Raspberry Pi Quadcopter Version 1

In the summer of 2015, I started designing a quadcopter from scratch. I decided to use the raspberry pi as the main flight controller Because I had one, and it is relatively light weight. Disclaimer, I started this project with next to no knowledge as to how I would go about designing and building the quad. 

After a few initial days of research as to what it would take for me to build a quad, I decided to use the motors and props of the Syma x5 quad that I already had. The Raspberry Pi would be on board the quad, and after seeing a video online about a quad some guy had built, I decided to use styrofoam as my mounting surface. I also realized that in order to control the motors separately, I would need two H-Bridges, each powering and regulating a separate motor. The Syma x5 uses tiny DC motors, and bring the props up to a suitable speed by using a couple of gears. i was using the same props, so I had no problems with that. The motors needed a 6.6 V supply, so i just used the same lipo battery pack that came with the Syma. 

I connected to the Rasperry Pi via SSH from my windows machine, and for that I also had to setup a wifi adapter. A big problem I realized was that the raspberry pi also needed to be powered, and it had to be through micro USB, and after some more googling, I found that it had to be 5V and 1A, and most lightweight commercial power packs were 500mA. To power the Pi as well as the wifi adapter and use so many of the GPIO pins, I would need a substantially heavier power source. I decided to worry about that later, and first just focus on getting my motors running using the H bridges. 

Several online tutorials showed me how to use the basic bash commands, to access the raspberry pi via SSH, and to open up the nano editor to code in python. I also learned how the H bridges worked, and how to wire everything up. Finally, learned to use the GPIO libraries in python to send a PWM signal and. I had not learned Python as a language before, so at first I was just copy pasting, and it took a few days to understand the code, as well as how the language worked at a basic level. Meanwhile, I just used a couple of long wires running from the GPIO Pins to the  H-Bridges. I got a sheet of styrofoam from a hobby store and cut it in to the measured lengths, and cut out open portions in the center. (side note: when cutting styrofoam, and mounting the motors, the styrofoam bits will get everywhere, and cleaning up will be a pain, so put a plastic sheet underneath your working surface.) After mounting the motors in to the sides of the styrofoam, I wrote a small program in python that just started the signal, changed the duty cycle a couple times, and then stopped.

The motors spun, and changed speeds when the duty cycle changed, however the speed that they were getting was not enough to even lift the frame, without the raspbery pi or its battery. The Problem i found was that the H bridge was poorly designed, and a forum told me that the bridge sapped about 2 V from the power input. In the end, this version did not have enough thrust. So I would have to make some design changes. 

In my next post, I will show you What design changes I made, some problems I faced, and hopefully, I'll get my quadcopter to fly! 

Quadcopters (uses)

1. transferring power to lightbulbs through the air, like a flying power outlet. http://www.techthefuture.com/energy/scientists-turn-quadcopters-into-flying-power-stations/ 
2. hover bike (uses the same tech as quad copters, but can carry a much greater weight. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2737833/Fly-like-Stormtrooper-Amazing-video-showcases-futuristic-hoverbike-set-sale-not-size-set-45-000.html
3. Multiple quad copters catch and throw balls by moving together like a swarm.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWzt0COWnJo
4. Quadcopters and airplanes fly and navigate obstacles autonomously. http://www.acceler8or.com/2012/11/encouraging-developments-in-quadcopters-w-lots-of-video/
5. using xbox kinect to make qudcopters follow gestures. http://www.acceler8or.com/2011/12/quadrotors-will-do-everything-well-almost/
6. quadcopter that uses gps to navigate. http://www.gizmag.com/3d-robotics-iris-gps-guided-quadcopter-drone/28818/

Security

I was thinking about security today, and how reliant it has become on technology. In my law class we watched a video of three scam artists and how they robbed a bank. The security cameras were in place, but that did not stop them from stealing a $35,000 rolex. We are rolling in to an age where almost everything is connected to the internet. Online security will become a huge industry of it's own in the future. The current security systems rely on complex mathematical algorithms to encrypt data. This will only go so far. we need a better way to defend our privacy. You need something that can be transfered to other people, but can not be just simply guessed. A method of protecting your computer that I thought of is that a mechanical trigger would begin any downloads, to ensure a safe computer. also, a fake projection of the computer could be used to download the file and check for damage. I will think on this further.

Tech 2013

Surfing the web these past few days, I have been seeing a whole lot of "Best of 2013" reviews for all sorts of stuff, from Movies, to TV shows, to youtube videos. I thought, why not come up with a list o my own personal best of 2013 technology and science developments. I will keep the list to a short 5 items due to my poor memory, in no particular order whatsoever.

