lot. Two things that you don't realize in demos are: 1. Drones are notoriously hard to fly. 2. The battery life is a true buzzkill. Even Parrot lasts 15 minutes or so. What you want to do is buy a cheap 2-pack for $25-30 each. See if your girls and you still like them. You'd probably break them while learning. But that won't hurt you cause they are cheap. You'd also get a good idea of kinds of projects to do with them. Then get a drone that fits, as you'd have a better understanding of what matters to you. I settled on a $80 drone that's not programmable. That's cause I stick a BLE arduino on it. Turns out that's all I needed. But get something cheap and break it while learning how to fly.
- smlacy 11y agoDo you have a specific 2-pack for $25-30 that you would recommend? I've never seen anything like that before?
- arihant 11y agoI meant $25-30 each, edited. Nothing specific, you see these kid-friendly drones in toy shops. The one I bought is $40 on Amazon now, from Holy Stone. Here are two that I just found: - http://www.amazon.com/Cheerson-2-4GHz-6-Axis-Quadcopter-Bright/dp/B00KXZC762/ http://www.amazon.com/Cheerson-2-4GHz-6-Axis-Quadcopter-Brig... - http://www.amazon.com/4DCopter-Fly-Love-Quadcopter-Controlled/dp/B00VLG3PHW/ http://www.amazon.com/4DCopter-Fly-Love-Quadcopter-Controlle...
- cripblip 11y agoI bought a couple of these for the office, very good. They come with guards so you can bounce them off the wall and so far no damage Syma X12S Nano 6-Axis Gyro 4CH RC Quadcopter with Protection Guard, Color White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VVP31DQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_r7BKwbGCR7EE1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VVP31DQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_r7BK...
- thenomad 11y agoI can't recommend a 2-pack, but for a nearly unbreakable single learner drone the Hubsan x4 is the standard, and it's great. When you and your kids start flying drones you WILL crash them. A lot. Hence why the "unbreakable" bit is important. My girlfriend and I both bought one each last year, and we had a lot of fun with them. They have a (terrible) camera, they can go pretty fast, they can fly outdoors and fight at least light wind, and most importantly, particularly if you add the propeller guard, they're almost indestructable. We bought an extra pack of propellers and an extra pack of batteries (the latter to extend flight time) and that's all we needed for a few months of near-daily flight. We crashed them into trees, dropped them from 100 feet up, flew them at inadvisable speeds indoors, bounced them off walls, ceilings, light fittings, furniture, and occasionally each other, and they survived fine barring a bunch of propeller replacements (which are very cheap). 10/10 would crash again.
- bangelo 11y ago$90. Completely open source. PCB-structure. App Enabled. Steve Holt. http://www.amazon.com/Crazepony-Quadcopter-Development-Platform-Student/dp/B015MYR1GO/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1452373186&sr=1-1&keywords=bitcraze http://www.amazon.com/Crazepony-Quadcopter-Development-Platf...
- akhilcacharya 11y ago\o/
- TulliusCicero 11y agoI just realized that this emoticon is of someone raising their arms into the air in triumph, and not someone squishing their face with their hands so that their mouth makes an O.
- theseoafs 11y ago\ö/
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- dopamean 11y agoWhat language is used to program it? For some reason I'm having a hard time finding this.
- chrishare 11y agoCheck out https://github.com/Crazepony https://github.com/Crazepony. From a brief look, you'd need to write C to change the firmware, but you can write a client in any language and connect via bluetooth (https://github.com/Crazepony/crazepony-android-client-none/blob/master/app/src/main/java/com/test/Crazepony/BTClient.java https://github.com/Crazepony/crazepony-android-client-none/b...).
- egorf 11y agoYou can try Emlid's Navio http://www.emlid.com/ http://www.emlid.com/ It's a RPi based autopilot, it runs Linux and therefore much easier to program and use.
- egorf 11y agoYou can try Emlid's Navio http://www.emlid.com/ http://www.emlid.com/ It's a RPi based autopilot, it runs Linux and therefore much easier to program and use.
- bayer_rggb 11y agoMight be off topic, but can we map 3-d space to detect obstacles like how a roomba maps 2-d space and avoids obstacles ? (like this http://www.technologyreview.com/sites/default/files/images/iRobot_Newsx299.gif http://www.technologyreview.com/sites/default/files/images/i...) I mean, is that a solved problem ?
- nickpsecurity 11y agoAt first glance, I thought it said the best affordable "programming" drone. I was thinking, "Damn, the HR people are getting really honest in the job offers now." Made more sense after a double take.
- supercoder 11y agoJust start with any drone first and don't make the poor kids suffer through you trying to program it
- locusm 11y agoLots of good guidance here http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/build-your-own-multicopter/ http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/build-your-own-multicopter/
- sjtrny 11y agoWait why do you want to program it? The fun is in the flying of it. Especially FPV in acro mode.
- hansolhong 11y agoCoDrone on Kickstarter now. Robolink.com/kickstarter