Welcome to the Open Source Next Generation Multicopter
This is a community-driven open source project to build a modern autonomously flying Multicopter. The abbreviation UAVP stands for "Universal Aerial Video Platform". It is a flying object, ideally suited for making aerial videos and photos (aerial photography), but is also a lot of fun to fly whether indoors or outdoors.
- Note
Please be aware that the UAVP-NG Project and the old UAVP Project are completely separate projects with different developers and different philosophy. The NG has a new, very different software and hardware design!
UAVP-NG Hardware 0.22-mini
The UAVP-NG Hardware 0.22-mini consists of one PCB of 5.5cm x 5.5cm in 4 layer called the flight controller board (FC). It contains the 32bit LPC2148 main CPU. The peripherial CPU called RC/Cam-Controller (RCC) is located on a separate small PCB which can be optionally attached to the FC. Additionally it comes with PCBs for the 3 gyros, a JTAG adapter and as mentioned before, the PCB for the RCC.
Hardware HW-0.22-mini |
Size comparision NG (HW-0.22) / Mini-NG (HW-0.22-mini) |
This is a feature compatible miniaturized version of the Hardware 0.22. The LPC2148 is directly soldered to the FC and the FC contains all the sensors needed for stabilizing the UAVP-NG and making it easier to fly than other model-helicopters. The flight-controlboard processes the sensor and remote-control data and sends commands to the motors.
The PCB's are designed to contain any features that anybody could want on a multicopter:
- 1 main CPU (LPC2148) plus 1 peripherial CPUs (Atmel ATmega644P) on a separate PCB
- 3 gyroscopes, a 3D accelerometer, a barometer
- A sum-signal and 4 serial inputs for several remote-control receivers, GPS and Consoles
- outputs for up to 16 motors and 5 Servos
much more, see Features
They are optimized for size, weight, features and extensibility, not for easy soldering.
UAVP-NG Hardware 0.22
The UAVP-NG Hardware 0.22 consists of two PCBs, the flight-controller board (FC) and the sensor board (SB). Both contain a peripherial CPU called RC-Controller (RCC) and SB-Controller (SBC).
Hardware HW-0.22 (backside) |
Hardware HW-0.22 (frontside) |
The main CPU, an LPC2148, is attached to the Flight-Controller board. The sensor board contains all the sensors needed (and some more...) for stabilizing the UAVP-NG and making it easier to fly than other model-helicopters. The flight-controlboard processes the sensor and remote-control data and sends commands to the motors.
Hardware HW-0.22 Flight Control |
Hardware HW-0.22 Sensor Board |
The PCB's are designed to contain any features that anybody could want on a multicopter:
- 1 main CPU (LPC2148, 32bit) plus 2 peripherial CPUs (Atmel ATmega644P and 328P)
- 3 gyroscopes, a 3D accelerometer, a 3D compass, a barometer and thermometer
- A sum-signal and 5 serial inputs for several remote-control receivers, GPS and Consoles
- outputs for up to 16 motors and 5 Servos
much more, see Features
They are not optimized for size, weight or costs, but for features, extensibility and for easy soldering.
UAVP-NG Copter Software
The UAVP-NG Software, called NGOS, is running on a LPC2148 ARM7 CPU on the flight-control board. It is a modular framework with a Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) to use the same on control algorithms on different Hardware (like Quadcopters, Hexacopters, Oktocopters, in different configurations). The Controllers (flight-control algorithms) are modular too, it is even possible to change the used Controller during flight. Customizations can be made through user defined behaviors, where behavior actions can be executed on certain behavior conditions (remote-control action, battery low, remote-control reception lost, whatever).
This modularity enables programmers and non-programmers to work on specific parts of the code without need to understand the complete 80'000 lines of code of the main projects.
If you want to contribute, have a look at the Development Page. You can get access to the source code, which is available under the GPLv3, there.
UAVP-NG Ground Control
There are serveral UAVP-NG Ground Station softwares, which all use a library called libng for communication with NGOS. The library contains several communication APIs of which NGCTRL2 is the newest.
The currently most advanced ground control client is called qngctrl, uses NGCTRL2 and allows visualisation and control of nearly all on-board parameters. The data can be plotted, shown on a map or it can even be used to turn a 3D model.
On the following pictures you see data plots of gyro, acc and angles as well as the NGs position on a Map while GPS and compass have been attached.
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The attitude and orientation of the copter can be visualized using an animaled 3D model and nearly all parameters of the NGOS configuration can be inspected and changed.
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Get your own
If you want to build a UAVP-NG as well, start with reading trough our Documentation starting at the Requirements page.
You probably should also check our FAQ page which answers common questions.
- Note
This is a community development project and no nice and shiny finished product! This means you should at least have an idea how to solder electronic parts on a board or what a microcontroller is and how to flash it.
Sidenote
Having more and more vistors from China we would like make a political statement here:
Fight to free Tibet! 自由西藏! Free speech to everyone! Stop Internet censoring now!
We would also like to send our congratulations to Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December for writing a manifesto calling for freedom of expression and multiparty elections, who won the Nobel Peace Prize Award 2010!
