UAV drones come in all shapes and sizes, used for a variety of purposes from recreational fun to neighborhood surveillance. Drones were only associated with uses for military and space research but now with emerging technology and cheaper materials, they are easily attainable to the general public at a very low cost.
What is an amateur UAV?
An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is an aircraft that has the capability of autonomous flight, without a pilot in control. Amateur UAVs are non-military and non-commercial. They typically fly under “recreational” exceptions to FAA regulations on UAVs, so long as the pilots/programmers keep them within tight limits on altitude and distance. Usually the UAV is controlled manually by Radio Control (RC) at take-off and landing, and switched into GPS-guided autonomous mode only at a safe altitude.
What do I need to make one?
1) An RC plane, muticopter (quadcopter/hexacopter/tricopter, etc) or helicopter. You can buy them ready to fly, including autopilot
2) An autopilot, such as APM 2.5
3) Optional: digital camera or video transmission equipment
What does DIY Drones have to offer?
The DIY Drones community has created the world’s first “universal autopilot”, ArduPilot Mega (APM). It combines sophisticated IMU-based autopilot electronics with free Arduino-based autopilot software that can turn any RC vehicle into a fully-autonomous UAV.
Content from http://www.diydrones.com
For more information on DIY drones, check out the following websites:
