Geek DIY: Uses Raspberry Pi to create a four-axis drone

Geek DIY: Uses Raspberry Pi to create a four-axis drone

 

 

If you want to DIY a drone of your own, you can read this article and it may be helpful to you.

The main parts used in this project are mainly from Erle Robotics (an open-source four-axis aircraft project using Linux ). The author of this article does not work for this company. If you are interested in this scenario, you can also focus on basic projects associated with Raspberry Pi, such as Dexter Industries and PiBOT. You can also watch more tutorials on some related websites. This year, Robotics provided a relatively low-cost and easy-to-use opportunity for fans. They can burn programs on chips and add new hardware, all of this can be seen as benefiting from Raspberry Pi and some other microcontroller. Of course, information and materials on the Internet have also played a major role.

Erle Robotics, an open-source four-axis aircraft project using Linux systems. Their slogan is: "Building the next generation of educational drones ". The author also mentioned this issue in a previous article, and the project provides relatively inexpensive components to help DIY Raspberry Pi.

Parts

Erle Robotics PXFmini

Raspberry Pi Zero (Raspberry Pi Zero)

HobbyKing Spec FPV250

Erle Robotics PXFmini Power Supply Module

Tools

Soldering Iron

Tape

Screwdrivers

Application/online

APM flight stack

Debian-based Linux

Demo tutorial

Next we will demonstrate how to build a Linux drone based on Raspberry Pi Zero. It is worth noting that the cost is less than 200 USD. The drone system uses a Linux kernel with excellent real-time performance and is based on the Debian system. The pcb of the PXFmini Flight Control System of drones uses the APM Flight Control Program, of course, from the Erle Robotics project.

 

 

Step 1: assemble the drone Kit

Time: 30 minutes

After preparing the parts, assemble them. Refer to the picture above to prepare the parts.

First, assemble the black drone frame and the motor, and then use tape to tie the speed control controller and the motor together.

Connect the power supply component and the ground drone Console component to the speed controller, connect it to the power supply component, and fix the component on the black drone frame.

If you want to connect the power supply parts to the power supply, pay attention to the following points. If you want to quickly connect the connector and power supply parts to the power supply, be careful about short circuits. You can remove the other end of the power supply module and then weld the battery and connector,

In this way, we can easily disconnect the drone battery and power supply components.

Finally, the battery and power supply components are installed under the drone Using nylon buckle.

Step 2: Prepare the drone flight control part

Time: 30 minutes

The PXFmini flight control system circuit board is connected to Raspberry Pi Zero for reference.

 

 

Raspberry Pi Zero and PXFmini need to select the corresponding software for control. This program needs to provide some function services required by drones, such as the startup service functions of drones.

 

 

If you have purchased the Erle Robotics PXFmini board, you can access the Debian-based image file system. You can use PXFmini to store images and then use the SD card to retrieve the files.

Step 3: Install the flight control module

Time: 5 minutes

 

 

Install the flight control part (Raspberry Pi Zero + PXFmini) and connect the jst gh line to the power module and PXFmini on the drone. In this way, the power can be supplied to the flight control part.

Next, you need to install the PWM modulation in the flight control system, connect your ESC line to ESC 1 (also connected to No. 1 Motor), and then connect to PWM channel 1, next, connect ESC 2 to PWM 2 in the same way.

 

 

Step 4: Install the propeller and let it fly!

Time: 15 minutes

The two propeller s rotate clockwise (marked with "R") and the other two are clockwise. The clockwise propeller is connected to the motor 3 and 4, and the clockwise propeller is rotated to connect the motor 1 and 2. This is a very important step, because this can ensure that the next installation is correct.

Now you need to decide how to control your drone ., This is very important.

WiFi + handle: Create your own WiFi network and USB adapter (Erle Robotics images are supported by default), and control drones through the ground control station.

WiFi + ROS: ROS is a good choice. You can; use this system to create visual flight modes and control drones. You can refer to this video:

 

RC: you need to buy a PPM-Sum receiver with RC interfaces and connect it to the flight control module (PPM-SUM input channel ).