Overview

Hermes is designed to function as the base flight control system responsible for guidance, navigation and control of a fixed-wing UAV - but general enough for most other vehicles.

Aims

• Design a complete flight control system from scratch (hardware, software, control systems, navigation algorithms, ground control station, etc..)
• Goal: Complete system consisting of standardised hardware and basic but robust software framework.
• Focus on developing and testing novel algorithms - not writing low-level code!

Hardware Requirements

• Standard set of sensors (e.g. IMU, barometer & airspeed sensor)
• Expansion and interface capabilities via various IOs.
• Power distribution for servos.
• Processing power.
• Affordability!

Hardware Specification

Bill of Materials

S/N	Component	Qty	Description	Unit Price (CAD)	Price (CAD)
1	RP2040	2	Flight Control Computer: Main MCU for polling IMU and Radio PPM for control loop Navigation Computer: Secondary MCU handling onboard guidance & navigation algorithms + extras	$1.45	$2.90
2	Invensense MPU6050	1	6DOF MEMS IMU (Gyroscope + Accelerometer)	$3.50	$3.50
3	NXP MPL3115A2	1	Absolute pressure sensor with an I²C digital interface	$3.50	$3.50

Datasheets

• RP2040
  • Dual ARM Cortex-M0+ @ 133MHz
• MPU6050
  • 6-axis MotionTracking device that combines a 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer, and a Digital Motion Processor™ (DMP)
• MPL3115A2
  • I²C precision pressure sensor with altimetry

Block Diagram

Next Steps

A list of a few things to complete:

• [100%] Telemetry and messaging protocol.
• [100%] Aircraft modelling, control system design and implementation.
• [100%] Higher-level firmware (state machine, guidance algorithms, etc.)
• [100%] Low-level firmware (e.g. device drivers and interfaces).
• [100%] State Estimation (Madgwick & Kalman filters).
• [100%] Ground control station.

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