Events
The next events sorted by date:
News
The latest NG News sorted by date:
01.05.2012 |
The Next Generation Multicopter in the press: Foto Hits 5/2012 - Multikopter im Eigenbau |
15.04.2012 |
Release of NGOS-0.65 under GPLv3. To contribute, please check the Development page! |
30.12.2011 |
Our new HW-0.23-mini-r0 with MPU6000, HMC5883L Compass, MBS5607B Altimeter did a successful maidenflight. |
21.12.2011 |
Release of NGOS-0.64 under GPLv3. To contribute, please check the Development page! |
24.11.2011 |
Stefan released the current NG-Tools as Debian binary packets and as Subversion packets |
10.10.2011 |
Release of NGOS-0.63 under GPLv3. To contribute, please check the Development page! |
02.10.2011 |
Maidenflight of DarkRiver's Mini-NG at 6. Developer Meeting Zürich (CH) |
14.08.2011 |
Chaos Communication Camp 2011 - UAVP-NG from above |
12.08.2011 |
The UAVP-NG Project at the Chaos Communication Camp in the german Tagesschau |
11.08.2011 |
Chaos Communication Camp 2011 - UAVP-NG from the top |
11.08.2011 |
Chaos Communication Camp 2011 - First on-board video online |
28.06.2011 |
Taarek flies pirouettes with Amir's Mini-NG using NGOS-0.63 with HW-0.22-mini |
04.06.2011 |
Release of NGOS-0.62 under GPLv3. To contribute, please check the Development page! |
01.06.2011 |
A first movie of the 5. NG Developer Meeting in Heidelberg on the 27./28./29. May 2011 |
12.05.2011 |
Maidenflight of Jan's NG with NGOS-0.61 with HW-0.22 |
05.05.2011 |
Maidenflight of Ralf's Mini-NG using the new PCBs and NGOS-0.62 with HW-0.22-mini |
01.05.2011 |
Fnordfunk 062: It flys! - Markus gave an radio interview on RC planes and UAVP quadcopters |
21.04.2011 |
The UAVP-NG Shop offers the new Mini-NG, called HW-0.22-mini! |
20.04.2011 |
Maidenflight of Dracos's Mini-NG using the new PCBs and NGOS-0.61 with HW-0.22-mini |
19.04.2011 |
Maidenflight of Andi's NG using NGOS-0.61 with HW-0.22 |
10.02.2011 |
New 5.8GHz NG-Video TX/RX PCBs and NG Centerplates are now available in the UAVP-NG Shop |
24.01.2011 |
Our new Next Generation Multicopter Merchandise Shop opens it's doors! Go and get your NG shirts, cups and stickers! |
06.01.2011 |
The Next Generation Multicopter in the press: Open Source 03/2010 (the real article) |
30.12.2010 |
Release of our source code under GPLv3. To contribute, please check the Development page! |
27.12.2010 |
UAVP-NG on TV: ZDF Heute Journal news coverage of 27c3 and the new Mini-NG prototype |
26.12.2010 |
The first developers show up at 27c3, the 27th Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin |
14.11.2010 |
Timo's Talk Quadrocopter für Anfänger - How to make them fly an der Open Rein Ruhr (DE) |
10.11.2010 |
Maidenflight of Timo's KleinVieh the first airborne FlaNG frame, using SW-0.61, HW-0.22 |
05.11.2010 |
The Next Generation Multicopter at the HashDays Security & Risk Conference in Luzern (CH) |
15.10.2010 |
The Next Generation Multicopter in the press: Open Source 03/2010 |
15.10.2010 |
The 4. Next Generation Multicopter and Developer Meeting in Zürich (CH) |
24.09.2010 |
Release of NGOS-0.60 containing the new DCM based controller, GPS navigation and a lot of bugfixes |
12.09.2010 |
Ygramul's FPV impressions using HW-0.21, SW-0.60 |
12.09.2010 |
A nice documentation about the CCC: Die Akte CCC (german) - including Ralf's NG flight at 26C3 |
22.08.2010 |
Ygramul's dynamic FPV flight with HW-0.21, SW-0.59 |
22.08.2010 |
Timo's Talk at FrOSCon - "Quadrocopter für Anfänger - How to make them fly" |
03.08.2010 |
Amir wrote a blog article on the latest developments: DCM and GPS |
31.07.2010 |
Maidenflight of Stefan's NG-Two using HW-0.22, SW-0.60 |
10.07.2010 |
The 3. UAVP-NG Multikopter & Developer Meeting in Zuerich, Switzerland (footage from Rob and Ygramul) |
24.06.2010 |
The first NG GPS Position Hold flight was successful! We did it using HW-0.22, SW-0.60 |
16.06.2010 |
A first outdoor flight of the new DCM based amir-ng controller with Kalman drift compensation |
12.06.2010 |
Release of NGOS-0.59 with a lot of bug fixes and feature improvements |
10.06.2010 |
Maidenflight of the new amir-ng controller based on DCM with Kalman drift compensation |
05.06.2010 |
Maidenflight of Rabbit's new NG using SW-0.58, HW-0.22 |
01.06.2010 |
The UAVP-NG Shop offers the new 2.4GHz Diversity NG Video TX/RX PCB! |
28.05.2010 |
Rob's after-work flight with HW-0.21, SW-0.58 |
27.05.2010 |
Taarek's third FPV flight with defty crash at the end when a 12" prop broke |
29.04.2010 |
Taarek's second FPV flight on the next day |
