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Bayangtoys X16: Inexpensive, durable, hackable GPS drone
- demouser7 9y agoI did a similar mod: fly my Phantom 1 with a CC3D board inside. It works perfectly fine and now i can fly acro mode at insane speeds.
- duckwheat 9y agoAbout to build a flying wing around a cc3d, hoping for similar results.
- Ardren 9y agoThere is a surprising amount of open source code in RC multirotors in general, I've only played around a bit and I've used: Cleanflight[1] & Betaflight[2] flight controller firmware Deviation[3] firmware for Walkera Devo transmitters RX5808 Pro Diversity[4] video receiver firmware 1: https://github.com/cleanflight/cleanflight 2: https://github.com/betaflight/betaflight 3: https://github.com/DeviationTX/deviation 4: https://github.com/sheaivey/rx5808-pro-diversity/
- olex 9y agoDon't forget OpenTX, which is a transmitter firmware that overshadows any expensive as hell top-of-the-line brand RC transmitter by orders of magnitude in functionality, and runs on various mostly inexpensive hobby-grade hardware. Also Ardupilot (APM:Copter, APM:Plane, APM:Rover), PX4, and many many others.
- StavrosK 9y agoI got a Taranis Q X7 that comes with OpenTX from the factory. I can't believe how high-quality both the firmware and the companion (cross-platform desktop app that simulates the entire transmitter) is.
- taneq 9y agoI'm in the process of building my first racing drone and I've been amazed by the sophisticated open-source ecosystem around all this hardware.
- yardie 9y agoAfter my last drone flew off never to be seen again I started looking into open source flight controllers. The open source platform has come a long way. I consider DJI to be the most advanced at FC firmware. But they intentionally limit you so much. My next drones will most likely be a Spark for the interior and an easily upgradable OSS DIY rig for aerial photography. Running Betaflight or iNav.
- andygates 9y agoI'd be interested to hear how the OSS community handle flyaway events. Every commercial drone has them, but they're tricky to code round being edge cases where the evidence has, well, flown away.
- yardie 9y agoI'd be interested as well. Some of the 3rd-party DJI software can do geofencing.
- mschuster91 9y ago> Every commercial drone has them, but they're tricky to code round being edge cases where the evidence has, well, flown away. I wonder, given how ultra small batteries and RF chipsets have become, if this would be a viable option: take a small battery, flash memory, a GPRS modem, a GPS receiver and something like the ESP32. Make a black box out of it by encasing it in epoxy to harden it against impact. Connect it via a data bus to the drone's main controller. When the power gets cut or the data stream from the main controller is interrupted or an accelerometer detects a hard landing, power up the GPS module and have it send the current location via SMS to the owner, and also use the ESP32's wifi capability to create an access point - which can then be triangulated using a simple mapper software on your cellphone that measures wifi strength.
- dmix 9y ago> After my last drone flew off never to be seen again How does that happen?
- 9y ago
- EdwardMSmith 9y agoIf you're interested in a quad loaded with open source software right out of the box, take a look at the Sky Viper v2450 GPS. It runs about $150. It runs full ardupilot code, has a ublox gps chip, a taoglas gps antenna, and the video board and transmitter software is open source. It runs a tiny webserver that allows you to configure any of the ardupilot variables, and is compatible with most of the ardupilot ground control software. http://sky-viper.com/product/info/V2450GPS-sd http://sky-viper.com/product/info/V2450GPS-sd http://ardupilot.org/ http://ardupilot.org/ https://github.com/SkyRocketToys https://github.com/SkyRocketToys
- StavrosK 9y agoJeez, all that for $150? That's almost for free, the parts alone must cost more! Can I connect a custom RX to it so I can use it with my Taranis? Although I guess I'll have to reconfigure everything in that case... EDIT: Now I kind of wish there were a version of this drone with just the body, so I could save money on the radio (as I already have one).
- Ardren 9y agoI think it's DSM2/DSMX so you'd need a OrangeRX module for your Taranis http://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/skyviper.html http://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/skyviper.html
- rafaelpz 9y agoTemped to see if it's possible to put low cost RTK like ublox or emlid and do mapping with this drone. If one day we can do reliable mapping with the equipment for this price..
- paule89 9y agoSo what exactly was done to the drone and how? As far as i understood the article lists a few methods which could be used to mod the drone but not what he really did and how. Or am I just bad at fast reading a webpage?
