Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Emily Nightingale — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 13:26:32 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

[quote user="Arlo Guthrie"]

[quote user="Emily Herskind Nightingale"]Arlo, you are such a dude!! [/quote]

Not quite sure what to say - if someone said that to me at school, it would have been taking the piss ...

Er, thanks if you're not!

[/quote] Last time a chick as nice as Emily said that to me she was chatting me up, so you'd better watch out Arlo.

[/quote]

Hi Arlo- no sarcasm at all! am married to a technophile (who is a complete dude!!!) who would LOVE one of these for christmas (am wondering if I should get him one!) Still loving VS.org. Thanks for all your hard work on it!

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 18:52:29 GMT

[quote user="Jon Bray"]Yeah, but too easy a target for air rifles[/quote]

Come now, that's a bit unfair. It would depend upon the height at which it was flying, and if there were any wind (is there ever such a thing as an absolutely windless day?) it could be quite a challenging target. Now you, or even I, might relish more the challenge of knocking down the little buzzy things, but remember there are all standards of shooter and beginners have to start somewhere.

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Jon Bray — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 16:58:45 GMT

Yeah, but too easy a target for air rifles and frankly just not as cool!

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Laurence Webb — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:08:07 GMT

Having made millions in software design, one of my school friends is developing a business using these to film events and for architecture/estate agent surveys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTuATlJVszk&feature=youtu.be

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Rob Loxley — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 00:13:37 GMT

[quote user="Jon Bray"]The ones they were demoing could fly for about 20 mins, but it did occur to me that you could use a lightweight wire to power them from a base if you wanted to get an eye-in-the-sky security footage[/quote]

If you need a fairly static aerial surveillance base, surely a remotely-drivable (or even tethered) helium balloon would be a solution?

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Rajat — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 00:08:56 GMT

That was a great video, thanks! I found this other video from a link on that webpage - it is a bit futuristic what they make these devices do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmWD76jwjbQ

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Jon Bray — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 00:00:54 GMT

Yeah, they had a lecture and a demo of something similar at the Electromagnetic Field festival last week. In terms of "how easy are they to launch" the guys were just throwing them into the air sideways - the inbuilt computer stabilisation system righted itself in under a second.

The ones they were demoing could fly for about 20 mins, but it did occur to me that you could use a lightweight wire to power them from a base if you wanted to get an eye-in-the-sky security footage. They'd be a novel take on the car alarm too - with the advantage that if something shoots out of the target vehicle and starts rotating around you I imagine the natural reaction would be to look straight at it - rendering the requisite hoodie useless :-)

Here's what their big brothers can do :-)

http://youtu.be/MvRTALJp8DM

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 19:25:31 GMT

[quote user="Arlo Guthrie"]

[quote user="Emily Herskind Nightingale"]Arlo, you are such a dude!! [/quote]

Not quite sure what to say - if someone said that to me at school, it would have been taking the piss ...

Er, thanks if you're not!

[/quote] Last time a chick as nice as Emily said that to me she was chatting me up, so you'd better watch out Arlo.

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Arlo Guthrie — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:43:06 GMT

[quote user="Emily Herskind Nightingale"]Arlo, you are such a dude!! [/quote]

Not quite sure what to say - if someone said that to me at school, it would have been taking the piss ...

Er, thanks if you're not!

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Glen McIntosh — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 04:25:28 GMT

Sorry Emily I think I may have red Starred you by mistake. I'm all thumbs with my iPhone. Not intentional.

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Emily Nightingale — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:45:37 GMT

Arlo, you are such a dude!!

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Michael Woodhouse — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:42:15 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]How on earth did you get a firearms cert for that?[/quote]

It is listed for vermin control and clay pigeon shooting!

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Mark Hedberg — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:24:40 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]

How on earth did you get a firearms cert for that?

I'll try to stay on the right side of you-sounds as though you could be a dangerous enemy

Wynne

[/quote]

Probably just stuck it in the boot next to all those Eastern European puppies!

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Hannah Wynne Richards — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 10:45:05 GMT

How on earth did you get a firearms cert for that?

I'll try to stay on the right side of you-sounds as though you could be a dangerous enemy

Wynne

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Michael Woodhouse — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 00:26:32 GMT

[quote user="James Laidlaw"]

Bob might need to upgrade his shotgun, and fast...

[/quote]

I have an 8 shot Benelli Semi-auto that would make a mess of it.

I'm sure I could have it out the cabinet an loaded in well under 5 minutes

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 18:49:25 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]much easier to control than a helicopter[/quote]

MUCH easier. I've built two helicopters and promptly flew one into a barn door, and the other into the ground. These are a doddle by comparison. If you get into trouble, you just stop pressing the iPad and the thing levels itself and hovers automatically.

You don't really need much room to launch and land - it is designed to fly indoors as well (with a protective hull attached).

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]what happens if it runs out of charge over the garden of the neighbour[/quote]

There's a power indicator on the iPad and an alarm when you get down to 20% remaining. I think it autolands at about 2%.

And if you do crash, it is very easy to fix. Just buy replacement parts online.

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

James Laidlaw — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 18:46:56 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]

No no disguise it as a pink elephant

Wynne

[/quote]

Or a flying pig?

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 18:01:16 GMT

[quote user="Arlo Guthrie"]A toy drone with a high definition camera on board, which is controlled using an iPad.[/quote] I have to say I saw these reviewed in a newspaper supplement and was quite impressed, much easier to control than a helicopter. How much room do you need to launch and land it Arlo, and what happens if it runs out of charge over the garden of the neighbour you don't like?!

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Hannah Wynne Richards — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:29:19 GMT

No no disguise it as a pink elephant

Wynne

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Bob Russell — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:31:49 GMT

Perhaps time to re-ignite some hot topics to give Arlo something to do!

Suggestions?

By adding the optional pack:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Parrot-Ar-Drone-70-UFO-110SMD-Cool-White-LED-Light-kit-included-3M-tape-/130693365091?pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e6dee7d63#ht_2218wt_952

you can freak out those stumbling out of the pub late at night!

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:21:34 GMT

[quote user="James Laidlaw"]Bob might need to upgrade his shotgun, and fast...[/quote]

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

James Laidlaw — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:15:20 GMT

Bob might need to upgrade his shotgun, and fast...

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:19:51 GMT

[quote user="bob lehner"]apart from admiring your own front door what will you do with it[/quote]

Nothing. That's why I bought it, to admire my front door.

Seriously, I bought it to investigate the possibility of using these things (or rather the more sophisticated versions) for architectural videography / photography. Also, its quite fun for getting a bird's eye view of the world.

Only flies for about seven minutes on a charge, so it's not up there long enough to have my gun-toting neighbours out on the street.

[quote user="James Laidlaw"]Neighbourhood watch?[/quote]

That is an idea too. Perhaps strap some armaments on board, in case I find any burglars prowling:

www.youtube.com/watch

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

James Laidlaw — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 11:52:26 GMT

Neighbourhood watch?

Re: Now I'm redundant, here's my new toy

bob lehner — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 10:44:34 GMT

Well if I was your neighbour and had that bloody irritating thing buzzing around and possibly spying on me I'd borrow a shotgun and blast the b*****d out of the sky.

Seriously - apart from admiring your own front door what will you do with it that's legal ??