Airborne Video With an R/C helicopter

PerryResearch writes "MacGyver would be jealous - here are the plans for a complete 2.4 ghz wireless video transmission system, mounted on a Mikado Logo 20 R/C helicopter, with realtime video overlay showing wireless signal strength, GPS coordinates, and support for videoglasses. Make sure you check out some of their in-flight videos."

Comments

Should be great for filming sporting events

[Wiktor Kochanowski]

For example, cross country bicycle racing. As a sport - it's fantastic to do it, but extremely boring to watch, because the camera cannot follow riders as it does in road racing. A heli-mounted camera is what this sport is waiting for.

Re:Should be great for filming sporting events

[Tall Rob Mc]

If you watched the Tour De France, they already use helicopters and video cameras to cover the race. Race observers know not to watch the road, but rather the skies, to anticipate the arrival of the pack. I'm not sure how many RC helicopters would have the 200km range necessary to film an entire stage like a full-size helicopter with a cameraman.

Re:Should be great for filming sporting events

[henley]

Err... See, the thing about model helicopters is that they're a complete pig to fly. I think the mean-time-before-superglue for learner pilots is about 30 seconds of flight time. It's inherent in the technology: they're very mechanically complex and dynamically unstable.

So having said all that, do you think it would be a good idea to have a whirling mass of blades teetering close to anything you think as valuable? Such as cyclist's heads, for example?

Application in Sporting Events or Biohazzard?

[FauxReal]

Lets just hope it doesn't block that winning touchdown pass at the superbowl. Seriously though.. how about outdoor sporting events in rugged terrain. Or maybe to survey the damage at a post nuclear accident or some kind of toxic gas filled area. Then again you could allways fit it with a laser and paint targets for cruise missiles.

Could this be a possbile 3G killer app?

[neglige]

Just imagine: build a helicopter with a camera and equip it with a 3G mobile phone.

Then you can dial in to the helicopter and control it with another phone in your hand while seeing the video streamed live to your device. This could, of course, already work with GPRS or HSCSD, but with 3G its much more l33t.

And you do not want to receive a call from your mom, which would interrupt your current transmission :/

Whatever happened to ...

[Alaska Jack]

Video eyeglasses?

Seeing this guy wearing his clunky "Video I-glasses" made me wonder why these never caught on.* Three or four years ago I tried on a pair of television eyeglasses, and was sure that within a few years, the technology would improve to the point where these things would become practical, ubiquitous and cheap replacements for computer monitors. So why the total lack of demand? * And no, I don't mean as fashion accessories. Smartass.

Re:Old news or not, it'll get slashdotted.

[hoofie]

No its not crap - have you ever flown one ? At least have the bottle to say it winout being an anonymous coward.
The Piccolo is indoors only or else on a day with zero breeze.

The main posters comments are spot on - I used to fly .30 rc helis for a while and they are very hard to fly - even with gyroscope stabilisation and computerised transmitters.

The best advice is don't buy one unless you are serious about learning to fly one - its expensive and you will bend it on numerous occasions, although everything is repairable.

Also, safety first - even a little .30 copter has a lot of inertia in its rotor blades at full power and could cause some serious damage to someone.

Having said all this, when you eventually manage to get it into a stable hover for as long as you want, its a real feeling of accomplishment.