Flight Controller Programing

The flight controller is the brain of a drone. A small box filled with intelligent electronics and software, which monitors and controls everything the drone does. And just like the brains of different organisms, flight controllers also vary in sizes and complexity.

What does a flight controller for drones do?

Perception (sensing)

The flight controller is connected to a set of sensors. These sensors give the flight controller information about like its height, orientation, and speed. Common sensors include an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for determining the angular speed and acceleration, a barometer for the height, and distance sensors for detecting obstacles.

Controlling

Aside from sensing what’s going on, a flight controller… unsurprisingly controls the motion of the drone. The drone can rotate and accelerate by creating speed differences between each of its four motors. The flight controller uses the data gathered by the sensors to calculate the desired speed for each of the four motors. The flight controller sends this desired speed to the Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC’s), which translates this desired speed into a signal that the motors can understand.

Communicating

A key part of a flight controller is communication. A part of the sensor’s job is to give out information that needs to be translated clearly for a pilot to read, which means efficiently. An obvious thing to communicate is its battery level, which can decide if a pilot wants to fly further or return to the charge.

What I do is to program these flight controllers to help your system achieve autonomy.

A fully programed fixed Wing drone programed to perform a survey mission.(Software in The Loop)