hello friends
I am planning to fabricate a completely autonomous micro aerial vehicle(MAV).Am new to this hobby of RC modeling so am in need of your help.Basically the MAV will be hand launched and will navigate using way points over a preplanned area(GPS navigation),the landing will be autonomous though!!
Once in air,the MAV will have to locate the consecutive way points and head towards them,finally landing at a particular spot.
I just wanted to know the various components (both on-board the vehicle and for the ground station )that are required to accomplish the same.

thanks
prashanth

micro aerial vehicles or UAV(unmaned aerial vehicle) are preferrably quadrotors, due to better balancing and payload options,so it is better if you first select all the parameters of quad and then you can buy a readymade board (arduino etc)
,or if you know a little electronics you can build your own  

http://pankajwasv.blogspot.com/

regds
pankaj

Hi Prasanth, Are you from Coimbatore, Do you fly there?

The search for these often ends up in "ardupilot" (which is based on arduino hardware platform and custom software for the waypoint business).  Most people launch/take-off and land manually though, as getting that right adds significant burden on to the effort.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ardupilot

If you compromise on the take-off and landing parts, then any regular plane can be used for the same.

hello friends
                thanks for your response.
@pankaj : Sir,basically what am planning to build is similar to this one (saw this at IITB)
               
I do know a little of electronics and micro controller programming and have no problem designing the board.But again i don't have enough guidance and cost is yet another criteria of concern.And secondly,components availability in Coimbatore is another major problem(hence planning to buy a ready made board !!).

@shrihari : yes i am from Coimbatore

@anwar  : Sir,as in the video,the vehicle will be hand launched and must land autonomously.is there any other alternative that can be used to land the vehicle or can this autopilot be programmed according to our needs ?? and what would be its approx. cost??

thanks
prashanth

Don't have enough experience/knowledge in this field to give you a proper answer.  What I know from working with a friend who is into unmanned flight with stabilization is that the automated landing part is not a priority (at least initially) as opposed to getting the stabilization and waypoint stuff correct.  You can try the ardupilot/arduino forums for more information. This person is part of a global team who are planning to participate in the next Outback challenge.

No idea about the cost either

sorry for the late reply...is there anyone in india who can guide me with AUTOPILOT systems?? are they available here in india  ??

thanks
prashanth

Are you looking for something like these (which is just stabilization, and no waypoint stuff) ?

http://www.rcindia.org/for-sale/futaba-pa-1pa-2-pilot-assist-link(auto-pilot)/

http://www.rcindia.org/self-designed-diy-and-college-projects/needed-fma-co-pilot/msg4554/#msg4554

no sir,am looking for stuff similar to these...

http://store.diydrones.com/product_p/kt-arduimu-20.htm
http://code.google.com/p/gentlenav/wiki/Home?tm=6

i also need a GPS module and a RF module along with it...both stabilization and waypoint navigation are required..

prashanth

actually these boards come in with built-in IMU unit(gyros and accelerometers) and can be programmed according to our needs...

Hi Prashanths,
Try these two guys as they are both into unmanned vehicles;

Vivek at ; info@sharmamodelaero.com

or Eshwar at ; enrmodel@yahoo.com
they might be able to help.
Deepak

hey deepak...can you please send me their numbers???

thanks
prashanth

Prashanth,
Numbers sent via message. Have you seen this video...
   

It flies itself in a small room, you launch it and catch it back...
Unbelievable, CHECK IT OUT ...

 
   

thanxs a tonne for the info..and the video was jus awesome 

prashanth

a slightly offtopic question-how can we create a ultra light micro[~30cm] plane only using cf rods[1mm dia] for construction

note to admin :- if this post tends to hijack this thread as per ur views please split it... and  delete this note

after a long search for the boards and GPS unit...have finally decided to go with these...

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9038
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=465

the board comes with an inbuilt IMU unit and uses a PIC controller...before placing an order,i would like to know your suggestions,if any...

thanks
prashanth

I'm also buliding a quadcopter and already have an IMU and an Arduino. Consider the 6 DOF board on sparkfun for $80 and Arduino too before comitting on above mentioned items.

hey gaurav...can u just send me the links for the products u mentioned in the previous post...and the reason for me selecting the UAV DevBoard is that here the board comes with an inbuilt IMU unit(3 DOF) and a PIC controller....hence i guess there is no need of much soldering...
moreover did u order from sparkfun??If yes,do u know any distributors for the same in india??or did u directly place your order with sparkfun???
also would love to have a look at your copters pics..

thanks
prashanth

anyone?

Just search 6 dof Sparkfun IMU on google and you will get the link. Its around $80. My uncle got it from US. Look at arduino too because programming is much easier than PIC. Will post pics as soon as possible. Can I have your email id? Mine is gaurav_duggal@msn.com

@ankur: sorry for the delay...browse through the pages of UAV in rcgroups.com
@gaurav: my email id is prashanths89@gmail.com