Here's a video demo at the Berkeley Marina of the APM/Mission Planner UAV swarming interface (control-F in the MP). Although it's designed for multicopters, we tested it first on autonomous ArduRovers (APM-powered cars), which are slow and safe. First demo: Leader-follower, using only GPS data. Works like a baby duck following its mother!
Comments
@George
We've had it working on copter before and it looks pretty good. The workflow needs to be improved a bit, but all the core functions are there. This rover demo was actually done with the same interface used for copter (and plane) in Mission Planner.
@Rob
Copter following rover and vice-versa is next on the agenda :) stay tuned!
Hi George, it will work in planes too, but the behaviour may not be what you expect. As Chris says, it's based on guided mode. When a copter or rover reaches its destination in guided mode it can stop and hold position. When a plane reaches its destination it needs to start circling. That means when it is following another plane it will tend to circle as it catches up, which won't be like the "baby duckling" behaviour that this video shows.
Cheers, Tridge
George: it's built on "Guided" mode, which I think is already supported in Arduplane
That's pretty cool. Can you get a Rover to follow a Copter, or vice-versa?
It's surprinsingly accurate considering it's only using the GPS.
great stuff!