I am working on a school (research) project that requires that we build the smallest autopilot possible (INS). We really want to push the limit. The total payload budget is 200mG on a very small (think carbon butterfly but smaller) fixed wing air-frame. Our team has been playing with commercial 6 DOF sensors and a MSP430 uC to try to make a board that will guide for 1 minute without any other sensor inputs. I thought it would be nice to reach out to the DIY drones community for some input. Yes I know its "impossible". I am just looking for some head scratching. My main questions are:
1) Is there a source for MEMS accelerometer/gyros that have much better noise specs than what is available from the the standard suppliers (Invensense, NXP etc). When doing straight DCM/Kinematics we are having trouble navigating for more than 20-60 sec with the error buildup in the kinematic equations using the Mahony DCM base algorithm. We are willing to pay, but we need them small and light and it seems this is exclusive. Some sort of external reference may be needed but the weight...
2) At our weight, packaging is a HUGE problem. I realize that MEMS sensors require thermally stable packaging but has anyone in the DIY community addressed using bare die for INS. Still doesn't solve the error problem.
3) Currently we are stuck with a small coin cell, has the DIY community tried making there own micro-batteries?
Thanks
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