Difference between revisions of "S17: Sky Knight"

Revision as of 07:17, 19 May 2017

Grading Criteria

Sky Knight

Abstract

We aimed to implement a Quadcopter capable of self-sustained flight. Our quadcopter had 4 arms with propeller and motors on each. The propellers generate thrust that lifted the quadcopter. ESC(Electronic Speed Control ) were used to control the motor rotation speed depending on PWM provided from SJOne. We implemented the self-stabilizing technique using PID algorithm. Android Application is also developed to provide user interface to control the motion of Quadcopter. The communication between app and SJOne will be done using Bluetooth.

Objectives

The main objective of this project is to implement the following.

• Design and build an efficient hardware so that it is easy to mount on Quadcopter.
• Interface the BNO055 sensor with LPC1758 to get pitch, roll and yaw angles.
• Develop Android Application to control the motion of the quadcopter and communicate with SJOne via Bluetooth.
• Analyze PID algorithms and tune the PID algorithm that will stabilize the flight of Quadcopter.

Introduction

Team Members & Responsibilities

• Nikhil Namjoshi
  
• Rimjhim Ghosh
  
• Rajeev Sawant
  
• Samiksha Ambekar
  

Schedule

Parts List & Cost

Give a simple list of the cost of your project broken down by components. Do not write long stories here.

Design & Implementation

Hardware Design

For making of quadcopter a SJOne board is used on which flight controlling software was implemented. This board reads the value from the BNO055 sensor and generates the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) pulse to drive the four motors. In this project we used four 2300KV SunnySky brushless servo motor are used. 2300 KV means that for each one volt applied to motor it will produce an RPM of 2300.

To make the quadcopter a SJOne board is used on which the flight controller software is developed. This board reads the sensors values and generates the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) pulses to drive the four motors. In this project four KV2300 Sunnysky brushless servo motors are used. 2300KV means that for each one volt applied to the motor it will produce an RPM of 2300. The battery used in this project is 3cell 11.8V which roughly produces 27k rpm.

Motors

Brushless motors are perfect for quadcopters because of their superior efficiency. They are much more powerful than conventional brushed motors and less electrical energy is wasted. The fewer mechanical parts result in reduced operational noise and quieter performance. Brushless motors work by producing magnetic fields to produce electric charges. Magnets will attempt to align, thus, causing the motor to spin. A continuous flow on multiple magnets will result in constant spinning depending on the signals sent to the device. Different currents are flowing through different coils making the motor shaft spin. The speed of the spinning motor shaft is controlled by an ESC (electronic speed controller) and is performed by switching the motor coils on or off rapidly at different, but synchronized, times.

Figure 3. Brushless Motors

Electronic Speed Controller (ESC)

The ESC is an plays an integral part in controlling the motors. They vary the speed of the motors by feeding it PWM signals at varying pulse widths. Our ESC runs at about 50 Hz with pulse widths that range from 1 ms to 2 ms. 1 ms turns off the motor input while 2 ms makes the motor run at max speed. The EMAX 4-in-1 is programmable, and has several different parameters for the user to configure. We have chosen to use the recommended settings that came in the EMAX manual.

Figure 4. Electronic Speed Control

IMU Sensor

The IMU (Intertial Measurement Unit) is a sensor that measures the orientation of the quadcopter. IMU's are important because they provide the necessary information needed to control the quadcopter. Included in the IU is an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer. This is the device that is used in conjunction with the SJSUOne board to compute proper PID values and for the remote control to request angles for pitch, roll, and yaw. In our case, Y points to the north by default. The SJSUOne board reads these values and adjusts the quadcopter accordingly.

Fig. 5 Inertial Measurement Unit

SJOne Flight Controller

The SJOne board is programmed and configured to be the flight controller of the quadcopter. The RC receiver, the sensor, and the ESC are all hooked up to the board. Each of these devices are actively working together and are controlled by the board. The receiver takes input from the RC and outputs it into the SJOne board. The board will process the requested PWM and will use this information to control the ESC. It will also process the requested angle of pitch and roll. The sensor readings will be used to process both the requested angle from the RC, and to process the flight stabilization calculations. This microcontroller controls every aspect required for the quadcopter to fly. Every action must first go through the SJOne board. FreeRTOS is extensively used on the board. Many critical actions such as remote control and flight stabilization are set up as tasks. The board will determine the priority given to each task.

Figure 6. SJOne Board

Hardware Interface

In this section, you can describe how your hardware communicates, such as which BUSes used. You can discuss your driver implementation here, such that the Software Design section is isolated to talk about high level workings rather than inner working of your project.

Software Design

Show your software design. For example, if you are designing an MP3 Player, show the tasks that you are using, and what they are doing at a high level. Do not show the details of the code. For example, do not show exact code, but you may show psuedocode and fragments of code. Keep in mind that you are showing DESIGN of your software, not the inner workings of it.

Implementation

This section includes implementation, but again, not the details, just the high level. For example, you can list the steps it takes to communicate over a sensor, or the steps needed to write a page of memory onto SPI Flash. You can include sub-sections for each of your component implementation.

Testing & Technical Challenges

Describe the challenges of your project. What advise would you give yourself or someone else if your project can be started from scratch again? Make a smooth transition to testing section and described what it took to test your project.

Include sub-sections that list out a problem and solution, such as:

My Issue #1

Discuss the issue and resolution.

Conclusion

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Project Video

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Project Source Code

• Sourceforge Source Code Link

References

Acknowledgement

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References Used

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Appendix

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