Hey /diy/, I posted a similar thread in /g/ but to no avail, so I come to you.
What would you suggest to a total novice who wants to get into electronics? I have a few ideas I'd like to build (e.g an auto-tracking drone that uses a GoPro, like the HEXO), but I don't know where to start and what to look at. I'm primarily interested in:
Developing the software that runs these electronics (e.g. using the camera's live video feed, to auto-track the subject)
The software needed to control them, which probably falls under app design as the products I want to make will be controlled from your phone.
Developing the hardware itself, so the sort of electronics used in r/c products such as drones, small sized motors, servos etc.
All I want is nudges in the right direction and suggestions, basically where to start.
>>1008108
That's amazing thank you, I completely overlooked it!
Last question: what sort of programming language, is appropriate for this sort of work (controlling and interacting with electronics)?
>>1008118
A.) you are baiting us
B.) you are baiting us
C.) Learn the basics, what is voltage, what is current, what component does what.
D.) you are baiting us
Choose one.
greetings from germany
>>1008141
Not baiting, I literally am THAT ignorant on the subject (as made abundantly clear in my OP). Last time I dealt with electronics were the Velleman kits they used to give us in high-school.
Still, I don't see how that affects questions like what types of programming I should focus on etc? I don't want to waste my time when I could use a focused approach.
Viele Gruesse aus Grossbritannien
>>1008179
For basic electronics, there is the sticky.
You can build regular R/C quadcopters easy now, it's basically just modules that bolt together. Beware of the "volcanic" battery charging issues....
For Android phone programming, the software you use is called Android Studio, it's a free download from Google, and the language it uses is Java. There is work-arounds to use other languages, but it's easier to just use Java. There are youtube videos showing how to make programs in Android Studio; if you understand object-oriented programming it isn't anything particularly difficult.
iPhone has its own software too, I dunno much about that.
I've seen ~$100 quadcopters that can do the "circling" thing and circle-through-GPS-points, but I dunno how they work (is the GPS navigation running on the quadcopter microcontroller? Or is it run on the phone, and just transmitting flight inputs to the quadcopter?) None of the owners of the few I've seen knew much about the technical details. This would make sense to me because it off-loads a lot of computing work to the phone instead of on the quadcopter, but I dunno really.
,,,,
The $1000 DJI Phantom quadcopters probably have some kind of custom electronics, but I doubt that the $100 Styrofoam cheapies have anything special in them.
>>1008198
Yep, I'm going to look at the sticky but thanks a lot for those tips it's exactly what I was wondering about. How much time do you think it takes to go from utter novice to being competent at this sort of thing? (i.e writing your own code and building your stuff)
>Or is it run on the phone, and just transmitting flight inputs to the quadcopter?)..This would make sense to me because it off-loads a lot of computing work to the phone instead of on the quadcopter, but I dunno really.
That's exactly what I was thinking and it's how I was planning to do it on my design as well. It makes no sense to add weight and cost to your drone when you have a highly capable computer in your hands. It also limits the work on the side of the developer to programming, rather than having to program AND engineer the extra components.
>>1008179
>ignorant
Yes you are, now go fucking learn you filthy piece of ignorant shit. Searchengine is you friend you ignorant fucktard. Also you'd better stop already because for a ignorant guy like you a project like this will take at least 2 years if you'd know a bit, and have some persistence. But if you are not smart or persistent enough to use searchengine you're certainly not smart enough to learn about shit and implement shit within your lifetime.
>>1008217
you're fucking stupid man, just don't begin at all
I've started getting interested in this sort of thing as well. I have numerous different projects I would love to complete.
For the programming side of things I'm going with Matlab. It is a well supported commercial product with modules available for things like machine vision and image analysis. It talks well with arduino and is possible to compile scripts executables to run on almost any platform. The cost is very reasonable, (I went with student version for $120 roo dollars but there are pirate versions available if you are a poor fag. I only got the software yesterday, and are just starting to learn the basics, so I don't have any real idealist how easy it is. The versatility is appealing to me, as well as the fact that it is used commercially by engineers, so could help with the career one day.
>>1008217
If you actually wanted to design all of the software for the drone, it might take you years. Since you seem to know nothing about electronics and software development I would not suggest you even start trying to build a drone yet. Start with something small with electronics and maybe play around with an arduino.
