REAL Drone 400

An open-source autonomous quadrotor drone built by the NEU REAL Lab, with a high-load, stable-localization design for autonomous obstacle avoidance flight.

Drone
No license: all rights reserved by the creator
ROS
3D printable

Suggested by Robotheca, created by @NEU-REAL (opens in a new tab), from github.com/NEU-REAL/REAL_DRONE_400 (opens in a new tab). Pinned to commit d8a6c22 (opens in a new tab).

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Hardware license: No license
Software license: No license
Commercial use: Unknown

No license is stated for part of this robot.

The creator chose the hardware and software licenses on Robotheca; the repository has no license file for them yet.

Some folders have their own license: src/planner/drone_detect/ (BSD-3-Clause), src/realflight_modules/px4ctrl/ (GPL-3.0-only), src/realflight_modules/realsense-ros/ (Apache-2.0), src/utils/DecompROS/ (BSD-3-Clause).

This repository contains executable files that Robotheca doesn't check. Only run them if you trust the creator.

Which files (26 scripts, 2 firmware images)

Its license doesn't let Robotheca show its photos.

See the photos on GitHub

Commercial use is not confirmed for this robot, so no preview is stored. View the STEP files on GitHub (opens in a new tab)

What it can do

Written by Robotheca from the project's documents.

Autonomous flight with obstacle avoidance in unknown environments, planned with Ego-Planner
Automatic takeoff, hover position control and automatic landing
Position control by remote controller in a DJI-like manner after takeoff
Uses high-frequency radar-based localization output (/Odom_high_freq) for positioning
Upgraded large-payload version of the Fast-Drone-250 platform

Bill of materials

This repository has no parts list Robotheca can read yet.

Build guide

The creator's steps, each with its instructions.

1Introduction to the drone and electrical connections
2Power distribution board soldering
3Drone assembly and flight controller setup
4PX4_Ctrl FSM and real-drone hover flight
5Perception and planning with real-drone flight

The creator's guide is written in Chinese. It has no license, so all rights stay with the creator: Robotheca doesn't show it here or translate it, and gives its own notes about the robot instead.

Read the creator's guide Ask the creator on GitHub

Wiring and electronics

Notes written by Robotheca from the project's documents.

Main parts

Holybro KakuteH7 Mini flight controller running PX4
Four-in-one electronic speed controller (ESC), recommended with PWM400 output
Brushless motors with propellers (propellers must be removed during motor direction checks)
Battery with a short-circuit protector recommended for first power-up
Remote controller with multiple channels (channels 5 and 6 used for mode switching)
Sensing module with radar/localization sensors

Connections

ESC input power lines must have parallel electrolytic capacitors and be at least 14AWG, 12AWG recommended to match the battery
Power positive and negative solder pads should be checked for shorts with a multimeter before first power-up
Motor direction is reversed by swapping two of the three motor connection wires

Project information

Difficulty: Advanced
Estimated cost: Not stated
Buildability: 50/100Buildable with some effort
Parts: –
Tools: soldering iron, multimeter, 3D printer, dfu-util, Ubuntu computer, QGroundControl

Buildability50/100

Buildable with some effort

How complete the published files are for rebuilding this robot, measured by Robotheca at commit d8a6c22. It isn't a rating of the robot.

3D and CAD files20/20
13 printable parts (STL, 3MF), 26 CAD source files.
Robot description0/15
No URDF.
Add a URDF: the robot can then be seen in 3D and tried in the browser.
Parts list0/20
No parts list in the repository or linked.
Most points to gain: Link to your parts list, or add it to the repository (a CSV or a Markdown table) with quantities, prices and where to buy each part.
Software15/15
Code in this repository, instructions to install or run it, built on ros.
Documentation15/15
README of 2,877 characters with 10 pictures; 5 build steps.
Simulation0/5
No simulation files.
Add a simulation model (MuJoCo, Gazebo, Webots or Isaac).
Licenses0/10
Hardware: no license; software: no license.
Add a license for the hardware (e.g. CERN-OHL-S-2.0 or CC-BY-SA-4.0). Add a license for the software (e.g. MIT or Apache-2.0).

Software

Framework: ROS
Languages: C++, C, Python, Shell, MATLAB / Objective-C
License: NONE

The code

How to run it

Written by Robotheca from the project's documents.

Flash the flight controller bootloader on Ubuntu with dfu-util, holding the button while plugging in USB Type-C
Flash PX4 firmware through the QGroundControl firmware page, using the PX4 package included in the repository, version 1.14 beta (not stable)
Copy the scripts from the home_shfiles folder to the home directory
Run sh start_sensor.sh, sh start_mapping.sh and check rostopic echo /Odom_high_freq
Run sh start_run_ctrl.sh and sh start_takeoff.sh to take off; adjust hover_percent if needed
Run sh start_land.sh to land
For Ego-Planner: run sh start_planner.sh and sh start_rviz.sh, then select goal points with G key and left mouse click

Robotheca doesn't review code. Read it before running it.

Project files

Every file of the project: code, CAD, electronics, guides, at commit d8a6c22.

Community

Questions and improvements go to the creator's repository.

Photo