my DIY Cypress CYRF6936 based RC system.
hi guys,
first post.
so this post would fit in the "RC Equipment" section as well as here...
i started working towards a UAV around 6 months ago. it's something i had considered for a while as a natural extension of my robotics hobby.
since then i've only got as far as building RC equipment and teaching myself to fly.
i chose the CYRF6936 over the many XBee type solutions as it offers far more flexibility, albeit at the price of simplicity.
one big advantage over the XBee is i am not tied to the XBee packet format so my system has very low latency.
i believe my DIY RC system is a far better starting point for a UAV for several reasons.
first, i will not have to mess around interfacing off the shelf RC equipment to a microcontroller.
everything is done on one microcontroller.
another big benefit of using modern radio transceivers instead of RC equipment is it allows 2 way communication.
at the moment i am only sending signal quality data back to the ground station but once i start adding on board sensors this feature will greatly simplify debugging.
if you wanted to there is more than enough bandwidth and low enough latency on my system to process all sensor data and calculate control data on the ground station.
not that i want lots of bandwidth between the UAV and ground station for my final solution.
my end goal is for an autonomous UAV but as an intermediate step it allows for great flexibility and easy real time debugging.
anyway, have a look and let me know what you think:
http://sites.google.com/site/mrdunk/
dunk.
first post.
so this post would fit in the "RC Equipment" section as well as here...
i started working towards a UAV around 6 months ago. it's something i had considered for a while as a natural extension of my robotics hobby.
since then i've only got as far as building RC equipment and teaching myself to fly.
i chose the CYRF6936 over the many XBee type solutions as it offers far more flexibility, albeit at the price of simplicity.
one big advantage over the XBee is i am not tied to the XBee packet format so my system has very low latency.
i believe my DIY RC system is a far better starting point for a UAV for several reasons.
first, i will not have to mess around interfacing off the shelf RC equipment to a microcontroller.
everything is done on one microcontroller.
another big benefit of using modern radio transceivers instead of RC equipment is it allows 2 way communication.
at the moment i am only sending signal quality data back to the ground station but once i start adding on board sensors this feature will greatly simplify debugging.
if you wanted to there is more than enough bandwidth and low enough latency on my system to process all sensor data and calculate control data on the ground station.
not that i want lots of bandwidth between the UAV and ground station for my final solution.
my end goal is for an autonomous UAV but as an intermediate step it allows for great flexibility and easy real time debugging.
anyway, have a look and let me know what you think:
http://sites.google.com/site/mrdunk/
dunk.
Replies to This Discussion
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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on -
Very nice! I'd encourage everyone to check out that link and both the hardware and software section. Very well documented and a fascinating project.
I think you're right that full computer integration is ultimately the future of what we do, but for now it's nice to be able to fall back on the very mature RC equipment for the basics (and not to have to have a laptop open every time we fly).
I suspect the high-end amateur UAVs will go the all-computer route, while the lower end will continue to stick with RC integration. Ideally, the two worlds will someday converge.
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Permalink Reply by dunk on -
i've been working on a page documenting what i know about the CYRF6936 and the modules that use it.
i'm thinking the more people using it the more chance i have of finding information on the web about it next time i'm stuck...
http://sites.google.com/site/mrdunk/interfacing-cypress-cyrf6936-to...
comments/suggestions appreciated.
dunk.
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Permalink Reply by dunk on
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hey guys,
just a brief update,
this project's been on hold for most of the last year as i've been away on an extended rock climbing trip.
i've been making some progress since i got back though.
range tests have been proved 100% reliable past 300meters in real world conditions with antenna mounted at ground level.
expected range will undoubtedly be a lot greater when one end is airborne and the other is raised a bit.
i currently get battery voltage, current draw and RF signal strenght data back from the aircraft in real time but have a huge amount of unused bandwidth.
i have started adding sensors to the airframe. (a single rate gyro at this point) which can be mixed into the control loop by the operator.
more functionality to follow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tL84FTaQSI
dunk.
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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Torella on -
so kool i want one how do i do that?
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