How to make an...
Arduino Auto-Leveling Quadcopter
A Step-By-Step Guide Written by Eric Sherman
Introduction
My Story
If you want to build a cool quadcopter that self balances itself and listens to your commands then you might want spend some time here. This instructable that will tell you everything you need to know in order to receive major bragging rights once you build a six hundred millimeter diameter quadcopter. My name is Eric Sherman, a Princeton Day School senior. Quadcopters are extremely hard to build and can create a lot of challenges, even for the experienced. Having self-taught myself how to build one , I understand how confusing and frustrating a project like this can be and I hope my guide will ease that frustration. Although it took me some time to finally understand most of what goes into building a quadcopter, I think it is within anyone’s reach who dedicates a lot of time into it. Building a quadcopter is challenging and will take a lot of time. In order to quicken the process a little bit, all of my materials can be ordered off of Amazon and are eligible for Amazon Prime. Additionally, be aware that building a quadcopter is NOT cheap. Although it still will shave off three hundred to five hundred dollars for a manufactured drone, this drone is not equipped with an expensive camera. However, if you desire, attaching a small lightweight Go Pro to this drone should not be difficult. The estimated cost of this build is approximately four hundred dollars but that price decreases significantly if you already have the equipment required for soldering, taking care of the battery, and wiring circuits.
As mentioned before, I attend Princeton Day School. At the end of every year, all of the seniors embark on a four week long learning experience. It allows seniors to take on a self-designed project that expands their knowledge on a certain subject or activity that benefits both themselves and the community. Being really passionate about electronics, building a drone was the perfect project for me. I have learned a ton of new techniques during this build such as soldering, something I have not done prior to this. Looking back, I have poured a lot of hours into making this quadcopter a reality and I want to share some of the knowledge I have gained with the community, so that you too, could enjoy electronics as much as I do. Electronics allows one to creatively build and design whatever they like and with our current technology, the projects are endless. I would like to thank Princeton Day School for sharing all of their resources. I would also like to give a huge thanks to Jonathan Tatkon-Coker for his extensive knowledge and assist during this project.
