Androquad

An Arduino-based quadrotor/multirotor flight controller built on the AeroQuad flight software platform. Originally developed circa 2013, this project targets the Arduino Mega 2560 with AeroQuad Shield v2.1 in a Hex-Y6 configuration.

Overview

Androquad addresses the challenge of agile, swing-free trajectory tracking for multi-rotor UAVs with suspended loads. The project focuses on:

• Modeling, designing routines, and state estimation for an industrial multi-rotor
• Self-protection and situational awareness
• PID-based flight control with multi-rate task scheduling (100Hz / 50Hz / 10Hz / 1Hz)
• Support for magnetometer heading hold and barometric altitude hold
• Camera stabilization
• Extensibility for both terrestrial and aerial robotic platforms

Architecture

androquad/
├── androquad.ino          # Main Arduino sketch (~1200 lines)
│                          #   - Platform-specific hardware abstraction
│                          #   - Multi-rate control loop (100/50/10/1 Hz)
│                          #   - Sensor initialization and processing
│                          #   - Flight control pipeline
├── UserConfiguration.h    # Build-time configuration header
│                          #   - Hardware board selection
│                          #   - Flight configuration (quad/hex/octo)
│                          #   - Sensor and feature enables
│                          #   - Receiver and telemetry settings
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Control Loop Architecture

Rate	Tasks
100 Hz	Gyro/Accel evaluation, kinematics, altitude estimation, flight control, GPS update, camera stabilization
50 Hz	Pilot command reading, RSSI, range finder updates
10 Hz	Magnetometer/heading (task 1), battery/telemetry (task 2), OSD/LED status (task 3)
1 Hz	MavLink heartbeat

Current Configuration

Parameter	Value
Board	Arduino Mega 2560 + AeroQuad Shield v2.1
Flight Config	Hex-Y6 (6 motors in Y6 layout)
Gyroscope	ITG-3200 (9DOF, alternate address)
Accelerometer	ADXL345 (9DOF)
Magnetometer	HMC5883L (SparkFun 9DOF)
Barometer	BMP085
Receiver	PPM (SERIAL_SUM_PPM_2, 8 channels)
ESC Rate	400 Hz
Features	Heading hold, barometric altitude hold, camera stabilization

Supported Hardware Platforms

• AeroQuad v1 / v1 IDG - Arduino Uno + AeroQuad Shield v1.7 and below
• AeroQuad v1.8 - Arduino Uno + AeroQuad Shield v1.8/1.9
• AeroQuad Mini - Arduino Pro Mini + Mini Shield v1.0
• AeroQuad Mega v1/v2/v2.1 - Arduino Mega + AeroQuad Shield variants
• AeroQuad Wii / Mega Wii - Arduino with Wii sensor boards
• ArduCopter (APM) - ArduPilot Mega with Oilpan
• CHR6DM variants - CHR6DM as IMU/heading reference
• AeroQuad STM32 - Baloo board (STM32-based)

Supported Flight Configurations

Config	Motors	Layout
quadXConfig	4	Quad X
quadPlusConfig	4	Quad +
quadY4Config	4	Quad Y4
triConfig	3	Tricopter
hexPlusConfig	6	Hex +
hexXConfig	6	Hex X
hexY6Config	6	Hex Y6 (currently active)
octoX8Config	8	Octo X8
octoXConfig	8	Octo X
octoPlusConfig	8	Octo +

Dependencies

This sketch requires the AeroQuad libraries to be installed in your Arduino libraries path. These are not included in this repository. Key dependencies:

• GlobalDefined.h, AeroQuad.h, PID.h, AQMath.h, FourthOrderFilter.h
• Gyroscope drivers: Gyroscope_ITG3200.h, Gyroscope_IDG_IDZ500.h, etc.
• Accelerometer drivers: Accelerometer_ADXL345.h, Accelerometer_BMA180.h, etc.
• Magnetometer drivers: Magnetometer_HMC5843.h, Magnetometer_HMC5883L.h
• Barometer drivers: BarometricSensor_BMP085.h
• Receiver drivers: Receiver_MEGA.h, Receiver_PPM.h, etc.
• Motor drivers: Motors_PWM_Timer.h, Motors_PWM.h, etc.
• Flight control processors: FlightControlHexY6.h, etc.

Getting Started (Legacy Arduino Build)

1. Install the Arduino IDE
2. Clone the AeroQuad libraries into your Arduino libraries/ folder
3. Clone this repository
4. Edit UserConfiguration.h to match your hardware:
   • Select your board (#define AeroQuadMega_v21, etc.)
   • Select your flight configuration (#define hexY6Config, etc.)
   • Enable/disable sensors and features
5. Open androquad.ino in Arduino IDE
6. Select Arduino Mega 2560 as the board
7. Compile and upload

Project Status

This project was originally developed ~12 years ago on the AeroQuad platform. It is now being revived with plans to migrate to ROS 2 for modern robotics integration. See ROADMAP.md for the planned evolution.

License

This project builds upon the open-source AeroQuad flight software. Please refer to the original AeroQuad project for licensing details.