Awesome Drones

This is a list of various resources related to drones, UAV's and quadcopters. It's an attempt to gather useful material in one place for everybody who wants to learn more about the field.

Table of Contents

• Courses
• Software and Librairies
  • Simulators
  • Firmware for Transmitters
  • Firmware for Flight Controllers
  • Libraries
  • Ground Control Stations
• Services
• Hardware and Components
  • Platforms
  • Remote Control Transmitters
  • Drone Frames
  • Headsets
  • Video Receivers
  • Electronics and Motors
  • Cameras
• Products and Projects
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
    • Consumer
    • Millitary
  • Unmanned Ground Vehicles
    • Autonomous Ground Vehicles
  • Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

Courses

• Flying Car and Autonomous Flight Engineer Udacity - Master autonomous flight software engineering skills as you build your career in flying cars and drone robotics.
• Robotics: Dynamics and Control edX - Learn how to develop dynamic models of robot manipulators, mobile robots, and drones (quadrotors).
• UAS/Drone Remote Pilot Test Prep for Part 107 (Init & Recur) Udemy - A comprehensive class that encompasses everything needed to know to become a proficient Remote Pilot and to pass the FAA written initial or recurrent exam.

Software and Libraries

• ArduPilot Mission Planner - Mission planner software.
• Paparazzi - Software suite for UAVs, including ground control and autopilot.
• QGroundControl - Ground Control Station for PX4 and ArduPilot based UAVs.

Simulators

• AirSim - Open source simulator based on Unreal Engine for autonomous vehicles.
• DRL Drone Racing Simulator - FPV Racing game and simulator with official DRL tracks.
• FPV Air 2 - 💵 - Basic FPV simulator, runs on slower hardware. Available on Steam.
• FPV Freerider - 💵 FPV (first person view) and LOS (line of sight) racing simulator.
• FPV Freerider Recharged - 💵 FPV (first person view) and LOS (line of sight) racing simulator.
• LiftOff - 💵 FPV racing simulator with realistic OSD (on-screen display) experience.
• Orqa FPV.SkyDive - Orqa FPV's racing and freestyle simulator.
• RotorRush - 💵 Formerly known as FPV Event. Subscription based simulator.
• VelociDrone - 💵 Multiplayer FPV racing simulator.

Firmware for Transmitters

• FreedomTX - Custom firmware for TBS Tango 2 based on OpenTX.
• OpenTX - Highly configurable open source firmware for RC radio transmitters.

Firmware for Flight Controllers

• Ardupilot
• BaseFlight - (Outdated/Inactive)
• Betaflight - Fork of Cleanflight.
• ButterFlight - Fork of Betaflight. Firmware focusing on Mini Quads.
• Cleanflight - Fork of BaseFlight. Supports more FCs and has additional PID contollers.
• dRonin - Autopilot/flight controller firmware for controllers in the OpenPilot/Tau Labs family.
• EmuFlight - FC Firmware focusing on flight performance, innovative filtering, leading-edge feature additions, and wide target support.
• FlightOne - Formerly known as Raceflight one.
• INAV
• Kiss - Firmware for KISS FCs.
• LibrePilot
• Open Source Rover Control Code - Nasa JPL command firmware for the OSR.
• PX4
• SilverWare - Firmware for BoldClash BWHOOP B-03 mini drone
• SilverWare(NFE) - Firmware for Alienwhoop ZER0, E011, BWHOOP B-03, H8mini, and BETA FPV LITE flight controllers with NotFastEnuf settings and experimental features

Libraries

• DJI Onboard SDK - The Onboard SDK allows you to connect to a supported DJI flight controller using a serial port (TTL UART).
• GoBot - Golang framework for robotics, drones, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
• LibUAVCAN - Portable reference implementation of the UAVCAN protocol stack in C++ for embedded systems and Linux.
• MAVLink - Micro Air Vehicle Message Marshalling Library.
• MAVROS - MAVLink to ROS gateway with a proxy for Ground Control Station.

