Close

Rethinking Things

A project log for Drone Swarm

Drones of varying complexity swarm an area, forming a distributed sensor and actuator network.

les-hallLes Hall 03/13/2015 at 03:020 Comments

After giving the project some thought, I made some practical decisions. First, the concept of a dual environs vehicle is cool but overly challenging. Second, I want to get started and build something that works sooner rather than later (not wait for the move to occur in a month or two). Third, I get $60 in cash next week to spend on toys. Fourth, what the heck is that mock-up thing I made, a flying box that rolls on the ground? Puhleeze do a reality check on yourself, Lester!

Well the utility of the box was an exercise in making parts fit on my 3D printer and also fitting a circuit board into the mix. great, so I did that and had fun doing it, but really... really... shouldn't the car be COOL? I mean, shouldn't it look like a lead sled from the 1930's or some other rad vehicle? Of course it should!

So I took stock in my parts and decided to spend the $60 at a local Radio Shack. I have heard that Radio Shack has begun to offer quality parts for fair prices, unlike the rip-off days of the past, and since my moolah is cash, why not give them a shot. I'll need an inexpensive solder kit, some motors, and maybe i'll shop around for more sensors or switches because as it is with only motors and a 3 axis accelerometer, sensing of the environment will be king of bumpy, as in bumping into things, lol!

Also I just realized that the filament i have is this beautiful translucent green and some small amount of translucent purple, plus the LEDs I have are red. These are nice Christmas colors so I will maybe think of something Christmassy for the theme.

I'll be back to report more later.

Les


Discussions