BlimpDuino home page

BlimpDuino is a very low cost open source autonomous blimp. It consists of an Arduino-based blimp controller board with on-board infrared and ultrasonic sensors and an interface for an optional RC mode, a simple gondola with two vectoring (tilting) differential thrusters, and ground-based infrared beacon.

~~It is available as a commercial kit from the Maker Shed or the DIY Drones store for $89.~~

[UPDATE: The current Blimpduino kit has been discontinued. Stay tuned for a new design in 2012]

What else you'll need
Instructions for making the kit are here.
Instructions for loading the code are here
Correct LED/servo/motor behavior modes are here
Instructions for using Blimpduino are here
The parts list is here
The discussion forum for teams using Blimpduino in the FIRST Robotics aerial robotics demonstration is here
If you want to build your own board from scratch, the necessary files and component lists are here
If you want to print out a cool DIY Drones sticker like the blimp above has, here's a pdf.

The Blimpduino board is the core of the kit. Features:

* 17 grams, with ultrasonic and IR sensors.
* Controls two motors and one vectoring servo.
* Built-in RC compatibility (can read two RC channels--throttle and steering)
* Designed for a 7.4v LiPo battery; has an automatic power cut-off at low voltage to protect the battery.

Here's the board with the ultrasonic sensor removed, so you can see the Atmega168 processor underneath it:

Here is a video of BlimpDuino in flight, using a breadboard version of the controller board:

At the moment, we're using Pololu IR beacons as the ground beacon, but we'll eventually release our own, open source, versions of them, too.

Here's the board on the gondola with vectoring thrusters and the optional RC receiver:

The commercial kit consists of the following:

--BlimpDuino board, with all SMD parts already soldered on
--Other through-hole components, to be soldered by user (easy)
--A very simple laser-cut plastic platform for the board, battery, optional RC receiver, and motor components
--A servo, gears and motor shaft for the vectoring (thrust tilting) function
--Two motors and props
--One IR ground beacon
--52" mylar envelope

The following is a chronological list of posts describing the development of the project. This is mostly for those who want to follow along and learn about Arduino-based robotics. If you're interested in autonomous blimp development and want to know more about BlimpDuino features, they will give you some insight into the evolution of this project.

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Comments

Bill Miller July 20, 2009 at 1:19pm

Here's an interesting application for someone. Indoor trade shows. With a little more buoyancy and an LED display, you could have it auto navigate around the whole show while displaying Ads. Could even have a bunch of them doing a circuit and rent space on them. If you have the LED displays controlled remotely, you could even have them as a public addressing system.

Possibly a simpler idea. Have a laser bounce images off the nice white covering with the actual content. Use a Wii type of controller to "aim" the projector.
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson July 19, 2009 at 8:10am

Kai,

What do you mean by "ports"? Analog pins? Digital pins? Serial?

You can attach a small video camera, but don't expect the onboard ATmega to be able to do image processing. You'd want to transmit the image to ground and process there.
Kai July 19, 2009 at 7:55am

And control it to make some pictures...
Kai July 19, 2009 at 7:53am

Hello can tell me somebody how many of the ports are free on the blimpduino µc? And how much additional weight can the blimp carry? Would it be possible to attach a small digital camera to the blimpduino?
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson July 7, 2009 at 9:41pm

Bruno, I don't understand the question. It's based on Arduino and uses the Arduino IDE. Is that what you mean?
R. Henderson July 7, 2009 at 8:41pm

I may not have seen it, But does it have a programming application?
Mitch Patenaude June 21, 2009 at 6:25pm

I'm thinking that using 4 of these sensors rather than the ir detectors would make for some interesting behavior. I would probably need to tweak the code for the slower readout rate.
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson June 18, 2009 at 3:00pm

It really can't handle any wind and the IR sensors won't work outdoors. So I'd only use it in RC mode and with a tether.
Mitch Patenaude June 18, 2009 at 2:17pm

What would happen if you tried to use this outdoors? I have carpeting in most of my house, and have been considering using this outside with it ballasted slightly negative, so that I'm sure it will come down.
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson June 17, 2009 at 4:10am

What's the difference between ultrasonic and sonar sensors?

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