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Autonomous UAV

Tech-ManTech-Man Posts: 100
edited 2007-04-04 23:36 in BASIC Stamp
Hi·im Justin Hulbert this is my first post on this forum.····

I was just thinking about projects that i could try to do this summer and one of them was to build an Autonomous UAV. This would definetld be pretty hard but well worth the time and money. I would first have to construct a larg working RC airplane probaly from scrach. Then id try to work off of this adding a·BASIC Stamp·and a buch of senrors GPS,3-Axis acelometer, motor control, cameras·and many more. I was just wondering if anyone had ever done this or is there a site with some information that i could read. Im just trying to figure out how ill have it fly from point A. to point B. without any human control othere than the input of cordenents. Just an idea im seriasly thinking about doing.

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Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2007-04-03 17:36
    There have been a number of other people who have expressed interest in a similar project. You could try searching for "UAV" or "Autonomous UAV" using the advanced search (search.parallax.com). It says Google, but it's a search just of the Parallax website using a Google search engine. You will probably find that the Stamp processors are too slow and limited in storage for this kind of project and you should consider using a Propeller instead. Others have come to that conclusion.
  • Tech-ManTech-Man Posts: 100
    edited 2007-04-03 19:31
    Acually i have never used a basic stamp yet. But i did order one and it should be here soon, then ill hook up some sensors and start figuring things out, cant wait to use it, iv been reading .PDFs for ever now and feal vary familor with things. Ill probaly still have some Qs to be anserd though.

    This is a good point about the Basic stamp being relitivly slow around 4-20 Mhz·, since when in flight every fraction of a secout counts. I havent done much reading on them Propeller chips yet but i will do so. From what iv read on the site so far they look to be pretty cheap, are almost 9x faster than any basic stamp, and have lots of memory and plenty enuff I/O ports. This is probaly what id have to use at least for the main flight controles like calculating all the posioning and stuff.

    Maybe this won't be as eassy as building a simple wheeled robot, but i have alwas been fasinated by flight. And to have a self flying "robot" that would just be alsome.· It will probal also cost quit a bit so ill have to spread the project over a pioriod of time, since im curently trying to save for a truck.

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  • allanlane5allanlane5 Posts: 3,815
    edited 2007-04-03 19:50
    The basic stamp (BS2) cycles at about 2000 Basic Instructions Per Second. The BS2SX does better, at 10,000 IPS. The Propellor, being a multi-cored processor running it's own assembly language, is really the way to go.
  • Tech-ManTech-Man Posts: 100
    edited 2007-04-03 21:47
    Ya, how much harder is a propeller chip to program? Becouase it uses its own softwar to right the code right?

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  • Mike15Mike15 Posts: 109
    edited 2007-04-03 23:05
    I have been working on a project similair to what you describe. I found that for something like a UAV a BS2 probably won't work.

    In an airplane there are two diffrent things that need to be acomplished,

    1. The course or flight path. This can be done with a GPS unit. The purpose of this is to make small changes over a period of time to stay on course.

    2. Stabilization. This is to keep the airplane level and right side up. Quick changes need to be made in this situation.

    To control an object in flight you need to know whats called "Six Degrees of Freedom" which is acceleration and rotation for all three axis.

    One of my projects using the stamp is a rocket payload that records time, acceleration and airpressure to an external eeprom. And with this I am out of variable space.

    I don't know much about the propeller chip (Mayby some could tell me more about making the jump from the stamp to the propeller?). As for some thing to start with I found the BS2 to be a great learning tool and EXCELLENT support. I have been able to test several diffrent sensors and such, but to beable to read and controll everything I want just hasn't worked out (lack of variable space).
  • QuattroRS4QuattroRS4 Posts: 916
    edited 2007-04-03 23:17
    Did you all see the article a couple of months back in Elektor about UAV's ?

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    'Necessity is the mother of invention'
  • Mike15Mike15 Posts: 109
    edited 2007-04-04 00:12
    The Feb Issue? I goggled it and found the article but have to purchase the download, maybe you could enlighten us?
  • QuattroRS4QuattroRS4 Posts: 916
    edited 2007-04-04 00:34
    Can't say I have much interest in it though sorry but - Yeah I will dig it out and post .....

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    'Necessity is the mother of invention'

    Post Edited (QuattroRS4) : 4/4/2007 12:39:44 AM GMT
  • QuattroRS4QuattroRS4 Posts: 916
    edited 2007-04-04 00:50
    Ok UAV people - here it is - b&w - to keep file size down

    Quattro

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    'Necessity is the mother of invention'
    pdf
    pdf
    UAV.pdf
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    UAV.pdf 762.3K
  • Tech-ManTech-Man Posts: 100
    edited 2007-04-04 17:41
    Hay thanks for taking the time to post that artical, it had some things in it that would be good to consiter. I still dont know for shure if im going to try to build one, maybe a little ferther down the road ill have the knowlege to do it.

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  • QuattroRS4QuattroRS4 Posts: 916
    edited 2007-04-04 17:57
    No problem there Tech-Man - just said I'd post it for all the UAV heads - I hope it is useful...

    well if its your dream then consider it ...

    "A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read." - The Talmud

    Regards,
    Quattro

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    'Necessity is the mother of invention'
  • Tech-ManTech-Man Posts: 100
    edited 2007-04-04 23:36
    Ya id much rater try and fail than not try at all. But i also think ill still have to do a ton of reading befor i can build anything.

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    There are no Undo buttons in life.
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