Some more information on my setup to test the Andropilot app using VRBRAIN
In my test, I use:
- My great VRBRAIN Controller running the latest 2.9 firmware
- 3DR Radio Telemetry Kit - 433Mhz
- Google Nexus 7 tablet (other android Tablets and Phones can be used)
- The Andropilot Application
The 3DR Radio module is Connected to the telemetry com port on my VRBRAIN (TX, RX; GND and +5V)
In the image, I Power my VRBRAIN using the USB cable.
No hacking - all Plug and Play :-)
This last update about VBRAIN add ON. In the picture you can see the first prototype of VR Neuron (Down) near the VR Brain (UP) . As you can see te board have the same mechanical design of VR Brain . The board is very compact 6x4 cm VR Brain 7x4 VR Neuron. You can put VR Neuron above and VR Brain up , connect the board by serial port and the use VR Neuron to connect the World :)
Above the board there is PAD for connect by an Header a breadboard or directly thw wire for add yor specific applciation. On the PAD there are available a lot of input output port 27 GPIO , SPI , I2C , Serial port .
In the next days will be more update until official presentation 9 November 2012 at Makers Italy .
In the last six month i decide to implement a new revolutionary design that could be usefull for add a lot on new functionality to our drones.
In the past we only work on micro controller : AVR , SAM3X, STM32 , great platform the last STM32f4 is best micro controller for manage our drone : acro and stable flight , loiter , waypoint navigation ecc ecc. But if i want to put on it a o.s. i start to have a lot of problem : small memory footprint available , not enough ram slow speed processor. So a lot of proposal .... ChibiOS , Nuttx . But what is better and opensource of the worlds ? No doubt It's Linux :)
In my professional work i used a lot of micro controller and micro processor , but all ,too complex to be hackable as a STM32. Until i start to play with a great Italian product , the first that put an Android on a wearable PC .
I like a lot the micro inside it and decide to use that microprocessor for my next opensource design.
I'm happy to present the first design of VR Neuron . It will be official present the 10 November 2012 at the Makers Italy exibithion so who would see our great new design are welcome to meet us at Makers Italy in Milan.
These are preliminary technical info about VR Neuron :
The operating system that i choose for my development is ArchLinuxArm , the powerfull of this design is incredible , i play a lot with the kernel and add a lot of usb device : wifi dongle , 3G dongle , webcam and install a lot of application and test it : apache2 , mysql , mjp-streamer .
So on this platform is possible to do anything of application , it's available python , gcc , i ply with mavlink_proxy and it work fine ... i connect the VBRAIN serial port to VNeuron and by wifi connect mission planner to VBRAIN and see live the telemetry of my quadcopter online.
With the PAL output could be possibile to develop a great OSD application or with oudio you can implement a tele presence systems ... the limit will be only fantasy :)
So i'm very exited about this project and i hope that you like it and join us in development.
Follow the evolution of project here :
Best
Roberto Navoni
Dear Friends,
after one week of work to first sample of electronics , we are ready with workspace enviroment for developer that want join our team.
Electronic Specification:
In VR Gimbal We decide to use this kind of electronic parts :
As developer enviroment we use VR Ide Universal (based on eclipse) compatible with VRBRAIN and MP32 board now also with VR GIMBAL.
The developer lib and hal at the begin will be compatible with our APM_LIB ported to STM32F1 library the same used on MP32F1 board.
That support all the APM library available and arduino language sintax .
In our code we decide to port on VR Gimbal :
and other utility yet available on our standard F1 package ...
We would develop also a utility for manage the board from
If you are interest to join our work in developing stage will be a special price for you of 75 euro of 3 axis control board + 15 euro for IMU (at the moment is available only 20 board) .
You name will be in the list of developer of this great project. The code will be opensource as other in this great community ... the support in development and donation are welcome .
For more info about the project contact me at info@virtualrobotix.com
In our roadmap the first stable version of code will be available in 1 month.
