Saturday, November 12, 2011

SARA - Small Avionics Research Platform

Pics - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.287687374596211.75304.100000648530684&type=1&l=eecfaaefb6

So I mentioned before about using the Android phone as the sensor for the quadrotor.  Now that the airframe is completed, mechanically, it is time to delve into using the sensors from the Android and feeding an Arduino Mega, with a 2560 microcontroller.  The electronic speed controls use a pulsed width modulation signal to control rotational direction and speed of the props.  For testing, I will remove the props and verify that the motors are spinning in the proper direction (1 and 2, which are opposite each other on the airframe, should spin in a counter clockwise direction.  3 and 4, which are opposite each other on the airframe, should spin in a clockwise direction.)  I will attach each of the four ESC wires to their own digital pin on the Mega.  This will become a piece in a three part system consisting of Guidance (getting to where I want to go), Navigation (where am i now) and finally Control (the Mega will use PWM to manipulate the propellers around the vehicles center of gravity and send her in the right direction).

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