Professional drone with simple control / Madrobots / Geektimes blog

The company Yuneec International can not be called known And popular. However, it was she who launched the professional level drone – the Yuneec Typhoon H hexapter. It was created in cooperation with Intel, which made a lot of efforts during the development. Hexapopter was first shown at CES 2016, where he attracted attention of both drones specialists and ordinary technicians.

This is not surprising – the drone looks great and works great. Despite the size, the Yuneec Typhoon H can be easily transported – its “rays” are folded, after which the hexacopter is placed in a special backpack. And yes – these “rays” are carbon strong supports. At the bottom of the drone is a 3-axis suspension for the camera. You can shoot at all 360 degrees. In addition to the camera, hexakopter differs from other “colleagues” in a number of advantages.

What does Yuneec Typhoon H know?

The developers tried to simplify the system by making it ready for flight already out of the box. Complex preparations or a multi-hour assembly are not needed – it is enough to unpack a hexacopter and you can fly. Moreover, professional skills are also not required – the “smart” copter and the most complex flight elements and other functions can perform independently. One of its main advantages is the ability to identify obstacles due to sonars located in the front part. Dron is sold in three different trim levels (more details – below). The first two means the presence of sonars (standard and Pro version), but in the maximum configuration (Pro RS version), the copter knows how to not only detect the obstacle and stop, but fly around all the problem areas on the go. This is possible thanks to Intel RealSense technology, the module with the appropriate “stuffing”, goes in the kit and is mounted on the hexacopter separately

The technology itself works in conjunction with a special camera “Intel RealSense R200”. The point is that in the process of flying, the drone creates a three-dimensional “picture” of the surrounding space. Analyzing the created model, the hexacopter paves the optimal route for itself, avoiding any obstacles in its path. In addition, Typhoon H is able to follow the goal, which makes it possible to shoot a bicyclist or create a miniature film about his adventures.

Dron remembers all the places he has ever visited. Models of the surrounding space are stored in memory when the copter enters a familiar place, it uses the already available data for optimal performance. On the ground, the drone is guided by ultrasound, namely the IPS sensors (Optical Flow Sensor). So that he can fly both during the day and at night, equally well avoiding obstacles at any time of the day.

Management of the Yuneec Typhoon H

To control the Typhoon H, a special “personal ground station ST16” was created, as the panel developers call it. He works under the OS Android. It has several controls, a pair of antennas and a 7-inch diagonal LCD.

The drone is sold in three different trim levels. In the bundle Pro and Pro RS there is a remote control device Wizard remote. This is a minimalistic console, in which there are significantly fewer buttons than on the “station.” The Wizard is equipped with its own GPS module, with its help you can easily control the drones, setting different modes of flight. Flight control is carried out by means of buttons “upwards”, “downwards”, “to the right” and “to the left”. The remaining buttons on this remote control are responsible for working with hexacopter flight modes, including the sequence mode. Thanks to the GPS beacon in the console, the drone will always know where the owner has gone.

If desired, the “station” and the console can be used simultaneously, for example, to separate the functions of the operator and the pilot. One person controls the flight, the second – the camera.

Flight modes of the hexacopter

Briefly about some of the modes we discussed above, let’s now look at the flight of the drone in detail. Yuneec Typhoon H has 6 different modes of flight:

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Six carrying drones provide a smooth flight with high maneuverability and controllability. The maximum speed is 70 km / h. The speed of vertical take-off is 18 km / h. Yuneec Typhoon H can climb to a height of 1600 meters (factory settings – 122 meters, you can change the settings).

What to shoot?

Comes with the drone comes its own camera, developed by the company Yuneec. This is a 12 megapixel camera CGO3 + 4K UHD. It has several modes of operation, including UHD: 4K at 30FPS, 2.7K at 30FPS, 2.5K at 30FPS; FULL HD: 1080p at 24/25/30/48/50/60 / 120FPS; The camera’s viewing angle – 98 degrees.

What’s in the kit?

The company Yuneec International offers three versions of the complete set. The drones are the same here, only a set of accessories is different.

Yuneec Typhoon H
Hexacopter Typhoon H + CGO3 + on suspension + ST16 + 1 battery + charger + power supply and adapter + accessories.

Yuneec Typhoon H Pro
Hexacopter Typhoon H + CGO3 + on the suspension + remote control ST16 + 2 batteries + charger + power supply and adapter + accessories + Wizard + backpack.

