Outdoor test video of my latest quad

Here's a better video of my latest quad / code. I doubled the maximum angular rates in anticipation of some stunt flying. I probably still have to bump them higher, but I wanted to see how it handled, if it affected stability, and so on. It's just as stable, but much more nimble.

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  • Jason, looking good. I completely agree with you guys about simplicity. I have been running copter control for a few months with just gyros and no auto-leveling. Having a well tuned machine in rate mode is pretty much all you really need. 

  • Yeah, I totally agree.  I really wanted to see just how stable I could get it before adding anything else.  For self leveling or autonomous flight you do need the other stuff, but I think a lot of people assume that it's necessary even if you just want something to pilot yourself.  It's really not.  I still haven't really tuned the latest code much, and there are a number of other things I want to do that I'm pretty sure are going to improve it even more.  It's becoming a bit of a game.  :)

  • Admin

    @simonl,

    "With stability like that I have to wonder why we need all the other sensors and complicated code too!" The same thought has occurred to me too. I have followed the various quadrotor software developement from the beginning and sometimes more complexity is not always better.

    Just a thought.

    Regards,

    TCIII

  • Nice work Jason. With stability like that I have to wonder why we need all the other sensors and complicated code too! Can't wait for you to release the code :P
  • I have been working on a DCM version as well, but I'm having just as much fun (and more success) with just the gyro. The code will be open, and there's a slightly older version of it posted at the Parallax forums already. I'm going to clean it up and do a more formal release soon.
  • Great work Jason. It seems very stable. Will your code be open ?

    Are you planning to switch over DCM code ?

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