<p>Max Doherty – [email protected] Quad-Copter Development Board.</p><p>Background In the past open-source quad-copter flight boards have been built to operate with arduino open-source microprocessors as their base.</p><p>That scheme offered a rich code base with many input-output pins on which researchers could develop.</p><p>Because of the limitations in Arduinos' AVR microprocessors' power, recent and thus most up-to-date flight boards are custom creations using 32bit processors.</p><p>These faster processors are necessary to achieve the speed (200Hz) necessary to process sensor data into usable telemetry.</p><p>For researchers, these boards create many limitations including: code is harder to update, IO pins are fully or mostly accounted for, and they are not compatible with Arduino shields and accessories.</p><p>Recent advances Arduino released Due microcontroller based on 32bit ARM processor.</p><p>New chips such as MPU-9150 offer integrated sensor fusion</p><p>Goal Design and build a sensor and control shield for the Arduino Due that utilizes the latest systems to create a platform suitable to quad-copter research.</p><p>Port existing quad-copter code base to use sensor fusion data and ARM processor for increased performance.</p><p>Benefits of this system Being able to off-load speed requirements allows for more complex algorithms to be run on the CPU while still minimizing sensor drift.</p><p>The Due brings a plethora of research advantages including faster clock speed and more memory, as well as built-in handling for many additional peripherals including USART, TWI, PWM, CAN, USB, and HSMCI.</p><p>These advances would allow for more stable flight and better interaction with the environment.</p>