My apologies for neglecting the forums for quite some time -- I've been so busy that checking out the postings here seldom makes it to the top of my to-do list.
However, I thought I should tell folks a little about what I've been working on --
It's a Sense And Avoid (SAA) system for FPV fliers.
The goal is to come up with a small, lightweight, affordable add-on to your FPV model that will ensure you won't accidentally fly into the path of a full-sized aircraft, a building or any other object that could be damaged by or cause damage to your model (the ground excepted of course)
This is a breakthrough design that relies on both passive (ie: just listening) and active (actually transmitting something) technologies to create a 3D model of the world around your FPV plane.
It's working on the bench right now (it can tell me when there are cars passing down the road two blocks away from my house) and the next task is to build a flight-ready version. I can't just put the current prototype in a model because it's big, heavy and fragile -- consisting of a multitude of different circuit boards, modules, cables, connectors and wires. In order to make it flight-worthy I'm going to have to miniaturize it and do things like replace the laptop PC which does the number-crunching with a dedicated ARM microcontroller.
So I'm awaiting some components at the moment -- although there's plenty to be getting on with, designing PC layouts, working on the software, etc.
I'm hoping that this will be a unit that can plug in between your receivers and your servos (or flight-controller) and tuck neatly away inside the fuselage of your FPV model, doing absolutely nothing until a threat of collision occurs -- whereupon it will automatically set your FPV plane on a course which is divergent with the course of any approaching aircraft or other object -- towards the point of origin where possible.
Why am I making this?
Well mainly because it's pretty obvious that without an effective SAA system, the aviation regulators around the world will never give their approval for FPV flights that go beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). Only when we can demonstrate to them that our models will automatically avoid any situation where a collision with full-sized aircraft might occur, will they open that door for us.
There's also the nascent UAV marketplace. Right now, regulators all over the globe are trying to figure out how they'll be able to allow UAVs to operate in the same airspace as full-sized aircraft -- without creating additional dangers for those full-sized craft. In fact, NASA has a $1.5m SAA challenge going right now -- although, because I'm not a US resident and I don't own a company in the USA, I'm not eligible (yeah, sucks).
Right now, the anticipated "retail price" of my design would probably run at about $200-$300, depending on the economies of scale associated with volume manufacture.
The first flight tests will hopefully take place sometime in Q1 of 2013 but I'll do my best to keep people up to date with how things are going through this forum and the RCModelReviews YouTube Channel.
And don't worry -- this is an "evening" project so it won't interfere (too much) with all those reviews, "how-to's" and DIY projects that are planned for this southern summer.
Oh yeah -- and I killed about 40 spam accounts too.