PocketPC's and UAV's

[ecdmuppet]

In the engineering lab I'm working in, we've decided to use an HTC Apache to provide the brains for an unmanned air vehicle.

We've got a Thunder Tiger Raptor 90 as our vehicle platform. It's an RC competition stunt helicopter that runs about $2,000 off the shelf. It's about four feet long from nose to tail, and it's got a blade span bigger than most ceiling fans. It weighs about 20lbs, but as much horsepower as it puts out, I'd bet money that it could lift a small child off the ground. Here's a youtube clip of what the thing can do in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjfZUF6pJXQ

The pilot is not me. I can't even fly the thing in simulator yet, but I'm working on it.

So my project is to turn the thing into an autonomous drone. I seriously doubt that I'll be able to get it to repeat the things it's doing in the video in the course of my undergrad work, but I hope to be able to get the drone to hover and do basic maneuvers by the time I get my degree. I've got three years left after this semester, so I'm confident that I'll be able to make some progress.

Where the PocketPC comes in is simple. It's going to provide the processing power for doing the AI. It will provide the data connection with the ground to accept commands, it'll take in feedback from accelerometers, gyroscopes, and altutude sensors (once I program the microcontroller we're using to interface it all with USB), and if I can work it, I'll have some type of GPS reciever to help the drone navigate. I may have the lab buy a Vogue to play the guinea pig once the software's all written up, just to get the GPS capability built in.

This site's already been very helpful in the process. I'll probably use the PPCKitchen to write a completely stripped down OS for whatever PocketPC we use, and as the project progresses, I'll be using the more technical resources of this site to work out any issues I come up against in doing any programming that's needed.

Whadda ya think?

[psiphi]

I would use one of the newer WM6 devices that have accelerometers in them, and that weigh so much less... Sounds like a fun project... Are you considering using a SDIO interface at all? I'm not sure the USB port is a good choice drivers can be buggy (how else to expain the need to play with Advanced Nexworking Options)... I'd suggest all bluetooth, but its too expensive...

You could try using the phone as a wireless client to a Wi-Fi Access Point on a Server if you need a better processor...

Look forward to hearing more about this...