IMU wing leveler
Currently I am working on my first UAV so I am only a beginner. I understand the basics of IMUs and some of the challenges but do not yet fully understand the code. It occurred to me that we all wanted good IMUs in order to get rid of thermopiles and make everything nice and neat but what about people who just want to replace their old FMA copilot with something nice and neat? Has anyone made an IMU device you can just stick in line with your current RC gear and have it keep your wings level. Something you only have to read the manual once on, you know, so the average RC guy could understand and use it.
Replies to This Discussion
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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on -
Many thanks for that smart and thorough reply. Given that wing levelers do not attempt to correct yaw, do you see any need for a magnetometer in such a product?
The FMA CoPilot is by no means infallible, and can be thrown off by all sorts of factors from fog/rain to poor ground calibration, so I don't think an IMU alternative has to be perfect to compete with it. Simply being smaller, easier to install/use and cheaper is enough. These things are designed to aid pilots, not replace them.
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Permalink Reply by MechatronicsLLC on -
You're right Chris, the magnetometer isn't explicitly needed for the wing leveling.
You only need what keeps your IMU solution tight in pitch and roll (ignoring centripetal). I haven't gone thru your DCM code, but I think the DCM formulation lets you separate out the yaw term explicitly, so it shouldn't corrupt your roll/pitch estimates with a bad gyro bias estimate or correction on that channel. If that is true, then you don't need mags or GPS speed input like you already pointed out.
I've never actually used an FMA system, but I've heard similar stories about them needing care and feeding as well. IMUs need a little as well sometimes :)
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