Blade CX2 UAV flies for six glorious seconds, crashes

Sure, there are plenty of wacky and awesome UAVs out there, but this one, the Blade CX2, or "Wash UAV" is quite charming in all of its wires-hanging-out glory. It's a complex little machine, too. Built using an Arduino Mini, ultrasonic sensors, and a compass module, the vehicle is able to fly autonomously and sense things like walls and the floor. Its flight is short-lived -- just six seconds -- but the video is rife with riveting commentary explaining how various parts of the Blade function, so check it out after the break.

[loocas @ Dec 12th 2008 12:24AM]

Funny and cute! :D

[scott @ Dec 12th 2008 1:34AM]

if i'm not mistaken, you are iEye in different form, as iEye has changed to you in one of my previous posts...

[rippinhonda @ Dec 12th 2008 1:59AM]

I love you laura june even though this is boring

[loocas @ Dec 12th 2008 3:06AM]

What? I'm not iEye, man, look at my profile, then my website, then my resume.

Besides, I don't like Apple products. ;)

[who? @ Dec 12th 2008 12:29AM]

This must have taken voluminous hours to bring to fruition, and it only stayed up for six seconds? Still, it's pretty awesome.

[loocas @ Dec 12th 2008 12:42AM]

Fruition causes voluminous annoyance.

[who? @ Dec 12th 2008 1:12AM]

@loocas

Why though? My theory is that they all got their asses handed to them in Scrabble when they were little, and now they take it out on anyone who uses a word that is worth over 10 points. What's your take on the matter?

[page87 and counting @ Dec 12th 2008 1:49AM]

"Only stayed up six seconds"

Now you understand why your girlfriend left you...

[loocas @ Dec 12th 2008 3:09AM]

@ who?

I can't compete with you as English is not my primary language, hence my vocabular skills are utterly limited compared to those of native roots.

Btw: does "xylophone" out of context count? I can't put it in any reasonable sentence though.

[Spencer @ Dec 12th 2008 12:47AM]

It looks like it could use an ultrasonic sensor at the back to keep it from reversing into walls, then maybe it'll stay up longer.

[lpppppl @ Dec 12th 2008 12:53AM]

and....yay! 6 seconds!

[d840 @ Dec 12th 2008 12:56AM]

"Wash UAV in Action"? :P

In all seriousness, this thing is quite an achievement. I look forward to version 2.

[Gad Get @ Dec 12th 2008 12:57AM]

You know what I wanna see? I wanna see if it can sense and evade a fast-swinging baseball bat! Now THAT'S a video worth seeing!

[mike @ Dec 12th 2008 1:17AM]

why does the CX2 have a belt tail? Last I checked, the CX2 has no tail rotor.

[mike @ Dec 12th 2008 1:20AM]

Aha, that is actually a Blade 400 in the second part!

[Technex @ Dec 12th 2008 5:02AM]

It's the Blade CX2 (no tail rotor) everywhere but with the laptop, where it's the Blade 400 (with belt tail).

Both great helis, well before he done this work on them *cough skill is better than electronics*

:)

[mike @ Dec 12th 2008 11:07AM]

They are great, I just got a 400 and I also have a MCX.

[Andir3.0 @ Dec 12th 2008 7:49PM]

If you think those are great, you should get an Align 450XL ... MUCH easier to fly.

[Technex @ Dec 16th 2008 10:25AM]

Nice! Great helis! My mate has a Blade 400, they fly nice. Those MCX's look cool too.

I've got a Dragonus 450, Radix, Scorpion, Kong Power lipos, etc, etc.

Falcon 3D

Gaui 200 3D

Robins 22

[Wyatt @ Dec 12th 2008 1:23AM]

Blame the walls!

[rlynd3 @ Dec 12th 2008 1:59AM]

I break enough blades as it is, i'm not sure if this would help or hurt... Also, it looks like he needs to tone down the response A LOT!! A properly tuned blade will pretty much hover in one spot on its own and with that much input it would certainly crash... This definitely beats my mods! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BVENxyz8XQ

...Fun Little Bird!!

[Mr. S. @ Dec 12th 2008 2:15AM]

Let me tell you, these Blades fly themselves. Their electronics are just making them fly worse. The problem, its reactionary. The software needs to predict what the heli is about to do, not sense what its about to run into.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!

[andres @ Dec 12th 2008 2:45AM]

G.I. Joe!

[lecti @ Dec 12th 2008 2:19AM]

Make the blades a bit stronger, and it'll make a nice manhack.

[PyRo1509 @ Dec 12th 2008 3:28AM]

Need some more computing power... few more derivatives in their equations

[chris @ Dec 12th 2008 8:14AM]

Is he using a dell or a macbook? I couldn't quite tell. Heck, maybe it's something different. Just wondering.

[Tom P @ Dec 12th 2008 8:31AM]

Aren't all remote controlled helicopters UAVs? Shouldn't it really be an autonomous helicopter?

[jb @ Dec 12th 2008 9:56AM]

One does not simply back into a wall!!

oh... nm :(

[Zach @ Dec 12th 2008 10:21AM]

I don't know, maybe a 5' by 5' corner of a room isn't big enough to fly a heli in.

Just my two cents: larger room.

Cool project though.

[mike @ Dec 12th 2008 11:09AM]

I can fly my Blade MCX in that size!

[couchpundit @ Dec 12th 2008 12:14PM]

"Our UAV is online...oops. Nevermind."

[Sorry--too much CoD]

[NomadRip @ Dec 12th 2008 12:47PM]

Looks like a fun project.

[delvach @ Dec 14th 2008 11:59PM]

I recently got a Blade 400 3D, and then a Blade MCX when I realized I needed more practice with the controls! As much as I absolutely love the MCX, I do wish I'd opted for the CX2. The MCX is just a little too weak to handle outside breezes. But it's probably the best cat toy money can buy. :)

[Inchirieri Masini @ Feb 9th 2009 1:04PM]

Blade 400 3D is the best! I have one and i can't stop it :)