Developer Builds Compact Drone That Flies With One Propeller
publishers 37articles 57first reported 29 Sep, 09:00 UTCdeveloping since 29 Sep · 29 editions
Developer Joshua Bird has built a small drone that flies using a single motor and propeller, overcoming the stability and control problems that usually require helicopters and multicopters to use additional rotors.
The design uses a high-speed motor and a hinged propeller hub that rapidly changes the blades’ angle to control pitch and roll. Standard electronic speed controllers proved inadequate because they infer motor speed and position through back electromotive force rather than measuring them directly. Bird’s final prototype instead uses direct measurements and custom controller code to make extremely fast adjustments to motor speed.
The drone remained prone to losing its positional reference and crashing during development. Bird addressed that problem by installing an infrared beacon in the room and adding a sensor to the aircraft, giving it a fixed external reference while flying.
Project files have been published on GitHub. Planned revisions include adding a scanner that could identify environmental features and use them as reference points without relying on the indoor infrared beacon. That change could potentially allow the single-propeller aircraft to operate outdoors.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 3 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 439 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 37
- Source articles
- 57
- Given to the writer
- 8, 3 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 439 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →