Hey guys,
This is my first post 
Okay so I have a few questions regarding an arduino drone i am currently designing:
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What language do I code arduino in (Im brand new to arduino)
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Im trying to get the drone to be controlled via an app on my tablet but am concerned on range! From what ive seen radio gives the most amount of range: Can I use only my tablet to control the drone via radio? If not what should I get to allow radio control?
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I am trying to implement FPV - Do I need a video transmission system in the drone (Im thinking this is a stupid question). Does the tablet come with one built in? Whats a decent transmitter to put in the drone?
Thanks guys!
Program in C or it's variants.
What range are you wanting? Is it a small indoor drone or one to fly over tall buildings etc?
Weedpharma
Check your local hobby shop. One near me has a little camera/transmitter that can mount on small quad copter and displays on android device.
Saw one this weekend for gas powered RC airplane, really long range, the airplane was quite far away but not out of sight, was a large 4 foot wing span plane, used quite a bit of runway to take off and flew for quite a while. From the ground antenna, I'd guess it was using 2.4GHz transmitter/receiver.
Thank you guys for the responses so far! They have already been a huge help! To clarify, I hope this drone will be able to be an outdoor drone - fly high and far. The larger the range the better - I was hoping for about a mile, but that may be unrealistic.
A good 2.4GHz transmitter and a good receiver may get about about a mile of control. However, check local regulations since most countries don't allow flying FPV unless another operator keeps their eye on the drone and you are able to fly it back if you have a problem with video.
Although you should be able to control it at one mile, video feedback demands a lot more bandwith and the simplest systems use Wifi (you can even use a GoPro and have a ready-to-use FPV system), but don't expect more than ~50m range using wifi.
Other FPV technologies exist, but I don't know much about then.
Guillaume
Check the FPV, Aerial Video, and Telemetry items here:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/index.asp
@Mathers - so if Wifi only has a 50m range, would it be better to use a radio frequency for controlling the drone for a larger range? I know next to nothing about radio control - my biggest question is can an Android Tablet or Ipad produce a radio frequency I can control the drone on? If not, is there something I can buy to attach to the tablet to implement radio control?
I suppose you could connect to one of these somehow, the unit would do the actual transmitting for you.
BakerA1:
@Mathers - so if Wifi only has a 50m range, would it be better to use a radio frequency for controlling the drone for a larger range? I know next to nothing about radio control - my biggest question is can an Android Tablet or Ipad produce a radio frequency I can control the drone on? If not, is there something I can buy to attach to the tablet to implement radio control?
Yes, but radio control usually has a lower bandwidth so you probably won't be able to transmit video at long ranges...
The Arduino is not able to process high-frequency signals as would be requiered for Wifi or RF. As a rule of thumb, the absolute maximum the Arduino can handle is 16kHz, and typical aircraft radio controls operate at 2.4GHz.
You need a separate module that will do the signal processing and only report the useful "content" to the arduino
mathers:
Yes, but radio control usually has a lower bandwidth so you probably won't be able to transmit video at long ranges...
The Arduino is not able to process high-frequency signals as would be requiered for Wifi or RF. As a rule of thumb, the absolute maximum the Arduino can handle is 16kHz, and typical aircraft radio controls operate at 2.4GHz.
You need a separate module that will do the signal processing and only report the useful "content" to the arduino
What would you suggest using for the separate module?
You can buy a transmitter and a receiver as a kit : 2.4ghz transmitter rx - Google Search
The receiver (rx) will output separate PWM signals, that you can either read with the arduino's analog inputs, or directly plug to a Servo