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Flying Activity Bot — Parallax Forums

Flying Activity Bot

xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
edited 2015-09-12 03:38 in Robotics
It's time to make a BOE Bot Activity Bot crash fly both. I have a power plant picked out that should support the weight of the BOE Bot and a small LiPo. Flight time could be as short as 5 minutes. The BOE Bot's servos will be working overtime carrying extra weight. There are a lot of questions to be answered. Maybe the two can work together. One thing is for sure, many props will be broken.

I'll start off with what I have that might work.

OpenPilot CC3D
Mystery SimonK12A ESCs
Emax MT1806-2280KV motors
Two G10 250mm copter arms
Assorted props (3 bladed 5030 Gemfans should work great)

I need to make an adapter plate to attach the arms to the BOE Bot chassis. After that we test flight, everything else is done! I'm thinking a plate that bolts to the arms and the chassis, making it a one piece adapter.

Any ideas for a mounting plate for the arms? Materials?

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Comments

  • Run Boe-bot!

    I would probably bolt the arms across the top of the chassis, under the main board. There are holes for attaching the battery compartment that could probably be used.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    This I gotta see! If anyone can do it, Jon can. :)

    Add a Boe-Crawler kit just for sport. Walks, rolls, flies.

    Then it's gotta jump.
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2015-09-10 19:41
    Thanks!

    I've begun fabricating the adapter with ePVC. I was not able to maintain 250mm diagonally from motor to motor, so I'm disqualified from FPV racing for money and fame. The horror. This thing is not going outside until there's a dust cover for the breadboard anyway. So for the near future it is all indoor.

    I made the plate so that the BOE chassis doesn't need to be modified. The final version will be aluminum and also not a solid plate, cutouts will be used to save weight and make it look cool. I think we'll need to go with an anodized finish for the final product.

    Here we are with a 5030 3-blade and a 6030 2-blade. The larger blade means a little better efficiency. The larger blade is a little close to a standoff. I am not sure if I will use "X" or "H" configuration on the flight controller. I could increase the pitch sensitivity a bit to make up for the increased distance between the front and rear motors.

    IMG_1161.JPG

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  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2015-09-10 20:55
    We're back to the 3-blade 5030 props. They have good clearance all around. They aren't much worse than the 2-blade 6030 anyway.

    IMG_1162.JPG

    This is the only place for the battery, it fits in there with about the same ground clearance as the BOE chassis. I could use a smaller battery, and probably will if I can get at least 5 minutes of flight time. Pictured is a 3S 1800mah 40C.

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  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    edited 2015-09-11 00:50
    Excellent! Are you doing this fine aeronautical design yourself, or are you subcontracting to BoE-ing? :)
  • That's an amazing design. In fact it so far looks a heck of a lot better than the DIY drone I recall seeing on a website a while ago.

    The builder was using the same phenolic plastic that we make PCBs out of for the framework of his bird. Definitely an indoor only job that, but your design is definitely a quantum leap ahead of his design.
  • erco wrote: »
    Excellent! Are you doing this fine aeronautical design yourself, or are you subcontracting to BoE-ing? :)

    Haha! Video in a few minutes!!

  • Buck RogersBuck Rogers Posts: 2,160
    edited 2015-09-11 01:05
    xanadu wrote: »
    erco wrote: »
    Excellent! Are you doing this fine aeronautical design yourself, or are you subcontracting to BoE-ing? :)

    Haha! Video in a few minutes!!
    And can you list where everything came from? (Outside of the obvious BOE bot himself.) I had originally thought of doing the same thing, using a basic BOE Bot kit, and then the items Parallax sells as a crash kit for their UAV, but wasn't sure how to make the arms for the props and the motors.
  • That's an amazing design. In fact it so far looks a heck of a lot better than the DIY drone I recall seeing on a website a while ago.

    The builder was using the same phenolic plastic that we make PCBs out of for the framework of his bird. Definitely an indoor only job that, but your design is definitely a quantum leap ahead of his design.

    Thank you. I'm not sure how I've had the parts for years and not given in before now. Actually Erco posted that video of the flying tank and it occurred to me we're one adapter plate away from flying BOE-Bots.

    I would say you can make a BOE-Bot fly for around $100 including everything. Once I'm done screwing around, I'll fire up CAD and get the design work done. The ePVC holds up great, and reduced vibration, but I don't think it would last more than a few flights.

  • So therefore this whole amazing project is an Erco effected design then. Good to know.
  • [/quote]
    And can you list where everything came from? (Outside of the obvious BOE bot himself.) I had originally thought of doing the same thing, using a basic BOE Bot kit, and then the items Parallax sells as a crash kit for their UAV, but wasn't sure how to make the arms for the props and the motors.
    [/quote]

    Absolutely, I need to do a little more testing. At this rate by the end of the weekend I should have a good list. I am also hesitating to submit any drawings because I'm sure stuff may change.