5. Google Glass: This google product gained quite a bit of popularity because of it's diversion from the meta of modern technology. The concept in and of itself of an "iron-man"-like way to gather more detailed information about your surroundings, and a hands free device, is what I believe had the biggest impact on everyone's imaginations. Other than that it seems to have the same capabilities as a smartphone. I put it in my top 5 list because I think that it is a fairly large step forward in the way humans will use technology in the future, and the full cyborg transformation. ;)

4. Drones: This year was big for drone technology. The government amended it's drone policy, and perfected military warfare and espionage drones. The quad-copter personal mini drones grew in popularity, for recreational use. Even Amazon launched it's delivery via drone experiment. To me, the future seems optimistic in this field. I can just imagine swarms of drones zooming through cities to windows of high rise apartment windows, carrying pizza. Of course, it would sound like living in a bee hive, but the luxury of laziness has it's drawbacks.

3. Graphene Aerogel: I loved this news when it came out in march. Chinese scientists developed a material so light that it can sit on a dandelion without causing any damage. It is the world's lightest substance. this definitely deserves the top five list, despite it's lack of popularity, because it has so many applications. This will be used in the future in all aviation, scientific instruments, and environmental defense, bcause it is just so versatile. One can never have something light enough in engineering.

Mach 1.8

Spike Aerospace Company, recently has built a prototype supersonic jet for business and commercial use: the S-512. It tops at a ridiculous mach 1.8! That is nearly two times the speed of sound! The best part of this prototype and design is the fact that it is a passenger aircraft. Until recently, there were only a handful of passenger supersonic jets, and since 2003, the last of them have been decommissioned, and even so, they traveled at mach 1.5 and below.

So what is stopping us from all getting one? For one, Money; it costs $80,000,000. Also, This model is a prototype, and has not actually been tested with passengers; it is a theoretical craft, with all of the kinks not worked out. It is, to my knowledge, still a bit of a mystery, as to what would happen to un-equipped businessmen or children at the point when the plane went supersonic. Supersonic jets, when entering those speeds, create a sonic boom due to the compression of air in front of and around the aircraft. The people may go deaf because of the sound. Naturally, there would be no great bodily harm, because the internal air is contained. The safety features that are placed in larger planes, would need to be altered, because opening the hatch at supersonic speeds would likely result in many deaths. Despite some cons, I have to say that shortening a 16 hour trip down to eight is greatly luring. I predict that there will be developments in the coming year in this field, but commercial jets will not break the sound barrier for at least another ten years, and several accidents. 

Windows Phone

I got a Nokia Lumia for Christmas, and it is basically the first real phone that I've ever had. It is kind of sad, getting it when I'm seventeen, but whatever. Anyways, I have used the android software as well as the IOS7 software on my parents phones, and I have to say that windows is majorly underrated.

Frankly, I have gotten a little bored with apple. They are not progressing their software at their previous rate, and android has basically caught up. Also, while they have a nice user interface, bugs with apple maps and app crashes do get in the way a lot. Apple is sleek and modern, but in my eyes, has lost it's charm. Android is the complete opposite of Apple. They are building up a great app store, and very innovative user interfaces. The customizability is particularly cool, because you can literally restructure your entire phone! On the other hand, it is an labyrinth to navigate. There are just so many things. First you have your main screen which is huge, but the app icons are too small and obscure that you cant easily find what you are looking for, and second, after a few months of use, it quickly gets unresponsive, or "laggy"(based on my dad's and some friends' experiences). When I used it once, I spent a whole ten minutes just looking for the settings.

Now to the point of my rantings: The windows phone, while it has it's quirks, is much more efficient and convenient than any other. I bought my Lumia 1020 for it's ENORMOUS camera. The OS on the device gives me a lot of customizability(live tiles), nad also the option to sync all of my accounts to the phone, so that everything from my Facebook, to my contacts, to my email, to Skype, is all right there at the touch of a button. The interface is simple and small, but all apps have a similar design, so the overall feel is coherent and sophisticated, whereas the iphone and android have a more open application design; android more so. The simplicity of the setup and navigation is really what startled me. I literally spent no more than a fifteen minutes on it, and found out how to do everything. Overall, well done, Microsoft.

Robotic Muscle

In an article today in Gizmag, they demonstrated a robotic muscle developed at the micro scale, that they claimed "is 1000 times more powerful that a human's." It runs on the idea that vanadium dioxide, at a certain temperature, abruptly changes its molecular structure, and that expansion that it undergoes, when combined with many other vanadium dioxide molecules will amount to a very large force. The problem that I found with this is that first of all, all of the tests were conducted at a micro scale, and succeeded only under controlled conditions. next, nature gave humans a certain amount of muscle strength because with more, we would harm ourselves. On a large scale, controlling the energy output is difficult, because there are only two states (muscle expanded and muscle contracted), and there isn't a gradual increase in in power

however, I believe that this advance is still a great thing, because it has better applications outside of the robotics genre. This could be used perhaps as a repairing agent. cracks formed in roads or bridges could be resealed much more easily, by using the tremendous forces to press asphalt in to the roads. It could also be used as a component in nano robots, because current nano robotics lacks the technology to have a muscle that small, and plus, the power boost would increase their efficiency.