Society of Robots - Robot Forum

General Misc => Misc => Topic started by: The Big B on June 11, 2010, 07:26:39 AM

Title: Flying Robot?
Post by: The Big B on June 11, 2010, 07:26:39 AM
I asked a question yesterday if anyone had made butler robots and it turned out a few guys had which was very cool. Now what I'm wondering is has anyone tried to make a flying robot? Maybe something based on an RC helicopter or something like that?

It would be very complicated but I think it is possible, I think you would need plenty of accelerometers positioned around the machine to stop it flying wildly out of control. What do you guy's think?
Title: Re: Flying Robot?
Post by: Razor Concepts on June 11, 2010, 07:54:18 AM
quadrocopter
Title: Re: Flying Robot?
Post by: dunk on June 11, 2010, 08:01:01 AM
there's a whole website dedicated to this very topic:
http://diydrones.com (http://diydrones.com)


my own flying robot project has been stalled for a while:
http://sites.google.com/site/mrdunk/ (http://sites.google.com/site/mrdunk/)
it  currently operates very well as a radio controlled aircraft but i still do not have autonomous flight.
it will happen soon. (i've been saying that for 5 months now...)


dunk.
Title: Re: Flying Robot?
Post by: The Big B on June 11, 2010, 08:02:57 AM
Ha I didn't mean Google it, I meant did you make one yourself? Like look at Toymakers AIMEC from the thread about butler robots yesterday here http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=11366.msg86010#new. (http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=11366.msg86010#new.) It looks amazing so I was wondering if anyone had tried this THEMSELVES!! :)

Besides I was thinking more like an RC helicopter adapted to be autonomous instead of an entirely new frame and everything. That would be a lot more complicated I think because you'd have much less stability and control than you would with the quadrocopter. Thanks for the suggestion all the same  
Title: Re: Flying Robot?
Post by: The Big B on June 11, 2010, 08:08:38 AM
Thanks for the link dunk, flying drones looks like an interesting place to start alright. Probably most of the features used in navigating an airplane would convert over to a helicopter pretty simply.

The use of the ps2 controller is a nice touch, very little chance of you running out of buttons on that controller. Your plane is very cool, the control you have is amazing, are you going to hook it up to a computer to control it or will all the commanding parts be inside the plane itself?
Title: Re: Flying Robot?
Post by: Razor Concepts on June 11, 2010, 10:12:47 AM
Probably most of the features used in navigating an airplane would convert over to a helicopter pretty simply.

Not exactly - planes are usually much easier because of their self-stabling characteristics. The ArduPilot on DIYdrones currently doesn't even use accelerometers or gyroscopes.
Title: Re: Flying Robot?
Post by: dunk on June 12, 2010, 03:19:25 AM
Probably most of the features used in navigating an airplane would convert over to a helicopter pretty simply.
heh. nothing is simple with either a airplane or helicopter.
but other than the basic servo control system there are very few similarities between the 2.

it's worth pointing out most people who try to start flying robot projects never get as far as actual flight.

are you going to hook it up to a computer to control it or will all the commanding parts be inside the plane itself?
eventually everything will be done onboard the aircraft but receiving telemetry data from the remote end greatly simplifies development.


dunk.