Electronics
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The electrical subteam works on the power and control systems for the robot. In past semesters we have selected a number of parts which we believe will work for a final robot, and are now working on getting these individual parts tested and connected to a single system. This involves both hardware and software. We recommend being familiar with the terminology below.
The central onboard computer for DogCopter will be a Raspberry Pi 5.
We have a dedicated flight controller (Pixhawk 6C), a specialized microcontroller that contains configurable software (PX4) that can be used to achieve flight without needing home-brewed flight control algorithms. We will be connecting this flight controller to our Raspberry Pi and using PX4's offboard control features to control the flight of DogCopter.
Brushless DC motors are a kind of motor that flips the direction of current in internal coils to spin the output shaft. Unlike brushed DC motors, you cannot apply a constant voltage to the motor and expect a consistent speed. Instead, the direction of current needs to be controlled, which is done either with an ESC or an Odrive. ESCs (Electronic Speed Controllers) are used to make brushless motors spin at a constant speed. Odrives are used to set the motor to a specific position (like a servo).
