@yeehaanow @Tobsen @gizmo You all seem to have much experience with this. Why don't you share your findings and setup?

What if the copter had a camera facing downward, tracking physical movement in a real sense, along with the various other sensors, wind can be compensated for. Actually the AR drone does this ;) Though that's a cheap toy, it can only get better.

As for those drones doing all that fancy stuff, that's a bit of a mis representation, as it doesn't tell you that they're using motion capture technology to track each drone's exact location in 3d space.

@joesiv- that exists. It's called helicommand, made by captron. I have one and it works ok, unless you're over snow or water or flying too high. @johnnym- yes we could tell you our exact detailed setup, but that is only 1/3 of what it takes, so what would be the point ? The other equally important parts are mechanical/ electronic setup, and piloting skills. You might be able to pick up the mechanical/ elec stuff in a decent amount of time (couple months if you have help from people near you who know) but the piloting skills..... There IS NO SHORTCUT. You can't just "know" the muscle memory and hand-eye coordination required to fly something that moves in 3d, you have to learn it through hours and hours of practice. Years really, to do it expertly and confidently. And currently, there is no computer flight control that will do it for you. I'm repeating myself again and being a downer, I know. So, if anyone doesn't believe me, go buy the best basic copter you can afford, be it multi-copter or single rotor, put it together and fly it around as many hours a day as you can. Then you'll see what I'm talking about. :)

@yeehaanow the point would be that users here could already be a little on their way. You have probably sifted through hours and hours of information on fora. So i guess i'm asking your conclusion. What are the good parts, what's best to avoid buying? What do you have to take into account when buying parts? Which skills do you need to assemble a copter? And most of all : what makes a copter stable?

@yeehaanow I think it's interesting that these days the technology is getting better, and at the same time kids and adults alike are constantly in "training simulators" with twin stick controls, learning many of the fine control nuances that you probably speak of. It's called videogames :) No joke, kids with are learning the muscle memory that will likely transfer over quite well to things like flying RC copters, especially with software and sensors aiding them. Have you ever tried to play a twin stick shooter competitively online these days? Or even a physics driven racing simulator, at the edge of traction?

It's an interesting world, and who knows, perhaps this type of work is a great transition for a lot of youngsters.

for sure! I'm more of a problem solver, ha ha, and with some of these new fangled tracking methods, where a pan head can follow a target, either in software or using a marker, could help for a potential one man team.

Frankly, I'd love to give it a go, but as you guys are suggesting, I'd probably lop off my arm or something horrible :) Being one to tinker in electronics, and a programmer/scripter, It's something I've always dreamed about giving a go. Maybe one of these days.

Love the hacked GH2 on our A/P machines!

@johnnym So far, we only fly with stock setting on the GH2 (unfortunately, my boss doesn't trust hacks) and Panny OIS lenses. We tried the Olympus 12m f2, but without optical image stabilization, you need more post stabilization, which reduces quality. So we stick with OIS lenses. Our first octocopter was a ready-to-fly set from a company called Service Drohne. They fly quite well out of the box, but are damn expensive. The second and third octocoptes are built by our pilot. He uses parts from different manufacturers and combines them. I actually have no clue what exactly the components are called, I am working on the camera side. Maybe I can find some pics and post them later on.

Yup - so many variables! That is why we leave the technical stuff to experts. We just test and report back on the flight behavior.

Vijay Kumar: Robots that fly ... and cooperate, TED talk on the subject

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/vijay_kumar_robots_that_fly_and_cooperate.html

@gizmo Gizmo needs waterproff case for gh2 :)