Drone Regulator

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  Demo shot 1

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  Demo shot 2

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  Drone + Controller

Inspiration

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) frequently changes drone laws, but most US citizens aren't familiar with the details and the enforcement of these legislations. What if we could build a drone navigator app that helps you seamlessly follow all of the FAA regulation without any effort?

It's as easy as running one

node index.js

Features

• A web-based drone navigator app that lets you control your drone with a PlayStation DualShock 4 controller and/or a keyboard
• Provides dynamic local airspace regulatory information such as altitude (not available indoor), prohibited airspaces, and potentially dangerous weather
• Real-time video stream of the drone's first-person camera right on your browser

How?

• Extract real-time geolocation data using the Parrot Bebop drone's embedded GPS module
• Reverse-engineered AirMap to extract dynamic airspace data and overlay the regulatory information on top of Mapbox's vector map.
• Integrate the Bebop drone and all of the input/output devices together with Cylon.js
• Update and maintain communication channel with Socket.IO

Challenges we ran into

• Reverse-engineering AirMap's closed SDK to extract data
• Implementing real-time video stream with JavaScript H.264 decoder
• Integrating multiple input devices (PlayStation DualShock 4, keyboard)

What's next?

• Automatically notify the air traffic operator when within 5 miles of an airport (from the FAA safety guideline)
• Auto-pilot mode that traverses desired destinations via potential field methods
• Automatically warn the user about the nearby regulations

Built With

• airmap
• bebop-drone
• browserify
• cylon.js
• express.js
• jade
• mapbox
• node.js
• socket.io