Discussion My tricopter design (autonomous indoor hover etc.) - Atmega32

[Willa1980]

Hello there!
I just finished my "weekend Matlab project". A webcam is filming my tricopter from below, recording the position of three LEDs. With this technique, I can make the copter hover in place, in the centre of the field of view of the camera and at a "constant" height. If you'd like more infos, watch the video (I put some comments in there) or just ask.

The video can be found here:

Postion-hold for my Tricopter via webcam + markers (1 min 51 sec)

Cheers,
William

[bas10an]

Welcome to RCG William,

It's about time

Very cool project, show us more please.




Sebastian.

[Willa1980]

I uploaded an additional video:

http://www.vimeo.com/5965644

I am now tracking IR Leds und using an IR filter with my webcam. My control loop runs with 15Hz by now, which seems to be enough for a relatively stable hover.

[tend2it]

Verrrrryyyyy Coooooooollllllll!!!!!!
--Eric--

[EQMOD]

nice

Some questions;

1. how do you maintain the height ?
2. How did you interface your radio to your PC ?
3. What SDK did you use to track the LED movements ?

regards,

Mon

[Willa1980]

Hi!
I maintain height by calculating the distance between the LEDs. That gives me the distance to the camera = height.
My radio doesn't communicate with the PC. The radio communicates with the copter, but doesn't send anything except for the "minimal gas". So, if something goes wrong, I can still shut down the tricopter with my remote control (safety feature). The PC communicates via RS232 with the copter (first I used a very thin wire, now I use a xbee radio).
I am using Matlab to make image acquisition/ analysis/ data transfer. This is a very handy tool with a lot of built-in features. That makes development relatively quick and efficient.
I made a new video. The (finally external) web cam is now mounted to the ceiling. My mobile phone controls height an yaw. It sends commands to the PC via bluetooth. The PC then controls the copter...:
http://www.rcmovie.de/video/21b8645f...uert-Tricopter

Or here on vimeo (vimeo seems to have some problems the last days....):

http://www.vimeo.com/6333907

[frebou]

This is soooo great! I really wish I was able to do this! where did you take your info on making your own mixer?

[Willa1980]

With "mixer" you mean the "flight controller"...? Actually, the whole tricopter thing was an idea that I got while I was lying at the beach at the Côte d'Azur (southern france). I took a notebook and wrote down everything that came into my mind. That was about a year ago. I am still using this notebook, it contains all my ideas for the tricopter. It's also funny to watch "my personal development" in this book. In 5 days I will again be travelling to france, let's see what comes out this time.

[Willa1980]

It's me again... This time: autonomous indoor waypoint navigation:

Autonomous indoor waypoint navigation with a tricopter (2 min 7 sec)

Have fun!

[frebou]

very nice!

[Willa1980]

I created a movie showing some of the capabilities of my tricopter:

http://www.vimeo.com/6766174

I put a lot of efforts into creating sound effects etc...
Have fun!

[frebou]

That's a killer video! Very cool!

[whilrybird]

Very cool. It can shoot lightning out its arse and stop time. And the cool thing is it can actually fly. Never knew you could roll and flip a tricopter. Nice flying man. You are a real evil genius. LoL

[bluehash]

Willa1980,
That's an amazing video. Love the scene with the slow props. What controller are you using?

[Willa1980]

Hi!
Thanks for your feedback! I am using an atmega32 @ 16mhz, programmed in Basic (BASCOM).
Cheers,
William