1.3
Design Objectives and System Overview
1
INTRODUCTION
This senior design project was built around being Open. How Open? Both
Open Source and Open Hardware. The open source frame that was used for the
quadrotor was designed by Ken Gracey, an employee at Parallax, and is called
the ”Elev-8”. Our project is hosted hosted by Google Code in the form of a Git
repository ([1]). Here you can find all the information used and created during
this senior design project. There is also a blog which goes into some of the
extensive detail that was put into this project ([2]). The main processing board
for this quad rotor features a Parallax Propeller
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, overclocked to 100Mhz, and
a fully custom board that measures in at 4 inches by 3 inches.
Testing the quadrotor is a challenge in and of itself. But before that, one of
the tests that has to be done is to calculate some of the constants for the control
algorithms (motor torque and thrust). This means that there must be a test
stand that tests and can calculate both of these constants. A slightly different
kind of test is testing the functionality of the control board that was designed
for the quadrotor.
The project was started without any expertise or experience with autonomous
flying or quadrotors, but with a will to learn, create and develop a system that
could even be understood by anyone. Software is our group expertise. Both
team members have years of experience in multiple programming languages.
Hardware on the other hand is a bit more difficult. Only one team member
has any experience with designing PCBs and circuits, but not nothing to the
extent of this project. We believe that, based on the work we have put into
the project, that we have earned the class credits that we are receiving. Ap-
proximately 30 hours per person per week were devoted to this project(terminal
program).
1.3
Design Objectives and System Overview
This project was designed to be continuously improved upon and to be used
in an many different ways. After watching countless videos from Go Pro cameras
from a single perspectives and partial views of the subject, project Anzhelka
was created. Anzhelka will allow users to be able to capture video angles that
were once unattainable without costing thousands of dollars. Anzhelka will
allow users to capture video with the same ease as using a Go Pro camera, but
without the single perspective and jitter from traditional methods.
The quadrotor will have at least a 15 minute run time, with the ability to
carry a 2 pound payload. It will also be optionally controllable by a human
from up to a mile away with line of sight. The control loop to keep the platform
stable will run at least 100Hz, enabling stable control.
On this project both team members share the same responsibility for all
components of the system. This follows in the Agile philosophy. Each team
member understands all aspects of the system, and has worked on all aspects.
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The coincidence between Propeller and propeller is unfortunate and can be a source of
confusion. If Propeller is capitalized then the text is referring to the Parallax microcontroller.
If propeller is not capitalized then the text is referring to a fixed pitch airplane ”air screw”
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