If you’re contemplating a quadcopter build here’s a way to add stabilization hardware without breaking the bank. The BaronPilot project uses an Arduino and a Wii Motion Plus module to ensure an even keel for your flying projects. The hardware inside of the Motion Plus includes two gyroscopes, which the BaronPilot monitors for changes in your flying rig’s orientation. The project serves as a co-pilot by differentiating between movements caused by the remote control, and changes due to wind or other outside factors (like hitting the quadcopter with a stick as seen in the video after the break). It should all translate to less chance of crashing due to operator error.
You can pick up a Motion Plus for less than twenty dollars, a deal when compared to the IMU boards that we usually see in quadcopter builds which usually run more than twice that amount. It’s an I2C device which makes it easy to hook up to just about anything. This project has native support for Teensy, Arduino Nano, and Arduino clones using an ATmega328 chip. But the portability of the Arduino platform should make it easy to tweak the code for use with just about any microprocessor.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9vyUCx3qwY&w=470]
[Thanks Ferrara]
Been done – MultiWii opter.
Seen more grown up here: http://www.multiwii.com/
Forum: http://www.multiwii.com/forum/
Awesome. I’ve been looking for a good demonstration of this for a while!
Also, if that were my dog, he would have destroyed it the moment it left the ground.
http://www.multiwii.com/
multiwii dot com does a fantastic job of the same thing using a wiimote + (WMP) and a wii nunchuck for stability and auto level. they have huge amounts of documentation and open source code.
@andrew: Your dog must be very laid-back. Mine would not have let it get off the ground to begin with. :-)
ever heard of the multiwiicopter project?
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1261382
FYI, this isn’t anything new. The MultiWii project has been around for some time and also uses a WMP. I have built several. Flies really well!
You need to work on landing, a safer landing using a small radar in the bottom would have been better !
Thanks for the references to multiwii, that will help me a lot.
The build looks pretty weighted. Any thoughts on trimming it down? Nice build btw
i just got my wii motion+ from dealextreme yesterday. 3 axes gyro for 8$ :)
Hello, this is rather old, some time BEFORE MultiWii project, oriented to hacking and programming (modular & clean source code).
P.S. I’m the creator of BaronPilot and also Simplo http://code.google.com/p/simplo/
If you aren’t a programmer use MultiWii project that is not so simple to modify, but work out of the box.
Can anyone find code for ONLY detecting the wii motion plus roll, pitch, and yaw? I don’t need the copter control parts. CAn someone filter it out? Thanks!