Mike,
That is a very interesting project. For ~$250 mark I think it is a viable
kickstarter project. I'd buy one. I like the idea of having the extra compute
power to experiment with OpenCV, sense and avoid systems, etc. Some things that
would be nice to add / change (although these aren't really deal breakers) are
GPS position and altitude hold (perhaps using a uBlox NEO 6M.) One thing that
does concern me is the frame. It looks like laser cut acrylic. I don't think
that material is strong or rigid enough for a quad frame of that size. I'd look
into G10 as an option. This would increase your cost, but would provide a much
better frame. Another option is to look at some of the cheaper, off the shelf
frames available. Flite Test makes some great kits using mostly wood (and some
G10) that are cheap and possibly more robust. They are also very easy to fix in
the event of a crash. The H quad has the largest payload platform, you can find
it here; http://shop.flitetest.com/multirotors/knuckle-h-quad-370-kit/ I
think a robust, or easily repairable frame is very important considering the
application here. Since this is such a great platform for experimenting with
autonomous or semi-autonomous flight there are most certainly going to be
crashes. Having a frame that will survive or be easily repaired would be a must.
Thanks,
SKip
On May 12, 2014, at 8:11 PM, Mike McDonald wrote:
> Hey guys,
>
> A group of Rose-Hulman students have been hard at work this past year
> building a Beaglebone Quadcopter with these goals in mind:
>
> 1. Low cost ($100-150 w/o Beaglebone)
> 2. Fully open source (Cape, Frame, and all control software) on our Github.
> 3. Easy to assembly and repair (we estimate it will take 1-2 hours to
> assemble and get ready to fly)
> 4. Durable and easy to fly (currently supports USB game controller control,
> though we initially tested using a USB RC controller, though it's also
> possible to eventually use a cell phone as a controller) with a 10 minute
> flight time
> 5. Sensor packed: 9-Axis (MPU 9150), Altimeter (BMP 180), Ultrasonic
> Rangefinder (HC SR04), Battery Gas Gauge (MAX 17044), and CMOS Camera
> (OV7670).
>
> The Quadcopter is flown via WiFi and Bluetooth (though streaming video
> doesn't yet work over Bluetooth) from a host computer (you need somewhere to
> view the streaming video from). Additionally, we're using a Debian image and
> have added Xenomai for better real time performance. We're also using both
> PRU's: one for real time motor control and one for the camera. With the
> quadcopter software running, we've still got 80+% of the CPU free for other
> processing (OpenCV, etc.).
>
> We're currently using a PID control scheme, but we may be switching to a
> sweet state variable feedback system (or getting a senior design group next
> year to do it).
>
> So, we want some feedback from you guys on the following:
> Would you buy one of these Quadcopters?
> Is our price point reasonable? Is this something worth selling ourselves or
> would this be a good kickstarter project?
> Are there any other features you think are critical (wouldn't buy without it)?
> If you want to dive deeper into our design:
> How does the software look (particularly the PRU to C interface)? Would you
> be willing to maintain it, or update it to State Variable?
> How does the PCB look? Are there any flaws you see? Would you want to add or
> remove any other sensors?
> How does the mechanical design (Quadcopter frame) look? Is it aesthetically
> pleasing? Easy to build (if you have a laser cutter, give it a try and let us
> know)? Easy to fix when broken?
> Here are some pictures:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Videos are available on here (and on the github). Our best video is probably
> here, as it shows it both flying as well as the streaming video.
>
> If you guys have any questions, respond here or email me back.
>
> Thanks!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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