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World's First Lego Autopilot
zlite writes "What's the best way to create a UAV for less than $1,000? Use the new Hitechnic gyro sensor for Mindstorms NXT to create a Lego autopilot! This one can turn a R/C plane into a drone, keeping the aircraft level and returning it to the launch area. Add a Bluetooth GPS module and a microcam and you've got a fully autonomous surveillance platform."
Hmmm, HiTechnic says gyro "will be available soon" and the Lego blog says "I haven't received the gyro sensor yet, so I've got a light sensor standing in for it in the picture, but the mechanicals are pretty much in place.". Vaporware. Cool idea, but nothing more than a cool idea at this point.
What will be interesting in all this is the complete stupidity that will follow. I work for an embedded systems contract design house. We tried to get some samples of the single chip gyros, what a royal pain! It seems somebody out there is terrified that "tear-ists" will buy the chips and build evil cruise missiles and such. Why did we try to get the parts? Because one of the guys needed to replace one in a $100 RC helicopter. So for now you can buy the helo, buy the Lego add-on, but forget about getting the gyros themselves unless you can prove you're not sellin' them to the KLF or whatever liberation front dujour. How long before some congressional idiot ("but I repeat myself" - Mark Twain) sees this and decides us lowly regular folks have no use for these devices at all?