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CPU vs microcontroller? Do I need both

Posted by Steven Chang on October 11, 2010 at 9:49pm
Hi all

I am building aflight controller for my thesis project. I understand that I will need a microcontroller to controller the sensors such as IMU, alitimeter, pressure snensor, GPS etc. But my supervisor wnts me to look at CPU as well.

CPU: voltage supply, memory(EEPROM, ROM, Flash).

Is this really necessary?

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Replies

  • priyan October 18, 2010 at 7:15am
    you do this with help of bluetooth or zigbee wireless communication any way you need a micro controller.. u can have the control and visual effects in cpu monitor.
  • Steven Chang October 12, 2010 at 5:45am
    So having an IMU, altimeter, GPS, mcu, transceiver, is that enough to construct a flight controller?

    I know that many other sensors/units can be added to enhance the features, but for a basic flight controller that'll simply guide an aerial vehicle through desired waypoints, is anything missing from what I've mentioned.

    Because once I know which units I'll need, I can decide for example, is an ArduPilot Mega Board adequate to interface with all units.
  • Developer
    RoboCopter October 12, 2010 at 12:17am
    It depends. What do you want this thing to be able to do? In most cases you pick the micro controller then the sensors later. At the same time tho you need to have a general idea of what kind of interface your sensors will need so that your controller can handle it.
  • Developer
    Jason Short October 11, 2010 at 10:10pm
    We only use one micro for Ardupilot. It's an Atmel 328mega and it does everything you mentioned above.

    Perhaps your professor wants you to learn about alternative architectures and more complex systems. Without the lesson plan, it's hard to know.
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