DIY Drones
"The world's largest UAV community"
Boulder, Colorado open-source UAV community founded April 2007 by Chris Anderson; birthplace of the ArduPilot autopilot, still active in 2026.
DIY Drones is an open-source unmanned aerial vehicle community platform founded by Chris Anderson in April 2007 and built on the Ning social-networking platform. It describes itself as the oldest and largest amateur UAV community, drawing hobbyists, educators, and open-source hardware developers who share projects, code, and flight data.
The community is widely credited as the birthplace of ArduPilot, an open-source autopilot platform that grew from its original ArduPilotMega flight-controller hardware into firmware supporting fixed-wing aircraft, multicopters, and ground rovers; the project later became part of the Dronecode Foundation. Connections made on the forum, particularly between Anderson and fellow member Jordi Munoz, led directly to the founding of 3D Robotics, an early commercial drone manufacturer that grew out of the DIY Drones community.
As of September 2026, DIY Drones remains an active hub, publishing blog posts and forum threads on topics such as drone gimbals, GPS backup systems, agricultural drone use, and pilot training. Its posted community rules limit the platform to civilian, non-military hobby and educational UAV projects.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
ArduPilot
Open-source universal autopilot software platform for planes, multicopters and ground rovers, born from the DIY Drones community.
ArduPilot Mega (APM)
IMU-based open-source autopilot combo board with ground station and Mission Planner, converting RC aircraft into programmable flying robots.
Contact DIY Drones
WEBSITE
https://diydrones.comHEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2007
Primary Role
Software/Algorithm
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
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