MINDS-i-Drone

Advanced library for the MINDS-i Drone platform

To use the library, install it with the arduino library manager or manually add it to your sketchbook/libraries folder.

Setting up your Quadcopter

1. Install your motors in the following configuration:

   ^ Forward ^
   .->-.   .-<-.
   | 3 |   | 1 |
   .-<-\ ^ /->-.
         XXX
         XXX
   .-<-/   \->-.
   | 2 |   | 4 |
   .->-.   .-<-.
   

   Output Channel	Position	Direction
   1	Front Right	Counter Clockwise
   2	Back Left	Counter Clockwise
   3	Front Left	Clockwise
   4	Back Right	Clockwise

2. Plug in your radio in the following configuration:

   Action	Input Channel	Receiver
   Pitch	1	Elevator
   Roll	2	Aileron
   Throttle	3	Throttle
   Yaw	4	Rudder
   Mode	5	Gear/Mode

3. With your APM installed in the quadcopter, upload CalibrateSensors.ino (examples/MINDS-i-Drone/CalibrateSensors), open the serial monitor, and follow the onscreen instructions.

4. Upload CalibrateESCs.ino (examples/MINDS-i-Drone/CalibrateESCs), unplug the quadcopter, and power it on with a fully charged battery. Wait for the motors to finish arming, then unplug the battery.

5. Upload quadcopter.ino (examples/MINDS-i-Drone/quadcopter). The drone's settings will be set to defaults the first time the quadcopter is run after quadcopter.ino is uploaded. They are persistent inbetween flights.

• Never plug the quadcopter into the computer while propellers are installed.

Operating your Quadcopter

1. Turn on your radio transmitter.
2. Install a fully charged battery and set the quadcopter down.
3. Optionally, launch the MINDS-i Dashboard and connect it using a telemetry radio. The dashboard can be used to view, graph, and log live telemetry as well as configure the drone's onboard settings and display error messages.
4. To arm, hold the radio throttle stick down and the yaw stick all the way to the right for 2 seconds. If the quadcopter refuses to arm, check the error message display on the MINDS-i dashboard.
5. The drone will calibrate its inertial sensors for 2 seconds; it must remain as still as possible during this time. When it is ready to fly, the motors should begin to spin slowly.
6. To disarm, hold the throttle stick down and the yaw stick left.

• When flying with the Mode/Gear switch down, you will have manual control over the quadcopter. With the gear switch up, it will switch to assisted mode. In assisted mode the quadcopter will hold its elevation automatically using the barometer; hold the throttle at 50% to keep its current elevation, move it up to ascend, and move it down to descend. If the "GPS assist" setting is enabled (true by default) then assisted mode will also attempt to hold the quadcopter in its current position laterally when the right radio stick is centered, giving manual control back when the right stick is moved away from its center position.

• Always take off with the Mode/Gear switch down, and only use it to activate assisted flight mode when the quadcopter is stable and hovering

Updates

When pushing updates, make sure to update the version in both library.properties and version.h