Helix Generator

March 5 2015

This is a light weight Java program used to generate helical waypoint patterns for Arducopter.

Note - the waypoints generated by this program are ideal for Arducopter 3.2 or higher.

Demo of the helical waypoint patterns in action: http://youtu.be/cBZOrpKxrMQ

To get started with the program 
1. Clone the project
2. Open in your IDE and try running tests.HelixTest.java (sanity check)
3. Open the helix.enums.Locations.java. Here is where you can add your flying sites. 
   To get your lat/lon positions I recommend using Google Earth. 
4. Find the main method in tests.HelixTest.java, and change the location to one of your own.
5. Set the parameters of your helix according to your preferences.
6. If you plan to view the output of the generator in Google Earth set the waypoint type
   to WAYPOINT. It will approximate the circle with 8 points.  
   If you want to generate Mission command outputs I'd recommend using the SPLINE waypoint type,
   because it will generate 4 points around the circle, which the Spline alogirthm will transform
   into a circle.
7. Use the appropriate method to generate your desired output (KML or Mission commands).
        - To view the Mission planner commands:
            - copy / paste the console output into a new text file
            - open APM Mission Planner and open your text file in the 
        - To view the KML output: (a little hacky...sorry) (Windows)
             - Open Google Earth (GE) and create a new path. 
               Set the preferences to your liking (extruded, colors, width, etc)
             - Right click your path and save it to your desktop
             - Change the .kmz file extension to .zip, and unzip it.
             - Open the KML file and find the <coordinates> elements
             - Copy / paste the console output into the <coordinates> element
             - Save the file, then click and drag it into GE

Notes:

- I recommend using GE to visualize your helix pattern before commiting it to a Mission file.
- Once you create the mission file open it in APM Planner and add additional waypoints, like takeoff / landing