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Auto Pilot using 6dof and prop "AutoProp8" is name now. — Parallax Forums

Auto Pilot using 6dof and prop "AutoProp8" is name now.

Ole Man EarlOle Man Earl Posts: 262
edited 2009-05-04 04:47 in Propeller 1
I have been posting in the sandbox forum but people say I should post something about it here in the prop forum...
here it is...
An auto pilot using the prop and the Atomic 6DOF module.
If you can make it better and/or more code efficient...I would appreciate the help.
This is NOT a finished project yet...
Earl

Post Edited (Ole Man Earl) : 5/3/2009 5:47:28 PM GMT

Comments

  • PhilldapillPhilldapill Posts: 1,283
    edited 2009-05-03 03:46
    Here's the link to the SandBox thread for you'll to get caught up to speed.

    http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=15&m=339513&p=2
  • Ole Man EarlOle Man Earl Posts: 262
    edited 2009-05-03 03:53
    Just tried Baggers 40X30 tv text display with it. Looks great AND..there is more room on the OSD for camera !
  • Ole Man EarlOle Man Earl Posts: 262
    edited 2009-05-03 03:58
    Just tried Baggers 40X30 tv text display with it. Looks great AND..there is more room on the OSD for camera !
    Next big thing to add is the overlay S/W. I have an LM1881 sync separator. Need to put it in and do some coding..
    Here is the code with the new tv text.
  • SSteveSSteve Posts: 808
    edited 2009-05-03 07:24
    Ole Man Earl said...
    If you can make it better and/or more code efficient...I would appreciate the help.

    Hi, Earl:

    I opened a file (6DOFbinary.spin) at random and I'm pretty sure I found a problem. In a number of places, you're doing something like this:

    x := buffer[noparse][[/noparse] 11]
    y := buffer[noparse][[/noparse] 12]
    z := (x * 255) + y
    



    The high byte should be getting multiplied by 256, not 255. And a much faster way to multiply by 256 is to shift left 8 bits, which would make that code:

    x := buffer[noparse][[/noparse] 11]
    y := buffer[noparse][[/noparse] 12]
    z := x << 8 + y
    



    and better yet:

    z := buffer[noparse][[/noparse] 11] << 8 + buffer[noparse][[/noparse] 12]
    



    It's late and I'm starting to fall asleep, so please double-check my code.

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  • Ole Man EarlOle Man Earl Posts: 262
    edited 2009-05-03 16:34
    Yes! you are correct. I just have not updated the object yet. Thanks
  • Ole Man EarlOle Man Earl Posts: 262
    edited 2009-05-03 18:05
    Here are some pictures of the 'foamie' that the autopilot will fly first before I trust it to the quadrocopter. Now to find the time to put this together !
    640 x 480 - 65K
    640 x 480 - 68K
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2009-05-03 19:04
    Ole Man Earl said...
    Here are some pictures of the 'foamie' that the autopilot will fly first before I trust it to the quadrocopter. Now to find the time to put this together !

    You are brave indeed! I have been flying RC for about 30 years now. One of my absolute favorite planes is my Zagi, (flying wing). I can fly it in circles around myself with one wingtip brushing the grass. It is a blast. But when it comes to putting an autopilot in something I prefer a little larger airframe. This is a picture of a Sig Rascal 40 converted to electric power. In it is a Parallax GPS and a BOE. The BOE controls the auxillary rudder that you can see underneath the tail.

    It will follow a route with up to about 14 waypoints - can't store any more in the BS2, then it will indefinitely (battery will last about 50 minutes) loiter around the last waypoint in graceful figure eights.

    There is also a FMA co-pilot to keep the wings level. You can see it mounted to the bottom of the fuse. For a brief time it carried a self contained 360 pan/tilt video camera that mounted to the belly that was controlled by a separate operator.

    The BS2 did not have enough program space to control ailerons, throttle etc... I since bought a BS2px24 but have not done anything with it. Then came the Propeller. It is one of my goals to update this plane with a more sophisticated Propeller based autopilot.

    So, what I am saying is, I have an airframe... and it wants an upgrade...

    Rich H

    527239977_Ycz6E-L.jpg527240155_xMBRE-S.jpg


    p.s. I like the way this plane flies so much that I bought another one, the Rascal 110. It's BIG!

    Post Edited (W9GFO) : 5/3/2009 7:09:48 PM GMT
  • Ole Man EarlOle Man Earl Posts: 262
    edited 2009-05-04 03:11
    Looks like the ideal test bed for the AutoProp8 I am building. I am not ready for the plane yet but I will give this one consideration.
    I need a S L O W flier. I have 160 acres to test on and more unpopulated land around me. Mabe the foamie wing is not a best first choice ?
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2009-05-04 04:47
    Ole Man Earl said...
    Mabe the foamie wing is not a best first choice ?

    The Rascal is not a slow flier but it is not fast either. I would not want to start out using a foamie, or any small airframe. That's adding an extra layer of challenges. The bigger they are the easier they are to fly, to see and to find. However they do cost a little more.

    Things that I think are important;

    Easy to fly/positive stability - don't want your autopilot to be fighting an unstable aircraft.
    Easy to see - big and colorful
    Easy to repair - balsa with film covering
    Easy to run - brushless electric
    Easy to take command - autopilot returns control to RC receiver on command or in case of faults
    Easy to modify - big airframe means more room to add stuff
    Altitude = safety - pretty much anything can go wrong without causing much stress if there is enough altitude to recover.
    Being able to fly! If you don't know how to fly RC, get an RC Sim and crash several thousand dollars worth of virtual planes before trying a real one.

    Let me know if I can be of any help.
    Rich H
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