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We are designing a Cortex-M4F coupled with a Raspberry Pi running Linux or Andriod Quadrotor, here is our build log!

The Cortex would handle all the controls - sensor fusion, PID/LQR, height, RC controls etc. The Raspberry PI (or another platform) will handle GPS telemetry, communication across different quadrotors, and allowing the user to write higher level applications to do whatever they please while abstracting away the sensor/controls.

The goal is to make everything transparent as possible, from documentation of the sensor fusion algos, and also providing matlab, vpython simulation files.

Current electronic hardware specs (main features):

• CPU: STM32F4-407
• Gyro: IDG500, ISZ500
• Mag: HMC5883L
• Acc: ADXL345
• ST EEPROM
• Barometer : BMA180
  • Barometer will switch to MS5611-01BA03, Accelerometer will remain, Gyros will either switch to MPU-3300, or ADXRS450 depending on vibration tolerance/bandwidth

• 8 PWM Inputs
• 8 PWM Outputs
• 3 USARTs
• 2 SPI
• 2 I2C
• 6 ADC
• 4 LED
• 5V out
• 3.3V out
• 2 DAC

All the pins and ports are broken out for additional use such as GPS etc. I would like to keep the control board as straightforward as possible and abstract all the telemetry/localization features to the Raspberry pi (or other controller)

Software:

Using the Extended Kalman Filter with quaternion state propagation as the main sensor fusion algorithm, the Unscented KF is currently written in Matlab but have yet to ported to C.

Using PID for motors now, will resort to LQR when time permits.

Magnetometer calibration using Gauss newton method, written in Matlab.

GPS localization fusion algos have yet to be determined, it is simple outdoors as a Sigma Point KF will just do, but more difficult indoors due to the lack of an absolute reference.

If you have any inquiries/questions or want to help, please let us know!

Small quadrotor: ~8 inches tip to tip

Tri blades

PWM output sonar

Light and sturdy fiberglass frame

2nd revision of the control board

Using the STM32 discovery as a programmer

It is about 200 grams with everything mounted, motors are 2200kv, currently just using an AR DRONE battery. The controllers are 10A hobbyking controllers that can handle 500hz.

Larger all carbon fiber quadrotor:

Entire quad chasis

Carbon fiber blades, hope to reduce the vibration and also increase rotor response time.

Central hub - 4400mah battery for now, the motor controllers are I2C ones.

Motor choices...

Size difference...

4 in 1 brushless controller, theses are I2C controllers

My interests tend towards high-altitude balloons, but I find that there's more than enough overlap in the technology here to keep me coming back (in case you haven't noticed, there's some darn cool stuff that happens here).  So far, I haven't had a reason to actually post to the blog, but this might be relevant enough to justify consuming your time: a camera that is designed to output composite video while recording 1080p high-def.  Check out the video above (if you can, watch in 1080p), then read on....

A week prior to this flight, Sparkfun announced the camera that we used to capture this video, the HackHD (Manufacturer Page) (Sparkfun Product Page).  You can find all kinds of information that we captured on our review of the camera, but what I thought might get the attention of this community was that it also offers a live NTSC video output during recording. 

(Image from www.sparkfun.com)

Pins 5 and 6 of the module are ground and video out respectively (Pin 1 is near the uSD slot), and, sure enough, they output live video while the camera is recording (the lens flare in the video is my camera flash; note that the rest of the video is still pretty clear):

Bottom line is that this camera is smaller and lighter than a gopro, will run for a very long time on the 6000 mAh pack from Sparkfun, has awesome dynamic range, and is extremely easy to set up... it's going to be a permanent fixture on our balloon flights going forward, and it might be of interest to you as well.

Watch it on the BBC's site here (embedding not enabled, sadly). Includes a bit about the troubles the West Wales Airport, which is hoping to become a drone center, is having finding tenants. Also includes an opera singer, who is worried about drones over her house, singing "Does it fall from the skies above?"

Bluetooth <-> RS232 adapter allows connection from any device that supports RS232 to PC or other device that supports Bluetooth. This walkthrough demonstrates how to configure some parameters such as name and internal Baud rate.

