book

Drone Development from Concept to Flight

by Sumit Sharma

April 2024

Beginner

316 pages

7h 52m

English

Packt Publishing

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Introduction to unmanned systems – unmanned ground, air, and water vehiclesVarious unmanned vehiclesHistory and evolution of dronesNeed for an unmanned systemWhat are unmanned aerial systems?Types of drones and their relevance to applicationsTypes of drones and their specificationsSystem composition of a UAVMajor mechanical and structural components of a droneAirframeAvionics systems and subsystems of dronesThe propulsion system or drive train of a droneThe power system of dronesCommand and control systemSummary
Introduction to thrust, weight, lift, drag, and cruiseThrustWeightLiftDragCruiseIntroduction to the flight axis and its terminologiesRoll movementPitch movementYaw movementThrottleThrust-to-weight ratio (TWR)Introduction to the flight physics of a quadcopterEngineering to achieve movements across all three axes of rotationHover motionHorizontal movementsPitch movement or forward-backward movementSummary
Introduction to GCS hardware and softwareGCS hardwareGCS softwareTypes of GCSIntroduction to MAVLink and other open source telemetry protocolsIntroduction to RCs and the different available optionsComponents of the RC transmitter systemModes of working of an RC controllerMajor RC protocolsTransmitter protocolsReceiving protocolsSBUS protocolSummary
Technical requirementsUnderstanding and conceptualizing the systemDesigning the propulsion systemSelection criteria for motor and propeller combinationCharacteristics of motors to be usedMotor specifications and thrust chartsMotor and propeller selectionBattery selectionCalculating the flight time (endurance)Designing and developing the airframeDeveloping the control systemElectronic speed controllers and flight controllersFlight controllerSelecting the navigation and communication systemsCommunication systemsIntegrated GCS system with communicating devicesSelection of GPS and navigation systemSummary
The inertial measurement unit and its roleComposition of an IMUUse of IMUs in unmanned systemsThe barometer and its roleHow does it work?GPS and magnetometer and their rolesHow does GPS work?The use of GPS in dronesVoltage and current sensors and their rolesSensor fusion and state estimationSummary
Technical requirementsIntroduction to firmwareComponents of firmware and their rolesFirmware exampleTools used to develop firmwareDifferences between software and firmwareIntroduction to drone firmwareHow it is different from general firmwareThe structure of drone firmwareIntroduction to drone flight stacksOpen source drone flight stackClosed source (proprietary) drone flight stackBasic PX4 controller loop diagramPX4 flight stackThe ArduPilot flight stackSummary

Technical requirementsIntroduction to GCSsMajor GCS software that is available on the marketMission Planner or APM PlannerQGroundControlUgCSAeroGCS software overviewAeroGCS main dashboardAeroGCS home menuMethods of connecting a droneRPA or drone configurationAutonomous mission planningWaypoint planningSurvey planningSummary
Technical requirementsFlight modes and typesTypes of fight modesAssigning flight modes via remote controlHow it worksAssigning and changing flight modes in a GCSConfiguring the flight modes of the remote controller switchPlanning and executing an autonomous waypoint missionSummary
Technical requirementsComponents and tools required to build a droneAssembling the components of a droneAirframe assemblyMotor assemblyAssembling and configuring the ESCsInstalling the flight controllerMounting a PDB on a droneInstalling the batteryConfiguring the RC transmitter and receiverTelemetry connectionSetting up and configuring avionicsFirmware flashingConfiguring the flight controllerUnderstanding calibration and failsafesCalibrating sensorsFailsafe setup and configurationSetting up a maiden flightPerforming a maiden flightSummary
Technical requirementsIntroduction to flight logs and their applicationsTypes of logs storedWorking with GCS software on logs and their graphsSteps to download logs from the flight controller using QGC as the GCSAnalyzing download logsInterpreting graphsUnderstanding PID controllers and their usesMethods to detect bad PIDs in drones and how to fix themRate controllers in a drone and tuning PIDsSummary
Technical requirementsSurvey-based dronesWhy aerial surveying is requiredThe role of drones in aerial surveyingPayloads used in survey missionsIntegrating the payload with the droneThe Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) and Post-Processed Kinematics (PPK) positioning systemsMission planning for a survey missionImage stitching and post-processingFinal deliverablesAgricultural spraying dronesSpray tank integration with a droneAgriculture spraying flight planningPrecautions and safetyAerial delivery dronesPayload release mechanismSafety regulations in the drone ecosystemSystem redundancySummary
Technical requirementsGeospatial surveysThe use of geospatial surveys in the industrySetting up the requirements for a survey droneHigh-quality imaging sensorsGPSAutonomous flight planningLong flight timeReal-time monitoring and telemetryDurability and weather resistancePayload capacityAll-up weight or gross weightSelecting the drone’s componentsAirframePropulsion system or power trailFlight stack selectionGPS module selectionCamera or payloadTelemetry system and selection considerationsWiring and assemblyDrone configurationsMotor and ESC calibrationESC calibrationSummary
Chapter 1, Getting Started with UAV and Drone EngineeringChapter 2, Understanding the Dynamics of 3D SpaceChapter 3, Learning and Applying Basic Command and Control InterfacesChapter 4, Knowing UAV Systems, Sub-Systems, and ComponentsChapter 5, Sensors and IMUs with Their Application in DronesChapter 6, Introduction to Drone Firmware and Flight StacksChapter 7, Introduction to Ground Control Station SoftwareChapter 8, Understanding Flight Modes and Mission PlanningChapter 9, Drone Assembly, Configuration, and TuningChapter 10, Flight Log Analysis and PIDsChapter 11, Application-Based Drone DevelopmentChapter 12, Development of Custom Survey Drones
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Content preview from Drone Development from Concept to Flight

7 Introduction to Ground Control Station Software

In previous chapters of this book, we studied major unmanned systems, their subsystems, and the sensors on the hardware side. We also studied firmware, which is used as a link between hardware and software to make the system function, as well as the basics of command and control software, called ground control software, with its different types and usage. In this chapter, we will learn about the in-depth usage of ground control software that is used to command, control, and set up a drone for flight. A Ground Control Station (GCS) is also used to transmit and receive real-time telemetry data during the flight and monitor the drone’s navigation and sensor health while it flies in both manual and ...