Blimp pre research

These are the responses to the questions posted by Prof Mason. I'll be installing the IDE software on my laptop tonight so I can bring it tomorrow...hopefully it does not over heat like it normally does. I noticed that there is a USB to TTL cable, so hopefully we have one of those. Other wise we'll need a computer that has a serial port.

1. Look up the interface to program the arduino on board(In the blimp duino docs).
- We can use the Arduino Pro IDE to upload new code. The code is available for free at Arduino.

2. Does the Arduino need need a ttl interface or is the inverter already board?
- The board comes without built-in USB circuitry, so an off-board USB-to-TTL serial convertor must be used to upload new code. This can be an FTDI TTL-232R-3V3 USB - TTL Level Serial Converter Cable, the SparkFun FTDI Basic Breakout Board, or any other USB to 3.3V TTL serial convertor.

3. How to mount the ultrasonic sensor on the board?
- It plugs in. Here is a picture of the orientation of the US sensor.

4. What does the program loaded on the Arduino by default do?
- The board comes preassembled and preprogrammed with two modes:
a. RC Mode
- The chip will auto detect an RC signal. After it’s been recognized, the RC controls will adjust the vectoring thrusters and spin speed for thrust, pitch, and lift.
b. Autonomous mode
- Putting it in this mode will have the blimp find it’s bearings and hover over the ground. Once the IR beacon has been activated and detected, it will try to move towards the beacon, adjusting lift to match the beacons height. If the signal is lost, it will go into standby and hover.

5. Find a link to the source for the program and post it here.
- Source code link ( you have to download and unzip it)

6. What is the RC protocol that is used?
- Not too sure what this means. I read though the blog posts on DIY and found that it runs on dual channel, one for thrust one for steering. We turn on the RC controller first, then activate the blimp. The blimp is preprogrammed to auto detect the RC.

7. Is it supported by the board?
- The RC mode works in tandem with autonomous. We can control the blimp via RC, and once we let go, the Arduino processor will kick in and operate.

8. How to mount all of this stuff on the blimp? (Look at the instructions)
- Tape. Lots of tape. For testing, we can just use regular tape/packaging tape to hold it up. To make it more permanent, we can Velcro the base of the board to the bottom of the blimp. When we fill the blimp with helium, we need to fill it about ¾, then attach the boards and continue to fill or add weights until it can support itself in midair. The blimp leaks over the course of a week, so we’ll need lots helium to refill ever week.


One more day!