Read more...

http://apirola.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/setup-jy-mcu-bt-board-v1-2/

That cool retractable pan/tilt that we wrote about last week is now available in a mini size. $25 for MDF, or $35 for ABS plastic. Details here, video follows.  

The highlight of this year’s voestalpine Klangwolke in Linz, Austria, was a choreographed air show with 50 small helicopters equipped with LEDs. Ars Electronica Futurelab and Ascending Technologies GmbH set a world record with this, because this was the largest swarm of these “quadrocopters” (so called because of their four rotors) outdoors at the same time.

Full story

Perhaps this story really speaks to the fact that this would not have been allowed in the USA.....

The APM 1 board is still very popular, especially with fixed-wing pilots, but our world is moving to the smaller APM 2.x boards pretty quickly. So 3D Robotics is clearing their inventory of APM 1 boards with much lower prices. 

The full APM 1 kit is now $100 off, at $150

And for all of you with the original (and now obsolete) APM 1 1280 boards, you can upgrade to APM 1 2560, which is fully supported by modern code, for just $49 

In the quest for ground clearance and light weight legs I think I found a great product. 

These landing gear are usually made for 90 grade F3A Airplane but they fit very well on the 3DR frame. 

Super sturdy, made of Carbon fiber and shaped to absorb some impact (they are very stiff) they work great and will not add a lot more weight.  I first saw something similar on the uDrones products but they were straight and looked a bit thin.

I always try to bring you guys the best products and I sure know I got a lot of request for longer, stronger legs.  Well here they are and as a bonus I find them pretty sexy!  hehe 

As usual, let me know what you think? keeper product or not? 

https://www.canadadrones.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=CF-LEGS-20-2

Real clearance under the center plate is more 17cm (around 6 1/2 inches) 

This is a really sexy 3DR Hexa!   Oh and the props are 11X4.7 real Carbon Fiber too, this is stiff and price went down recently so really happy to offer them now! 

With 2.7.3 out there is no excuses to not fly!! 

I'm not quite sure that they're right that this is the first autonomous transition from vertical to horizontal flight (there are some others that do that already, including Quadshot, although I suppose they could argue that it's more of a copter than a plane, or maybe not a full UAV?), but impressive all the same. 

From Hackaday:

 [Team ATMOS] from Tu Delft University in the Netherlands, has developed a UAV that can autonomously transition from quadcopter flight to that of a fixed-wing aircraft. Although the world has seen several successful examples of transitioning-flight or VTOL aircraft, team [ATMOS] claims to have made the first autonomous transition of this type of craft.

This UAV was featured in their school newspaper, which provides a write-up about the work that went into creating this hybrid UAV. When you’re done with that, be sure to check out the two videos after the break. The first shows the [ATMOS] taking off vertically and flying off as a flying-wing fixed aircraft. The second video shows this and other UAVs in the [DARPA] competition that it was designed for. Fast forward to 2:24 to see this aircraft do a fly-by.

I want to invite everyone who is part of this community in the DC area to join the newly formed DC Area Drone User Group on Meetup (http://www.meetup.com/DC-Area-Drone-User-Group/).  This is a group for amateur and professional drone users sharing tips, experiences, and doing some flying together. Let's learn from each other and have some fun. All experience levels are welcome.  We have our first in person meeting Thursday, September 13.  I hope to meet you there.

I know that the it looks like I have a a prop balance issue but it is actually a bent prop causing the vibration and (jello effect) I have new props on order. 

Other then that I have the Quad working well in Alt Hold and stable so far. working on the reset still.

Hey Everyone,

I've been moving toward ground vehicles over the last little while and I started building an add-on FPV setup for my Traxxas Slash 4x4. Over the weekend I finished up the main plate for the ROV gear. I have added the Ardupilot 2560, Mediatek GPS and original minim-OSD along with a 900mhz 500mW FPV transmitter. The camera is a RMRC-540 OSD model.  I've since added a police light bar for kicks to the roll cage. The truck uses full head-tracking with Fatshark Predator Goggles. I had it out for a spin and its wild. Almost makes you sick at full throttle but I am absolutely hooked.

