SUAS & Arduino Presentation - Staples - 20140403 - CLEARED

Using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Radio Control
Products and Microcontrollers to Develop & Test Small
Unmanned Aerial Systems In an Indoor Flight Lab
1
Gabriel Staples, 1 Lt. United States Air Force
Aeronautical Research Engineer/SUAS Integration Engineer
Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Laboratory (SUASLab)
Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL/RQVA
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH
26 Feb. 2014
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy
or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the United States Government.
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public
release; distribution is unlimited.

These slides are from a briefing which was given
on 27 March 2014 to the Air Force Research
Laboratory’s Aerospace Systems Directorate
(AFRL/RQ) Junior Force Council (JFC), as part of a
“Lunch and Learn” “Present Your Project”
initiative.
2
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Purpose
1. To educate and inspire you, my fellow officers
& engineers, to expand your skills and use
technical solutions, such as Arduino
microcontroller boards, to solve your
technical challenges.
2. To remind you that education doesn’t just
happen in school, and that learning &
research doesn’t just happen at work.
3. To share what gets me excited to come to
work everyday.
3

My Maxims
• “Every engineer a programmer”
• "It should be the end goal of any professional to reach
such a high level of skill at what you do that you are no
longer limited by your abilities; but rather, you are
limited only by your imagination.“
• “Be a thinker, and be a doer.”
References: first two quotes are my own
(see: http://electricrcaircraftguy.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-goal-of-a-lifetime.html),
the third one is from Destin from his "Smarter Every Day" series on YouTube.
4

What is an Arduino microcontroller
(mcu)?
Mcu’s In General:
• A chip with integrated
processor, peripherals,
UART, RAM, EEPROM, Flash
memory, etc.
Arduino specifically:
• An open source development board that uses
(usu.) an Atmel ATmega microcontroller
• Open source hardware
• Open source software
• Hundreds of open-source libraries
• Hundreds of thousands of users, including
professionals and hobbyists
• Fantastic documentation, support, & tutorials
• Designed for ease of programming, with the
non-engineer in mind
• Programs are called “sketches,” meant to be a
way to introduce artists to programming.
• Cost of only $3.50~$150 per board (~$30 avg.)
• This is a HUGE cost savings, as other systems
I’ve seen are not open source, and are
$75~$100 to get started.
5
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino for more info.DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Sample Code
6
-Based on C/C++, with a basic
Arduino core library meant to be
easy to understand and use.
-Yet you still have the ability to
use all of the AVR-libc functions
and access the basic, low-level
Atmel microcontroller registers,
variables, timers, functions,
input capture, output compares,
etc.
-Simple, one-click compile and
upload button—no additional
programmer required – Arduino
plugs straight into your
computer via a USB cable, and
communicates via serial.

The Arduino Models
(see arduino.cc  Products)
• MANY Arduino, or Arduino-compatible boards are available,
but here are just a few of the primary ones I use:
7
Uno
Ethernet
Nano
(my
personal
favorite)
Micro

The Ardupilot
• Open source, Arduino-compatible
• Basically is an Arduino Mega 2560 w/integrated sensors & IMU
(Inertial Measurement Unit), barometric pressure sensor/altimeter,
etc.
• VERY Low cost, ~$250, as compared to similar commercial UAS
autopilots which cost $5k~$15k.
• More info at ardupilot.com
• Purchase at 3drobotics.com or hobbyking.com
8

What Can Arduino Do?
What Can Arduino NOT Do?
• In short: IT CAN DO ANYTHING (almost).
• It is limited only by (in this order):
– #1 your imagination
– #2 your ingenuity and skill
– #3 its processing speed, memory, and hardware capabilities
• This is nearly always the least important of them all, but if you want to do
something more processor-intensive, such as visual image processing, look into
using something more powerful like the Raspberry Pi with the OpenCV (Open
Source Computer Vision) Library, Open TLD, or Predator, for instance.
9
Dr. Zdenek Kalal’s (from the Czech Republic) Open
TLD algorithm demonstrating facial Tracking,
Learning, & Detection.
Raspberry Pi with 512MB RAM, as shown on the sales page
at Adafruit.com – runs a light version of the Linux OS – can
do real-time vision processing, if required, on a UAV.

