Prop Shield 9dof sensor fusion with XBee wireless for r/c or model rockets

[radiohound]

I used off the shelf parts to build an orientation (attitude and altitude) transmitter that could be mounted in model rockets or r/c planes. It uses a pair of XBee Pro transceivers which are rated between one and two miles line of sight (depending on which type of pro model used). The teensy 3.2, XBee and Prop Shield were attached to a Teensy 3.1 XBee Adapter (from sparkfun). I currently have it displaying as a virtual rocket in a window of Processing.

Here is a short video of it working wirelessly

Here is some more info about the project: https://hackaday.io/project/15425-rocket-real-time-transponder-and-gui

3D rocket virtual display:



Added artificial horizon for R/C guys:


Video of artificial horizon with xbee wireless

 

[radiohound]

I got a chance to put it in a model rocket this weekend and got some good data.

The video shows the position of the rocket in realtime, as it receives telemetry at 100 hertz. As the rocket reaches a horizontal position, the parachute is deployed, causing the rocket to bounce around a bit, then settle in a nose down position as the parachute slowly brings it down. There is some interesting spinning occuring in one direction as it leaves the launch rod, then in the other as it goes to apogee.

The rocket went to about 2700 feet above ground level using a G-64 motor with 10 second ejection charge delay. I had purchased an Altus EasyMini altimeter to compare altimeter results. However, I received a dead EasyMini, so I don't have any data to compare it to. However, Aerotech, the manufacturer of the Arreaux model gives a 3,000 foot elevation using a G-64 motor. So with my extra 2.2 ounces of electronics and battery, 2,700 feet seems plausible.

Data file

 

[Cosford]

This is really cool, didn't think you'd be able to get enough data throughput through the XBee for 100Hz!
Any chance of some pics/video of the rocket itself?

 

[radiohound]

This is really cool, didn't think you'd be able to get enough data throughput through the XBee for 100Hz!
Any chance of some pics/video of the rocket itself?

Thanks,

I ended up using a XBee Pro SC2, which has twice the range, and twice the speed of the S1, plus it has the advantage of plugging in an external antenna. The SC2's have an RF baud rate of up to 250,000. For the base station, I used a directional panel mount antenna with 9db gain from a wifi bridge adapter I had.

Shown here is a picture of the cardboard and plastic rocket. It was build from an Aerotech kit, and weighs in at about 18 ounces with electronics and a loaded motor, and is about 44 inches tall.


The electronics and a little bit of padding fit in the nose cone, just barely. Rocket diameter is about 1.9 inches.


I had attempted my first video, using a small cheap video camera. But, as with first time use of just about anything, it didn't work out so well. I turned it off just before flight, thinking I was turning it on. Here is me setting up the leads to the ignitor, on launch pad #16. Date is not correct on camera, as you can see it is daytime. Launch was about 3:30 pm on 11/5/16