think ppl think..can this really b done?

patata · 2011-03-25T19:31:09+00:00

a friend and i plan to design and fabricate a sort of home radar/tracking system.the objective goes like this.there is a dark room and we are flying a remote controlled helicopter(a small one).it is desired that a radar/tracking system placed on the floor should track it,follow it and hit it with ping pong balls.now how to go about.we need to keeep this whole thing as simple as it could be. we had an idea.make a hexagonal mirror drum.which rotates both in the vertical plane and the horizontal plane.360 degrees in the vertical and about 30-40 in the horizontal.rotation achieved by servo motors/stepper etc...we will position a laser beam and focus it on this rotating drum.this will scatter the laser rays in the whole room.any random ray striking the helicopter will illuminate it and a camera fitted on the rotating drum will lock the target,follow it.the rotation should stop now.and the feedback signal to a micro controller will do the analysis and fire the balls.gear trains needed..calculation of gear ratios needed.etc.what do u say?how credibile is dis?.got any other idea.please help me with an embodiment.thank u.

think ppl think..can this really b done?

patata
@patata-aqA0h9

Updated: Mar 25, 2011

Views: 1.1K

a friend and i plan to design and fabricate a sort of home radar/tracking system.the objective goes like this.there is a dark room and we are flying a remote controlled helicopter(a small one).it is desired that a radar/tracking system placed on the floor should track it,follow it and hit it with ping pong balls.now how to go about.we need to keeep this whole thing as simple as it could be.

we had an idea.make a hexagonal mirror drum.which rotates both in the vertical plane and the horizontal plane.360 degrees in the vertical and about 30-40 in the horizontal.rotation achieved by servo motors/stepper etc...we will position a laser beam and focus it on this rotating drum.this will scatter the laser rays in the whole room.any random ray striking the helicopter will illuminate it and a camera fitted on the rotating drum will lock the target,follow it.the rotation should stop now.and the feedback signal to a micro controller will do the analysis and fire the balls.gear trains needed..calculation of gear ratios needed.etc.what do u say?how credibile is dis?.got any other idea.please help me with an embodiment.thank u.

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er.vyas

Member • Mar 25, 2011

I didnt have any hint yet... but I will sure work om it

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Amith Gupta

Member • Mar 27, 2011

yeah.. it might work.. is the system going to be controlled manually.. like is it that u are going to fire thise balls coz the camera can select any odd targets.. be clear a little bit in this field

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patata

Member • Mar 29, 2011

the objective is not to strictly do this in a room.it is aimed to b done in an open sky..think of this system places on the ground..and above it(1 km)..in a balcony we fly a toy helicopter in any direction..this rotating head makes a three dimensional or spatial region saturated with laser beams(all reflected)...when this copter enters this area...the beam or beamS strike...a spot occcurs..and a camera on the ground captures and locks this location/co ordinate and and now follows the copter where ever it goes.

hmmm ..one thing more...do u know any software/program which can make me a simulation of such a system..such dat i focus a laser beam(which is on the ground and the angle of elevation.say,30 degree) at the front face(say 6 in by 6 in) of the hexagonal head.now...i set the rotation at 1 degreee per step(using a stepper motor) ,anticlockwise(i want the laser lite to b reflected UPWARDS,skywards).so the front face rotates 1 degree anti....and so on..this software should draw/generate the whole reflected profile.ie. the region of sky illuminated by these reflected laser beams...
what do u think will b the effect if i increase the RPM,use a DC motor which rotates at a constant RPM(no steps),increase the number of faces.ie.take a decagonal drum,octagonal etc...?...

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Ramani Aswath

Member • Apr 3, 2011

patata
any random ray striking the helicopter will illuminate it and a camera fitted on the rotating drum will lock the target,follow it.the rotation should stop now.and the feedback signal to a micro controller will do the analysis and fire the balls.
Is this for use only in the dark? Laser beams randomly shooting around can blind people enemy or friend. You may be better off with two regular radars on a triangulation scheme.

Bioramani

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gohm

Member • Apr 5, 2011

Your motorized drum would the the biggest concern as it would need to be both accurate and fast to be able to successfully track and follow a r/c helicopter. What are your thoughts in this regard so far? Sounds like a great idea to expirement with.

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patata

Member • Apr 11, 2011

yea....absolutely correct...the motorized drum is the biiggest concern...wat RPm,stepper/DC/servo motor?size of the rotating drum,,mass,dimensions of each face,hexagon/pentagon/decagon?...which will give the maximum area in the sky with the maximum density.....etc etc.....

how to go about it...and oh yes.....will one laser suffice? there has to BE a minimum angle at which the reflected beams shud be at maximum so as to avoid striking trees,people nearby etc

a similar mechanism is employed in a laser printer but is only one axis rotation...this system should rotate in two axis....

i have got the mechanism....how can i attach the jpg here?

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