Object Tracking Quadcopter
This project, sponsored by Analog Devices, was built incorporating their newly developed light angle sensor that is sensitive specifically to infrared light. The objective was to demonstrate the versatility and dynamic nature of this new passive sensor, which consists of simply four photodiodes mounted in a propriety arrangement from which the 3D position of a light source can be determined. Therefore, to showcase this new light angle sensor, it was implemented on a quadcopter drone to provide it with navigational inputs with reference to a handheld infrared light source, as illustrated in the following video.
Development
Analog Front End
In order to incorporate the sensor with the drone’s flight controller, an infrared signal had to be recognized. Subsequently, the sensor’s output would be amplified, filtered, and analyzed to generate the appropriate commands to the drone’s flight controller to either roll, pitch, or throttle up/down. The final PWM signals were generated by an onboard Teensy3.5, which was incorporated to the PCB designed to be attached to the drone.
Signals
A generalized illustration of the signals flowing through the drone can be appreciated in this image. Classical control theory was used to compensate for positioning errors through PD,
Signals with Marty
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The Team
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