User:Atrainorhcc/ENESprojects/MyWorkPIDQuadcopter

Write problem/project Goal
Develop a functional program for the Arduino that can autonomously balance four motors simultaneously during flight, and to build an effective balance to test the motors on.

My First Task
I will conduct research regarding what an Arduino is, how it works, and what its function is.

Summary of actual work over first weekend
I did research regarding what an Arduino actually is and what it does. I also began looking over the wikiversity pages for the quadcopter project team from a semester before me.

Week1 Narrative
I began experimenting with the quadcopter made by the team before me. With one of the power boxes from the first 3 weeks project, I plugged the quadcopter in to the power box under all of the different voltages to see which one worked best. The Arduino gained power under all of the voltages, however only the 12 volt power source was powerful enough to allow the motors to run. This is where I encountered the first problem. The two motors, one on each end of the quadcopter, were not equal in power. The motor on the right was much stronger than the one on the left. This resulted in the quadcopter being unable to balance itself. The balancing of the quadcopter is where the PID controller comes into place, which is what I will be looking into over the weekend.

My Second Task
Conduct research regarding the PID controller. Things such as how it works, how it works in conjunction with the Arduino, what it does to stabilize the helicopter, etc...

Summary of actual work over second weekend
I did a lot of work in regards to researching the PID controller over the weekend. I learned that it is a type of computer program that is uploaded into the Arduino microcontroller that interprets all of the information recieved by the Arduino, makes the correct changes to the information, and then tells the Arduino what information to send back out.

Week2 Narrative
This week I looked into how the quadcopter made by the previous team actually works. I checked to see where all the wiring went, what kind of motors were used, how the accelerometer is used, and what the ESCs do. The wiring is fairly simple, with both motors wired to two things; the arduino and then an open wire that can be connected to a power source. The ESCs and motors are both for an electric thunderbird plane, both hooking up to a 12V power source. The accelerometer, I am learning, is the most important part of this setup in the area of input. The accelerometer keeps track of how fast the motors are rotating (essentially how much power they are outputting), which is the primary input that the PID controller is keeping track of and manipulating.

My Third task
Over the third weekend, I will conduct research regarding the structure of the quadcopter we wish to build, like what is the best way to balance the quadcopter, what is the best material to use as a teeter, etc...

Summary of actual work over third weekend
I found out that what the previous team did to put their structure together, which was to use hot glue, is the worst thing I could do to put my project together. I will instead use screws to put together the base and the columns, and use some sort of suspension rig for the teeter connected to the plank holding the motors. Opposite the teeter will be a counterbalance. I think the best way to construct the counterbalance will to attach a small, wooden box to the end of the teeter and fill it with weight until the counterbalance and the teeter are balanced on the suspension rig.

Week3 Narrative
This week was fairly slow due to the fact that there was almost no physical work to be done. What I mean by this is that I was unable to build the frame of my team's quadcopter and get the wiring done because the parts weren't in yet. Without the parts I can't do any building and I can't wire because I don't know how long to make the wires.

My Fourth task
Over the third weekend, I will be looking in depth at the programming code for the PID controller. I will be studying and learning as much as I can about the previous teams code. Once that is complete I will begin looking to see what improvements I need to make on their code and how I will make these improvements.

Summary of actual work over fourth weekend
How is what you did different than what you planned?

Week4 Narrative
Tell a detailed story describing what you did for your team over the weekend.

Complete Team Page
Team Page