What is the absolute most versatile flight controller, to allow me to input new signals different from all other users’, and change the control software to incorporate new dynamical forces, as specified by the new signals? TIA
Hi,
Well, from a theoretical standpoint, the most versatile flight controller would be a custom one that runs an open source flight controller firmware! 
Assuming you do not wish to design and implement your own custom flight controller board, we’d recommend to go for one that has enough inputs of the types you need and runs an open source firmware that you can modify.
Most likely something that runs MultiWii would be a good place to start looking. The source code is well maintained and easy to modify / add features to.
You can browse our flight controllers here. Products like the Lynxmotion Quadrino Nano runs MultiWii and provides access to most of the I/Os on the microcontroller.
There are certainly other options available, you’ll just have to look at it in more depth and see which one fits your use case.
Also, it should be mentioned that if your new signals require a lot of data processing/number crunching, you may be better off adding a separate microcontroller/SBC/etc. to process those first and then send the resulting data to the flight controller instead, thus making its work much easier.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
Your Quadrino has protocol inputs (I2C, UART, GPIO), but I’d like to use the same kind of channel as the integrated gyros and accels, which I assume go directly into an ADC. Are there units with that feature?
Hi,
Actually, the bottom expansion port of the Quadrino Nano exposes 3 ADC pins (A0, A2, A3). You can see this in details in the manual, page 16.
Alternatively (and this is most likely valid for other flight controllers), you can use an I2C ADC board to get more ADC channels, such as the RB-Dfr-597.
Another option is to use one of A0, A2 or A3 and add a multiplexer to it, such as RB-Spa-214.
You may also want to check out the [RB-Htl-02] and [RB-Eml-08].
We hope this helps.
Sincerely,
P.-S.: You can read more about the sensors in the blog article Lynxmotion Quadrino Nano - Raw Sensor Values. You’ll notice the IMU used (gyro, accel, magnt) is an integrated, digital chip that uses I2C, not analog pins (see datasheet, page 20 for pinout with details). The barometer (MS5611) is also a digital chip using SPI or I2C and the GPS chip uses a UART port.
Which port(s) do the IMU’s send data on, I2C, UART, GPIO or something else that’s specific to IMU’s only?
Hi jschutkeker,
If we take the Quadrino Nano for example, the IMU which is the Invensense MPU9150 sensor connected internally by I2C to the ATmega2560.
This part is not accessible from the outside but one could write code to the ATmega 2560 to retrieve the information.
Here is an example someone wrote to retrieve the code from the sensors but without any flight controller code:
github.com/Lynxmotion/Quadrino-Nano-sensors
Also, since the Quadrino Nano use the MultiWii code, one could connect and retrieve the values with the MultiWii serial Protocol.
Best regards,
I’m interested in attaching a fourth accelerometer and a fourth gyro to the most versatile drone possible (the nano?) with an IMU already on it. Would I be able to get a loose accelerometer and a loose gyro from you guys? If not, where would I go? Would I then need some kind of interface hardware to connect them to the I2C? After handling that, would I then have to worry about the signal still not being synchronized with the IMU?
Hi jschutkeker,
Unfortunately i don’t understand what you are trying to do.
You look confuse regarding many of the information you provided.
The Quadrino Nano is not a drone, it’s a MultiWii compatible flight controller which include many sensors.
Best regards,
Hi,
You can find individual accelerometers here, gyroscopes here and IMUs here.
You could, in theory, connect them to the Quadrino Nano using any of the available interfaces. Of course, you would need to modify the code that runs on the flight controller to use those extra values.
What would be required to connect your individual sensors to the Quadrino Nano depends on what sensor you are using and what interfaces it requires.
Sincerely,
Do you guys sell a remote control handset with unused switches that I can use to control extra pieces of hardware that I mount onto the drone?
Most R/C transmitter system will have switches connected to spare channels of the receiver to get inputs.