Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
Project: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
Roadmap:
V1.0 – Thermopile-based UAV built on Predator Airframe, ground video and high-res still imagery. Explore First Person View (FPV), space dependent.
V2.0 – Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) based UAV Built on larger, yet to be determined, off the shelf airframe. Explore better ground imaging equipment and FPV with overlaid telemetry.
V3.0 – IMU-based UAV on in house designed and built airframe.
Overview of V1.0:
This project is going to bring together many interests to include aviation, electronics, computers, robotics, wireless communications, GPS, topography and aerial imagery, all with a bit of a military twist. We will be maximizing the use of open source technologies which will minimize cost and allow for maximum customization.
The initial goal is to build a small Thermopile-based UAV capable of GPS Guided autonomous flight, with the ability to take live video and still photos of the terrain below and transmit those images real time to a ground station.
Ground Station is going to be developed as a separate project.
Hardware:
On Hand:
Airframe: Predator UAV with 63″ Wingspan from Nitro Planes. I primarily picked this airframe because of the” look” after doing some reading I have found out this is not the optimal fuselage for packing in electronics and camera gear. Although it is doable as seen here. So for v1.0 we will be moving forward with this platform, I think it will be a good exercise in keeping things as compact as possible. I have my eye on a few other airframes for V2.0 but still need to do more research.
Specs:
Wing span: 63 in
Wing area: 403 sq in
Flying weight: 1.2 lb
Fuselage length: 35.5 in
RC Control: Older Futaba 4 ch
Needed:
Motor: TBD
Servos: TBD
RC Reciever: TBD
Speed Control: TBD
Batteries: TBD
Autopilot: ArduPilot – Arduino Compatible UAV Controller w/ ATMega328 Details found here.
Expansion Board: ArduPilot Shield Kit
Programing Cable: FTDI Cable
X-Y Sensor: TBD
Z Sensor: TBD
GPS: 32 Channel LS20031 GPS 5Hz Receiver
Airspeed Sensor: Comes with ArduPilot Shield Kit
Radio Modem: XBee Pro 60mW Wire Antenna with XBee Adapter kit
Software:
Autopilot: Latest version of ArduPilot
Construction:
Documentation of the construction process.
Resource Links:
Info:
DIY Drones (parts also)
Paparazzi Project
Parts:
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