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lisy300 gyro autopilot project — Parallax Forums

lisy300 gyro autopilot project

TKR182TKR182 Posts: 9
edited 2012-03-09 09:58 in BASIC Stamp
We recently ordered our lisy300 gyroscope with the intentions of making an autopilot for an rc plane. By autopilot, we mean we want to be able to control the ailerons with the servos in the plane using premade programs. We were hoping to use the gyroscope to read the yaw, pitch, and roll in order to tell the servo what to do. If anyone could help us by stearing us in the right direction it would help a lot.

Comments

  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2012-02-13 18:20
    What your after will need a lot of processing,More like Parallel processing.
    '
    Take a look at the Propeller
    http://www.parallax.com/tabid/407/Default.aspx
    '
    8 parallel processor's in one chip.
    '
    Also take a look at the ELEV8 project on Parallax's home page.(Quad copter)
    http://www.parallax.com/Store/Robots/FlyingPlatforms/tabid/964/ProductID/799/List/0/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName,ProductName
    '
    This should give you some insight on the Propeller chip.
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2012-02-13 18:21
    Research IMU (inertial measurement unit) and autopilot theory...
  • TKR182TKR182 Posts: 9
    edited 2012-02-27 10:25
    We downloaded the test program for the lisy300 gyro but all we get are zeros
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2012-02-27 10:53
    TKR182 wrote: »
    We recently ordered our lisy300 gyroscope with the intentions of making an autopilot for an rc plane. By autopilot, we mean we want to be able to control the ailerons with the servos in the plane using premade programs. We were hoping to use the gyroscope to read the yaw, pitch, and roll in order to tell the servo what to do. If anyone could help us by stearing us in the right direction it would help a lot.

    You'll need more than just the gyros for the autopilot to know the plane's atitude. You'll need to combine the gyro reads with accelerometer readings.

    This type of project is on my todo list, I'm not sure if I know enough to take it on yet.
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2012-02-27 10:54
    TKR182 wrote: »
    We downloaded the test program for the lisy300 gyro but all we get are zeros

    Can you post a picture of your setup?

    Posting the code would also help.
  • TKR182TKR182 Posts: 9
    edited 2012-03-06 10:04
    Duane Degn wrote: »
    Can you post a picture of your setup?

    Posting the code would also help.
    For the code, we're using the provided test code on the lisy300 page

    corp.jpg
    corp.jpg
    1024 x 765 - 148K
    corp.jpg 148.2K
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2012-03-06 10:33
    What you are wanting to do is no small task. It will take a lot more than a three axis gyro to control an airplane autonomously.

    Have you looked at DIYDrones? I think they have a lot of information. I think an autopilot is very likely to be more than a Basic Stamp can handle.

    I got into microcontrollers because I wanted to do something like this. After about three years of learning to use the Propeller and sensors, I think I'm getting close to feeling comfortable enough to take on the project of an autopilot for an RC airplane.

    One really nice thing about microcontrollers is they are so useful you'll find lots of other applications for them as you learn. They sure have made my job (as a chemist) easier and even fun. So even if you're not ready to build an autopilot now, the journey of gaining the knowledge you need should be a lot of fun.

    For example, learning to get a two wheeled robot to balance using accelerometers and a gyro should be fun and will teach you a lot of things you'll need in order to make an autopilot.
  • TKR182TKR182 Posts: 9
    edited 2012-03-07 10:13
    We would like to learn more but its for a school project thats due at the end of may. If we we're to switch to propeller, what kind of chips would we need? We have a goal in mind but we can't figure out how to get started.
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2012-03-07 15:11
    I would buy a pre built IMU unit:
    http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10736
    http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1256/resources
  • TKR182TKR182 Posts: 9
    edited 2012-03-08 10:06
    SRLM wrote: »
    I would buy a pre built IMU unit:
    http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10736
    http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1256/resources
    When we first started, we were not allowed to. But we'll probably talk to our advisor and ask again because we're very behind
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2012-03-08 10:20
    You could also get the component that are on the IMU. It's still a big task to make an autopilot even if you do have a ready made IMU. You'll likely want to monitor the lines from the RC receiver and generate pulses to control the various servos.

    I still think this is beyond the BS2's capability.
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2012-03-08 11:05
    TKR182 wrote: »
    When we first started, we were not allowed to. But we'll probably talk to our advisor and ask again because we're very behind

    Your advisor has very high hopes then. Writing a Kalman filter (or even a simpler almost equivelent) is a graduate level task. You could also use a IR thermometer array to determine horizon for horizontal, and that doesn't need a filter. It's a bit of an older technology, but it worked well.
  • TKR182TKR182 Posts: 9
    edited 2012-03-09 09:58
    Thanks for the help everyone, ill post back here if i have any more questions
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