Projects
Projects that ssh:chicago is working on or wants to work on
Multicopter
What: A multicopter (or multirotor) is a rotorcraft with more than 2 rotors. They are pretty popular in the hacker/maker community, as well as in the advanced cinematography and aerial photography fields. Sometimes they are called quadcopters (4 rotors, very common), hexacopters (6 rotors) or octocopters (8 rotors).
Why: The multicopter is a good idea for a group project. There are many resources on the Internet for creating one. It can be budgeted for as low as $300, though $600+ is probably more worthwhile. There are many parts and kits out there, which means you can feasibly put a pretty functional multicopter in a weekend. A completed 'copter can later be hacked and enhanced in many creative ways. It brings in people that are good with electronic hardware (soldering, wiring, RX/TX), software (piloting controls) and perhaps those with an artistic bend (make it pretty). Further development can take an artistic route (aerial photography, cinematography, choreographed robotics) or a social commentary route (multicopters as a surveillance tool, problems of privacy, etc).
How: Several popular kits and development communities exist. More detail on that later, but ArduPilot probably stands out the most. It is an open-source, Arduino-based project, which is good from the hacking aspect. Below is the list of parts that go into a multicopter.
Required:
- Frame
- Motors
- Propeller blades
- Battery (w/ charger)
- Electronic Speed Controls (ESCs)
- Flight Control System (FCS) - should be capable of at least pre-programmed control with PC via USB
Optional:
- Sensors not on the FCS - GPS, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, barometer, etc
- RX/TX radio hardware - for control or video
- Radio transmitter
- Mounting for other equipment - cameras, weapons, etc
- Protective shell for indoor or all weather use
- Storage / carrying case
Proposed Projects
Tack anything cool you can think of here!
- P3RS - hackerspace racing
- Book scanner - See http://www.diybookscanner.org/ and https://code.google.com/p/linear-book-scanner/
- Parking camera system using Raspberry Pi - http://hackaday.com/2013/04/02/building-a-vehicle-parking-camera
