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Re:Model aircraft operators free to operate commercially in ... by toomuchtodo on Friday March 07, 2014 @12:49PM (#7361629)
I'm interested in controlled drones not by radio control, but with waypoints, and telemetry provided over LTE. Further investigation required!
Re:Model aircraft operators free to operate commercially in ... by commandar on Friday March 07, 2014 @02:49PM (#7362317)
Very much possible. Ardupilot is one of the more full-featured open source packages, but there are simpler autopilots out there as well. It's pretty common practice to at the very least have a GPS based "return to launch" system on long-range FPV craft as a failsafe for the connection to the ground station being dropped.

http://ardupilot.com/

Re:Model aircraft operators free to operate commercially in ... by bnzelener on Friday March 07, 2014 @06:45PM (#7363503)
We loooove ArduPilot. Using ArduPlane and ArduCopter (firmware versions of ArduPilot) as the primary platform for our LTE-Telem box.

The current software for configuring ArduPilot boards has tremendous depth, but I think the UI could use some work. Especially for non-hobbyist users.

Re:Model aircraft operators free to operate commercially in ... by bnzelener on Friday March 07, 2014 @02:01PM (#7362019)
A friend and I are working on this verbatim! Building an iOS interface for controlling the drone in-flight and planning missions, and a little "black box" that will connect to the autopilot computer and send telem data over LTE. We'll post on DIYDrones and FPVLab once it's ready for testers.
Re:Model aircraft operators free to operate commercially in ... by toomuchtodo on Friday March 07, 2014 @02:39PM (#7362265)
Brilliant!