    The original standoffs that come with the BOE-Bot kits may need to be longer. I'd like to figure out a way around that. I'm not really sure about the battery placement or the flight controller placement yet too.
  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2015-09-11 01:28
    My face hurts from smiling.

  • Buck RogersBuck Rogers Posts: 2,160
    edited 2015-09-11 04:46
    First successful flights are always fun. Too bad we can't ask the Wright brothers how they felt, or even Glenn Curtiss, (Who also was a motorcycle fan.) and so on. Nice! (My mistake. Both had the same first name.)

    I was indeed thinking of Mr. Martin first because his aircraft like the Wright Brothers were more interesting to watch as compared to Mr. Curtiss, but see here:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Curtiss

    Which supports the fact behind him, the motorcycle one. It is believed that the original Tom Swift books were patterned after his life, especially since they take place in upstate NY near a small lake.

    And here for Mr Martin:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_L._Martin

    Oddly enough both companies still exist. And the Martin company was prime contractor for a number of NASA projects.....

    However my first thoughts are still working...
  • Thanks. Motorcycles and aviation go hand in hand. Especially now that you take your iPad instead of a big pile of charts and books.

    I think that no matter how small our achievements, we are all capable of feeling what the Wright brothers felt :)

  • Another cool project! You're on a roll lately!

    I've had similar dreams, but didn't approach it quite the same way. My Boe-Bot would leave the platform and never come back - and that's exactly what every observer asked me when they'd see this demonstration.

    Ken Gracey

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  • Ken Gracey wrote: »
    Another cool project! You're on a roll lately!

    I've had similar dreams, but didn't approach it quite the same way. My Boe-Bot would leave the platform and never come back - and that's exactly what every observer asked me when they'd see this demonstration.

    Ken Gracey

    IMG_0655.jpg

    Ken, is that amazing bird the prototype for the UAV that Parallax sells? Or am I reaching here?

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    Amazing, Jon, you didn't waste any time! Fantastic idea and execution, Bravo!

    Hmmm. Maybe I should make a BoE-Blimp before you beat me to it...!
  • erco wrote: »
    Amazing, Jon, you didn't waste any time! Fantastic idea and execution, Bravo!

    Hmmm. Maybe I should make a BoE-Blimp before you beat me to it...!

    Using Hydrogen, of course. :)

  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2015-09-11 15:17
    Ken, is that amazing bird the prototype for the UAV that Parallax sells? Or am I reaching here?


    That looks like a full production ELEV8 Version 2. (You can tell by the silver wraps on the booms.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244
    Publison wrote: »
    Using Hydrogen, of course. :)

    So you saw our Letterman show...!


  • Of course!
  • Thanks guys! There is more to come later today.

    Ken, I saw that pic of the Elev-8 BOE Bot, and the presentation overseas, it's all very inspiring.
  • Oddly enough I'm thinking of one application for that one. It's a follow on for the Boe Bot as rescuer, the video where one, (wearing tracks of course) goes out and rescues a fellow mechanical.

    In this case he flies out to do the job, when they arrive at the scene, the ELEV-8 transporter lowers to a point where the Boe Bot can roll off and then rescue the mechanical, and then the two roll back and, and the ELEV-8 heads back to the location where they took off from. I grok that the big problem will be video cameras on the ELEV-8 and the Boe Bot that are small enough to not add to the weight, and will support full motion video.

    Oh and the programming for both of course.
  • xanadu, impressive piloting skills. You managed to hover despite rotating around the yaw axis.
  • @lardom Thanks, test flights are never that easy. Something is definitely up.
  • First we needed to make sure it can fly. It did. Then we needed to make sure it can use its wheels. It does!

    Here's part 2. I kept the results to the beginning, later is some more on hardware. I also touch on trying to get something like this to fly (using the mcu) in one afternoon is basically impossible. The hardware is reliable enough. The connections to the headers are questionable. My SPIN code to control the FC is buggy. Props off! By props I mean the kind that go on motors, not the MCU.

    I will make a block diagram of the connections, the video really drones on haha. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of seeing this as I do!

  • xanaduxanadu Posts: 3,347
    edited 2015-09-12 03:22
    I just realized I have no resistors between the RX and Activity Board...

    facepalm.jpg
  • That's just awesome. Had never thought of interfacing a Spektrum radio to a Prop.
  • xanadu wrote: »
    I just realized I have no resistors between the RX and Activity Board...

    facepalm.jpg

    I didn't realize that you were using a PAB (Prop Activity Board) until I checked and checked again the first one, and saw that you struck out the BOE and replaced it with the Activity term instead.

    Now that I think about it, I do not believe the BASIC Stamp is capable of flying. Scooting along on the ground sure, but not flying. The Prop 1, certainly.

    However my later ideas after seeing Ken's amazing idea still stand.
  • Amazing!

    You can also replace the wheels with two wings. Instead of turning the wheels you can turn the wings so you can adjust the Ailerons on a straight flight.!
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