Project: Build Your Drone


The goal of this project is to assemble your drone and test it with the solution code. We will provide parts, and you will also need a basestation (laptop).

Base Station

We are aiming to work with Mac, GNU/Linux, or Windows. We use and can recommend GNU/Linux running Ubuntu 14.04. The base station is used to connect to and give commands to the drone and does not need to be particularly high performance. However you should be comfortable typing and coding using it. If you are a Brown student taking the course and do not have such a basestation, talk to us and we will provide one that you can borrow for the semester.

Where to work

You are free to work on this project wherever and whenever you like! We recommend resources like the Brown Design Workshop, CIT121, and the Internet of Things lab on the 8th floor of the scili (where hours are held). Communal parts, tools, and guidacne will be available in the Internet of Things (IoT) lab during open hours 1pm - 7pm weekdays and during office hours and lab hours.

Checkoff

Throughout the project are checkoff points where you will come show us your drone. You can come to office hours to get checked off, and we will also provide special lab hours for checkoff and help with the project.

We will check the following things:

  1. Solder joins. (Shorts? Mechanical failure?)
  2. Motors are correct orientation.
  3. Camera in the right spot.
  4. IR in the right spot.