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Aug 10, 09 - 12:38 pm Comment from: occams razor

Dear Santa . . . . .

I don't know if tilt is the right way to control that, at least it appeared awkward and slow to respond, but very cool nonetheless!

Aug 10, 09 - 12:40 pm Comment from: silverwarloc

...hey, when is the WinMo version coming out?;-)

Aug 10, 09 - 12:45 pm Comment from: ecrabb

Yeah, the control inputs seemed somewhat detached from the vehicle's movements.

Still, I love this kind of stuff. Even if the current implementation doesn't necessarily seem practical or desirable, it's often a jumping-off point for more advanced ideas or implementations.

Awesome!

Aug 10, 09 - 12:55 pm Comment from: jtc

the controls were beyond sluggish... they barely worked. I'm sure it cant be too hard of a fix though it just seems like the settings were tuned down so a slight tilt didn't send it flying off into a wall.. But I dont see how useful this is... since maybe turning would be fine.. but in order to control any other functions you'd have to look at the screen and not be able to watch where you are flying... still cool though since no one is using any other touch device to do stuff like this :D

It didn't seem detached to me. It just seemed like it had to overcome momentum.

Aug 10, 09 - 01:04 pm Comment from: HMCIV

silverwarloc

I'm working on it right now with Windows PortsForSure app Conversion Pack

Aug 10, 09 - 01:09 pm Comment from: Bartsimpsonhead

I guess when you're controlling four props, getting the motors to speed up/down to effect a turn might take a few seconds.
It's probably be faster with small jets.

Yep, get me one of those for Christmas

Aug 10, 09 - 01:31 pm Comment from: Anonymous©

Well, being either the FIRST or SECOND test of the flight controls, I'm sure they can adjust the sensitivity to be a little more responsive in future iterations.

Aug 10, 09 - 01:36 pm Comment from: NCIceman

I'd pay $49.95 to be able to chase the cats with that....

Aug 10, 09 - 02:28 pm Comment from: TheConfuzed1

Watch out James Bond.

Aug 10, 09 - 03:03 pm Comment from: Spark

"But I dont see how useful this is... since maybe turning would be fine.. but in order to control any other functions you'd have to look at the screen and not be able to watch where you are flying"

Common... use some imagination. Pretend you have a 10" iTablet (whatever) and the drone is mounted with a camera. Now imagine that the drone is 20 miles away, behind enemy lines. Anti-military? Okay, imagine the drone carries insecticide and you can stand next to your field as you control you spraying. So forth and so on. Simplifying the control of air vehicles is big.

This is a first shot at the technical feasibility of the controller. It obviously works, now it just has to be refined. It will need to send a visual signal from a camera to the iPod/iPhone so that the operator can see what's happening, but that's no big deal to add in.

This would be much easier to use than a traditional remote control, and less bulky to boot.

Also, think of the other apps which could be useful for soldiers all packed into one little iPod touch.

Aug 10, 09 - 03:55 pm Comment from: iPorn

iFly. iBomb. iConquered.

Aug 10, 09 - 07:08 pm Comment from: ken1w

Yes, military interface design tends to be clunky. But they are designed to survive in a battlefield, with dust (or moisture) and shock. Actually, and iPhone or iPod touch would fare better in such an environment than most consumer electronics. It is mostly enclosed, does not have a slide-open or flip-open case, and has minimal seams from buttons (no keyboard), ports, and other openings (no battery door or flash card slots). It wouldn't take too much effort to retrofit one to be military-grade.

Aug 10, 09 - 08:34 pm Comment from: silverhawk

I can see the helicopter deploying from the fridge. It hooks on to a beer and a hole in the fridge door opens to allow egress. Fly the beer into your hand and sent the chopper back to the fridge to recharge and resupply. MIT could make a mint on that one.

Aug 10, 09 - 09:00 pm Comment from: CitizenX

More killing from long distance by remote control.

Aug 10, 09 - 09:51 pm Comment from: iworker

Hmmm, now I have a reason to buy an iPhone. Some of my students are drones. Maybe an iPhone will do the trick. Come to think of it nothing will motivate those suckers.

Because the goal of this research is to allow non-pilots to safely direct flight, I think the controller effects are purposely dampened, to allow for greater error correction, i.e., to avoid mishaps, misdirection and crashes.

Aug 11, 09 - 04:44 am Comment from: iworker

NCIceman,

Good one dude. My dog would like that so the cats would come to him.

missy cummings? she sounds like a porn star!

Aug 11, 09 - 08:48 am Comment from: antmeeks

OMG thats awesome