Yuneec Typhoon H Pro RS
Hexacopter Typhoon H + CGO3 + on the suspension + ST16 + 2 battery + charger + power supply and adapter + accessories + Intel RealSense module + Wizard + backpack.

The characteristics of the drone

• GPS: yes
• FPV: yes
• “Return Home” function: Dynamic Return to Home
• Function “Distance control”: yes
• Flight time: up to 25 minutes
• Weight of the drone with the battery: 1695g
• Take-off weight of the drone: 1950gr

Battery: 4S 14.8V 5400mAh 8C 79.9Wh LiPo Battery POWER 4 in the set )

• Charger: SC4000-4 charges at the same time The battery as The drone so and ground station )
• The control panel: 16-channel 5.8GHz WiFi (in the complete set)
• Flight Modes: Orbit Me / Point Of Interest / Journey / Curve Cable Cam / Follow Me (Watch Me) / Dynamic Return to Home
• Maximum altitude of flight: 1600 meters (Restricted by FAA)
• Maximum roll angle: 35 °
• The rate of decline: 11 km / h
• Maximum takeoff speed: 18 km / h
• Maximum flight speed: in the Follow me mode – 70 km / h
• Backlight of the drone: LED on each beam of the drone and on the back of it
• Environment for flights: indoors / outdoors

Specifications of the camera

• Dimensions: 115 x 74 x 135 mm
• Weight: 255 g
• Video resolution UHD: 4K @ 30 FPS – Full HD: 1080p @ 24/25/30/48/50/60/120 FPS
• Effective pixels: 12.4 MP
• The angle of the review: 115 °
• Lens: 14 mm / F2.8 (free of distortion)
• The Matrix: 1 / 2.3 “CMOS
• Exposure Time: 1 / 30s – 1 / 8000s
• Microphone: Yes
• The frequency of video transmission: WiFi
• Transmission range of video: From 7V to 14V DC
• Transmission Frequency: 5 GHz
• Operating temperature: -10 ° C to 40 ° C
• microSD memory card: Class 10 (4 to 128GB)

The control station

• Type: ST16
• Operating system: Android
• Number of Channels: 16
• Data transmission distance in accordance with the requirements: FCC to 1.6km (1million) with CE requirements: up to 1.6km (1 mile)
• Transmission frequency of AV signal: 5.8GHz WiFi
• Tactile (vibrational) and sound feedback: yes
• The quality of the transmitted video signal: HD 720p
• Video transmission range (under optimal conditions) in accordance with the requirements: FCC to 1.6km (1ml) with CE requirements: up to 1.6km (1 mile) with CT16
• Telemetry flight systems: yes
• Display: 7-inch capacitive multi-touch LСD
• Tactile (vibrational) and sound feedback: yes
• Built-in LiPo battery (voltage / capacity): 3.6V 8700mAh 31.32Wh Li-ion

As for the “station”, it is worth noting the relative simplicity of working with it. It looks difficult from the outside, but in fact everything is clear – a couple of flights will be enough to already in automatic mode to control the drone. Thanks to the HDMI output, the image from the drones can be immediately displayed on any compatible device, including a video-headset. The maximum removal of the drone from the operator is 1.6 kilometers. The battery provides operation in an autonomous mode up to 25 minutes. It charges about 2 hours.

In the dry remnant

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Younger Typhoon H has a lot of advantages:

• Build quality and design;
• Flight characteristics
• Simple and functional remote control;
• Management in semi-automatic mode;
• Avoidance of obstacles;
• Quality camera;
• The presence of several flight regimes.

Among the drawbacks, it can be noted that in the kit there is only one battery. In case you want to use another camera, you’ll have to be a bit disappointed – the drone is compatible only with the camera that comes with the kit, others can not be used. We did not notice other shortcomings. Perhaps it was badly searched:)

In general, this device is capable of much. Drone can be used in sports competitions, on a hike (of course, if you agree to pull an additional cargo with you), fishing or in any other situation. It also suits those who are professionally engaged in video and photography.

Where to buy

Hexapotter Yuneec Typhoon H in Russia can be purchased at the online store Madrobots. Now all three variants of a complete set (Yuneec Typhoon H, Yuneec Typhoon H Pro, Yuneec Typhoon H Pro RS) are available for order.