We achieved 2nd place at the Drone Helix Competition held at SVNIT, Surat.
We built a drone that autonomously takes off, navigates to a GPS-marked location, drops a payload within 0.75 meters of accuracy, and returns to base — all without manual control.
Out of 38 participants, 11 teams made it to the final test flight round. Our team designed custom scripts on Raspberry Pi and used Mission Planner software for autonomous waypoint navigation during the live challenge.
Here is our system architecture –
- Hardware Integration
- Flight Controller: ArduPilot-based Cube Orange flight controller, which interfaces with DroneKit for mission planning and execution.
- Onboard Computer: A Raspberry Pi 4 to process image recognition and manage payload release mechanisms.
- Sensors: GPS for navigation, IMU for stability, Rangefinder for altitude control in confined takeoff/landing and a downward-facing Raspberry Pi camera for object detection and localization.
- Software Architecture
- Ground Station Communication: Utilizes MAVLink protocol over an RF Telemetry connection for real-time telemetry and command relay.
- Autonomous Control: Implemented using DroneKit’s API for guided mode, supporting takeoff, precise waypoint following, and landing.
- Payload Management: Custom scripts to control servos for payload release, ensuring accurate deployment on designated targets.
