Android Ground Controller, beta release
So a few weeks ago I started writing a ground controller for Android (using a spiffy mavlink library - see credits). With the help of a few kind alpha testers, it seems to work pretty well now.
Current features:
- Direct control & monitoring of ArduPlane/Copter with no PC required. Just a $5 USB adapter cable and your Android tablet or phone (Android 3.1 or later). No rooting or hardware mods required.
- Map view
- Parameter editing
- Waypoint editing
- Vehicle mode display & control (AUTO, STABILIZE, etc...)
- Capture tlog files to sdcard
- Direct connect to USB on the APM
- 3DR telemetry module support
- Warnings for low battery, low rssi, or low GPS sat count
- Fully android 'native' (Scala backend talks directly to the USB device and renders the frontend)
- Most of the early nasty bugs seem gone... thus the beta...
Not ready now but should be in soon:
- UDP link (either as a client or a server)
I think we are now ready for more testers (and devs - if you want to add a feature!). You can download a binary from github. Or wait a few hours and it will be up on the play store. Developers - if you'd like to get started, I'm happy to help if you have questions (getting it building etc...)
WARNING: This is beta test software. If you are using it with your vehicle I recommend the following:
- Don't edit parameters in flight (until we have lots of confirmation this works - it works fine for me, but you know how things go...)
- Keep your RC controller close at hand and be ready to use it to force the vehicle into Stablize or some other 'safeish mode'. Watch the vehicle carefully when it hits waypoints
- If you think anything is not working safely, unplug the radio from the tablet
If you have comments/questions/ideas please post on the discussion thread.
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Comment by Peter Meister on February 2, 2013 at 7:30pm -
Congrats on a GREAT Contribution to the community Kevin, impressive effort in a very short time. Thank you for this, I look forward to seeing further development and evolution of this fantastic APP!
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Comment by Hein du Plessis on February 3, 2013 at 12:09am -
This will revolutionize how we fly! Imagine not having to lug around a laptop!!
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Moderator Comment by Mark Harrison on February 3, 2013 at 12:25am -
Kevin, this is impressive work! I'd like to try it, but am unfortunately have zero android knowledge. What would be a good android unit for this?
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3D Robotics Comment by Craig Elder on February 3, 2013 at 2:55am -
Great work Kevin!
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Comment by c j g on February 3, 2013 at 4:45am -
... thanks for the exciting weeks. Great job, Kevin.
... @Mark. You could get cheap android Chinese tablets, but the best value in my opinion is the nexus 7 with 32GB (for the long run, 32GB are 32GB). For alternatives, look at XDA-Developers.com for your wish Device. Is there a lot activity, than you should be save, but i would recommend to double check if USB-OTG (and the google play store) is working out of the box (most 4.x tablets support USB-OTG), nowadays i also would only recommend devices with android 4.x or higher). Best c.
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Comment by c j g on February 3, 2013 at 4:54am
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... device compatibility list in the wiki:
https://github.com/geeksville/arduleader/wiki/Device-compatibility
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Developer Comment by Kevin Hester on February 3, 2013 at 8:46am -
@Mark, I'd say the best tablet for this would be the cheapest Nexus 7" you can find. If you want to go super cheap there are some impressively good Android tablets for about $100(!) but the nexus is only a little more and guaranteed to be ideal for this.
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Developer Comment by Kevin Hester on February 3, 2013 at 9:01am -
@Mark - you'll also need one of these... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081CRXGI/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00
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JDrones Comment by Jani Hirvinen on February 19, 2013 at 1:32am -
Kevin have you tested with any android phones? Was just trying to run it on Samsung Galaxy Note II but no luck. It just gives No Link and please connect telemetry/APM message. OTG cable what I have works as I tested it with wireless mouse and that works fine. I wonder what are main differences between phone and tablet hardwares...
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