Drone Building Crash Course and Campus Tour at Scaler School of Technology

Introduction

• Location: Scaler School of Technologies offline campus
• Objective: Learn how to build a drone using off-the-shelf components

Campus Tour

Concept of SS (Scaler School)

• Designed with input from industry leaders (Microsoft, Amazon)
• Emphasis on practical, industry-relevant skills

Facilities

• Innovation Labs
• Classrooms
• Robotics Drone Lab
• AR/VR, AI/ML, IoT Labs

Introduction to Drone Building

Meet the Team

• Team of 20-year-old brilliant students
• Working on the drone project for the last two months

Plan for the Day

1. Demonstrate the flight capability of the drone
2. Breakdown the drone to teach components and functions
3. Practical flight session and explanation for a layman

Components and Functionality

Flying the Drone

• Controller basics: Throttle, Roll, Pitch
• Safety precautions during flight

Autonomous Capabilities

• Equipped with Raspberry Pi and flight control system
• Uses Lidar sensor and camera for navigation
• Explained Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging): Measures distance by calculating light travel time

Detailed Breakdown of the Drone

Motors and Propellers

• Cost of components: Motor (₹600), Propeller fan (₹50)
• Controlled by Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC)
  • ESC: Controls RPM of the motor based on signals from flight controller

Flight Controller: Pixhawk

• Manages communication between ESC and motors

Radio Telemetry and Receiver

• Facilitates communication between drone and laptop/controller

Lidar and Camera Module

• LiDAR module: Forward-facing, creates 3D map
• Autonomous driving: Instructs drone via on-board Raspberry Pi
• Object detection with ML model capable of fire detection
  • Process: Takes visual inputs, processes image, detects fire, minimizes error via PID control

Lab Tour and Additional Projects

Vision Pro Projects

• Home renovation visualization using AR
• Mesh reconstruction and video implementations

Quadruped Bot Project

• Integration with Robot Operating System (ROS)
• Potential for consumer robotics and reskinning

Student Experience and Opportunities

Admission Process

• Entrance exam: NSE (Net), involves math and personal interview
• Emphasizes learning ability and logical reasoning

Student Insights

• Blend of various tech skills like AI, ML, XR, Unity, Robotics
• Emphasis on experimentation and practical learning

Conclusion

• Scaler School promotes combining tech skills to solve real-world problems

• Practical learning approach with industry-relevant projects

• Encouragement to apply and explore technological innovations

• For more information, visit the Scaler School of Technology's website