Do It Yourself Arduino Quadcopter

Hello and welcome to my project of “Do It Yourself Arduino Quadcopter Tutorial Videos”.

In this tutorial series, I basically go over the details of how to setup your own Arduino based Quadcopter from scratch. This project surfaced from my engineering days at Carleton University when I was doing my fourth year project. My project involved optimizing an existing RC helicopter that would navigate around autonomously. The autonomous research was experimented on a tricopter test bed which gave me enough motivation to develop my own Quadcopter and derive my own flight controller.

Wiring Schematic

This tutorial series consists of 5 parts.

Introduction to this Project

In this video, I basically introduce you to the DIY Arduino Quadcopter Project where you’ll get to know what to expect and how to get started on building your own very first Quadcopter.

Part 1: Parts List

In this video, I summarize the detailed parts list that you would need to build your very first Quadcopter. This list is targeted towards a 450mm size Quadcopter, however the type of items listed is generic to all Arduino Quadcopters.

Part 2: Wiring Connection

In this video, I explain the wiring diagram that I created specifically for an Arduino based Quadcopter. All the wiring connections are explained in great detail covering each and every small item such as the ground connection of the gyroscopes to the use of diodes in the circuit.

Part 3: Testing and Parts Placement

In this video, I explain a basic setup to test your motors when they arrive and how would you go in planning and placing all the necessary parts to ensure a balanced and stable Quadcopter.

Part 4: Assembling the Quadcopter Parts

In this video, I go over assembling all the parts that needed a little bit of planning covered in Part 3 of this series.

Part 5 Connecting the Quadcopter Parts and Introduction to Programming

In this video, I explicitly show each and every wiring connection that you need to make to ensure all the vital components of the Quadcopter such as the receiver and the gyroscope are correctly connected to the Arduino Uno micro-controller. I also introduce you to Quadcopter Mechanics and Dynamics and slight touch base on integrating the equations of motion and PID controls  in your Quadcopter.

Credit: Due to proprietary reasons, I cannot share my code at this stage. However, please check  Project YMFC-AL – The Arduino auto-level quadcopter for a complete plug and play code that I have to tested to be working fine on this wiring connection of the Quadcopter. You could be required to tune to PID gains in the code.

I would like to give credit and acknowledgement to the following resources for helping me in understanding how Quadcopters work and the fundamentals of Arduino based Quadcopter models.

Quadcopter Dynamics, Simulation, and Control

Project YMFC-AL – The Arduino auto-level quadcopter

This is my first ever video tutorial project of the Arduino Uno based Quadcopter. Please like, share and subscribe to my channel for new and exciting cool science and engineering projects.

Thank You,
Chirag Sharma