PiDrone: An Autonomous Educational Drone Using Raspberry Pi and Python

A compelling robotics course begins with a compelling robot. We introduce a new low-cost aerial educational platform, the PiDrone, along with an associated college-level introductory robotics course. In a series of projects, students incrementally build, program, and test their own drones to create an autonomous aircraft capable of using a downward facing RGB camera and infrared distance sensor to visually localize and maintain position. The PiDrone runs Python and the Robotics Operating System (ROS) framework on an onboard Raspberry Pi, providing an accessible and inexpensive platform for introducing students to robotics. Students can use any web and SSH capable computer as a base station and programming platform. The projects and supplementary homeworks introduce PID control, state estimation, and high-level planning, giving students the opportunity to exercise their new skills in an exciting long-term project.