u/Ok-Committee-3731

Hello everyone,

For a drone project, I'm planning to use INAV on a GEP-F722-HD V2 - GEPRC and a Blueson A2 6S 65A 4-in-1 ESC - Sequre.

The drone is intended for indoor use and will be controlled by AI on a PC via ESP32 (there will be an ESP32 on the drone that communicates with the PC via Wi-Fi, and the AI ​​sends commands to the ESP32, which then sends them to the flight controller via Mavlink).

From what I understand, GPS is useless for INAV indoors. Is there a way to replace the GPS with sensors better suited for indoor use and to work on a local map, such as a plan of the area where the drone is flying?

Hello everyone,

I'm an embedded systems student, and I have a final year project:

- We want to create two drones and a base station (which will be a PC).

- These are surveillance drones. They are designed to be simple, able to stabilize themselves, move, send data to the PC (sensors and camera), and receive commands via AI.

- The AI ​​must control the drones, plan patrols, analyze the videos/photos sent by the drones, and notify a human agent in case of an anomaly (I've planned for the drone to pass through once, record images, and then compare the photos when it passes through the same area again).

There are four of us, we have a budget of €150, and seven weeks. I've been working for a few days on the list of materials needed to design the drone, and I've finally come up with the following:

- 3D printed chassis

Price: €0 / 50g

- Screws + mounting bracket Electronics on chassis (please specify the number and type)

Price: … euros

- Heat shrink tubing for insulation (negligible)

Price: 1 euro

- Wiring: (negligible, we can provide the necessary materials)

Male/Female = …

Male/Male = …

Female/Female = …

Price: … euros

- USB-C to USB-C cable for ESP32 to FC

Price: ~2 euros

- Propellers (x4): 2 clockwise (CW) and 2 counterclockwise (CCW)

~€1-5 x 4

- Motor: BSC2207.5 FPV Motor, 1750KV

Price: €12.90 x 4 / 35.3g x 4

- Complete FC+ESC Kit: SpeedyBee F405 V5 30x30 + ESC

Price: €72.26 (from manufacturer's website) / 28g

- ESP32 Wroom Module + ESP Cam Camera

Price: €2-5 / 8g

- Homemade Sonar (ultrasonic + servo motor)

Price: €1 + €2 / 15g + 9g

- GPS:

-> With compass: Sequre M10-25Q GPS

Price: €18.90

-> Without compass: Sequre M10-12Q GPS

Price: €16.90 / 2.3g

Power Supply:

- Battery: 6S 1300mAh 100C LiPo

CNHL Black Series 6S 1300mAh 130C LiPo Battery XT60 V2

Price: €24 / 223g

Software:

- Ardupilot + guided mode recommended

- VSC

- Python

Estimated Price: €172.76

Estimated Weight: 476.5g + 10% = 524.15g

5 inches (equivalent to a chassis with a 210-250mm diagonal)

Here are my problems:

- The more I progress, the more I realize how ambitious the project is, and given everything I've said here, I'm thinking we're closer to "how far can we go" than "can we finish the project on time?" What do you think? What? Is it even feasible?

- The current drone is way over budget. I need help figuring out if, given my goals, the drone as is is necessary and I have to make do with it, or if I can look for cheaper components. Do you have any advice or component recommendations?

Thanks for reading my post and thanks in advance for your help!

Hello everyone,

I already mentioned my project in another post, but after doing some research, I have a question about flight controllers, specifically the F4 and F7. We have a budget of at least €100 per drone and we want to build two. Initially, I wanted to get an F7 because I thought it would be the most suitable for the project. We want to build a drone that uses a camera and sends information via ESP32 to a PC that acts as a station. On the PC, we'll have an AI that will control the drones, analyze the videos, plan the patrols, etc.

I've seen that the F7 seems the most suitable in terms of performance, UART ports, and also the signal inversion feature, which isn't present on the F4. Ultimately, I found the SpeedyBee F405, which seems to offer a good compromise regarding the previous issues and the price. I'd like your opinion on which version to choose: V3 or V4? Given that V5 isn't supported by ArduPilot and that V3 is known, from what I've seen, for some rather annoying problems, V4 seems like the obvious choice, but I'd still like your opinion on this and on the drone itself.

For an AI-controlled drone, would an F4 be sufficient, or is it more realistic to go with an F7?

Edit : I have another question about ESC, I find the ESC supplied with the SpeedyBee F405V5 too expensive. Is there a way to buy a cheaper ESC and connect it? Would there be any compatibility issues? Am I forced to use the SpeedyBee's ESCs?