FPV History and where is it today?
The world of FPV has had a big bang, and drones are becoming more accepted today but where did FPV all start? We will update this blog as we find out more. Just like with computers, it started with hackers experimenting but with the idea of creating a drone. Thus, the MultiWii was born. Hacker named “Alexinparis” successfully repurposed a Wii Motion Plus controller for the Nintendo Wii to use the gyroscopes for flying purposes. His project was a major success and open source for any other person to use.
Tricopter running MultiWii code, aggressive settings
(https://hackaday.com/2015/04/19/multicopters-and-their-multiwii-beginnings/)
Today, the MultiWii code is now rarely updated. Most people have moved on to STM32 based flight controllers running MultiWii derivatives like Betaflight.
Some of the oldest FPV drone footage on youtube belongs to Boris B. His passion for getting into this sport and developing it is unparalleled.
There was much work to be done back then in 2013/14 to develop the software onboard the drones. It began with OpenSource MultiWii Code based on Arduino 8-bit boards. The availability of 32-bit STM32 processors enabled the MultiWii code to be ported to STM32 and was named Baseflight.
Baseflight was refined and renamed Cleanflight. Boris B. was a developer. He took Cleanflight and made improvements on the PID control loop and released an experimental version of it called Betaflight.
This software was all open source and the large contribution of Boris B. improved the way our drones think when they are whizzing through the air.
(https://dronejay.com/the-history-of-fpv-drones/)
Here are some of the early FPV flights back in the day from Boris:
Let’s talk a little about the history of FPV goggles and where they are today.
From the beginning of time, Fatshark has dominated the market. These goggles have an RF Module that transmits analog video from drone to headset. Analog was the way to go until 2017 when DJI released a groundbreaking technology for FPV consumers. HD Digital Goggles and VTX.
DJI — Introducing the DJI Digital FPV System
Digital technology at this price point and convenience for the quality and latency immediately took the FPV community into a debate.
Analog Vs Digital
Analog Digital (HD)
(https://dronenodes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FPV-Analog-vs-Digital-Comparison.jpg)
By looking at the picture above you can tell the difference between Analog and Digital. Digital is much more clear than analog outputting HD 720p video but can suffer in minor latency (lag) in video transmission. Digital is simply the next generation offering people higher quality of video at a slightly steeper price. Analog is still some pilots preferred way of flying like Mr. Steele — One of the top freestyle drone pilots.