Where are microcontrollers used now?
-based on my understanding
• Digital microwaves, ovens, toasters
• Digital blenders
• Automobile fuel injection (this is your car’s “computer”)
• Radio Control Devices
– Tx/Rx, ESC
• Printers, phones
• Some watches
• “smart” clothing (GPS-guided backpacks, blinking ties,
shoes, shirts, etc.)
• TV remotes
• Satellites, robots, calculators, etc.
• Pretty much anything with a digital display…
10

Get Involved with Arduino--Use it In Your Research:
Lab Use Examples
• Read in analog and digital voltages
– Ex: all sorts of sensors, buttons, potentiometers (scroll wheels/knobs), etc.
• Write out analog and digital voltages (analog is done via PWM)
• Controls, interfaces, & displays, incl. touch screens
• Display information on LCD displays, Nokia cell phone TFT displays
• Commutate/control DC and AC motors, servos
• Transmit wireless information (such as for datalogging, telemetry, wireless
coms, etc)
• Communicate with MATLAB or FreeMat via a USB cable and serial
communication
• Talk over Ethernet cables or internet WiFi
• I2C (2-wire), Serial, & SPI communication protocols; IR-communication;
Dallas 1-Wire
• Act as a web server
– Display info. on your laptop in a browser
– Receive commands from your laptop via a web browser
11

Get Involved with Arduino--Use it In Your Research:
Lab Use Examples (continued)
• Detect/sense pressure, altitude, temperature, humidity, GPS coordinates,
capacitance, liquid levels, soil moisture levels, human touch, light, color,
whatever…just find the right sensor or use your own ingenuity to make a sensor!
• Datalogging and instrumentation (replace a $4500 LabVIEW License and DAQ with a
$35 Arduino, for instance)
– Log directly to a file on your PC, via a USB serial connection from Arduino to
MATLAB/FreeMat, Processing, MegunoLink, MakerPlot, Java, Python, etc.
• Commerical licenses for MegunoLink/MakerPlot are on the order of $40~$90 per computer
– Live data plotting using any of the above
• Controls/Run control & regulation algorithms
• Fly an airplane or SUAS (ex: Ardupilot)
– Read and Write Radio Control PWM and PPM signals
– Read brushless motor pulses to calculate motor RPMs
• Robotics: virtually all robots use microcontrollers somewhere, though some rely on
more powerful microprocessors
• Power control – turn AC or DC circuits on and off via transistors/relays
• Open & close programs on your computer, by directly emulating a mouse/keyboard
--very useful lab applications: remotely control computer processes & applications
12

More on datalogging w/Arduino
• Arduino has max analogRead of 10kHz. Max
digitalRead is much faster.
• If using serial to send the data to a PC, you are
limited to a baud-rate of 115200. In my Arduino
to MATLAB code, I can send 9x 4-byte floating
point values at a rate of ~310Hz in either
direction.
• If using an Arduino Ethernet and UDP packets,
rather than serial, this rate could be MUCH
higher.
13

What is a Small Unmanned Aerial
System (SUAS)?
• Includes:
– UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)
– GCS (Ground Control Station)
– Sensors, communication/telemetry, GNC
(Guidance, Navigation, & Control) algorithms, etc.
14
Vicon Flight Lab
Laptop, Arduino Nano,
& Turnigy 9XR Radio
Fearless Foamie FF5000
(left) & ARDrone (right)
Arducopter
Fearless Foamie, “FF5000”

Vicon Motion Capture System: like an indoor, sub-
millimeter*-precision GPS system & 10-DOF** IMU
(Inertial Measurement Unit) all in one!
15
*Vicon precision in our lab is <0.1mm
**Note: to get on-board a vehicle, what Vicon can provide off-board, you’d need a GPS and 10-Degree-
of-Freedom IMU, which would entail a 3-axis gyro, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis magnetometer,
barometric pressure sensor, & temp. sensor.

Key Interfaces – Arduino/MATLAB PPM
Reader (reading PPM signal from RC Radio)
16

Key Interfaces – ex: Arduino/MATLAB
PPM Reader from RC Radio
17

Arduino/MATLAB PPM
Reader Demo
18

Key Interfaces – PIC-brand microcontroller, creating PPM signal
to go to the trainer port on an RC Radio – allows autonomous control
of a standard RC vehicle, by means of a computer flight controller algorithm
which flies the airplane!
19
JR/Spektrum
trainer in (PPM
in) on Turnigy
9XR Radio

20

My MATLAB Flight Controller GUI
-for Arducopter; incomplete at this time;
at the moment, this is an altitude controller only
21

My MATLAB Flight Controller for
Arducopter
1. Already done:
1. Altitude Controller (PID Feedback only)
2. Still Need to be implemented for full flight controller:
1. Heading Controller (PID Feedback only)
2. Pitch/Roll Controller (Physics-based Feed-Forward [I command
angles directly, via Ardupilot autopilot], w/passive position feedback
only)
3. Additional improvements thereafter:
1. Alt. Feed-Forward (veh. tilt angle  throttle)
2. Pitch/Roll PID Feedback on angles, to remove angle bias directly, and
vehicle position error indirectly.
22
Note: All inner loops & vehicle stabilization is automatically handled by the
Arducopter autopilot on-board, thereby making point 2.2. above possible, as roll
and pitch angles can be commanded directly with no external feedback loops,
since that is taken care of on-board.