In the next week will be available the enviroment , with hal and library , then starting to implement the code functionality for manage the first opensource 32 bit 3 axis direct drive.
I hope that you like our project and join us in development.
In VR Lab mecatronix group are working hard and is yet available a good gimbal for GOPRO
And also is coming Gimbal for pro and semi pro camera.
I hope that you like our work :)
Best
Roberto Navoni
for more info : http://www.virtualrobotix.com/group/vr-gimbal-user-group?xg_source=activity
Dear Friends,
after some months without my reprap prusa i start to doing new test. My Friends Simone told me interesting firmware for manage my 3D printer .
The name of Software is Repetier-Hosts this is the link :
https://github.com/repetier/Repetier-Host
The big advantages of this firmware respect of other tested some month ago is that this is an integrated development suite.
In one Software there is 3D visualization , support for Slic3r or Skinforce , and managment of printer.
So you have 1 enviroment that support also the simulation , so you can see before to print what could be the result of your printing using the Virtual Printer driver.
Now i found a nice Quad model and i would try to print it with my prusa.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:26152
Best
Roberto
We start to send the first batch of Multipilot32 to user and DevCoreTeam , i hope that this video will be usefull in power on and uploading firmare . In the next day will be available more info about the first flyable code . The first software that i upgrade to MP32 is Arducopter NG. The first revision of code will be only a porting of mono task application to new micro controller . This is only first step of our work , a starting point this micro is more fast until 24x more flash 512 kbyte , more ram 64 kbyte ram. An a lot of advanced feature. And is cheaper :)
I open a Call for C / C++ developer and beta tester that would support the development of our project.
This is the repo of code : http://code.google.com/p/multipilot32/
In the next day will be available new code and doc in source branch inside redfox74. if you need more info contact me directly in PM or leave a message in the thread.
The board is compatible with all the DiyDrones accessories and is an upgrade of cpu from avr 8 bit processor to 32 Bit Arm Cortex . In this first stage we need advanced user that can develop code and have experiences on writing code on micro processor.
This is the official thread where there're some info about the project and roadmap.
http://www.virtualrobotix.com/forum/topics/vros-01-white-paper-simple
This is the main thread where you can found info for start to use Multipilot32
http://www.virtualrobotix.com/forum/topics/multipilot32-getting-started
This is Vbrain RTF with new enclosure the .stl file is available on thinkverse:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:32321
This last revision of VBrain will be official presented to Makers Italy in Milan 9 November 2012 join us at the event : http://www.virtualrobotix.com/events/virtual-robotix-workshop-d-autunno-incontriamoci-a-makersitaly
Emile and Roberto are progressing on the port and test of the VRBrain with the Arducopter
code now we are working on rev 2.7.3-4.
In this video is possible to see the test of Emile Hexa . It's the first flight and we testing the stability , loiter and alt hold and return to land with approach activated.
We have succesfully flown and tested latest features and came up with some benchmarks to compare the different architectures using Arducopter firmwarre.
In this video is possible to see a vbrain installed on a custom frame that use great component : SmartDrone motors and propeller the time of flight is around 27 min.
This is the video of first flight of special revision of firmware for VBRAIN that use the FPU acceleration the benchmark is about this revision of code.
Roberto and Emile a FoxTeam Member .
After the latest firmware release, vrb supports RtOS for operation.
A neat feature is the advanced and quasi-unlimited logging capabilities. The logs will be written after each flight session and they are stored on SdCard.
on Vrb 5.0 the microsd adapter is on board, but for owners (like me) of the previous hw revision, we need to work creatively.
the standard SD-CARDs is accesible via SPI bus, and the mandatory connections are : MISO(master-in-slave-out) / MOSI (master-out-slave-in) / SCK (clock) / SS (signal-select) / GND and VCC+.
all of them is available on JP27 connector (the white one near the INPUT rails). This one, has 8 pin connections, we need (as stated before) only six of them.
We can figure out which ones by looking at image below.
pin-1 is the one which is more close to MCU (the big chip on the center of the board); pin-8 is the one near the input rails.
I could buy a specific adapter for sd card, but I decided to be creative and I invented this system, which at the moment seems to work very well.
Basically I used a simple adapter sdcard-> microsd and I soldered directly to the exposed pad on the back as shown.
all the connections are straight point-to-point. watch out for "exp_EN" which connects to SS on sd card adapter. i've ordered pre-crimped cables and the female terminal directly at VirtualRobotix.
You can check if everything works correctly by connecting the VRB with sd-card inserted in Mission planner and connect with Terminal. Once connected, enter in "TEST" and then in "SHELL".
Check for a folder called "APM" into fs/microsd path.
No more configuration is necessary.
Now the system will log all the flight data on different files on sd, and you can retrive them by simply unplugging the card from the copter and reading it with a computer.
UPDATE :
NOT all microSD is +5v tolerant on vcc. so i've tested a solution using a 78l33 linear regulator soldered directly on pads.
the "VCC_5V" connection goes in the In pin of the 78l33 (pin3), gnd on sdcard pad 3 and the output of the 78l33 goes to pad 4.
The mod works flawlessly.
check datasheet of 78l33 for pinout numbering.
Ecco il mio modesto contributo per quelli che vogliono iniziare quest'avventura.
Non esitate a suggerirmi dei miglioramenti.
La discussione continua del forum :
http://www.virtualrobotix.com/forum/topics/guide-introduttive-alluso-di?xg_source=activity
Dear Friends,
this is my first hack to Ar.Drone. I'm enjoy with Ardrode SDK 1.5 , Build Linux Application for controll Ar.Drone.
I prefer to use it by PS3 Gamepad instead to use Iphone , the connection is very stable.
If you need more info about my hack contact me on skype virtualrobotix contact.
Regards
Roberto.
After one year of first experiment with 3d fast prototyping frame , we try to choose a new design for the next step , help us to choose better :
Some upgrade to proposal (B) :
Original design Proposal (0)
We start to evaluate next step and start to promote to our customers and our community new design ...
These are first proposal , reply to this blog post with your prefered design help us to choose better:
First proposal (A):
Second proposal (B):
Third proposal (C):
If you want to propose some upgrade or different kind of approach write your suggestions ...
This is only first selection ... to be continued ...
by a young italian designer : Carlo Ceruti a www.virtualrobotix.com project :)
Best
Roberto Navoni
After more than a year of VRBrain 4.5 development , thanks to the efforts of FOXTEAM and the VRI dev team, reached a level of maturity and very high reliability .
It ' was the first platform to support Arducopter 32-bit first through the use of a port of the old library AP_XXX then with new AP_HAL_VRBRAIN library , but without the use of an operating system, as is the case for APM 2.x and now instead of in the video you can see the first pre flight check and the first flight of VRBran 4.5 NuttX that mounts the operating system and the firmware Arducopter 3.1rc5 .
Thanks to PIX4 Dev Team and all the other member of team that develop and support this new OS
To use NuttX of VRBrain we simply add on the expansion port on the SD Card reader
In tests of performance using the mission planner , the cpu uses NuttX Arducopter with only 6% of the CPU resources , On APM 2.x need 70 % cpu.
Now are available 4 VRBrain 4.5 firmware and 2 OS Supported:
The first OS supported by VRBrain is FreeRTOS used inside the TauLab project , Stefan a member of dev team working on it :
https://github.com/scenkov/vrbrain
The new one OS is Nuttx integrated in PX4 enviroment and Arducopter32 the ap_hal use is PX4 instead of AP_HAL_VRBRAIN that we use without OS. Our work on NuttX was on device driver
An early revision of our code is available here :
You need to install standard PX4 dev enviroment and import our workspace for build the code ... in the next weeks we prepare a ready to use dfu that will be available in VRbrain wiki page.
Arducopter32 rev 3.1.5 (stable version) :
tested for more than a month with a deep debug coordinated by Marco Robustini and supported by me and Emile and other users of the devteam.
http://vrbrain.wordpress.com/version-3-0/
Arducopter32 rev 3.1.9 ( dev version):
https://code.google.com/p/vrbrain/source/list?name=master_latest_rc4
That ' a video conducted by Marco in the last days ...
VRBrain 4.5 is the only platform that supports Arducopter 32 with and without the operating system. It has the same reliability of an APM 2.x from the first use and guarantees the use of future developments based operating system NuttX.
It is also the basis for the future development of a European project called GinSec whose purpose is to develop an innovative and revolutionize gps inertial for the specific application in the world of UAVs ... but we'll talk about this thing in the coming months :)
for more info about status of the project and future development contact : r.navoni@virtualrobotix.com
The VRBrain 4.5 is available on our webstore at :
http://www.virtualrobotix.it/index.php/167-2/componenti-elettronici/vrbrain-4-5-detail
If you have some problem on it in your country contact info@virtualrobotix.com
In this video is possible to see the position of main airport in the silicon valley with 4 miles of buffer around the position of airport. Our idea is to activate an a default automatic function that when the user try to fly in that area activate immediatly a landing failsafe procededure .
VR Pad Station is an app that turns your Android smartphone or your pad into a ground station combined with a powerful digital remote control radio for use with your RC model or with your drone.
Is designed to be used on Rover, Airplane or Drones for hobby and professional use. It 's a project dynamic and evolving based on feedback from users of our community: www.virtualrobotix.com
It use mavlink 1.0 and support the firmware APM Copter , Plane and Rover
The current version is a preview suitable only for BETA testing use it carefully.
Use VR Radio only with the simulator, until new updates. This software is a valid alternative at DroidPlanner or Andropilot application. Developed inside VR Lab by Virtualrobotix community.
Version 2.0.5
- Added radio calibration in GCS settings;
- Added airports locations on map, in an area of 100km from user/drone position, activated from map settings;
- Fixed minor bugs;
Version 2.0.4
- Corrected gimbal settings layout on smartphones
- Added waypoint commands
- Long click on a waypoint in the list opens an editing dialog
- Option for setting the zoom when auto-pan is enabled
- Added option during the generation of polygon for set the altitude
- Added, where available, range/units/values of parameters
- 3D map in some areas with normal map type
- Now you can interact with map in the VR Radio, if RC override is not enabled
- Fixed an error in VR Radio where the channels goes directly from RC_MIN to RC_MAX
- Added failsafe and sensors status into HUD
- Added HDOP indication in the action bar
In the new revision 2.0.3 is available
We are work in progress with some advanced features as Special follow me mode , Fligh log book and VR Gimbal integration.
The App is compatible with APM Copter , Plane and Rover.
Inside the community could be possible discuss directly with developer about the new request feature .
Join us in beta testing this is the direct link to google store :
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.laser.VrPadStation
Google Community Group for manage the beta testing of VR Pad Station continue to join new member this is the link :
http://plus.google.com/communities/102697330643558260161
This is the official Virtual Robotix Discussion group about VR PAD Station 2.0.3 :
http://www.virtualrobotix.com/group/vr-pad-station-2-0
Feedback about our application are welcome ... :) In the next week we intend improve a lot the application with new feature under development.
Best
Roberto
Dear Friends,
this is the first images from VR Lab . In these pictures you can see our entry level frame VR CopterX4-8
The frame make using good materials as Carbon Fiber and Ergal .
The frame configuration was an idea of Flavio Taborelli , that inside Virtualrobotix.IT is the CTO of mechanical department. This frame doing 2000 hours of flight without chrash so we decide to use this approach for develop our affordable frame.
On a Ready to Fly revision of Drone you can put :
FPV version
Observer revision .
The production of this frame will be start at the end of August .
The main advantage is that is a fully customizable and available as DIY KIT on in RTF configuration. This kind of frame is very good for hacking is possible to customize the cover with your color or layout :
or fully customize your frame this is an example :
All the frame is developed inside VR Lab using advanced mechanical 3D Cad.
In the next week will be some updates about the status of the project.
If you need more info or have suggestions we are happy to disucss with you about our last VR Copter
if you like our project Support our work and join us on facebook community :)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/VirtualRobotix-wwwvirtualrobotixcom/149125448465971
Best
Roberto
Dear Friends,
after my last fly in stable mode i update the i2c libs for compass and barometer , now is better of older versions so i can upgrade main core loop to 800 hz instead of standard 200 hz .
Above the resutls of my first automatic flight , i'm very happy of this first result .. i start to use the performances of our Multipilo32 Arm Cortex M4 processors.
More Performances = More stability.
Best
Roberto
ARDUROV T100
- PRELIMINARY PROJECT ANALISYS -
Overview
ArduRov is an under water electrical vehicle controlled by the surface trough an umbilical cable, operator drive the Rov by the image of a camera and with the help of various sensors.
The goal of the project is the realization of a cheap ROV, a rock solid open source software, a modular design for a safe and easy use
The project could be divided in different parts, to be discussed and developed.
Surface Electronics
A small box with the power supply , Surface telemetry electronics and the video output
Options:
BASIC: A Simple Plastic Box with Input/Output connectors, PC or R/C Joystick
Advanced: A Case with LCD Monitor ,Telemetry Overlay or second LCD, A PlayStation JoyPad
PRO: A Consolle with HD Monitor, Overlay, DigitalRecording, Custom JoyStick etc
Umbilical Cable
To maintain a low cost the umbilical cable will be a standard multipolar PVC cable with at least 8 conductors, section of the conductor is to be defined depending to the final amps consumption.
My Idea is start with 50 mt of umbilical cable to avoid the needed of a winch to handle the cable.
All parts of the ArduRov Basic must be projected for a pressure of 20 bars (-200 mt)
Options:
BASIC: 30 mt of PVC 8 Conductor Industrial cable
Advanced: 100 mt of Kevlar armoured cable with hand winch
PRO: 200 mt of Kevlar armoured cable with motorized winch
ROV Frame
The frame must be as modular as possible, corrosion free, and with a low water drag.
For my experience the best way is use two polypropylene mono-block shoulder connected by Anticorodal Anodized “U” profiles. Carbon Fiber will be the next spet to reduce weight in air.
The profiles will be used to fix the thrusters, the underwater electronic pod, camera, lights etc
Options:
BASIC: polypropylene / Anticorodal frame
Advanced: Carbon Fiber/ Anticorodal frame
PRO: Full Carbon Fiber Frame with hydrodynamics surfaces
Buoyant System
To Compensate the weight of the ROV a buoyant system is needed, there are different method to add buoyancy but the most reliable will be the use of block of a special close-cell polymer.
A cheap solution could be polystyrene but it will fault at more than 5 bars (-50mt)
Options:
BASIC: polystyrene
Advanced: close-cell polymer
PRO: close-cell polymer with Carbon Fiber Coating
Thrusters
Propulsion is one of the most important thing in an ROV, We plan to use 3 , 5 or 6 thrusters to control the vehicle. Basically One or two thrusters are vertical and controls only the depth and eventually the tilt of the ROV and two or four thrusters are disposed on the same plane as in the following scheme:
This configuration allow Reverse , Forward , Left, Right and Rotation movements, to archive more thrust rear propulsion could be oriented differently.
The main problem of the thruster is the design of the underwater housing to resist at the pressure and at the same time not reduce the mechanical power, there are several different techniques to do this:
- Direct Shaft output with O-rings (cheap but with poor performance and frequently maintenance)
- Ceramic Shaft Seal with Oil Compensation ( Expensive and need special tools to fill oil )
- Magnetic Coupling with Dry Motor and magnetic Follower ( A bit more complicated design and project costs but virtually no maintenance and good efficiency )
Motor type should be Brushless sensorless, this type of motor can be controlled by an Electronic Driver and perform a good torque and a good power/dimensions balance.
We need to find a good motor with a very low Kv to have the maximum torque and reduce the RPM.
A good rpm speed could be around 2500 Rpm at full thrust.
Options:
BASIC: cheap R/C Brushless motor with direct shaft output with O-ring
Advanced: Industrial Brushless motor with hall effect position sensors and magnetic traction system
PRO: Custom Brushless Motor with hall effect position sensors and magnetic traction system
E-POD
Basically the epod in the brain of the ROV, is an Anticorodal cylinder with connection on both sides.
One side receive the umbilical cable and the other side have all output (Thrusters , camera ,lights etc).
In the e-pod there is the electronic board and the Power conversion board to power-up the brushless motors and to convert Voltage to an appropriate value for all the equipment installed.
One part of the e-pod side will be reserved for sensors (Depth sensor, compass, temp sensor etc )
Options:
BASIC: Anticorodal cylinder with cast resin cable connections without sensors
Advanced: Anticorodal cylinder with underwater connectors + depth sensor and compass
PRO: Anticorodal vaacum cylinder with underwater connectors + depth sensor , compass , temp sensor , altimeter , and Lipo Power pack optional connector for UAV conversion.
Camera
Camera is the underwater “eye” of the pilot, could be standard 640x480 resolution or HD depending on the scope of the ROV. It is composed by an Anticorodal or Derlin Cylinder with a correction lens at one side and a connection cap at the other side. For standard resolution we will use a video-baloon converter/amplifier and a twisted pair to send video to surface.
Camera could be static or remote tilted to allow a panoramic view
Options:
BASIC: Standard 640x480 b/w camera with fixed focus and fixed iris
Advanced: Standard 640x480 color camera with fixed focus and fixed iris with remote tilt possibility
PRO: HD Camera with remote zoom , focus , Iris with pan and tilt possibility
Light
Lighting is very important underwater, especially in sweet water where you will be in the dark at few meters deep. A natural light is required for a good view and we can use halogen or led source for our purpose.
Options:
BASIC: 2 x halogen light with on/off control
Advanced: 2 x halogen light with dimmer control
PRO: 3 x halogen light with dimmer control
________________________
This is a very preliminary and personal analysis, feel free to comment, add, contest everything... and sorry in advanced for errors.
Taborelli Flavio
Dear Friend,
I'm happy to present my last creation :
This telemetry board use AVR 644P as micro controller the code is developed in C++ using some Arduino library. Great Thanks to Sandro Benigno for OSD routine , and other people that are working on OSD code and other opensource library that I use in my new product.
The Board
Is possible to recive the telemetry as overlay of video during the flight or on your prefered Jeti or Aurora radio. Other interface will be implement also on futaba and graupner radio.
All the data available on the quad is visible by telemetry option , we are also working on realtime setting of parameter during the fly directly for example jeti box.
As option is possible to mount GPRS module so you can interconnect your ground station by gprs so in case of lost your quad you can try to found it using long range telemetry module.
The price will be define in the next week and depend of option that you want.
If you have some idea that you would like to see in this product as us if is it possible to implement.
Best
Roberto
Dear Friends,
today we finish to test first prototype of micro brain , this is the video of first power on , all work fine , we check all onboard sensor : IMU , BAROMETER . Check eeprom for parameter storage and SD card. Serial port , and usb interface . All work fine :) Check also new bootloader and our mission planner fork with VRBrain support all work perfect . Diego our Electronic Designer doing a great work no error until now :)
Today 09/05/14 finish the test of all subsystem : Magnetomer , GPS , RC IN PPMSUM and RC OUT and all work fine . See the video .
