Autonomous Helicopter

Help & Support Robot Parts
1

Hello,
I am currently planning to make an autonomous helicopter.

Today I have RC transmitter connected with PC, and 3axis accelerometer located on heli and connected with PC. So I am able to controll my rc heli with my pc and program there some stabilizations and basic flight manoeuvres(flying as far as accelerometer cable can reach:) ).

What I plan to do is make my heli completely autonomous. The only thing I want to control from PC is GPS position of my heli, his height etc., so the whole flight controll should be placed on heli.
But I have no experience with microcontrollers and similar stuff so I need your help. Coud you please recommend me some exact microcontroller with all necessary accessory? It should have 6 PWM outputs for the whole heli controll(servos), inputs for gps, electronic compass, 3 axis accelerometer, 3 axis gyroscope and some wireless communication with PC. For programming I prefer C, but maybe some other language will be better for this project…

Can you please help me? Thank you
Ivan

2

Thank you for your answer!
OK, so let’s say, that I am interested in this:
Microcontroller:
arduino duemilanove or arduino mega
(which would be more suitable?)
Sensors:
3axis accelerometer
2x gyro(for pitch & roll sensing)
Magnetic compass for yaw sensing
GPS sensor
Sensor for heli rotor RPM feedback
4x ultrasonic range sensor
Communication:
bluetooth modem for wireless communication

Is all this stuff compatible with each other? What else do I need so this stuff can work? Is there something that I should replace with some better element?
Thank you

3

Arduino microcontrollers may be a good option. They are available in different footprints and should satisfy all your I/O requirements:

robotshop.ca/arduino-microcontroller.html

The Arduino nano or Pro should interest you due to weight being an issue and they are programmable in C.

For sensors, you can find everything you need here, including GPS, accelerometer, gyro, etc.:

robotshop.ca/sensors.html

Once you have refined you choice, we can look at what you may require to complete the setup.

4

The new Arduino Mega is probably a better choice because it is basically faster, allowing you to do more, especially with all your I/O requirements.

Everything is compatible so you should not have too many issues interfacing these devices together. Simply work with one function at a time and then integrate them all together.

All that would be missing is wire, a power supply, and a USB cable for the Mega.