Hi
I am an undergraduate student at NSIT, Delhi University pursuing my bachelor’s in Electronics and Communication Engineering.
I have been working on embedded system design and robotics for several years now.
I have started working on a quadrotor UAV with a modular design to facilitate development, testing and debugging, the details of which can be found here https://sites.google.com/site/nsituav/home/quadrotor-uav (under construction)
The most essential component of the quadrotor is the Attitude and Heading Reference System, which would interface with and fuse data from a wide range of sensors, namely GPS, aceelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers and pressure sensors to provide the pose of the UAV in 3D to help plan it’s trajectory. Some of the sensors associated with AHRS also form a part of the platform stabilisation control loop. Separate applications for each of the three would run on the beagleboard accessing the sensory data through APIs, the development of which would also accomplish the goals of the proposed ‘Adding Sense to Beagle’.
The sensors that I plan to test the system with are
Can you say what interfaces you plan to use for each of the sensors?
Have you considered using a smaller SOM, like a Gumstix Overo, in addition to the BeagleBoard to make it easier to use on a UAV? You’d have to contact them to see if they’d donate one if you are approved.
Can you say what interfaces you plan to use for each of the sensors?
iNEMO and SPACEPOINT have USB interfaces while 9DOF razor and the GPS have a serial interface easily converted to USB using FTDI.
For the compass and pressure module I will interface it first to ATmega8 to take care of the timing signals that are required by the onboard ADC for conversion of Barometric sensor signals. It is then interfaced similar to 9DOF razor.
Have you considered using a smaller SOM, like a Gumstix Overo, in addition to the BeagleBoard to make it easier to use on a UAV? You’d have to contact them to see if they’d donate one if you are approved.
The initial development would be done using the beagleboard itself with electrical and computational power made available to the UAV (restrained on a test bed) though an ‘Umbilical Cord’. Though the UAV has enough payload capacity (300-400g) to carry a beagleboard, Overo would be my choice when I get the custom control board manufactured.
Hi
The webpage for the project has been updated with the component list for the quadrotor.
I’ll be putting up a detailed design plan and information on sensors soon.
Hi
I have put up part of my proposal on the GSoC website. (the project part)
I’d be glad if mentors could have a look and suggest modifications and improvements.
Regards
Dushyant Mehta
Undergraduate Student
Electronics and Communication Engineering
NSIT
Dear Dushyant,
although I am not an expert in any of the application areas you are
discussing in your proposal I will try to provide some general
feedback.
I have started working on a quadrotor UAV with a modular design to
facilitate development, testing and debugging, the details of which can be
found herehttps://sites.google.com/site/nsituav/home/quadrotor-uav(under
construction)
Please indicate in your final proposal if and what proprietary
software you are using. Or in other words what open source components
will be created.
The most essential component of the quadrotor is the Attitude and Heading
Reference System, which would interface with and fuse data from a wide range
of sensors, namely GPS, aceelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers and
pressure sensors to provide the pose of the UAV in 3D to help plan it's
trajectory. Some of the sensors associated with AHRS also form a part of the
platform stabilisation control loop. Separate applications for each of the
three would run on the beagleboard accessing the sensory data through APIs,
the development of which would also accomplish the goals of the proposed
'Adding Sense to Beagle'.
As the projects run in parallel I don't see a great chance that you
would be able to build upon the 'Adding sense...' project. So either
you will have to follow the other project directly with minimal time
lack or you have to plan for your own sensor API. However we probably
don't need two of them especially if they turn out to be incompatible.
The sensors that I plan to test the system with are
- *iNEMO™: inertial module demonstration board based on MEMS and STM32 by
ST Microelectronics, available for 250$ at Digikey. Has all the required
sensors except GPS*
- SPACEPOINT Fusion by PNI Sensor Corp. : 3D motion tracker with USB
interface. Data available in raw as well as as quarternions. At 99$ it is so
cheap that shipping costs more than the module itself. (3 dof gyro + 3dof
accelerometer)
- 9DOF Razor Available at Sparkfun for 124$ ( 3dof manetometer+ 3 dof
gyro + 3dof accelerometer)
- GPS from Sunrom Technologies
- Digital Magnetic Compass and Altitude Sensor from Sunrom Technologies
Comments and suggestions for enhancement of the idea are welcome.
--
Sounds like a very special application area and you would need to be
able to proof that it is widely usable. However you might be able to
find a mentor who is interested in just that area...
For me I can't give any more comments. Sorry.
Regards.
Frank
Hi
I have modified my proposal after feedback from Frank Walzer and put it up on the GSOC website.
The proposal is titled ‘Autonomous Navigation of Aerial and Ground Vehicles’ and extends the proposed goals of adding sense to beagle.
I’d be grateful if mentors could have a look at the proposal and provide feedback.