Hi Coleman, I am using an Arduino Uno for my quadcopter project. I am unsure about the interface between the gyro(IMU) and microcontroller. The controller being used is Atmega328p. Cheers Madhav
@Maddy It comes down to the output of the Gyro (is it analog, I2C, digital etc?). Check the user guide.
Hi Coleman I want to design my own flight controller and programmed. Could you please temm me which microcontroller should I use as a controller. Which one is better as a microcontroller and which language should I write the code?
@alper This is really up to you - you might take a look at MultiWii since it is open source (and you can get some help). If not, creating custom code without a programming background will take some learning on your part.
Hey Coleman, I’d like to achieve complete autonomous flight with my drone. Ideally having it set up to launch itself at specific times to complete a flight plan, landing back on a a wireless charging pad once done. Controlled by a purpose built ground control software, with a full live feed of flight data. In terms of the flight controller, what will I need to achieve this?
@Cameron You need a flight controller with GPS waypoint capability. If you want a “purpose built GCS”, wireless charging etc. then it’s up to you to design and create it all - there’s little we can do to help here.
Hey Colemon. Is it possible to control a drone using a smartphone/PC via RF signals? If bluetooth (assuming the range is extended with an antenna) or wifi are used instead, will the latency be too high indoors? Out of these communication technologies, which is the most suitable for indoor use, assuming a required range is about 300m? Thank you.
@Ahmed Certainly, but you are limited to what is on the market in terms of smartphone to RF technology. If you want to get video feedback, that is a different issue. Can you create a new topic on the RobotShop Forum explaining what you already have and what you want to do? We can provide links there.
Hey,How can I operate the drone via smartphone?
@Manthan The flight controller ideally needs to have an application which can send signals via WiFi, Bluetooth or cellular network.
Mr. Benson: I have questions on several subjects: is there electronics for drone " all in one" piece? if making carbon frame and want to cut it on my own where to buy carbon sheets? if cannot be all in one electronics then are there electronics made like modules so just to plug in and electronics done on frame…and lastly for now: I am interested in swarm of drones. Where can I learn how to program them? which software is for that assuming there are many but I don’t know for any yet.can you help with that? I search on subject a lot on internet and could find any…I do appreciate your time and effort to help me.
@ mark 1) Yes, there are “all in one” electronics for drones 2) We currently do not offer carbon fiber sheets for cutting It’s best to look locally for carbon fiber sheets 3) Learning to program swarm robots is quite a bit more difficult and is still done largely at universities.
Mr Benson,
I am trying to build a quadcopter that does autonomous flying by using image processing with the help of raspberry pi .Also the ardupilot is the flight controller.Can you guide me how to interface between the two.?
@Rahulnath R That’s actually what a lot of people are trying to do as well since the Raspberry Pi is so inexpensive and versatile. We do not have a specific method to use both together, but we think there should be quite a few projects showing up online soon (with code). Image processing from a height will not be easy though.
I’m getting experience with my first drone, but would like to upgrade the admittedly lowgrade components for longer flight time, better speed, direction, and position control. I would also like to add functions such as follow-me, return home, and maybe an additional in flight function beyond the camera. Can factory built quadcopters be retrofitted/upgraded?
I had always wondered this. Thanks for the post!
Sir,can I control the quadcopter with 8051 microcontroller
@gagandeep singh Yes, but we do not have any sample code to provide.
And how to make this > http://www.giftick.com/raj/84/ paper airplane drone which can be controlled by the movement of the head of the user? It also is fitted with live streaming camera and they have also integrated virtual reality into the live streaming. How virtual reality is working with live streaming? What sensors are needed for this?
@Radha Kishan That’s a bit beyond the scope of this article, but the head movement is tracked using an IMU, sent via RF to the airplane’s flight controller and then to the control surfaces. We have a bit more about FPV here: