Mike, The project sounds interesting.
I would recommend partnering with someone like Adafruit, Sparkfun, or Makershed. There are about two million things which you need to get correct to successfully being a new product to market. Logistics are a nightmare. As collage student working in this market you are probably better off focusing on building your reputation rather than focusing on the money. See if you can get beaglebone.org of makezine to publish a series of tutorials on the project of do a set of youtube howto videos yourself. That way you can refine the product and get market feedback while building your reputation. At this point, I would be happy to purchase a PCB, frame and parts list as a DIY project :) On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 9:02 AM, Razvan Margineanu Andrei < razvan.margine...@gmail.com> wrote: > I have some experience with 3g dongles on the beaglebone and they are very > very unreliable. I've tried different models and they all suck. Also they > are powerhungry, about 300 - 600 mAh at 5v. Depending on the state they are > in idle or high power > On May 15, 2014 8:45 PM, "Maxim Podbereznyy" <lisar...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> As long as you keep adding unnecessary stuff to this thing it gets less >> time for fun (flying) because 3G or other dongles consume at lot of >> current. They are just designed to be fed by a wall outlet >> 15 Май 2014 г. 3:09 пользователь "Jason Kridner" <jkrid...@gmail.com> >> написал: >> >>> >>> >>> On Monday, May 12, 2014 8:11:10 PM UTC-4, Mike McDonald wrote: >>>> >>>> Hey guys, >>>> >>>> A group of Rose-Hulman students have been hard at work this past year >>>> building a Beaglebone Quadcopter with these goals in mind: >>>> >>>> 1. Low cost ($100-150 w/o Beaglebone) >>>> 2. Fully open source (Cape, Frame, and all control software) on our >>>> Github<https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2FRose-Hulman-ROBO4xx%2F1314-BeagleBone-Quadcopter%2Ftree%2Fmaster_rev2&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEY9jAF2bWpjDA3Btkrd2JbBb35Ng> >>>> . >>>> 3. Easy to assembly and repair (we estimate it will take 1-2 hours to >>>> assemble and get ready to fly) >>>> 4. Durable and easy to fly (currently supports USB game controller >>>> control, though we initially tested using a USB RC controller, though it's >>>> also possible to eventually use a cell phone as a controller) with a 10 >>>> minute flight time >>>> 5. Sensor packed: 9-Axis (MPU 9150), Altimeter (BMP 180), Ultrasonic >>>> Rangefinder (HC SR04), Battery Gas Gauge (MAX 17044), and CMOS Camera >>>> (OV7670). >>>> >>>> The Quadcopter is flown via WiFi and Bluetooth (though streaming video >>>> doesn't yet work over Bluetooth) from a host computer (you need somewhere >>>> to view the streaming video from). Additionally, we're using a Debian image >>>> and have added Xenomai for better real time performance. We're also using >>>> both PRU's: one for real time motor control and one for the camera. With >>>> the quadcopter software running, we've still got 80+% of the CPU free for >>>> other processing (OpenCV, etc.). >>>> >>>> We're currently using a PID control scheme, but we may be switching to >>>> a sweet state variable feedback system (or getting a senior design group >>>> next year to do it). >>>> >>>> So, we want some feedback from you guys on the following: >>>> >>>> 1. >>>> *Would you buy one of these Quadcopters? * >>>> >>>> Absolutely! >>> >>>> >>>> 1. >>>> 2. >>>> *Is our price point reasonable? Is this something worth selling >>>> ourselves or would this be a good kickstarter project? * >>>> >>>> $100 is reasonable. $150 is kinda pushing the limit a bit for me. Looks >>> great for experimenting and I think it'd be a good kickstarter. Hopefully >>> you build up some good community interest here first and discover the >>> killer feature for which everyone needs this. :-) >>> >>>> >>>> 1. >>>> 2. *Are there any other features you think are critical (wouldn't >>>> buy without it)?* >>>> >>>> Having the camera is awesome. I might want an optional GPS and/or 3G >>> modem. Can I add one myself? I don't think it is required in the bundle. >>> >>> >>>> If you want to dive deeper into our design: >>>> >>>> 1. *How does the software look (particularly the PRU to C >>>> interface)? Would you be willing to maintain it, or update it to State >>>> Variable?* >>>> >>>> Looks like the main routine is control_alg. Personally, I kinda like >>> the structure of libpruio from what I've seen so far, where there is a C >>> library interface provided. I also like the messaging approach of Matt >>> Ranostay's PRU lighting code. Do you have any code documentation that would >>> make it easier to review? I don't think many people are going to dive into >>> your code until they know what problems it solves and how modular it is >>> such that they feel they could start using parts of it. >>> >>> Looks like you have a lot running on the PRU. Do you have a summary? >>> >>>> >>>> 1. *How does the PCB look? Are there any flaws you see? Would you >>>> want to add or remove any other sensors?* >>>> >>>> Layout seems pretty simple and clean. Is >>> https://github.com/Rose-Hulman-ROBO4xx/1314-BeagleBone-Quadcopter/blob/master_rev2/noncode/Board/Quad32brd.pngthe >>> latest? All of the versions are a bit confusing for me. >>> >>> >>>> >>>> 1. *How does the mechanical design (Quadcopter frame) look? Is it >>>> aesthetically pleasing? Easy to build (if you have a laser cutter, give >>>> it >>>> a try and let us know)? Easy to fix when broken?* >>>> >>>> I have access to a laser cutter at my hackerspace, but I've never used >>> it. Do you have simple pictures of the pieces or any hints on where I could >>> order some pre-cut pieces like with Shapeways? >>> >>> >>>> Here are some pictures: >>>> >>>> <https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-kgxIfN6_fL8/U3Ffs2ZPgsI/AAAAAAAAAFM/u8omMlHOvHY/s1600/2013-12-18_14-34-02_876.jpg> >>>> >>>> >>>> <https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TKaZ6oB1_uA/U3Ff9Si5xcI/AAAAAAAAAFc/nr2p7Wztm-M/s1600/2013-12-18_14-34-24_871.jpg> >>>> >>>> >>>> <https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fhFlpxYzDIk/U3FgD43LFvI/AAAAAAAAAFk/Tag00rk5ww4/s1600/2014-03-30_14-06-29_481.jpg> >>>> >>>> >>>> <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xhMc-hNYpT8/U3FgKukzMYI/AAAAAAAAAFs/T-Sd2HiQB9M/s1600/2014-03-30_14-06-37_787.jpg> >>>> >>>> Videos are available on here >>>> <https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0pfk43b3zq14rjh/xk6Kl6lccb#/>(and on the >>>> github<https://github.com/Rose-Hulman-ROBO4xx/1314-BeagleBone-Quadcopter/tree/master_rev2>). >>>> Our best video is probably >>>> here<https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0pfk43b3zq14rjh/xk6Kl6lccb#lh:null-Video%20May%2011%2C%206%2004%2014%20PM.mov>, >>>> as it shows it both flying as well as the streaming video. >>>> >>>> If you guys have any questions, respond here or email me back. >>>> >>>> Thanks! >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>> For more options, visit http://beagleboard.org/discuss >>> --- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "BeagleBoard" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to beagleboard+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> -- >> For more options, visit http://beagleboard.org/discuss >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the >> Google Groups "BeagleBoard" group. >> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/beagleboard/TkwaB8a9NIk/unsubscribe. >> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to >> beagleboard+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > -- > For more options, visit http://beagleboard.org/discuss > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "BeagleBoard" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to beagleboard+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- For more options, visit http://beagleboard.org/discuss --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "BeagleBoard" group. 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