Progress Report - 10/25/15

Progress:

• We flew the drone using the computer through ardrone_navigation in the SDK with an XBox controller
• We flew the drone using the computer through Node.js with the ar-drone module
• took off
• spun
• flipped
• landed

Problems:

• The modules for node.js are fairly new, so there are possibilities of this not working, if the functions themselves are just not reliable, but I think it can work.
• If the above turns out to be a real problem, we may have to return to the original plan A with the SDK.
• There is a small drifting problem when yaw is changed. This should be fixable (after turn, drone adjusts position by putting the marker in the center of the image) by compensating for the movement.

Plans:

• Learn all of the terms and functions associated with the ar-drone module
• Do the same for the opencv module
• Create a basic program which goes through the following:
• take-off
• roll/pitch movement
• yaw turning
• getting image data
• displaying data in browser window
• If all this can be accomplished, then add in:
• pass png stream to opencv
• perform matrix transformations to the images (binary thresholding)
• draw over the spot of highest concentration
• pass new image to browser

Presentation 2 Link

Presentation 2

RE: Gantt Chart Link —11/8

Feedback:

1. The first part of Gannt chart is decent. You can just start working on your project accordingly.
2. The sencond part of the Gantt chart is obviously missing probably due to the limited understanding of the task. I suggest that you revise it while you are working on the first part. and notify me through email when you are done.

Gantt Chart Link —11/8

Gantt Chart — 11/8

Since so far we are both doing the same things, we are not assigned separate tasks.

The Air Force Collaboratory: Mind of a Quadrotor

The Air Force Collaboratory launched a quadrotor project two years ago. The goal is to develop an autonomous quadrotor that can think and make decision by itself like a human.

The program has mostly closed already. However, there are some general information and discussion on the website, which may be of interest to you. Please click the link and browse through the site for further info.

Presentation 1 Link

Presentation 1

RE: Initial Planning & Coordination

Project Description

• We are aiming to create a system by which a drone can autonomously fly in an indoor environment and deliver packages between specified locations.
• Though this has essentially already been done by others, this project could potentially help implement this system in ElRo and further the practical knowledge and experience of our group members.
• You can still improve the performance of the vision-based navigation by improving the algorithms.

Communication

• Team: Owen G., Theo C. We communicate by texting and google docs.
• Group: Our group is fairly independent. Though the drone take-down teams are related to ours in that we share the same equipment, we shouldn’t really need to communicate very much (if needed, email should suffice).

• You can copy Theo's comments here for the Prior Work/Resource Inventory.

Tech Analysis

• Navigate Linux
• Run AR Drone SDK examples
• Edit AR Drone SDK examples
• Navigate AR Drone SDK
• Use OpenCV
• Incorporate OpenCV in AR Drone SDK

Competence

• What we already know:
• Minor experience in C
• What we don’t already know:
• Experience in Linux
• Experience with the AR Drone
• Experience with the SDK
• Running examples
• Editing examples
• Experience with OpenCV
• Further knowledge of C programming

Safety

• Flying the drone offers a safety hazard; we need open, unoccupied spaces to test the flight of the drone.

Equipment, Materials, Budget

• Parrot AR Drone (already purchased)
• AR Drone SDK (free)
• OpenCV (free)
• Computer with Linux OS (free)

Schedule

• This week we want to focus on having everything working as it was when the previous group finished. We want to run the SDK examples sdk_demo and navigation, as well as run the OpenCV application created by last year’s group on both of our computers. If we run into any problems, we want to resolve them by the end of this week.
• We also, at the same time, want to work on our gantt chart. However, if it was not intended that we jump into the project yet, we can just try to finish the gantt chart before starting.
• The first task will be done by both of us, and the second (gantt chart) will be edited by both of us, but I will share the gantt chart.

• Research project planning is more like an iterative process, especially for beginners. The more you jump into the project, the more solid your planning will be. So, go ahead!