Gumstix Quadrotor Control Algorithm Design

Gumstix Inc, based in San Jose, California, USA, designs, manufactures and distributes open-source products based on Texas Instruments and Marvell applications processors that are known for their small size, wide range of function, and low power requirements. The company designs a range of computer-on-module products (COM), which are a type of embedded single board computer (SBC). In 2012, the company investigated the feasibility of converting one of its daughterboard for their Overo series robotics microcontroller boards, RoboVero, to replace a quadrotor autopilot controller based on Gumstix technology, called Lisa/L, which recently went out of production. In this new application, the RoboVero device would be expected to perform intensive computations, such as mapping, localization, and planning. The RoboVero microcontroller would handle flight controls based on input from a Gumstix microprocessor, called Overo.

Danny Chan, a coop student from University of Waterloo, was asked to determine its viability of a Gumstix RoboVero expansion board as a controls board, or autopilot board, for a quadrotor.