Helicopter/Howard Community College/Spring2012/p3502JASS

Problem Statement
Build a helicopter to maneuver autonomously. To this end, create an aircraft structure, control multiple ESC's, balance the structure via a gimbal mechanism, design for a payload and power supply, and develop flight control software.

Team Members

 * Jromanch0088
 * Spark93
 * Shatton8111
 * Amirrezasaharkhiz

Summary
We're building an autonomous quadcopter. The quadcopter will be a kind of helicopter that is balanced by four equally powered motors. By giving it software to control its movements and act independently, we hope to give it "a mind of its own."

Story
During this project, we worked on different subcomponents as well as smaller projects that help with understanding the principles at work. Amir worked on designing and constructing a gimbal. Jromanch0088 worked on setting up and understanding the use of Bluetooth with the Arduino. Spark93 looked through previous teams' documentation of existing quadcopters in order to understand their mechanisms. Shatton8111 tried to balance the seesaw using PID controllers and an IMU.

Decision List
None

Material List
We used the following materials during the course of our project. For materials for which examples could not be found, facsimiles have been substituted.

In order to continue this project and progress to further goals, the following kind of materials are recommended. The specific items are just examples.

Software List

 * Arduino Software Development Kit
 * Processing Software Development Kit
 * WaveForms

Time
31.10 Hours

Tutorials
None

Next Steps
The next steps involve finishing balancing the seesaw with PID controllers; getting all four motors hooked up to a single arduino; constructing the actual frame with motors, batteries, ESCs, and the Arduino; and then testing the functional quadcopter.