I DIY'd the pan/tilt setup for the camera and I really need to find a better solution and am open to suggestions. There is alot of slop and I end up getting alot of major shakes when moving at slow speed. It is basically a Futaba 3003 on the bottom and it pans the entire setup. Another Futaba is on the back for tilt. I'd love some suggestions on where to get a better pan/tilt. I was thinking of using a Servocity servo-block setup.

The second radio system for the head tracking is a Turnigy 9x with a DJT and D8R-II combo. The RSSI works well and immediately lets you know where you are not suppose to be. I will eventually control the entire ROV movement with this radio but for now it is just doing secondary head tracking functions.

I am working on my ground station and I have flashed the Ardupilot with Ardurover code.

Needed: 900mhz Xbee's!!!!

I'd love to hear comments/suggestions on how to improve this setup.




note the DIY'd pan/tilt hack from a few mini hobbyking FPV pant/tilts....

Here is the co-pilot :)

I just caught the Foreign Correspondent documentary on Drones, Rise of the machines, and I have to say it was quite balanced, it presented all the issues currently surrounding civilian UAVs quite well. It features Chris Anderson and Team Blacksheep.

I imagine it will on iView very shortly: http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2012/s3582815.htm

Look! Up in the sky. It’s a bird*, it’s a plane. It’s a floating TV station streaming live to the web. It’s a prying lens snapping lucrative snaps of a celebrity party. It’s the police chasing suspects. It’s kids playing in the park. It’s a government agency keeping an eye on things. It’s all of the above.

Just as mobiles and wireless dramatically changed the way we live our everyday lives, drones are set to become the next game-changer.

"This is a powerful technology. It is real, it is coming. No amount of hand-wringing is going to stop it." PETER SINGER Drone Expert, Brookings Institution

For many onlookers, drones have been a controversial weapon prowling over foreign battlegrounds targeting enemy combatants and terrorists, often with devastating consequences for hapless civilians in the vicinity. Now as America’s military campaigns wind down many of those drones are coming home, losing the military decals and weaponry and turning their attention to porous borders, law enforcement and a myriad of civilian uses.

“The size of the industry - it’s billions of dollars. $30 billion by 2015 was one estimate I’ve seen.” CHRIS ANDERSON Editor, Wired Magazine, Drone entrepreneur.

The exponential growth is happening with smaller drones in the hands of anyone with a few hundred dollars and access to the local hobby shop. They can buy a sophisticated, unmanned aerial vehicle over the counter. Guided by GPS and tiny autopilots, hobby drones now have the ability to fly for miles providing sharp video vision directly back to the pilot. But hobbyists are one thing, some operators are defying the law and flying their drones for commercial purposes; Journalists chasing a story, real estate agents selling a house, paparazzi chasing celebrities and a big-pay day.

"Well I wouldn’t step out on your wife, that’s really the first thing. I think it will cut down dramatically on adultery. What should people do? I’d say carry an umbrella.” CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER Syndicated columnist and conservative commentator

In just three years an order from the US Congress will see tens of thousands of drones take off legally into an already crowded sky, competing for space with domestic aviation. It’s a regulator's nightmare. No one seems to know how it will be managed. Supporters see farmers and scientists at the controls. Opponents fear terrorist drones.

“There are political, legal and ethical issues that play out with this. Everything from how do we ensure rights of privacy, to what way the police should be allowed to use them, what way should they not be allowed to use them and how do we keep bad actors from utilising these technologies?” PETER SINGER Drone Expert, Bookings Institution

From Thingiverse. Designed to fit 1/2" towel rail bars, which can be found in any hardware store. 

We decided that it was time to test out the stability of the DJI Wookong M electronics on the CineStar 8 from FreeFly Systems.

So we flew a small girl around the park without making any gain adjustments in the DJI assistant.

A review by Small Business Book Reviews of this book, which came out earlier this year (not cheap: $120 hardcover, $66 Kindle):

What would happen, let’s say, if an unmanned drone collided with a civilian passenger aircraft over a major town or city? The devastation could be catastrophic and there would be fingers being pointed in all sorts of directions as to who was to blame. The chain of command for decision making is clearer in manned aircraft than in unmanned systems, but there is still doubt about the situational awareness that a drone can use to prevent such occurrences.

