Drones
are a complex amalgamation of mechanics, hardware and software. Many drone
users are not aware of the inner systems that combine to form a drone. Nor are
they aware of the individual workings of the components. Today I will discuss
the different drone components and provide an overview of the different
components needed to run a drone.
As
highly complex technological gadgets, drones have several main components:
Body
The
body of a drone comprises of a fuselage, plane wings, tail rotor and canopy, multi-rotor
frame and arms.
Power supply
with corresponding platform
Smaller
drones usually fly on batteries while the larger ones use fuel or even solar
power.
Computer
operations
Drones’
hardware systems are constantly being specialized, operation numbers increased
and accelerated in order to support operating system with no failures.
Sensors
There
are three types of sensor: proprioceptive, exteroceptive and exproprioceptive.
Actuators
Installed
actuators are determined by the type of drone (several electronic controllers,
engines, propellers and other)
Software
Uninterrupted
flight is enabled with installed software safely leading the drone on its way
and giving the information where to go and when to react.
Loop principles
Open
loops for elementary types and closed loops for larger and more sophisticated
systems.
Flight controls
They
are similar to a regular, aerial vehicle flown by a pilot. However the
automatic flight control is much more demanding.
Telecommunications
The
connection is quite regular (antenna and analog-digital converter) and enables
the transmission of data needed for flight to proceed. Radio signal can be
transmitted from a ground control, a remote system as well as another manned
aerial vehicle.
UAV software
As
drone software is the brain of the drone we have to explain how it works. Drone´s
software is designed to tell the drone where to go and what to do while flying
from A to B. In order to understand and connect all necessary information of
the drone, the software part becomes a very complex system. The software installed
in the drone operates in a layer like system. Furthermore, the layers are
divided into tiers which perform in various time slots. The layers have to be combined
properly to control the flight patterns, altitude and other important
information for drone to work and act accurately. This combination of layers is
called the flight stack or autopilot. Many surveys and inquiries have been
conducted and they all have a very firm indication i.e. it doesn´t matter if
the drones have different efficiency or mission complexities, they all need effective
operating components. The received information has to be analyzed during the
flight. In order to achieve unified component’s communication a generic
architecture must be designed and promoted.
While
the onboard system itself is not enough, external middleware and operating
system are necessary.
Software
layers are:
·
Firmware
·
Middleware
·
Operating
system.
The
requirements of firmware and middleware are time critical. The requirement of the
operating system is computer intensive.
Firmware
operates from machine code to processor and afterward to memory access.
Middleware
conducts flight control, navigation and telecommunication.
Operating
system monitors optic flow, avoids interference while SLAM searches for the
solution and decides what the action according to received information would
be.
Open
source stacks will considerably assist in finding solutions for drone industry,
globally speaking. New, improved drone applications will have to be reliable,
rapid and flexible in order to meet all new demands and requirements of the
future UAV industry.
Listed
below are some of civil-use open-source stacks:
·
KKMultiCopter
·
ArduCopter
·
DroneCode
·
MultiWii
·
BaseFlight
·
CleanFlight
·
BetaFlight
·
RaceFlight
·
Paparazzi
·
OpenPilot
Copter Control
·
TauLabs
·
CrazyFlie
Following
are poplular UAV software serious pilots and UAV service providers should consider
using:
Pix4D:
This
is professional software used for drone based mapping. This takes pictures
taken from drones and converts them into maps and models. It comes in handy in
a range of industries ranging from construction and mining to inspection and
environmental monitoring, from agriculture and emergency response to aerial
photography and real estate. Not only, that, the company of this software has a
plethora of knowledge and information from all the mapping done and is ready to
provide you with accurate analysis and insights.
3dr:
It
is a company which makes it easier for the users and developers to run drones.
The great thing is that its source code is open to public. So, developers and
drone lovers from all over the globe can tweak its components according to
their wishes and designs. It also has an app name 3dr Solo App. Along with a live camera view, it also provides with
a detailed satellite overview. It makes it easier to adjust the flight control
settings and play with the camera angles. Not only that, it has a quick support
service. Just submit a ticket and you will get a response within no time. It is
available on the App Store as well Google Play.
Microdrones:
Microdrones
has two major software up its sleeve. The first one is mdCockpit and the second one is called mdFlightSim.
mdCockpit:
It
has three major functions. The first is for planning of the flight, the second
receives data from the flight and the last one carries out analysis of the
flight data.
mdFlightSim:
This
serves the purpose of flight training without really flying the drones. It is
for those who are new to drone flying and do not want to risk their drones due
to their inexperience. The software provides them with real life scenarios
although on their computer screen. Once they are sure they can operate it without
crashing it down, they can then go in the real world and fly their drones.
The
UAV industry is rapidly evolving almost on a daily basis, its expansion can be
detected not only in military but also in journalism, delivering packages,
helping firefighters, surveillance, filming industry and many more.
According
to several global forecasts, even though drones are going to be a big part of
our life in the future, the main market for UAV will remain military. So, it is
mandatory for the users to have a thorough understanding of the internal
workings of the drone. So much so, some universities have even started offering
degrees dedicated entirely to drone flying.
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