Safety Checklist

These are the checks TA's will do before attempting to test any new mode on your drone. Make sure these always work when you work on new modes.

  • In safe mode, your motors should always have an RPM of 0
  • You cannot enter other modes from safe mode if your joystick input is non-zero (eg throttle, steering)
  • The following buttons should make your drone go to panic mode
    • Joystick fire button
    • Escape (keyboard)
    • Space bar
    • keyboard 1 (not numpad 1)
  • The following scenarios should have your drone enter panic mode
    • Disconnecting joystick
    • Disconnecting cable from drone
  • Finally make sure that you use the LED on the board to indicate panic mode
  • In panic mode your motors should equalize and gradually ramp down to zero.

Safety Guidelines

A quadcopter is a complicated piece of equipment integrating engineering materials, electronics, mechanics, aerodynamics, high frequency radio and embedded software. Correct installation and operation are a must in order to prevent any accidents from taking place. Therefore you should follow the following safety rules:

  1. Keep the quadcopters away from people and obstacles. The quad rotors are quite agile and can move at considerable speed. Therefore, it is best to keep them as far away from other people as possible. Also, keep away from obstacles that are either expensive or accident-prone (such as high-tension lines).
  2. For initial testing hold the quadcopter in one hand, and use the other hand for operating the (joystick); never have another student pilot the quadcopter.
  3. Make sure the quadcopter is held whenever your code is running on it to avoid it taking off on its own by accident.
  4. Keep the quadcopters way from humidity, as this will affect the electronics and result in unpredictable behavior or a crashes.
  5. Always fly under direct supervision of a TA. Flying a quadcopter can be difficult, especially when your software isn't yet fully functional.
  6. Do not operate a quad rotor if you are tired or in any other sense less acute than normally. Loss of attention can result in crashes and consequential damage. When you fly a drone, keep a line of sight to it.
  7. Keep the quadcopters and the batteries away from heat sources.
  8. Make sure you test your code carefully before you fly it on a drone, to prevent crashes. Do not fly a drone directly, after large or untested updates to your software.
  9. Always check the quadcopter before flight: during flight, parts vibrate and may loosen, such as little screws, the battery connection, or the propeller-holding nuts. Verify before the flight that there are no loose parts, in order to prevent erratic behavior.
  10. Keep the rotating blades away from other people and do not try to touch them as they can cause deep cuts.
  11. Wear safety goggles any time your code is running on the drone, to prevent damage to your eyes.

Battery Safety Guidelines

  1. The LiPo batteries: if used wrongly they can ignite and even explode, for instance when overcharged. Do not use them outside the range of -20 ◦C to 60 ◦C, the voltage should never go below 3 V per battery cell neither should it go above 4.2 V per cell during charging. Avoid serious impact on the batteries and do not use sharp objects on it. Do not short circuit the battery’s wires by, e.g., cutting them with scissors. Store the batteries at room temperature (19 ◦C - 25 ◦C).
  2. Charge and discharge the LiPo battery with caution, adhering to the guidelines for 3-cell LiPo operation