- alexose 9y agoHas anyone managed to add automated/wireless charging to an inexpensive drone? It looks like there are a few commercial solutions out there, but nothing for less than $500.
- hamandcheese 9y agoThere’s a micro drone called the Crazyflie which has Arduino-style expansion decks, and one of those is a Qi wireless charging deck. https://www.bitcraze.io/qi-charger-deck/ https://www.bitcraze.io/qi-charger-deck/
- 1024core 9y agoThis is why I don't understand why companies lock down their hardware! You're getting free software enhancements and support; unlock that thing! Why waste people's time in reverse engineering your crap, when they could be spending that time building new functionality. For example, Canon and the whole CHDK thing. Canon makes money from selling the hardware; so why lock down the software?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- zeep 9y agoCompanies do that with most hardware (including cellphones)... They like to stay in control.
- coin 9y ago> why lock down the software? Software based features
- osteele 9y agoOne reason, mentioned, is in order to reserve premium features. Others are to maintain control over user experience; to simplify QA (making it less expensive, and leading to faster release cycles); reduce support costs; and increase engineering flexibility, by reducing the size of the API surface that requires a deprecation policy in order to avoid disrupting users.
- bonestamp2 9y ago> why lock down the software? I work with hardware (not quadcopters) that is limited by software and the software is locked down, so I can at least tell you the reasons we do it: 1. Warranty. We know the limits of the hardware and our customers expect us to warranty that hardware for a reasonable amount of time, so we can't have consumers pushing the hardware beyond the duration/temperature/speed/etc that is going to significantly reduce its lifespan. We're not trying to be jerks, we're just saying here is our warranty and these are the parameters/limits within which we can offer that warranty. 2. Hackers. Hobby hackers are cool and most of us that work on these products are hobby hackers too, so we can appreciate the curiosity, fun and legitimate utility of modifying the software. But, there is a rising threat of malicious hackers and many of our customers (and non-customers) expect us to protect society as a whole from our products being taken over by malicious hackers for the purpose of harming someone. If nothing else, nobody who makes the products want to find out their product was used for that from a moral standpoint, not to mention a liability standpoint. As for Canon, I'm sure people have tried to return camera bodies they've tried to hack and have bricked or otherwise damaged and that's not fair to Canon either. The right solution would be for the manufacturers to make some of their software open source so hobbyists could add features and submit official pull requests that can be vetted by the engineers that are responsible for the reliability of the product and the safety of the people around it. That's my two cents on it anyways.
- lmaker 9y agoDoes the X16 stream video?!
- lmaker 9y agoanswering my own question, apparently, it doesn't support it out of the box: https://www.ebay.com/itm/BAYANGTOYS-X16-Brushless-Altitude-Hold-2-4G-4CH-6Axis-RC-Quadcopter-RTF-/142488391393?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275 https://www.ebay.com/itm/BAYANGTOYS-X16-Brushless-Altitude-H... next question would be: can we mod it so it does :D ?
- petre 9y agoWhy are there no robotic airships available? They'd solve most payload and airtime issues that drons currently have. Also great for video since they're not as noisy as a quad and you could also turn off the engine.
- jpm_sd 9y agoAirships are mostly disappointing. High drag, so they get thrown around by the wind - and leaks are a constant problem.
- mschuster91 9y agoIn addition, size. While a drone can navigate flying in a busy street with all kinds of overhead wires, the huge size required for an airship would prevent many usage cases - the thing would simply get entangled in wires. Airships are the best solution if you need something to stay in a specific area/position for longer times... something like an emergency cellphone/wifi BTS after major disaster strikes, but for moving around? Not really.
- cjrp 9y agoDifficult to steer in anything but light winds, I'd imagine.
- ChristianGeek 9y agoThere have been, but they’re only practical indoors for reasons others have mentioned.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- Bedon292 9y agoLooks like the price has raised since the article. Due to popularity maybe?
- xnet 9y agoI bought it for £75 this morning where it said the lower price was for 2 more days. Now it's £95. Must have generated a fair few purchases!
- itissid 9y agoIts sad that the FAA has rules that don't allow any commercial use of a drone in populated suburbs. With real time insurance starting to take off. These rules ought to be revisited, at least for light weight drones < 5 pounds.