Tom James over at Futurismic posted a roundup of links on DIY unmanned aerial vehicles.
For example, DIYDrones.com is a website devoted to UAV enthusiasts. Among other things at DIYDrones.com, you’ll find an open source project using Arduino to build “a full-featred autopilot with infrared stabilization.”
Fascinating, but a bit scary too as hinted at by Chris Anderson — the person behind DIYDrones — in a Wired piece,
Now this project has gone pro. Our first commercial autopilot, the Arduino-compatible ArduPilot, has been released and our goal of taking an order or two of magnitude out of the cost of an autopilot has been achieved: it’s $24.95!
Combined with a RC plane, this makes it easy to build a complete UAV for less than $500, which is really kind of amazing. As exciting as that it is, it’s also sobering to know that a technology that was just a few years ago the sole domain of the military is now within the reach of amateurs, so we spend a lot of time educating our community on FAA regulations and safe and responsible flying (always under 400 feet, stay within line of sight, pilot always able to regain control).
Understand what this autopilot system is — it allows the aircraft to fly unmanned and unassisted. Program a series of waypoints — limited by the onboard memory — and the RC plane will follow those waypoint using the GPS system.
In a world where improvised explosive devices have played a major role in asymmetric warfare already, just imagine what happens when you have flying IEDs.