29.04.2010 |
Ralf did a first flight using the new native digital S3D DSL 2.4GHz support |
28.04.2010 |
Taarek's first FPV flight on a nice sunny day |
20.04.2010 |
Release of NGOS-0.58 with yaw stability improvements, yaw filter and better rc mode support |
05.04.2010 |
Release of NGOS-0.57 with rc-mode support, actor limiting and several bug fixes |
24.03.2010 |
Amir's first sunny flight this year using HW-0.21, SW-0.57b |
23.03.2010 |
Maidenflight of Falstaff's NG using HW-0.22, SW-0.56 |
07.03.2010 |
Release of NGOS-0.56 with support for the blc HAL and several bug fixes |
05.03.2010 |
The UAVP-NG Shop offers assembled and tested LIS3LV02DQ breakout boards! |
20.02.2010 |
Maidenflight of Spida's NG with Turnigy 28-30C motors using SW-0.55, HW-0.21 |
04.02.2010 |
The UAVP-NG Shop is fully restocked! New NGcon, NGusb & ADXR610 PCBs are available! |
30.01.2010 |
Ralf is flying his NG at the Indoor Gaudi 2010 in Munich |
31.01.2010 |
Release of NGOS-0.55 with support for the VDRIVE2, the X8X coax x-mode HAL and the ng-tools source |
13.01.2010 |
The UAVP-NG Shop is sold out! We expect new FCs within the next two weeks. |
12.01.2010 |
Important informations concerning pilot public insurance in Switzerland and Germany (in german) |
09.01.2010 |
Release of NGOS-0.54 containing support for HW-0.21 and HW-0.22, NGPP and the new RC- and SB-controller |
07.01.2010 |
New! HW-0.22 Mounting Order List - How to mount FC und SB systematically using the HW-0.22 PCB |
04.01.2010 |
Flying in Winter - Ralf's Winter Moves using SW-0.54, HW-0.22 |
26.12.2009 |
The new UAVP-NG Shop opens its doors and offers HW-0.22 PCBs to the broad public! |
19.12.2009 |
Ralf's new NG based on HW-0.22 is airborne! |
26.11.2009 |
The final HW-0.22 boards have arrived! |
21.11.2009 |
Ygramul's FPV test flight of the Bearing-Hold controller using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
16.11.2009 |
Rob's test flight with new parameters using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
11.11.2009 |
The first batch HW-0.22 boards has been ordered |
05.11.2009 |
Rob maidened NG#2 without problems using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
24.10.2009 |
Ygramul's first FPV flight with his unproven new NG using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
24.10.2009 |
Another maidenflight, this time of StromFlieger's NG using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
24.10.2009 |
The maidenflight of Ygramul's new NG using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
20.10.2009 |
Taarek's maidenflight of his new 12" NG with TR35-30C motors using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
26.09.2009 |
Ralf did another Video of his MiniNG using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
15.09.2009 |
Ralf's newest video of his MiniNG using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
14.09.2009 |
Ralf's Video about 2. NG Developer Meeting - Review |
09.09.2009 |
Nabil's unproblematic maidenflight of his new NG using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
25.08.2009 |
First HW 0.21 is flying, Ralf's MiniNG using SW-0.54, HW-0.21 |
22.08.2009 |
2. NG Developer Meeting in lovely Zürich, Switzerland |
06.07.2009 |
Rob's Video about the NG-Developer meeting in sunny Zurich |
05.07.2009 |
Olaf's Video about the 1. NG Developer Meeting in Zürich |
04.07.2009 |
Amir's Video about the 1. NG Developer Meeting in Zürich |
04.07.2009 |
1. NG Developer Meeting in lovely Zürich, Switzerland |
The is also more Older News.
Highlights
Robert's Footage of the 5. NG Developer Meeting in Heidelberg on the 27th / 28th / 29th of May 2011
Go to Vimeo Site of this video.
5. NG Developer Meeting in Heidelberg on the 27th / 28th / 29th of May 2011
Go to Vimeo Site of this video.
UAVP-NG at 27c3, the 27th Chaos Computer Club Congress in Berlin on the 27.12.2010
The quadcopter visible at the beginning of the movie is a prototype of our new UAVP-NG Mini! It did it's maidenflight at 27c3.Go to YouTube Site of this video.
Ygramul's NG FPV impressions on the 22.08.2010
Thrust/Weight is still at about 2/1. Used amir-ng controller and quadX hal.
For more information see my thread in the NG Forum.
Go to Vimeo Site of this video.
Other language
Please note that there is a german Frontpage: StartSeite.
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BitCoin Donations
If you would like to donate BitCoins to the project use the following address to send your BTC to:
1HQMMR98ofevuE4U5dBNPPDxJPEoujhtau