djp | # 1 | 2010-03-16, 22:30 | Report

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEXmb922jtg

Aydan | # 2 | 2010-03-16, 22:39 | Report

Never ever. Such a helicopter can't be remote controlled. But there's a model "helicopter" (actually a quadrocopter) with an onboard camera which can be controlled by an iphone app through wifi.

For a real helicopter to be remote controlled you'd first need an automated flight system. And I'm pretty sure that this helicopter doesn't have one.

Youre preetty fast in jumping to conclusions here. Nothing is easier than a dude fumbling around with <insert geeky gadget here> and another dude flying the 'copter.

atunguyd | # 3 | 2010-03-17, 06:48 | Report

Aydan,

Not entirely correct - it is technically quiet possibly to control a helicopter without a "flight control system". People have been doing it with real radio control choppers for a long time now.

That said however this is a fake video still. To control a chopper you need to control the following 4 axis:

1.cyclic Pitch (nose up and down)
2. cyclic Roll (lean left and right)
3. Yaw (rotating on axis)
5. Collective or if you will the z axis

I am sure the way this guys in controlling his chopper with his N900 is probably possible since the N900 can sense all the of these movements.

The real crux is that anyone who has ever flown a real or model helicopter will know that if you give right or left cyclic you always need to compensate with more collective or the chopper starts to drop down. Clearly in this video the guy makes the chopper roll to the left with a tilt of his N900 only and no added collective like he does further on to get it to go up!

Aydan | # 4 | 2010-03-17, 07:22 | Report

As you said, that's a remote controlled helicopter which was specifically designed to do just that.
Most big birds are simply missing the relevant actuators to remotely control them. That's why I was referring to one needing automated flight systems because then the basics would be covered.

Not quite, because the N900 can only sense position changes but not rotation directly. It basically only knows where down is ad if you're accelerating it. If you rotate it around the vertical axis it won't register that.
As I said there's a small Quadrocopter available that can be controlled like that, but it as internal stabilization and you tell it at which height it should stay. You only control lateral movement with the accelerometers.

Farooq | # 5 | 2010-03-17, 07:42 | Report

It will be wonderfull if we can actually control a remote helicopter or a remote nitro RC car through the N900 by attaching a PS3 controller via bluetooth to the N900 and control via it. Both the Car/Helicopter and the N900 connected to the same Wifi or 3G.

mattbrawn | # 6 | 2010-03-17, 10:24 | Report

You guys might like TiltPilot http://tiltpilot.sourceforge.net/

Not sure how far they've got with the project but might be worth a look

Meegopawns | # 7 | 2010-03-27, 11:12 | Report

Would be so awesome if this was true!!

Optimus | # 8 | 2010-12-13, 12:45 | Report

If you look very closely on that heli at 0:54 you can see a guy holding iPhone on the drivers place.

TiagoTiago | # 9 | 2010-12-17, 03:00 | Report

I saw a video of a guy flying a small RC 'copter with the N900, in that case he was using the infrared emitter ('cause of the range most of the flight time was in the " 'till someone looses an eye" region).


Many remote control choppers got a gyroscope and the electronics in it pilot the helo keeping it steady, the signals received from the remote are used as "suggestions", the electronics try keep it steady and perform the movements indicated by the signal (some rc helos only automate the tail rotor, compensating changes in torque in the main rotor but leaving the rest alone); there are also some more toylike rc helos that use counter rotating rotors doing away with the need for a tail rotor; also there are some that just got throtle and yaw controls with some gearing to make the tail rotor always compensate for the torque and due to how they are balanced it always goes forward and always keep the right side up; pretty much all of the toylike ones don't got colective controls, they just change the speed the rotor spins.


I've seen a video where some guys are driving a RC car with a N900 using the accells kinda like on racing games on the Wii, i think they used WiFi, or perhaps it was bluetooth, either way they had custom made hardware and software to do it.


But i don't think they actually used anything like that in the video, looks like the guy just held his N900 while someone flew the chopper, the way it maneuvered, even though the N900 might be able to send commands for all the motions, no way it would be possible to someone to control a life sized helo with a N900 from the ground like that without crashing, doesn't matter how skilled you are.

dtergens | # 10 | 2010-12-23, 19:58 | Report

More likely...

http://www.youtube.com/user/katealhola

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Last edited by dtergens; 2010-12-23 at 20:13.