This is where “Sense and Avoid in UAS, Research and Applications” comes in. Edited by Plamen Angelov, this book seeks to provide answers and knowledge to provide UAV operators and designers with the tools to make future flight safer. It is noteworthy that the UK Civil Aviation Authority is currently refusing to licence any unmanned aerial system over 20kg in weight that doesn’t have a sense and avoid capabilty.

The book is organised into four main sections; Introduction, Regulatory Issues and Human Factors, SAA(Sense And Avoid) Methodologies & SAA Applications. Each section contains chapters written by an expert contributor or contributors, delving into the subject down to its fundamentals.

To my mind there are two key aspects of Sense And Avoid. One, is the sensor application on the UAV to make the instantaneous flight decisions to avoid collisions, and two, is the regulatory framework built into the system to ensure that these drones are operated successfully and safely.

Both issues are discussed and dealt with in a way that encourages the reader to understand the reasoning that goes on behind the scenes. There are many sensors that can provide the necessary information about the immediate environment, to allow collision prevention, but it is the dissemination and processing that matters. In addition, there are existing flight regulations that cover manned aircraft, which may have use in devising an unmanned code.

This is a book that aims to teach, and it does this well. If the reader is aiming to understand the issues involved in Sense and Avoid, this is a book that will provide solid foundations. As with any subject of this nature, supplied bibliographies allow further investigation and there are plenty in this book. If UAS is your thing, and you are thinking of a career in this expanding industry, then Sense and Avoid by Plamen Angelov is the book to have.

(via UAVTECH)

First sorry for the blurry pictures the camera on my phone is crap. I have been back to the phone store 3 times to get a new one and every time there is a line up of kids getting new electronic devises for school and they tell me there is an hour wait. I just give up and leave. I live in the boonies and about once a month I make a pilgrimage to the big city and the hobby shop for parts for my scratch build .When I am in the city I spend the night at a motel I call the "South pacific " The back ground with the ocean,beach and palm tree is actually a mural on the wall of the motel room.The proprietor and I have an "understanding" I give him $cash he folds it puts it in his pocket no paper work.(I let him know a week ahead I am coming.)Cash still works in Canada and once you are out of the main populated Cor odor
in most places  there is little cell phone coverage or Debit machines  Satellite phones are catching on in the far North
Yesterday I walked into the hobby shop to pick up a strip of balsa and some nylon hinges.to make the rudder for my scratch build and some thing "Magical Happened ?"
I walked out with  a F4 Phantom 32 DF. platnum series The power train for my scratch build was designed for it. I have everything to build the plane excpt the retractable landing gear I am going to file it away and save it for my'"Winter Project".I am going to continue building the scratch build and try it out and if ther is not enough power I already got the "Guts "for the Phantom and I will go to another means of propulsion like a Jet cat turbine . a gas propeller or a large electric prop.While I was in the big city
We went to a flick at "Silver City " and in the lobby is a mobile of a guy peadling a bomb with flappin gwings and the propeller turning . Have a Nice day!

While surfing the net, I came across this chip I thought it is worth writing about it.

The VN-200 is a miniature high-performance GPS-Aided Inertial Navigation System that combines MEMS inertial sensors, a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, and advanced Kalman filtering algorithms to provide optimal estimates of position, velocity, and orientation for industrial applications.

Utilizing the latest advancements in MEMS technology, the VN-200 incorporates a wide assortment of inertial sensors including a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis magnetometer, and a barometric pressure sensor.

Here is the full article

A terrific PopTech speech by Eben Upton, who started the Rasberry Pi foundation, on the lessons learned in creating what turned out to be a fantastically successful $35 computer. 

“I remember sitting down with my wife for dinner...and we had this sudden, appalling realization that we had promised 600,000 people that we would build them a $25 dollar computer.”

What's clear is that he intended it to be like the BBC micro, a computer designed to be programmed. As such it's optimized for multimedia and outputting to a monitor. Unlike Arduino, which is optimized for I/O and interfacing with physical stuff (lots of analog and digital/PWM inputs and outputs), Raspberry Pi seems to be more oriented towards graphics. 

Some good lessons on resilience, too. Some things didn't work, others took longer than expected and with great promise comes great expectations and no small number of critics.  They just kept improving, adapting, learning and powering through. Inspiring.