Physics-based Modeling & Simulation, to check path-following ability using
my navigation algorithm, given vehicle thrust constraints
– Optional: live simulation demo
23

Video Demonstrations
1. Dr. Mark Mears’s FF5000
Perching
2. Dr. Rich Roberts’s FF5000
flight controller
3. Dr. Rich Roberts’s RC truck
controller
24

• Note: the ARDrone, off-the-shelf, already has on-board
WiFi capability, and is controlled via a standard smart
phone or tablet---we are currently hacking their control
system.
• But what about standard off-the-shelf RC vehicles?
Possible Solutions for multi-vehicle control, and in-house telemetry:
• Wireless WiFi router on ground, w/Arduino WiFi boards on
vehicles; 1 router  many vehicles
• Flutter Wireless
• Spark Core (Arduino-compatible WiFi)
• Xbee/Zigbee radios
• RF24 transceivers (my preferred choice) w/Arduino
25
Problem: only one vehicle per RC Radio Tx

What Next? Telemetry, and multivehicle
control— we need coms: Inexpensive 2.4GHz Wireless
Transceiver - Nordic Semiconductor nRF24L01+
• Up to 2Mbps data transfer, broadcast out; Rx
from up to 6 other devices at once; 128
2.4GHz channels—can be made to be spread-
spectrum/frequency hopping if you write your
own custom algorithm
• Short range: 100m-range version is as little as
$1.50 OR LESS, w/FREE shipping, on Ebay,
brand-new
• Long range: 1km range, ~$18; (ex:
http://yourduino.com/sunshop2/index.php?l=product_detail&p=190)
26
More info:
http://arduino-info.wikispaces.com/Nrf24L01-2.4GHz-HowTo
http://maniacbug.github.io/RF24/

Telemetry - Sensors
1) Collect the data using Arduino
2) Send the data to the ground using an nRF24L01+ connected to the Arduino
Sensor Data to Collect:
• Aircraft battery voltage – easy, use voltage divider and an analog input on the Arduino
• Current – a little harder, use low-ohm resistor (possibly with an op-amp), and an analog input
on the Arduino
• Motor RPMs – much harder, but I’ve already solved it – use voltage divider and digital inputs
on Arduino
27
Motor pulses (voltage across 1 motor lead & battery ground)
Low throttle setting Mid-throttle settingHigh-freq signal = throttle PWMing @ 8kHz,
low-freq signal = commutation pulses

28

You could even…
• Get rid of the off-board controller (MATLAB in our
case) altogether
– Have the Arduino nano process the flight path on-
board
– Just send the Truth Sever Data (vehicle state, as
determined by Vicon) to the vehicle, and the Arduino
does the rest
• Add on-board sensors, optical flow, computer
vision
– may require upgrade from 16 MHz Arduino Nano to
84 MHz Arduino Due, 400 MHz Arduino Galileo, or
700 MHz Raspberry Pi, etc.
29

Contacts & Resources
• Gabriel Staples, AFRL/RQVA – gabriel.staples.1@us.af.mil
• Learn More: http://electricrcaircraftguy.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-power-of-
arduino.html --lots of general info. & many great, additional links here
• Tutorials & Help:
– http://arduino.cc/
•  Reference
•  Products
•  Learning – Examples
•  Learning – Playground
•  Support – Forum
– http://learn.adafruit.com/category/learn-arduino - ADAFRUIT IS A TREMENDOUSLY VALUABLE
RESOURCE FOR THE BEGINNER TO ARDUINO….ESPECIALLY TO THOSE NOT WELL-VERSED IN
ELECTRONICS, PROGRAMMING, AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING.
– https://www.sparkfun.com/
• Where to Purchase:
– Personal:
• Amazon (fastest), Ebay (cheapest), Adafruit and SparkFun (best tutorials, code, & support), or the below sites
– Work/Other:
• http://www.adafruit.com/
• https://www.sparkfun.com/
• Amazon.com
• Digikey
• Mouser 30

SUAS & Arduino Presentation - Staples - 20140403 - CLEARED

More Related Content

What's hot (17)

Viewers also liked (6)

Similar to SUAS & Arduino Presentation - Staples - 20140403 - CLEARED (20)

SUAS & Arduino Presentation - Staples - 20140403 - CLEARED