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Cheap Drone Swarm

Development of a cost-effective drone swarm system.

Drones Swarm Robotics Cost Optimization Prototyping Lead Engineer Jan 2022 - Jun 2022
Cheap Drone Swarm

The Challenge

Creating a functional drone swarm requires expensive hardware. The challenge was to develop a system that is cost-effective enough to be scalable while maintaining reliability.

The Approach

Designed and built a fleet of low-cost drones using off-the-shelf components and custom-printed parts. Implemented a decentralized control algorithm to manage the swarm behavior.

The Results

Successfully demonstrated a functional swarm of drones capable of coordinated flight at a fraction of the cost of commercial alternatives.

Overview

The Cheap Drone Swarm project aimed to democratize access to swarm robotics research by lowering the barrier to entry. By utilizing readily available, low-cost components, we were able to create a platform that is accessible to hobbyists and researchers alike.

Key Features

  • Low Cost per Unit: optimized for affordability without sacrificing essential flight characteristics.
  • Scalable Architecture: The system is designed to easily add more drones to the swarm.
  • Open Source Hardware: All frame designs and component lists are open for community modification.

Future Work

Future iterations will focus on integrating more advanced sensors for obstacle avoidance and implementing more complex swarm behaviors such as cooperative mapping and search and rescue patterns.