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can anyone advise me on a drone brand or something that comes with an "API" that allows me to use it like a programmable interface, on the fly. Would love to w

can anyone advise me on a drone brand or something that comes with an "API" that allows me to use it like a programmable interface, on the fly. Would love to write some script to make my drones do predefined things depending on API calls - any clues?

fc417fc802 2y ago
Have you considered DIY options? There's lots of advanced control software out there. It wasn't so long ago that all the best ones were homemade.
bri3d 2y ago
Onboard or via a phone/controller? Parrot had very good SDKs but they stopped making consumer drones. You could get one used but beware that the batteries are mostly aging out. DJI have a Mobile SDK, although it has a quite confusing support matrix and is artificially hamstrung on consumer drones. I think the latest mobile SDK for Android still supports the Mini 3 Pro, so that might be a good starting point (but not the newer 4 Pro). They also have a Payload SDK for their enterprise drones. Autel also have a mobile SDK although I would describe it as simply a mess. You can always build your own drone with Ardupilot or PX4 but you’ll have to deep dive into DIY, reimplement or forego a ton of basic flight functions that commercial drones already handle, like visual odometry, and you don’t get a nice camera built in. It’s a viable option for a hobby use but you won’t get anything close to even the most basic commercial drone functionality.
BWStearns 2y ago
Anything that speaks mavlink is this. It's also much harder to get from 0 to 1 with this than it should be.
saidinesh5 2y ago
Just build one yourself... It's quite simple and a lot cheaper. All the components you need are open source. Open hardware and software. When something inevitably breaks you know what exactly to replace. If you don't mind paying a little more and want a ready to fly / kit versions: pick any of these. I remember the Holybro x500 kit used to be very popular (review: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cTVtFYONHiY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cTVtFYONHiY ) https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-rtf.html https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-rtf.html You can control them using mavlink / mavsdk etc... the python libraries are good enough. https://mavsdk.mavlink.io/main/en/index.html https://mavsdk.mavlink.io/main/en/index.html
ustad 2y ago
DJI Tello Drone is a “toy” drone costing around 100€/$ with the cool feature of being able to access/control via wifi with python.
- moffkalast 2y ago
  With the unfortunate problem of being discontinued in January 2024
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
khana 2y ago
[dead]
magnat 2y ago
Lots of no-name or DIY drones use flight controller running a BetaFlight [1] firmware, which is open source and quite hackable. If you want low-level real-time programmatic control (like manipulating servos, lights or camera), that is most likely the easiest way. There is also ArduPilot [2] firmware, which is focused more on the high-level control (like managing GPS waypoints and autonomous takeoff/landing). In both cases you can piggyback your control signals using standard radio or use serial port via dedicated wireless bridge. [1] https://github.com/betaflight/betaflight https://github.com/betaflight/betaflight [2] https://ardupilot.org/ https://ardupilot.org/
- makira 2y ago
  Any reason BetaFlight doesn't appear to have even basic pre-shared key symmetric encryption? Some ciphers aren't that CPU intensive.
  - numpad0 2y ago
    I think ciphering is not always allowed on remote control hobbyist bands. Some jurisdictions allow stronger radio output in exchange for such restrictions. That and lack of demand. Most people are nice, key management is PITA, losing expensive toy from a crypto library bug is going to be frustrating. WPA2 should be still strong enough for most purposes too(threat_model != CIA).
  - magnat 2y ago
    BetaFlight doesn't deal with over-the-air bits, it just receives PWM/PPM/S-Bus/whatever signals your receiver provides. There is no point to have encryption in firmware, because connection between RX and FC is hardwired and can be trusted. Lack of OTA frames encryption, as far as I can tell, is mostly due to legacy reasons. In DYI FPV there are only couple of transmission standards, most of them using 2.4GHz FHSS or some CC2500 clone so you can mix-and-match transmitters and receivers as you wish. If you use custom TX/RX devices, you are pretty much locked in to that specific vendor. Also, designing a nice transmitter UX-wise requires quite a different skillset than designing nice transmitter RF-wise, so manufacturers tend to choose off-the-shelf RF modules.
moffkalast 2y ago
https://ros-aerial.github.io/aerial_robotic_landscape/hardware/ https://ros-aerial.github.io/aerial_robotic_landscape/hardwa...
palata 2y ago
Depends a lot on what you want to do. - What kind of vehicle do you want? A fixed wing? A multicopter? Something else? - What kind of payload do you want? A stabilised camera (i.e. camera + gimbal)? Something else? If there is a DJI drone that does what you want (i.e. a multicopter with a gimbal and a camera), then you can't beat DJI.
savrajsingh 2y ago
Check out ardupilot

fc417fc802 2y ago

Have you considered DIY options? There's lots of advanced control software out there. It wasn't so long ago that all the best ones were homemade.

