Blade CX2 UAV flies for six glorious seconds, crashes
By Laura June 
posted December 12th 2008 12:20AM
posted December 12th 2008 12:20AM
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.
Funny and cute! :D
if i'm not mistaken, you are iEye in different form, as iEye has changed to you in one of my previous posts...
I love you laura june even though this is boring
What? I'm not iEye, man, look at my profile, then my website, then my resume.
Besides, I don't like Apple products. ;)
This must have taken voluminous hours to bring to fruition, and it only stayed up for six seconds? Still, it's pretty awesome.
Fruition causes voluminous annoyance.
@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?
"Only stayed up six seconds"
Now you understand why your girlfriend left you...
@ 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.
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.
"Wash UAV in Action"? :P
In all seriousness, this thing is quite an achievement. I look forward to version 2.
and....yay! 6 seconds!
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!
why does the CX2 have a belt tail? Last I checked, the CX2 has no tail rotor.
Aha, that is actually a Blade 400 in the second part!
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*
:)
They are great, I just got a 400 and I also have a MCX.
If you think those are great, you should get an Align 450XL ... MUCH easier to fly.
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
Blame the walls!
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!!
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!
G.I. Joe!
Make the blades a bit stronger, and it'll make a nice manhack.
Need some more computing power... few more derivatives in their equations
Is he using a dell or a macbook? I couldn't quite tell. Heck, maybe it's something different. Just wondering.
Aren't all remote controlled helicopters UAVs? Shouldn't it really be an autonomous helicopter?
One does not simply back into a wall!!
oh... nm :(
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.
I can fly my Blade MCX in that size!
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. :)
"Our UAV is online...oops. Nevermind."
[Sorry--too much CoD]
Looks like a fun project.
Blade 400 3D is the best! I have one and i can't stop it :)