On: OpenSource Nano Quadcopter Kit

[visarga]

I got a quadcopter as present for Christmas but I didn't enjoy it much - it is too hard to stabilize. I can't do anything with it. By comparison, a Syma 107 helicopter was much more fun.

So, quadcopter designers out there - please make them less fragile, less crash prone. Can you mount sensors in all directions to keep it from bumping into walls and hovering at the designated location without human intervention? That would be useful.

[bajsejohannes → visarga]

Isn't the point of a quadcopter that it's supposed to be more stable than a helicopter?

[ynniv → bajsejohannes]

While it's easy to automate level flight with four rotors, it's difficult to prevent horizontal drift.

[stcredzero → ynniv]

I would've thought we'd have consumer fly-by-wire by now.

[ynniv → stcredzero]

There is for $hundreds, but not for $tens. The Syma helicopters and quadrocopters mentioned are less than $40.

[cpher → visarga]

My 5-yr old daughters got 2 Syma 109 helicopters for Christmas. They love them, but they're pretty hard for them to control--actually, very hard. But they're a blast for me.

My 8-yr old god-son got a big quad copter that he can control with an iPod and it has a camera (with real-time video to the iPod). It flies and hovers amazingly well. Of course is was $400+

[sc00ter → visarga]

As with microcopters, there are plenty of duff microquads on the market, but the Hubsan X4 (google it) is easy to fly, and very durable, and a cheap way to get into the hobby at about $50-60.