3DR Solo Obstacle Avoidance

fpvsteve · Nov 20, 2017

Here is my first solution for obstacle avoidance with Solo.
The solution will be constantly enhanced.
For details pls see my git: GitHub - mtbsteve/3DR-Solo-Object-Avoidance

Video:

DaveB · Nov 20, 2017

Super damm cool, way to go man.

IrishmanPDX · Nov 20, 2017

Pretty awesome! Also if we can make the camera look like googly eyes, then we have the worlds cutest drone to sell at Christmas time........ what? I think it's awesome... I'm just saying "Cuteness" add's a huge marketing factor...

sky_high · Nov 22, 2017

WOW that's very awesome. And it looks cool too. I am currently bench testing the same sort of solution with my LW20.

After looking over the github page, I have a few questions, if you don't mind.

What servo did you use? I have a cheap Corona DS919-MG on the way just for testing.

Also, one of the difficulties that I always seem to come across with trying to integrate sensors with Solo is how to mount them. Did you have to drill into the body for that? How exactly did you mount the servo? What kind of hardware? Did you use the 3D printed bracket provided by Lightware? It's hard to see from the video, but the mounting looks very clean. I like it. Almost like part of the drone.

Solo is finally beginning to live up to its full potential.

Awesome.

fpvsteve · Nov 22, 2017

Let me try to answer

I am using a Savöx digital servo with carbonite gear. Expensive, but the servo is under constant movement during scanning and thus subject to excessive wear. Savox Servos - Built For Performance

I printed a servo mount which is attached to the front with double sided scotch tape. Th LW20 is mounted on the servo by using the Lightware servo mount. You find the stl file on the Lightware homepage.

sky_high · Nov 22, 2017

Great, thanks. I have the .stl file.

I love the LW20. It wieghs less than a 9V battery. I just wish it came with a heavier gauge wire.

I look forward to completing this upgrade.

Appreciate the info

fpvsteve · Nov 23, 2017

Good luck with your build! Please share your experience.
Mine works nicely, but I found a glitch today- apparently the servo sends some EMI noise into the gimbal. I experienced some jitters on the yaw axis when the scanner is turned on. Need to finetune a bit.

sky_high · Nov 23, 2017

Not sure what it is about Solo's UARTs, but I have also seen intermittent interference with the gimbal when conversing over serial2. I think the gimbal port is shared with serial5, so I'm not sure why this is the case, but I can confirm that it happens to me too.

I'm not quite near any flight testing yet, but interested in your results, fligh times, additional current draw, etc.

Good luck.

fpvsteve · Nov 24, 2017

Gimbal is not shared with Serial 5 to my knowledge. But we need to drill down this issue further. It would be a bummer if it had something to do with the UARTs.

Additional current draw is only slightly increased. I haven’t measured it, but I would expect something around ~0.3 Amps for the servo and the Arduino.

sky_high · Nov 24, 2017

Yes, it would.

Hopefully the rest of my parts should arrive next week, so I can get this mounted before the weater gets to crappy.

Best of luck. Keep meposted.

Deleted member 12467 · Nov 25, 2017

This is awesome guys! I use my Solo for my home inspection business, so I'm not about to hack it. But when the bugs are exterminated, if someone would put together a plug-n-play kit I would definitely be in the market for this mod. About how much did this cost you guys to do?

sky_high · Nov 25, 2017

It's about a 300.00 mod.

fpvsteve · Nov 26, 2017

It’s getting better. No more jitters on the gimbal. I think I found the issue. I had a LCD display connected to the I2C bus of the Arduino for debugging. Apparently that collided with the Firmata enabled communication over the USB bus. I now removed all LCD code and drivers and the feed became stable again. The collision detection works pretty reliable now.
For the up to date code please see the link to my git in the OP.

IrishmanPDX · Nov 27, 2017

So when are you selling the add on kit?

fpvsteve · Nov 27, 2017

IrishmanPDX said:
So when are you selling the add on kit?

I am happy to share the results, code, how to’s and so on with everyone who is interested in rebuilding but I have no commercial intentions. Solo is an amazing platform, there is more to come.

sky_high · Nov 27, 2017

I only wish it was that easy.

XevetS · Nov 27, 2017

fpvsteve said:
It’s getting better. No more jitters on the gimbal. I think I found the issue. I had a LCD display connected to the I2C bus of the Arduino for debugging. Apparently that collided with the Firmata enabled communication over the USB bus. I now removed all LCD code and drivers and the feed became stable again. The collision detection works pretty reliable now.
For the up to date code please see the link to my git in the OP.

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Just a small suggestion instead of flying the drone coming right at you hopping around trying to avoid the spinning blades of death. Just show a more practical view/video such as flying close to an "inanimate object" and the reaction caused by flying close to an inanimate object. Its much safer, concise and to the point. And you wont get hurt to boot..being safe is paramount.

You did an Awesome Job/implementation you need to pitch this to all the Pros making a living using the solo, its very well thought out and the concept alone could be very lucrative for you..

fpvsteve · Nov 28, 2017

XevetS said:
Just a small suggestion instead of flying the drone coming right at you hopping around trying to avoid the spinning blades of death. Just show a more practical view/video such as flying close to an "inanimate object" and the reaction caused by flying close to an inanimate object. Its much safer, concise and to the point. And you wont get hurt to boot..being safe is paramount.

You did an Awesome Job/implementation you need to pitch this to all the Pros making a living using the solo, its very well thought out and the concept alone could be very lucrative for you..

Thanks - but no worries - I was testing the system responsiveness towards moving targets (aka Me) since inanimate objects works fine already. I am all safe and there will be more to come ;-)

fpvsteve · Dec 3, 2017

Kelly just added custom messages to the new Solex release!
So I could implement speech output for obstacle detection to the code.

sky_high · Dec 3, 2017

fpvsteve said:
Kelly just added custom messages to the new Solex release!
So I could implement speech output for obstacle detection to the code.

Very nice.. The voice alerts will be better for situational awareness.

Too busy last week with work to make much more progress on my mod just yet. Just got my Arduino on Friday. I have a servo on the way, but am looking for a more permanent, flexible mounting solution. I'm shooting for something that can satisfy FAA concerns about payloads and perhaps allow for different servo sizes.

Will let you know how the initial tests go.

Very Cool