Shrediquette - the award-winning multirotors by William Thielicke

Paul Escalier from TomsGuide.com just finished his article on my tricopter. It has become a nice story I think :-) Make Your Own Gadget: From Idea To Reality Table of contents A Time to Make Something Awesome A Little Bit of Background The Birth of an Idea Taking the Plunge: Buying Some Parts Building the First Prototype Overhaul: Taking the Prototype to a New Level A Few Polishing Touches and a Mini Conversion Future Developments and More Information Have a look at the article here: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/tricopter-diy-gadget,review-1552.html

Some of you might already suspect that I am trying to make my tricopter fly autonomously not only indoors, but also outdoors. I got some parts as a present from watterott.com (GPS & pressure sensor) and I bought an aditional compass sensor. First of all, I had a look at the GPS. It is a 10Hz, 65 channel SUP500F receiver ( SUP500F ). Results were a bit disappointing:  I am standing still during logging (~1 minute), with a free view to the sky and no clouds. Next, I tested the pressure sensor (Bosch BMP-085 ). I was just using some very simple low-pass filters, and results were pretty ok already: The sensor was moved several times from 0 to 2.5 meters. The compass ( HMC6352 ) also works pretty ok. It delivers very precise heading information, even when the motors are running. But, when the sensor is tilted, there is an error in heading (due to the principle of measuring). There are much more expensive sensors available that can correct for tilt, but that is not really a probl...

Today I finished the last test under veeery windy conditions, and everything went fine. The files at the right hand side (GUI and firmware) are updated. Please note that the new firmware will only work with the new GUI and vice versa! You will also not be able to use your old settings files. Double-check the direction of your servo, something has changed here too. The firmware should allow to increase control loop parameters, especially Acro-P and Hover-D. That should make your tricopter more stable. A new default-settings file is included, as well as my settings for the DLX and the DLXm. You can flash the firmware using my GUI. The file Tricopter_m328p_11.hex has to be placed into the GUI folder.

The Shrediquette DLX standard size tricopter and the Shrediquette DLXm micro version, both got a small webpage with new detailed pictures and specifications: Micro version: --> Shrediquette DLXm <-- Standard version: --> Shrediquette DLX <-- If you still miss some details/ pictures, let me know. I also modified the FAQ section , please have a look at it too.

The Shrediquette DLXm micro-tricopter flies better than I ever expected. New control loops make it very stable in fast flights, during aerobatics, when there is wind or when it is flying in it's own downwash/ the ground effect. Watch the DLMx presentation in HD: Shrediquette DLXm - Self Stabilizing & Aerobatic Micro-Tricopter. The Movie. Thanks to Stefan for milling the frame (in carbon fiber, hehe) and to Eric for borrowing the ESCs! Specs Shrediquette DLXm Motor shaft distance: 132 mm  Max. dimension: 259 mm Weight: 230 g Props: 5x3 3-blade GWS Motors: Roxxy 2216-25 ESCs: Turnigy Plush 6A with I²C->PWM converters Battery: 3S, 800 mAh Max thrust per motor: 237 g Thrust to weight ratio: 3.1:1 Total current during hover: 4 A Endurance: 11 mins The control loop now processes angular acceleration in acro and hover mode: I finally managed to calculate "up to date" angular acceleration with only little noise. As a result, the gain of the gyroscopes c...

Here are some pictures of my Shrediquette DLXm. Unfortunately I am still waiting for the ESCs... Slightly annoying. EDIT:The ESCs arrived (thanks to Eric!) and first flights were very successfully completed. The control loop had to be modified to account for higher demands of this micro tricopter during aerobatics and fast flights. Because larger Shrediquettes will also benefit from this modification, I will soon release a new firmware and a modified GUI. I will now start to collect some video footage and make a new movie.

Ok, I am actually still waiting for my ESC order to arrive (for the Shrediquette DLXm)... I was hoping that the ESCs would arrive during my holidays last week, but they didn't. So I am not able to present you a nice video of the Shrediquette DLXm in flight, shot with my brand new GoPro HD Hero camera. But you might nevertheless be interested in seeing some footage that was shot with my cam during last week's holidays. I am absolutely impressed by the exposure control of the cam and the high resolution/ slow motion feature. This seems to be THE cam for on-board videos...! Video: http://www.vimeo.com/10375186