Every summer, TI's Hans-MarTIn Hilbig invites his team members to a barbecue party at his residence in Landshut, Germany. However, his guests went there not just to eat. The climax of the whole event is the entertainment after dinner; every time, Hans-MarTIn will show his hobby and his treasured treasure, that is, his four-axis aircraft modified with TI products.
“I enjoy sharing the fun of technology with kids and my colleagues,†said Hans-Martin, project manager for the TI MSP430 team. “As an engineering design professional, we have a responsibility to show children the infinite possibilities of electronic devices and help them discover the fun that electronic devices bring to us.â€
For MSP system manager Tobias Leisgang and his 7- and 10-year-old sons, the summer barbecue is a very social event. “My two children have been looking forward to this event,†Tobias said.
Hans-Martin recently studied a drone that automatically retracts the landing gear after takeoff. This drone debuted at the DIY with TI event in Freising, Germany. In addition, TI held the same events in the United States, Germany, India and China.
Rising new height
In the previous DIY event, Hans-Martin has successfully tested a drone equipped with a remote GoPro camera, but this year's drone with an automatic telescopic landing gear device took his design to a whole new level.
“The main reason for the automatic retraction of the landing gear is because in wide-angle mode, the open landing gear blocks the camera's field of view,†he explained. "You can always see the eye-catching landing gear in the hard-to-find picture, which is very distressing."
The working mechanism of the automatic telescopic landing gear is based on an air pressure sensor connected to the MSP430 microcontroller, because the higher the drone flies, the lower the air pressure.
As the drone flies higher, the landing gear is automatically retracted when the air pressure drops to a certain level. When the drone falls to a low enough altitude, the air pressure rises above the threshold and the landing gear automatically deploys to prepare for the landing.
The equipment that controls the landing gear also automatically adjusts the tilt of the camera according to the flying height of the drone, so that it always maintains the best angle for shooting ground objects. For example, when shooting high altitude images, the camera will be more vertical, while at low altitudes, it will tend to At the level.
“I have limited hardware budgets and equipment components are not very adequate,†Hans-Martin said. “So I want to make the software work best.â€
“Because there is no more space on this quadcopter, I have to make every component as small as possible, so the whole transformation is done on a regular MSP430 LaunchPad using a custom PCB. Each component is a helicopter Load, and the more the load, the higher the energy consumption and the shorter the flight time in the air."
Longer flight time
Since the first contact with drones four years ago, achieving longer flight times has always been Hans-Martin's goal.
Once he went to Hong Kong for a business trip. During the lunch break, one of the TI team members took him to the street selling RC helicopters. When he saw the scene full of RC helicopters, he was a remote control aircraft. The fascinating Hans-Martin was completely shaken.
"I was really attracted to the scene there," he said.
Since then, Hans has become more fascinated by drones. He started with small, cheap RC RC helicopters and soon discovered the infinite possibilities of multi-axle helicopters.
Hans-Martin once said that there are many reasons to ignite his enthusiasm for this hobby, and the original reason is machinery. Although he is studying electrical engineering, like most engineers, Hans-Martin is also interested in this field in the process of being a child.
“I like to study mechanical knowledge, and this is an important part of drones,†he said. “But I am a little older now, and usually, I don’t have the opportunity to play with hardware at work. In my spare time. It’s a good thing for me to do this because I still have the heart of a young engineer."
However, Hans-Martin must first admit that the software is not entirely his professional field. He said that Energia just provides a suitable platform for geeks to focus on the solution without having to spend too much time on software development.
“LaunchPads and Energia are great platforms for rapid prototyping with TI MCUs,†he said.
Hans-Martin felt that it also gave him extra gains. He believes that manipulating a quadcopter is a good way to exercise your brain.
“I realized this in a lot of lessons and a lot of practice,†he said. “Manipulating multi-axis helicopters can train the mind.â€
"The operation of the drone doesn't seem to be difficult, because it only moves according to the instructions given by the operator. However, if you want to let it fly freely in the air, it will often become a mess."
Hans-Martin said that although it takes a lot of time, he is now able to manipulate the drone very freely, almost a process of conditioning. Of course, directing a small aircraft to fly safely at 40 miles per hour by remote control still requires a high concentration of attention.
“The drone usually only flies for a few minutes, and the longest flight takes about 11 minutes,†he said. “But you need to be fully engaged in these 11 minutes.â€
MSM Development Tools Manager Thomas Mitnacht, a member of Hans-Martin's team, said that Hans-Martin's work on drones actually has another bonus. That is, he is more aware that TI's technology is not just a patent for professionals.
“This gives him a deeper understanding of the most advanced technologies available today and insight into the latest developments in the industry,†Thomas said. “With a deep understanding of this, he is urging companies to focus more on those who like DIY. It is very likely that the next Jobs will appear among these people."
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