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--- drone_construction [2022/09/23 05:08] – created jhagstrand
+++ drone_construction [2022/10/04 06:50] (current) – [Quadcopter Components] jhagstrand
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
   * video transmitter, with antenna
+===== Quadcopter Components =====
+  * body, frame, usually carbon fiber
+  * 4 motors
+  * 4 props
+  * 4 ESC's
+  * Flight Controller (FC), an Integrated Circuit
+    * usually includes sensors
+      * 3 accelerometers, to detect linear motion on 3 axes
+      * 3 gyroscopes, to detect rotational motion on 3 axes
+      * compass (optional)
+  * GPS, antenna, compass
+  * Companion Computer, optional
+  * video camera, transmitter, antenna
+  * telemetry transmitter, antenna
+  * RC receiver, antenna
+  * battery
+  * payload (optional)
+  * feet or landing gear
+  * power distribution bus
+Ground station
+  * goggles or display
+  * Radio Controller (RC) "radio" with transmitter
+diagram \\
+https://www.pinterest.com/pin/531495193507157141/
 ===== sensors =====
   * GPS
@@ Line 157: / Line 184: @@
+=== Flight Controller (FC) Hardware
+History of ArduPilot hardware.
+| Arduino      | 2007 |
+| ArduPilot    | 2009 |
+| APM 1        | 2010 |
+| APM 2        | 2011 |
+| APM 2.5/2.6  | 2012 |
+| Pixhawk      | 2013 |
+Eventually Arduino was made to run on the Pixhawk board, and the Arduino hardware line was discontinued.
+Pixhawk
+Navio2
+=== Flight Controlleer (FC) Firmware
+Arduino - made by the Arduino team
+PX4 - made by the Pixhawk team
+Both ArduPilot and PX4
+  * use MAVLink middleware for communications
+  * offer high-level API's so programmers can control the drone in language of choice
+  * popular API
+    * for AuduPilot: dronekit
+    * fox PX4: MAVSDK
+=== Companion Computer
+  * Raspberry Pi
+  * Nvidia Jetson Nano
+  * Nvidia Jetson TX
+=== Ground Control Station (GCS) Hardware ===
+https://dojofordrones.com/ground-control-stations/
+== Radio Controller (RC) ==
+=== GCS Software Applications ===
+Mission Planner
+MAVProxy - send MAVLink packets over IP, no, evidently MAVProxy is a command-line GCS software package developed by CanberraUAV in 2012, written for Python 2.6
+QGroundControl
+=== Middleware Communications Protocol
+MAVLink - used by both ArduPilot and PX4
+python wrapper around MAVLink
+http://mavsdk-python-docs.s3-website.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/plugins/camera.html
+=== Radio Comm Hardware ===
+Sky-Drones SmartLink
+  * evidently works only with Smartap GCS
+  * All three  sets of data handled in one device
+  * Air Unit and Ground Unit.
+  * Ground Unit connects to laptop via USB.
+==== IP, Port, Socket, Thread ====
+connect to ip addr and port
+  * a very large number of simultaneous connections are possible
+  * in a typical scenario, one drone is connected to one GCS
+but,
+  * a GCS can talk to multiple drones
+  * one drone can connect to another drone
+  * multiple GCS's can connect and work together
+a port is a socket
+sockets programming, all languages, all os's
+example python opening sockets
+Each drone will have three ports, one for each type of data.
+  * video stream, from drone to Ground
+  * telemetry stream, from drone to Ground
+  * commands, from Ground to Drone
+=== Video ===
+Ways to use video
+  * not at all.  Drones don't need a camera.
+  * record onto a memory card
+  * send to a companion computer for realtime pattern recognition
+  * transmit to a pair of goggles for FPV flying
+  * transmit to a GCS for display, analysis, and navigation decisions
+Four pieces of video equipment for FPV:
+  * camera
+  * video transmitter (vtx)
+  * video receiver (vrx)
+  * goggles
+In 2015, the systems were analog, and the video receiver was sold separately,
+and would attach to and plug into your choice of goggles. \\
+: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrQYdr8GgLY \\
+: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBmkRtDM_Yc&t=0s  \\
+In 2022, new digital systems are available from DJI and from FatShark/Walksnail. \\
+These come with integrated receiver/goggles.  You cannot buy the receiver sseparately. \\