Terrain Following Drone

Published on 19 May 2022. Written by Dineshkumar E

Drones are getting advanced day by day and their usage also increased in various fields. With the help of drones, you can able to accomplish various types of missions by spending less. In this drone project, we will discuss how to build a drone with terrain following mode using the Mission Planner software.

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SLNOTE


Terrain following mode - This mode enables the drone to automatically detect and change the height while flying. The terrain data is determined with the help of sensors like Sonar or Lidar otherwise using the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) data provided by the Mission Planner using mapping services such as Google maps.

Project Implementation

The first step is to build a drone with conventional Quad-X configuration. To make the fabrication process easy and cost-effective Quad is selected. Choose the motors and propellers based on the AUW (All Up Weight) of the Quad. Generally, for a normal Quad, the AUW will be 2 Kg so the required thrust is 4 Kg based on the 2:1 thrust to weight ratio. Select the motors based on the thrust requirement. Following are the components selected based on the thrust requirement:

• EMAX MT2216 810KV Brushless motor
• 5 inch propeller (Clockwise and Counterclockwise)
• 2200 mAh LiPo battery
• 30A Electronic Speed Controller
• Pixhawk 2.4.8 flight controller
• FS-i6 transmitter and receiver
• Radio telemetry (Air and Ground)
• Power module
• GPS module

SLLATEST
Miscellaneous components: If you want to get more accurate altitude data you can use Rangefinder sensors like sonar or lidar. If the sensors are not used it will take the altitude data with the help of terrain map and barometer sensor.

Build the frame by considering the propeller diameter and leave at least 3-4 inches clearance between each propeller to prevent the collision and to reduce the interference drag. Fix all the components to the frame and make the connections to the flight controller board.

Let’s upload the firmware to the flight controller using the mission planner software. After uploading the firmware perform the calibration of the accelerometer sensor, gyroscope sensor, Magnetometer, GPS, transmitter, etc. Don’t fix the propeller while performing the calibration.

You can perform the calibration of the flight controller both wirelessly (radio telemetry) and wired (micro USB).

If you are using Range finder sensors the data will be used for modes like Pos Hold, Alt hold, loiter, etc. The data will be used until it reaches the maximum value after it switches to the barometer.

Enable the TERRAIN_ENABLE parameter to 1 and click write parameters. Now, plan the mission by keeping the altitude to terrain. “Alt” values are the altitude above terrain level. Write the waypoints to the flight controller and change the flight mode to auto and start the mission as usual.

Failsafe - While performing the mission if the sensors didn’t provide terrain data, the drone will go to RTL mode with default altitude settings and will head to the home location.

While giving the initial take-off altitude consider the obstacles in the path and provide the appropriate altitude in the mission planner.

SLDYK
Kit required to develop Terrain Following Drone:

• bldc motor
• Propeller
• ESC

Technologies you will learn by working on Terrain Following Drone:

• Automation
• Wireless
• Embedded Systems
• Aerodynamics
• Drone
• Aeronautical
• Electronic

Any Questions?