Ground Control Stations

• QGroundControl - Cross-platform ground control station for drones (Android, iOS, Mac OS, Linux, Windows).
• Arduleader - An android ground controller (and other things) for Mavlink/Arduplane.
• Tower - Ground Control Station for Android Devices.
• MAVProxy - A UAV ground station software package for MAVLink based systems.
• Ardupilot Mission Planner - A full-featured ground station application for the ArduPilot open source autopilot project.
• APM Planner 2 - An open-source ground station application for MAVlink based autopilots including APM and PX4/Pixhawk that can be run on Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux.

Services

• AirMap - Aeronautical data & services to unmanned aircraft.
• Airware - Data processing platfrom for turning aerial data into business insights.
• DroneBase - Online marketplace for Drone services.
• DroneDeploy - Drone & UAV Mapping Software.
• RotorBuilds - FPV Part lists and Build Logs.

Hardware and Components

Platforms

• OpenUAV - Open-souce UAV platform for research and development

Remote Control Transmitters

• FlySky - Entry level transmitters.
• FrSky - Taranis and Horus line of transmitters powered by OpenTX firmware.
• Futaba
• Spektrum
• Team Blacksheep - Tango 1 and 2 transmitters.

Drone Frames

• Source One by TBS - Open Source freestyle FPV drone frame.
• Source Two by TBS - Open Source racing FPV drone frame.
• Source Micro by TBS - Open Source mini drone frame.
• Source PodRacer - Open source ultra-light drone frame.
• Source V by TBS - Open Source ultra-stiff drone frame.
• Source X by TBS - Open Source giant racing drone frame.

Headsets

• Aomway - Lower end priced goggles.
• DJI Digital FPV System - Low latency digital FPV goggles.
• FatShark - Headsets praised by racers.
• ORQA FPV.One - Upcoming brand of FPV goggles, currently having early bird offers.

Video Receivers

1.3GHz

• ClearView XLR 1.3

2.4GHz

• ClearView XLR 2.4
• TBS Ground station

5.8GHz

• ClearView Goggle Receiver
• ClearView 5.8GHz Ground Station Receivers
• FuriousFPV True-D
• rapidFIRE
• TBS Fusion - Has CRSF integration (for changing channels).

Electronics and Motors

Terminology:

• FC = Flight Controller
• ESC = Electronic Speed Controller
• PDB = Power Distribution Board
• RX = Receivers
• TX = Transmitters (external)
• VRX = Video Receiver
• VTX = Video Transmitter

List:

• 3BHobby - Motors
• Airbot - FC, ESC
• BrotherHobby - Motors
• ClearView - VRX, VTX
• DalProp - Props
• Fl1ghtOne - FC, ESC
• Flyduino - FC, ESC
• GemFan - Props
• Hobbywing - FC, ESC, Motors
• Holybro - FC, ESC, PDB
• HQProp - Props
• iFlight - Motors
• Lumenier - FC, ESC, PDB, VTX, Motors
• MaterSys - FC, PDB, VTX
• RacerStar - FC, ESC, Motors
• SP Racing - FC
• T-Motor - FC, Motors
• Team Blacksheep - ESC, RX, TX, VRX, VTX

Cameras

• Caddx.us
• Foxeer
• RunCam

Products and Projects

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Consumer

• DJI - 🇨🇳 - DJI is the world's leader in the consumer drone market - Spark, Mavic, Phantom, Inspire and Matrice series drones.
• Eachine - 🇨🇳 - Mini and micro drones. FPV beginners sets.
• Hubsan - 🇨🇳 - Micro and Mini lower cost drones.
• Parrot SA - 🇫🇷 - Famously Parrot Bebop and Parrot AR series drones.
• Syma - 🇨🇳 - RC toy quadcopters.
• Yuneec International - 🇨🇳 - Yuneec camera drones.

Military

• AeroVironment - Small range fixed wing UAVs.
• Eli - ELIX-XL - a small, man-portable, ruggedized quadcopter.
• INSITU - Long range and extended endurance fixed wing UAVs.
• Threod Systems - Fixed wing and multi-rotor UAVs.

Unmanned Ground Vehicles

Autonomous Ground Vehicles

• JPL Open Source Rover - Nasa JPL scaled down version of the curiosity rover, made of COTS.
• Turtlebot - Open sourced UGV, ROS standard platform.

Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

• Geneinno - Underwater drones.

License

To the extent possible under law, Jaan Janesmae has waived all copyright and related or neighbouring rights to this work.