bri3d 2y ago

Onboard or via a phone/controller? Parrot had very good SDKs but they stopped making consumer drones. You could get one used but beware that the batteries are mostly aging out. DJI have a Mobile SDK, although it has a quite confusing support matrix and is artificially hamstrung on consumer drones. I think the latest mobile SDK for Android still supports the Mini 3 Pro, so that might be a good starting point (but not the newer 4 Pro). They also have a Payload SDK for their enterprise drones. Autel also have a mobile SDK although I would describe it as simply a mess. You can always build your own drone with Ardupilot or PX4 but you’ll have to deep dive into DIY, reimplement or forego a ton of basic flight functions that commercial drones already handle, like visual odometry, and you don’t get a nice camera built in. It’s a viable option for a hobby use but you won’t get anything close to even the most basic commercial drone functionality.

BWStearns 2y ago

Anything that speaks mavlink is this. It's also much harder to get from 0 to 1 with this than it should be.

saidinesh5 2y ago

Just build one yourself... It's quite simple and a lot cheaper. All the components you need are open source. Open hardware and software. When something inevitably breaks you know what exactly to replace. If you don't mind paying a little more and want a ready to fly / kit versions: pick any of these. I remember the Holybro x500 kit used to be very popular (review: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cTVtFYONHiY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cTVtFYONHiY ) https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-rtf.html https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-rtf.html You can control them using mavlink / mavsdk etc... the python libraries are good enough. https://mavsdk.mavlink.io/main/en/index.html https://mavsdk.mavlink.io/main/en/index.html

ustad 2y ago

DJI Tello Drone is a “toy” drone costing around 100€/$ with the cool feature of being able to access/control via wifi with python.

moffkalast 2y ago
With the unfortunate problem of being discontinued in January 2024
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

khana 2y ago

[dead]

magnat 2y ago

Lots of no-name or DIY drones use flight controller running a BetaFlight [1] firmware, which is open source and quite hackable. If you want low-level real-time programmatic control (like manipulating servos, lights or camera), that is most likely the easiest way. There is also ArduPilot [2] firmware, which is focused more on the high-level control (like managing GPS waypoints and autonomous takeoff/landing). In both cases you can piggyback your control signals using standard radio or use serial port via dedicated wireless bridge. [1] https://github.com/betaflight/betaflight https://github.com/betaflight/betaflight [2] https://ardupilot.org/ https://ardupilot.org/

makira 2y ago
Any reason BetaFlight doesn't appear to have even basic pre-shared key symmetric encryption? Some ciphers aren't that CPU intensive.
- numpad0 2y ago
  I think ciphering is not always allowed on remote control hobbyist bands. Some jurisdictions allow stronger radio output in exchange for such restrictions. That and lack of demand. Most people are nice, key management is PITA, losing expensive toy from a crypto library bug is going to be frustrating. WPA2 should be still strong enough for most purposes too(threat_model != CIA).
- magnat 2y ago
  BetaFlight doesn't deal with over-the-air bits, it just receives PWM/PPM/S-Bus/whatever signals your receiver provides. There is no point to have encryption in firmware, because connection between RX and FC is hardwired and can be trusted. Lack of OTA frames encryption, as far as I can tell, is mostly due to legacy reasons. In DYI FPV there are only couple of transmission standards, most of them using 2.4GHz FHSS or some CC2500 clone so you can mix-and-match transmitters and receivers as you wish. If you use custom TX/RX devices, you are pretty much locked in to that specific vendor. Also, designing a nice transmitter UX-wise requires quite a different skillset than designing nice transmitter RF-wise, so manufacturers tend to choose off-the-shelf RF modules.

moffkalast 2y ago

https://ros-aerial.github.io/aerial_robotic_landscape/hardware/ https://ros-aerial.github.io/aerial_robotic_landscape/hardwa...

palata 2y ago

Depends a lot on what you want to do. - What kind of vehicle do you want? A fixed wing? A multicopter? Something else? - What kind of payload do you want? A stabilised camera (i.e. camera + gimbal)? Something else? If there is a DJI drone that does what you want (i.e. a multicopter with a gimbal and a camera), then you can't beat DJI.

savrajsingh 2y ago

Check out ardupilot