iPhone FPV
After I had completed my DJI Quadcopter, I wanted to try out some FPV without spending hundreds of dollars on equipment. After researching various FPV equipment, I decided that the quickest and easiest way to try FPV would be to use my iPhone. I know that using an iPhone isn't as responsive or reliable as some of the more expensive equipment built for the sole purpose of FPV, but I still wanted to try it anyways. Previous methods of using an iPhone for FPV have entailed the use of FaceTime or Skype over a 3G network, but those connections always have lag and drop out at the most unexpected times. The method I will describe to you below employs a direct connection between my computer and my iPhone, allowing me approximately 150ft of range in all directions.
The Setup
The only additional piece of software you will need for this is called "Reflection". Although it is a paid app, I believe it is worth the investment for the features it offers. All reflection does, is make your computer appear as an Apple TV to any near by iOS device. Why do we need to do this? Well, all of Apple's recent iOS devices have a feature called Airplay, whereby the device can stream footage from its screen to an Apple TV. Due to the fact that Reflection makes your computer look like an Apple TV, the iOS device will be able stream its screen to the computer via Airplay.
Note: This application is currently only available for Mac OSX, so the following steps are for OSX users only.
The steps below detail how to setup Reflection and establish a connection between the iPhone and a Macbook Pro.
Note: This application is currently only available for Mac OSX, so the following steps are for OSX users only.
The steps below detail how to setup Reflection and establish a connection between the iPhone and a Macbook Pro.
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Step 1. Download "Reflection" here and install it on your computer.
Step 2. Next, create the network between the iPhone and the computer by clicking on the WiFi icon and selecting "Create Network..."
Step 3. Name the network whatever you would like, I named mine "Reflection". Leave the channel as "11", select the
security as "40-bit WEP" and enter any 5-digit password of your choice.
Step 4. After the you have created the network, the icon for the WiFi signal should change like you see below.
Step 5. Unlock your iPhone and go to Setting > WiFi and connect your iPhone to the network you just created. When the
connection is established, the WiFi icon might not appear immediately on the iPhone but you can ignore this as the connection has been made.
Step 6. Next, open up the Reflection application on your computer.
Step 7. Go to your phone and double click on the home button so the multitasking bar comes up. Swipe left two times
until the volume slider appears with the Airplay icon next to it.
Step 8. Click on the Airplay icon and select your computer from the list of computers. After a check mark appears next to
your computer, turn the "Mirroring" option ON.
Step 9. A few seconds after you turn "Mirroring" on, the following screen should appear on your computer.
Step 10. Now your device is streaming to your computer, you can open up the camera application and stream the camera
footage to your computer. The built in features of Reflection allow you to also record the footage as it streams from the iPhone, so you don't have to worry about using up memory on your iPhone. |
Demonstration Videos
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The Reflection application allows the user to adjust many settings of the streaming footage. Everything can be optimized to establish the most stable and consistent connection. I found the lag in the streaming of the video to be minimal - maybe 0.5 seconds. While I was able to fly some slow flights on my quadcopter using this setup, I wouldn't recommend doing any fast circuits as the lag becomes too much to handle at that point. Also, I would recommend flying only at a time when others are not using their 2.4GHz transmitters as this can cause interference in the signal and slow down the connection. All in all, I liked this setup as a beginner FPV package. I didn't have to spend too much money on equipment and I was able to use tools I had at my disposal. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to try FPV for the first time, on the cheap.