The Difference Between a Drone Flight Controller and Flight Computer

Drone completing obstacle course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r0fX_8A8ms
Autonomous drone with motion planning and computer vision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8frNNYQNV4

How exactly does an autonomous drone fly? This is a very broad overview of the difference between autonomous drone flight controllers and flight computers. Of course, not all autonomous drones are alike and there are exceptions, but this video covers the basics of why flight controllers are generally kept separate from flight computers used for autonomy on small drones. If you are a hobbyist or student looking to develop your own autonomous drone, this is a great place to start. Additionally, this video may serve as a good introduction to the behind-the-scenes computations and processes occurring in an autonomous drone flight controller and flight computer. With knowledge of these important concepts, you should begin to understand how to make your own self-flying drone.

Drone autonomy is an ever-expanding subject of interest because it can allow for more useful applications of small aerial vehicles such as autonomous package delivery, search and rescue, or specialized aerial photography. Aerial robotics also serves as a great challenge to undertake for those interested in robotics, particularly visual-inertial odometry which is crucial for autonomous navigation on flying vehicles. A combination of a good flight controller, flight computer, and sensor suite including LIDAR, cameras, or a combination of both can be a great starting point for creating a drone capable of autonomous flight. Nowadays, a raspberry pi, arduino microcontroller, and basic quadcopter platform can get you up and flying with the right custom or open source software.

Again, I would like to emphasize that this video is not comprehensive, and generalizes quite a bit. I am aware that not all systems follow this same framework. This video should serve more as an informative guide for hobby and research vehicles rather than an all-inclusive handbook.

#Drones #FlightController #Autonomy