I am interested in learning how to build a dynamic quadcopter, and hope to be fairly proficient with Arduino/raspberry-pi. What resources and/or practices might you recommend?
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$\begingroup$ You need to learn Mechanics, Electronics, Software, and Control Theory. This is a very broad question. $\endgroup$– ShahbazMay 22, 2014 at 14:38
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$\begingroup$ This site has everything you need to know: aeroquad.com $\endgroup$– Andrew CapodieciMay 22, 2014 at 18:47
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$\begingroup$ If someone downvoted my answer, you could at least give an explanation why... $\endgroup$– Andrew CapodieciMay 23, 2014 at 13:34
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$\begingroup$ It took me 8-9 months to build a quadcopter from scratch (including developing the software) and I already had very solid knowledge in electronics, software, maths, and control theory. I knew some mechanics too but at a basic level. By the way my quad does not fly as well as I would like :) I would suggest you get an Arduino kit (with a few LEDs and push-buttons), then when you're comfortable try to drive servos or motors, read data from sensors (gyroscopes, accelerometers) and see how it goes. At that point you'll hopefully have an idea what to do next. $\endgroup$– marcv81May 23, 2014 at 18:20
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$\begingroup$ I am not the downvoter but I don't feel your answer give much detail about the way forward. Aeroquad is a nice almost-out-of-the-box solution, but the OP would not learn very much at all about Arduino/Pi. $\endgroup$– marcv81May 23, 2014 at 18:23
2 Answers
In your shoes, I would start "simpler".
- First, I would make a system that cycles between LED states (on/off/blinking) based on interaction with a sensor. That's to get the basics.
Then, I would build a little "truck" bot, one that can drive around my room without getting stuck. This is (especially in MY room, where navigation between all sorts of stuff is risky...) already an interesting challenge.
Next, I would add navigation (get some points/GPS-positions/emitters/NFC-tags/anything-that-suits-you in my room and go around them with the bot, which seems to be something you want your quadcopter to be able to do so that it knows how to come home, once you have GPS integrated)
Next I would add a few circuits for balancing (you really want the quad to know up from down, and handle their stability well). Side note, if you are on the equator, factor that in your system. It seems American F-16s had to be upgraded (a long while ago...) when the US Air Force had the nasty surprise of having them roll 180° when passing the equator :D
At that point, you're much more savvy than I'll ever be ;)
Find a project you really think is cool with a tutorial and then work towards that. For programming, a good way to learn is to beg, borrow and steal from others by combining their programs to make a hybrid of your own. This gives you something good to start with and you can see what the programmer did to make it work in the first place.