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gabehoffmann (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Yes, they are developing a similar vehicle. The design for our vehicle was actually inspired by the Draganfly III. We added cross beams, changed the motors and rotors, used different connections, etc., to improve vehicle control, payload capacity, flight time, crash survivability, etc.; our current aircraft is built from scratch. The Microdrones have a similar approach to control, though in my experience STARMAC is easier to fly. The goal of our project, though, is to fly research experiments.
hollywoodjetmovies (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Nice prototype but you are developing something seems just the same as the German Microdrones company. See in "Related videos" (?)
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gabehoffmann (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Quite true. See and avoid capabilities are still required for air traffic though.
NSResponder (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Wouldn't you simplify the problem quite a bit by just going for more altitude? Once you're even 300' above the ground, there aren't going to be many things in your way.-jcr
gabehoffmann (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
I've always wanted to get to that point. We're still working out the details of using lasers to detect obstacles. It's a fascinating challenge - how do you determine your path and speed to fly safely and acquire more information about your surroundings?
calladus (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
The energy density of fuel is what - a hundred times that of a battery? A thousand? Sure you'd have to offset that with a generator and motor, but I'll bet you could still get a 2 hour flight time with the same payload.
calladus (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Perhaps. But the idea is to only carry enough battery to "run silent" for a couple of minutes, or to create a soft landing if needed.The advantage of converting from gas to electricity is that you can continue to use H-bridge controlled electric motors for the fine motor control out of your microcontroller, while depending on a much longer range fuel source based on combustion instead of chemistry. Honestly, you could get rid of the batteries entirely if you wished.
NSResponder (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
The advantage of a hybrid power train in cars is that the power demand in cars varies quite a bit, and the electrical system allows the use of an engine in its most efficient operating range, while the batteries are able to provide higher power on demand.When it comes to an aircraft, especially a helicopter, there's not much variation in the power demand in flight. Carrying the weight of the batteries would be a lose.-jcr
NSResponder (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)
Freaking brilliant.So, how long until we can buy a commercial version of this robot to do small-package delivery over a 20 mile range?-jcr | 
