Supun Gamlath

After completing my ALs, I had the opportunity to channel my passion for innovation by embarking on a personal project: the construction of a remote-controlled quadcopter.
I chose a carbon fiber frame as the body and integrated brushless DC motors to ensure optimal weight to thrust ratio. Initially I used four 30A Electronic Speed Controllers (ESCs) to control the motors, but it was a challenge to upgrade them to the DShot control protocol and they added extra weight to the quadcopter as well. So I decided to use an All-in-One (AIO) Flight Controller which challenging as I needed to solder many wires in a confined space. Despite the initial hurdles in soldering and assembly, the decision paid off, reducing both the total cost and weight, in addition to making it easier to upgrade the software. To establish seamless communication, I constructed the transmitter and receiver using NRF24L01 radio modules and with Arduino Pro Mini boards. Going the extra mile, I expanded functionality of the flight controller with features like position hold and return home, utilizing an HMC5883L compass and a uBlox NEO-6M GPS module. The quadcopter was flashed with BetaFlight software, while the transceivers were programmed using Arduino.
This project not only improved my technical skills but also improved my capacity for self-directed learning using online resources.