Making a Follow Me drone using ArduPilot

It is super easy to build a Follow Me drone using ArduPilot. You just need to change some settings and buy a USB dongle, which is a GPS receiver. There are a few types of USB dongles that go with ArduPilot, but the official one to use is the GlobalSat ND-100S USB GPS dongle, or you can use a USB dongle or a GPS-embedded Bluetooth module such as the GlobalSat BT-368i Bluetooth GPS receiver. The following picture shows both types of modules:

You will also need telemetry for setting up the modules with the ArduPilot software. Setting up the modules is easy:

  1. Firstly, take your drone to a suitable place for flying and connect it via MAVLink using telemetry.
  2. Now, connect your USB dongle or Bluetooth receiver to your laptop.
Make sure the dongle is connected and powered from the USB port of your laptop.
  1. You can check if your module is working by using the software of the module you use, or the LED built on it.
  2. Set the GPS position locked before the take off or increasing the throttle speed. Now, gradually take off the drone and keep it at a sufficient altitude (I suggest at least 7-8 feet), and switch the flying mode to Loiter. For those who do not know what the Loiter mode is, you may check the upcumming note. This will lock the drone in to position.
  3. Now, on your Mission Planner software, go to the Flight Data Screen and right-click any position you want and select Fly to Here. If your drone flies to the place you just selected, then your Follow Me drone is almost ready.
  4. Now, if everything works, on the Mission Planner click Ctl+F or Command+F to open a setting and click the Follow Me button.
  5. When you click the Follow Me button, your computer will try to use the dongle you connected to it by showing a window, as follows:
  1. Select the proper COM port and the name of the device and click on Connect.
Loiter mode is an automatic mode in which the copter tries to maintain the current location, the altitude, and the heading. To do this, the copter must have a good GPS receiver. In this mode, the pilot feels safe as the hand is kind of released from the sticks of the controller. You can find the settings in the Mission Planner (Configuration | APM Copter | PIDs? | Loiter PID). There, you can set up the PIDs and speed as you want. To learn more about this, you can visit http://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/loiter-mode.html.
  1. Once you connect the USB dongle to the Mission Planner software, your drone will consider the dongle the Fly to Here location all the time.

Now, if you move with your laptop, your drone will follow your laptop. Your Follow Me drone is now ready. Why don't you walk a little bit and see if your air pet follows you? But, you might be wondering, why do I have to carry my laptop? Yes, this is irritating. You can walk with only the dongle, but the setting will be slightly different. Let's try another way of making your drone work like a Follow Me drone.

..................Content has been hidden....................

You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.
Reset
3.14.142.115