Drones are the newest frontier for the DIY/maker community, and you don't need to be a technical expert to build one. John Baichtal, the #1 author of hardware hacking books for beginners, will teach you all the skills you need.

First, Baichtal shows you the amazing drones others have built. Then, he walks you through several complete projects: quadcopters, UAVs, ROVs, and more. Not ready to start from scratch? No problem: Baichtal helps you choose from today's best new kits.

Hundreds of full-color step-by-step photos teach you every step, every skill. When you're ready for more advanced concepts, Baichtal explains them in plain English.

Discover what drones are and why they're so exciting
Explore today's most imaginative projects, from 3D-printed mini quadcopters to floating robot armies
Compare kits, from $200 up: Parallax ELEV-8, DJI Phantom 2 Vision+, OpenROV, Actobotics Nomad, Brooklyn Aerodrome Flack, and more
Create your own practical Drone Builder's Workbench
Build complete rocket, blimp, waterborne, and automotive drones
Construct both fully autonomous and radio-controlled drones
Choose and assemble your chassis (airframe), motor, props, flight control, power system, accessories, and software
Integrate Arduino to make radio-controlled drones operate autonomously
Teach a drone to navigate via RFID tags
Learn all the basic electronics and programming you'll need

Autorentext

John Baichtal has written or edited over a dozen books, including the award-winning Cult of LEGO (No Starch Press, 2011), LEGO hacker bible Make: LEGO and Arduino Projects (Maker Media, 2012) with Adam Wolf and Matthew Beckler, Robot Builder (Que, 2014), and Basic Robot Building with LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (Que, 2012). His most recent book is Maker Pro (Maker Media, 2014), a collection of essays and interviews describing life as a professional maker. John lives in Minneapolis with his wife and three children.

Inhalt

Introduction xiii Who This Book Is For xiii How This Book Is Organized xiii

Chapter 1 A History of Drones 1 What Is a Drone? 2 Three Terrrains 3 Anatomy of a Drone 5 Summary 7

Chapter 2 Showcase of Cool DIY Drones 9 Bicycle Rim Quadcopter 9 3D-Printed Mini Quadcopter 9 Clothesline Racer 11 Vessels 11 Radio-Controlled Blimp 12 FPV Quadcopter 12 Open RC Trike 14 Foldable Quadcopter 14 Mini-Quadcopter 15 3D-Printed RC Boat 16 Tricopter 17 Mecanum Wheel Rover 18 Summary 19

Chapter 3 Overview of Commercial Drones and Kits 21 Parallax ELEV-8 Quadcopter 21 DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ 24 OpenROV 26 Actobotics Nomad 29 Brooklyn Aerodrome Flack 31 Summary 34

Chapter 4 Building a Quadcopter I: Choosing an Airframe 35 Which Airframe? 35 Choosing Between Commercial Options 37 Making Your Own Airframe 38 Project #1: MakerBeam Airframe 41 MakerBeam 41 Parts 43 Steps 44 Summary 50

Chapter 5 Rocket Drone Project 51 Amateur Model Rocketry 51 Quick-and-Dirty Arduino Guide 54 Project #2: Data-Gathering Rocket 60 Parts for Building the Data-Gathering Rocket 60 Steps for Building the Data-Gathering Rocket 61 Programming the Payload 65 Summary 67

Chapter 6 Building a Quadcopter II: Motors and Props 69 Choose Your Motors 70 Outrunner Versus Inrunner 70 Brushed Versus Brushless 71 AC Versus DC 72 Choose Your Propellers 73 Prop Adapters 74 Project #3: Attach the Props and Motors 75 Parts 76 Steps for Attaching the Props and Motors 77 Summary 80

Chapter 7 Blimp Drone Project 81 Radio Control 81 Transmitters 82 Receivers 83 ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) 83 Project #4: Blimp Drone 84 Parts 85 Arduino Parts 86 Steps 86 Autonomous Control with an Arduino 99 Code 100 Summary 102

Chapter 8 Building a Quadcopter III: Flight Control 103 Know Your ESCs 103 Common ESCs 105 Programming ESCs 106 Receiver 109 Flight Controller 110 Flight Controller Examples 111 Installing the Flight Electronics 114 Parts 114 Installing the ESCs 114 Installing the Flight Controller 114 Installing the Receiver 116 Summary 116

Chapter 9 Drone Builder's Workbench 117 Design It 117 Drive It 118 Measure It 120 Cut It 120 Wire It 121 Attach It 123 CNC It 124 Summary 126

Chapter 10 Building a Quadcopter IV: Power Systems 127 Choosing a Battery 128 Battery Types 128 Adding Bullet Connectors 130 Why Bullet Connectors? 130 Parts List 130 Steps for Adding Bullet Connectors 131 Assembling the Wiring Harness 137 Parts 138 Steps for Assembling the Wiring Harness 138 Wiring the Flight Controller and Receiver 143 Summary 145

Chapter 11 Waterborne Drone Project 147 Realities of Waterborne Electronics 148 Disadvantages of Waterborne Electronics 148 Advantages of Waterborne Electronics 148 Waterproofing Your Electronics 149 Sandwich Container 150 Pelican 1000-Series 151 Sealing a Tube 152 XBee Mesh Networking 153 Project: Soda Bottle Boat 154 Parts 155 Building the Drone 156 Building the Controller 166 Programming the Soda Bottle Boat 170 Summary 172

Chapter 12 Building a Quadcopter V: Accessories 173 Add Accessories to Your Quadcopter 174 Camera 174 First-Person Video (FPV) 175 Landing Gear 176 Parachute 176 Protective Plate or Dome 177 Prop Guards 178 Project: Adding Accessories to the Quadcopter 179 Install the Camera Mount 180 Install the Landing Gear 184 Install the Top Plate 186 Summary 189

Chapter 13 Making a Rover 191 Advantages and Disadvantages of Rovers 192 Advantages of Rovers 192 Disadvantages of Rovers 192 Chassis Options 193 3D Printed 193 Tamiya 194 mBot 194 Arduino Robot 195 Actobotics Bogie 196 Navigating with Radio Frequency Identification Tags 197 Project: RFID-Navigating Rover 199 Parts 200 Steps 200 Programming the RFID-Navigating Rover 217 Summary 220

Chapter 14 Building a Quadcopter VI: Software 221 Flight Control Software 222 OpenPilot 222 MultiWii 223 APM Planner 2.0 223 eMotion 224 AR.Freeflight 224 3DR Solo App 226 Configuring the MultiWii 226 Examining the MultiWii Control Sketch 228 Pre-Flight Checklist 229 Summary 230

Glossary 231

Index 237