simQuad is a lightweight Quadcopter simulation and control algorithm testing program built in python for quick evaluation of control strategies for an (ill-modeled) quadcopter. This program by no means compensates for ill-models, it's sole task is to perform reasonable non-linear simulation of Quadcopter dynamics with a control law specified by the programmer and produce an Isometric 3D wireframe animation.

simQuad uses

• matplotlib to perform the 3D plotting, specifically uses the Artist.FuncAnimation() to create a Quadcopter-animation object.
• DynamicsEngine This is just a set of differential equations that approximately model the physics of the quadcopter. We just increment the timestep and generate the position and orientation vectors for the quadcopter. Thanks to Andrew Gibiansky's amazing blogpost. {Need Documentation to describe this!}.

• wxPython
• matplotlib
• NumPy
• Tkinter is Python's default GUI package, it should be available in the standard Python installation.

@devs install necessary packages via Synaptic package manager on Ubuntu and create another .md (markdown) file with tutorials, links, reference/manual pages for these packages.

• FuncAnimation works fine, it is fast enough for our simulations.
• Simulation dynamics complete.
• Developing (θ-based)PID based control strategy and implementation in python and C++ (for the arduino).

See todo.md

• Develop ω-based PID control (simpler than θ-based).
• Develop (θ+ω) hybrid PID control.
• Develop multiple LTI(Linear Time Invariant) controllers for various behaviours(hover, hold-altitude, hold-pitch/roll, yaw, launch, land, ...).
• Compare PID with LTI.
• Develop hybrid Sliding-Mode LTI controller, building on the work of previous step.
• Develop non-Linear Time Invariant (nLTI) controllers. {not in Coursera video list}
• Solve Localisation and Trajectory planning.

Major project decisions need to be well documented, that is, reasoned. Documentation need not be actual "e-documents", but video demos, pictures, screenshots, pictures of hand-written text, audio, etc.

This is primarily to create a formal history that can be not only passed on to project interns or new (noob junior) project members. It also serves a noble secondary aim, it honestly tracks the progress of the project and forms a basis to evaluate efficiency of group members. Thirdly, your document is a formal contribution to the project (a single doc can have multiple authors).

Such files need to be archived chronologically into a

• web-format (html or whatever). A chronological index page with links to "documents".
  • Need to discuss with Sourav Jaiswal on this.
• any better format?

{@Ananya: Where is your doc? You've made a zillion decisions already.}