Movable camera

Post by **drmacchi** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 3:54 pm

Really interesting!but a lot of money..... A few qestions: do you control by radio (this means visual control) or do you have a software interface where you see LIVE the flight (so like a flight simulator but on realtime). this should be accomplished using a video receiver, but this is an extra power comsumption.Why do you need a gps?

Post by **MindBender** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:26 pm

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by drmacchi
 do you control by radio (this means visual control) or do you have a software interface where you see LIVE the flight (so like a flight simulator but on realtime).this should be accomplished using a video receiver, but this is an extra power comsumption.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">For now; Yes. I already have a video transmitter/receiver set and super-imposing of flight data into the video signal, but the transmitter is a bit too weak and First Person Flying is difficult to practice in my back yard. However, flying from the camera greatly increases the craft's usability, especially when shooting movies, so I'm considering a better set.<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Why do you need a gps?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I don't really need it, but it is useful for 'position hold', 'come home', range guarding, logging purposes and autonomous flight. As a matter of fact: GPS has been responsible for my only two big crashes, so I'd rather fly it manually now.

Post by **drmacchi** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:37 pm

If you make your "creature" able to fly with presetted points (this means a precision of 1-5mt. maximum, considering a fly of 30') , and to take snapshots of points of interest, You could sell a blockbuster in home surveillance. The top could be a night fly with rain conditions. Think about a situation like mine: forest around the house of 6.000 mq , some security cams along the perimeter , but you don't control everything ! with a fly you could patrol all the perimeter

Post by **MindBender** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:32 pm

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by drmacchi
 If you make your "creature" able to fly with presetted points (this means a precision of 1-5mt. maximum, considering a fly of 30') , and to take snapshots of points of interest, You could sell a blockbuster in home surveillance.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Autonomous flight from a preset route is already possible, but I don't see any practical applications for it yet. Having it flying unattended, without hands close to the controls doesn't feel very comfortably. it's accuracy isn't as high as you desire, but at 20 meters altitude it doesn't need to be very accurate, let alone at 50 or 100 meters.

Autonomous landing is still a problem. You will need some kind of optical guiding system to have it land on your heli pad and sonar distance meters for a soft landing.

However, checking out your perimeter is already possible using First Person Flying.
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">The top could be a night fly with rain conditions. Think about a situation like mine: forest around the house of 6.000 mq , some security cams along the perimeter , but you don't control everything ! with a fly you could patrol all the perimeter<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">You could carry a IR security camera, with retractable IR-cut filter and IR illumination. Or a FLIR camera if you're really confident in your flying skills. The technology is all there; You just need to put it together, or have someone putting it together for you.

And above all: Flying it is real fun! I get to see perspectives and things few other people can see.

Post by **drmacchi** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:45 pm

Incredibile videos about FLIR cameras, http://www.flir.com/cvs/eurasia/en/ , but this is professional stuff ! (Ebay prices starting from 5.000$ ....) . My idea about a preset route, was related to an autonomous surveillance activity, but i understand that it's not so simple to get it. This could be a cheap start . (not more than a simple toy....) http://cgi.ebay.com/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI ... 0325759541