These are the specification :
CPU STM32F4 VR OS based on NuttX kernel 7.1
1 EEPROM or FRAM device for parameter storage.
IMU MPU6000 SPI.
MSIC Barometer 10 cm resolution.
8 PPM Radio RC Input .
8 PWM ESC - SERVO Output.
1 SBUS Radio Input compatible with Futaba SBUS and Spektrum ,too
1 SBUS Servo Output.
SD Card Reader until 64 Gbyte.
1 RGB LED
2 LED Output
1 Buzzer Output
On board telemetry module availabe at 433 / 868 mhz. (option)
connector for external 3DR/VR GPS + MAGNETOMETER
dimension : 3.2 x 3.2 .
weight : 10 gr
Price is 99 euro the board pre order is open the mass production start in 1 week when finish the test of first production batch .
more info about status of the product on the store: http://www.virtualrobotix.it/index.php/en/shop/autopilot/vrbrainmicro51-detail
APM Copter , Plane , Rover Firmware available and fully tested by our devteam.
official blog post : http://www.virtualrobotix.com/profiles/blogs/vr-micro-brain-5-1-is-alive-first-power-up-and-os-check-up-fantas
for more info send a mail to info@virtualrobotix.com
Best
Roberto
Hi all, I have a new drone in the family...
This tiny drone is able to do completely automatic flights, it can perform altitude hold (based on sonar sensor) and obstacle avoiding based on IR distance sensors (you could see the "black stange eyes" on the photo). It´s your personal droid...
Look at the video (the "tennis game" part it´s funny. Thanks to Ramon for the idea!!)
There are some new features in this thrid part... This is the list:
For outdoor configuration:
- GPS library support (actually UBLOX or NMEA)
- Position hold based on GPS
For indoor configuration:
- 4x IR distance sensors to detect obstacles (1.5m range)
- Obstacle avoiding (using distance sensors)
Common:
- Altitude hold based on Sonar (LV-EZ0)
- Automatic flight pattern (experimental).
--- Automatic takeoff
--- Position hold [outdoor] or obstacle avoiding [indoor] during a predefined time
--- Automatic descend
--- Automatic landing
- Added XBee for telemetry (and debug)
And some improvements in the code:
- New "radio test mode" to test radio equipment
- Revised control routines
Development
For the GPS position hold I had to implement the navigation algorithms for the quadcopter because it´s really different that the one used for planes...For this navigation it´s necesary to have the magnetometer to cancel the yaw drift in hover conditions. One thing I have observed is that you can only fly this tiny drone on very calm days because it´s too light for the wind... so it´s better suitted as an indoor drone. Then I started to think how to make a cheap way to navigate on indoor enviroments... I have one sharp IR disntace sensor so I start making some tests mounting the sensor in a servo to make a 180º scan. The idea was to mount 2 (or 4) of this sensors in the moving head.
On the tests I found that in this little machine the moving head caused some inestability, so I decided to mount 4 sensors in a fixed way. OK, this the cheap DIY version of an EXPENSIVE laser range finder, but it works...
there are many thing to improve and test, but it´s a promising start...
Details
Sonar module is an LV-EZ0. Because we don´t have any analog input available I use the PWM interface in a Port Change pin (PCINT20) to use an interrupt to read the sensor. (It´s recommended some solder skills to make this modification).
For the IR range finder (Sharp GP2Y0A02) I needed to use a separate Arduino Pro mini (again we don´t have any analog input free). This module connects to the ArduIMU via Serial port so we need to choose between GPS of range finder (outdoor-indoor decision).
On this III part, the hardware (ArduIMU) really show it´s limits... it´s not a problem of CPU power, it´s a problem of the limited I/O as I said before, so it´s time to move to the big brother, the new ArduPilot Mega Hardware... this new platform will be fantastic for this projects...
