Hello there, I am currently having to construct a mini-ornithopter for a Research and Development module project in school and am new to arduino entirely. I am intending to construct a basic ornithopter that can fly while being controlled with a phone via bluetooth with a humidity and temperature sensor.
We will be given a motor as well as a Blend Micro Arduino. If time permits, I am hoping to implement a live-audio streaming too where audio will be collection with the arduino and transmitted to a phone or laptop too.
I have spoken to more experienced seniors and they have recommended that I try this out with the Blend Micro Arduino as well as an electret microphone with an in-built amplifier and simply connect a humidity & temperature sensor onto the arduino microcontroller. They have advised that I connect the electret microphone with a transistor, diode and prototyping board; and then connect it to the arduino. Following that, I may then use appinventor to code the phone side. Do you think this can work out?
As weight will be a crucial component to this project's success, I am thinking of using drone batteries.
I was wondering where I should start, for example, learning to code on an arduino or building the circuitry? Is this project feasible for a time limit of 2-3 months? I would like to ask if someone could tell me if this project of mine is feasible, and maybe suggest the proper components/schematics I may use to refer for the purpose.
I am absolutely new to this and really have to jump into it, hence I would really appreciate any advice that any of you veterans may provide.
Assuming you simply buy the airframe itself, so you only have to worry about the payload of an Arduino, you'll be fine in that time span. Building a drone from scratch is a whole different ballgame.
Go for a Pro Mini (not that easy to work with but the lightest and probably most power efficient of them all), with suitable wireless link such as bluetooth if the distance is not too much.
I don't know if Arduino can handle audio, actually I doubt it. Low quality maybe, and just passing through, no processing for sure.
If you really need to save on weight, look into the ATtiny line. They run fine on a button cell. Doesn't get much lighter than that when still using off the shelf parts.
wvmarle:
If you really need to save on weight, look into the ATtiny line.
An Attiny 1634 is nearly as powerful as an Atmega 328 but in a smaller package (than the DIP version of the 328) that is still big enough for hand soldering if you are careful. This is how I have built one with an nRf24L01+ transceiver.
If you need a really small wireless/Arduino package (and are prepared to pay about £30) have a look at these Deltang units.
Most of them use Atmega 328s and can, with a bit of effort, be programmed with the Arduino system. I used some of them in N-Gauge model trains.
Another thing to consider if weight is an issue is an ESP8266-12 module. It combines WiFi and a microprocessor in a single package. The MCU is much faster than a 16MHz Arduino. The downside is that they have fewer I/O pins.
The ESP32 is the big brother of the ESP8266. A really powerful processor, but of course it costs about double. I don't think you need that much processing power but you should be able to do some sound processing on it. It's got 28 IO pins vs. 11 for the ESP8266.
This, and the ATtiny, can be programmed using the Arduino IDE. The ATtiny will need a special programmer, such as an Arduino (Uno, Pro Micro, Mini, etc. all will do). They're pretty hard to debug (no Serial) so especially as you're a beginner I'd suggest you to not use them until you're sure you need the extra small size. For now it's most important for you to be aware of their existence.
When it comes to small soldering, today I tried to solder an VSSOP8 package onto a breakout board (0.65 mm lead pitch). Super tiny! Worked out fine. Waiting for a number of ATtinys to come in, that are SSOP packages but later hope to switch to VSSOP. Smaller is better.
