Do you have an Ardupilot Mega and shield and want some fun for little money? check this tiny quad... my last drone in family...
Some specs:
- Size : 26.5cm (10.4 inches) from motor to motor
- Motors : 18-11 200kv 10 gram motors
- Props : 4x2.5 (standard CCW props)
- ESCs : Turnigy 6A
- Battery : 3S610 (or 3S800)
- Sonar : Maxbotics LV-EZ0 [optional]
The nice part about this frame is that it use standard kite parts, so it´s very easy to construct and it´s perfect for some radical tests.
Itried to find a bit different design that also make the quad less simmetrical (it´s very easy to loss the orientation with a quad) and I wanted to do as small as posible to flight indoors...
At this size and weight it´s very safe and robust also. The props use prop savers and this help a lot in crashes...
I am not very good writing... so I took a lot of photos during the build phase and I created a build log: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fIZL-Ca2fx2RPhBQLzoOdqdCuikXRKePwKbxDlJWiss/edit?hl=es
This code supports a sonar for altitude hold and also has a battery alarm (2 alarms).
Thisquad works with ArduCopter code, but because how main board is mounted, actual code doesn´t work. This is the code that I used with this quad :
http://code.google.com/p/arducopter/source/browse/#svn/branches/Arducopter_indoor
(as zip format: Arducopter_indoor.zip )
note that this will be integrated on main Arducopter code. Now is temporarily in a branch.
ThePID gains are different than in standard ArduCopter, so you need to Initialize EEPROM on Configurator or put this ones manually:
-Stable mode: P : 4.8 ; I : 0.12 ; P_rate (D in configurator) : 0.4 ; Yaw : (4.5 ,0.15 ,2.8 )
-Acrobatic mode : P : 0.75 ; I : 0.1 ; D : 0 ; Yaw : (2.4 ,0.2 ,0 )
OK, but was all so perfect like in the video? I don´t believe that...
Yes, you are right, but fortunately this design is very crash resistance... and this part is also fun...
After all this battles I only needed a few drops of ciano in the crash with the lamppost :-)
What´s the real size?
On center, standard arducopter frame, on left, old ArduIMU quadcopter part III, on right-top this project.
And what about the automatic aerobatics on video?
I am starting to test a new function to do automatic aerobatics (Automatic Aerobatic Procedure). The idea is that you enable this function with a switch in the Tx to make an automatic predefined aerobatic and then automatically recover to a stable mode.
Thisis actually a proof of concept but works very nice. One limit here is the maximun rate of the gyros, in our case 500deg/s. If we exceed this, the IMU get confused...
An interesting point to note is that the IMU doesn´t loose the orientation in this hard movements...
Thestory is that I have never feel too much confidence doing flips manually with quads. Then I start thinking that with an automatic code we can get a precise timing and controled movement so maybe this could help to do better aerobatics. I started testing this function outdoor, on an open field but I was improving the code and got more tightly maneuvers, so tight, that I ended up doing flips with a quad inside my room!!!
Here is the code I was testing : (AAP function: AAP.txt )
I implemented this functionality as a state machine where there are three kind of states:
- fixed commands for a limited period of time. (example : Apply a throttle command)
- fixed commands until we reach some IMU state (example : roll until we reach a certain angle)
- And a mix between this categories and a control (example : Throttle command + stable mode on roll, pitch, yaw)
There are many things to test and improve here but the basic concept works very nice...
If I can get a bit of help from a friend, I will probably made a carbon fuselage for this prototype...
Enjoy this “Science & Fun” mix...
Jose Julio.
Arducopter Team
Comments
motor to motor 14 cm 5x3 prop
Arducopter_indoor.cpp:89:21: error: APM_ADC.h: No such file or directory
Arducopter_indoor.cpp:92:25: error: APM_Compass.h: No such file or directory
Arducopter_indoor.cpp: In function 'void setup()':
Arducopter_indoor:365: error: 'APM_ADC' was not declared in this scope
Arducopter_indoor:387: error: 'APM_Compass' was not declared in this scope
Arducopter_indoor.cpp: In function 'void Read_adc_raw()':
DCM:29: error: 'APM_ADC' was not declared in this scope
DCM:32: error: 'APM_ADC' was not declared in this scope
Arducopter_indoor.cpp: In function 'void Drift_correction()':
DCM:100: error: 'APM_Compass' was not declared in this scope
When I tried to upload the code I get this error:
'APM_ADC' was not declared in this scope
and some errors after that. Am I missing installing something? I can upload the standard arducopter code without problems. I'm using Arduino 0021
The kite parts were surprisingly difficult to get. All the parts are very cheap, but the various websites use inconsistent terms and size description methods, so it's a bit confusing (if you're not a kite guy, I guess). I went to the UK company first, but they did not appear to ship to the U.S. So then I bought various pieces from various U.S. companies until I figured out a configuration that worked.
I ordered the carbon tubes from goodwinds.com: 020042 Pultruded Carbon Tubing. OD: .1570, Length 32.5" ID .1. Note that a lot of kite tubing has a tapered OD and you don't want that. Make sure the OD is the same end to end.
I ordered the edge connectors from goodwinds as well: Y-TAPA Size .156/.156. These go in the corners of the mini quad. Note that the .156 sort of matches up with the .157 tube.
The standoffs I finally ended up using I purchased from FunWithWind.Com. The tube end was OK in size, but the hole the motor needs to go in is way too small, so I had to scrape that out with an exacto knife and really press it in hard. (It was either the 2.5mm-4mm or the 3.5-5.5mm, I ordered both, not sure which one I used in the end). I'm not recommending this as a great solution. There may be a better part out there. But it did end up working for me with a bit of reworking and elbow grease.
Although I bought several different sizes, I did not use the center connector Jose used because I wanted my center plates to lie flat without having to cut a rectangle in the center of them.
Jose:
Thanks for this inspirational as well as instructional mini quad post. I've been working on a mini quad based on your design. It's the same design, except that I cut pieces of 1/16" ABS plastic rather than plywood and vinyl, I'm using an external battery alarm, Futaba RX, and kite pieces from the U.S. In addition to putting the blue-LED unit facing forward, I added another set facing downward because I thought that would be cool looking. I used velcro for attaching the battery, APM/Shield, and Rx for purposes of flexibility (we'll see that works).
I still need to solder the motor wires, load the code, and do the configuration, but the project is coming along pretty well so far. Pictures attached. Thanks again for the great work.
If anyone has a source on black GWS EP-4025 propellers, let me know. (I have orange and gray, but no blacks).
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