Behind the scenes
During the test of position hold I have some crashes (nothing important, only some broken propellers...) and there was a moment in that the quad performs not so good, so I start searching the reason. Again I suspect that it could be a vibrations problem so I decided to make a modified code to test the vibration on each motor.
As you can see I have problems on left motor, so I change this prop, also add a new layer of doubled sided foam tape to the ArduIMU and problem gone.
The code is here: Quad1_mini_test_motor_vibrations.zip (If you want to use it read the instrucctions)
Respect to the IR distance sensor, the first version was a moving head with a servo but this had some problems with vibrations that affect stability and also has a poor scanning rate, here is a photo of this prototype. Finally I decided to use 4 fixed sensors.
Codes
Some parts of this codes are still experimental but you can get it here:
Outdoor code (GPS): Quad_mini_1_27.zip . GPS libraries : GPS_libraries.zip
Indoor code (IR sensors): Quad_mini_1_29_rangefinder.zip External Arduino pro mini code: IR_distance1.zip
Old posts of this project: http://www.diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/arduimu-quadcopter-part-ii
Jose.
Original post : http://www.diydrones.com/profiles/blog/show?id=705844%3ABlogPost%3A161346&commentId=705844%3AComment%3A170455
VR Copter Landing Gear now we have a new Option for our new frame. (raw video from VR LAB)
This video is doing by our VRGimbal user VR Gimbal with Sony 3D HXRNX3D1U ( 720 gr) in handeld mode
This is a video using complete VRGimbal with Panasonic GH2
..and this is another video of the same copter (in HD)
Dear Friends,
after first batch of board available only for developer and hard work on firmware , hardware and software we are ready for end user :)
These are specification of our : VR Gimbal :
Micro Controller is STM32F1 at 72 mhz.
3 Axis Brushless Direct Drive gimbal :
For each channel we have 3 high power pwm 5 Amp output .
I2C IMU that support 3 axis . It is on camera module , so we can know exactly the position of camera and control in realtime the 3 Brushless motors. MPU6050 (6 DOF) + HMC5883 (3 DOF)
1 USB port.
1 Serial port that support mavlink protocol.
1 Power module that support until 3S battery.
4 Radio RC Input for :
4 Analog Input 0-3.3v
1 IR Out , so is pssible to control a remote camera by its ir receiver.
On new revision 2.0 we add :
In this video is possible see the utility available for measure the current used by different kind of motors. This feature is very usefull for evaluate the specification of motors.
Is available a new tools for firmware update you can found more detail here :
https://vrgimbal.wordpress.com/quick-start-guide/firmware-upgrade/
Last revision of code is 1.0.5 this is good for end user all function of standard brushless gimbal is available and is possible also to manage the 3th axe using rc radio. This firmware is a porting and BruGi_049B_r161
more info is available here :
https://vrgimbal.wordpress.com/download/vrgimbal-1-05/
The firmware is opensource the repo is available here :
http://code.google.com/p/vrgimbal/
So if you want to join in development you are welcome .
This is a screenshot of VR Gimbal Gui developed using .net technology, so could be work also using mono on mac and linux , test on that platform is welcome ,you can connect directly by usb to VR Gimbal or by radio link as 3dr module , blueetooth or other ttl wireles adapter :
With VRGimbal is possible to control this kind of gimbal ;
Handheld and Air Drone Gimbal 2-3axis Entry level gopro gimbal.
Handheld and Air Drone Gimbal 2-3axis Heavy dslr gimbal.
This is an example of video doing by our user of VRGimbal on heavy dslr gimbal :
This is official thread in virtualrobotix community is here join us for have more info and support :
http://www.virtualrobotix.com/group/vr-gimbal-user-group?xg_source=activity
For reserve and pre order your VR Gimbal 2.0 board send a mail here :
The first board will be available in begin of September we have only 70 boards available at stock for our user.
We can also support our user in custom development on oem - odm gimbal hardware or firmware contact us for more detail.
