G+_John Foreman Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Originally shared by John Foreman To all the Know How quad copter gurus, I want to get started in quads. I'm a pretty good DIY kinda person and these things look fun. But, I want to do something a little more than just photo flying. I think it would be great to use a quad to be able to inspect AND clean my gutters. The video aspect can handle the inspection part, but for cleaning, I would require a scooping arm/hand. I do my own design work and have a 3D printer and a small desktop CNC mill. So figuring out the construction part shouldn't be a problem. I program also ( doesn't everyone now a days) and think it would be too cool to be able to make it autonomous. Imagine it flys up to the gutter, scoops out some leaves, flys down and dumps them in a bucket : repeat until gutters are clean. Anyway, I digress. In all of your expert opinions, how big of a quad would it take to pull this off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_610GARAGE Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 A big one. :) The biggest problem, in regards to weight, is the arm mechanism. Anything you build is going to be heavy. I wonder if it would be better to use some sort of vacuum system. You could also distribute the weight over two quads. So one quade would hold the hose and leaves, and the other quad would hold the vacuum and battery. They would just have to fly in sync. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Eddie Foy Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Yes weight and strength will be the limiting factor. (might be able to fly a propane torch and burn it out. :P ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_John Foreman Posted June 6, 2015 Author Share Posted June 6, 2015 I'm thinking an arm with a scoop the size of a hand, 3D printed shouldn't weigh so much the quad couldn't pick it up. Prints can be made strong without much weight. Hang it in the center of the quad so balance is under control. How much can a 450 lift? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_rob bennett Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 I'm picturing that scoop snagging on the hidden hangers that are every 18". Quad then slamming into roof rolling off and hanging upside down from said hook with broken props. I couldn't do it, but I'm sure it could be done with enough time and money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_John Foreman Posted June 6, 2015 Author Share Posted June 6, 2015 Now that would make a cool video. Lol. Let's think computer vision so we avoid the hangers. Can a quad be programmed to be really really stable to perform precision tasks? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_610GARAGE Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Yes, but they require a ton of cameras and have only been done inside, at least to my knowledge. If a gust of wind comes, your quade is not going to be very precise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Travis Hershberger Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 It might be doable, but you're probably going to want something a little bigger. Bigger normally means more stable, more weight for less flying time on the same battery. You can also use larger props that will increase stability as well. Just keep in mind that it's going to handle like an air tractor trailer. I've been considering a 600mm frame for my first build. For different reasons of course. My idea is to make a small gas powered generator that'll let me at least power the motors. That of course means a LOT more weight, but with 1855 props I should still be ok weight wise. If the motors can handle them I could probably move up to 20" props. Every little bit of gas I can carry in my scenario will be more flight time. In your case it's a matter of stability and freight hauling capacity. I think a large quad would work well, but figuring out a good arm to pick the leaves and things in the gutter up with is going to be the real kicker. Sensor wise you can do a tilt FPV camera easily enough. Adding a downward facing ultrasonic sensor could be a good idea as well, just to double check yourself on avoiding those little supports. Of course with the added sensor I'm not sure anything other than a bluetooth coms with it is going to have enough bandwidth to "draw the picture". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ron Nichols Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Just add an extra motor and prop. Attach underneath the camera gimbal and blow the leaves out? Or are these leaves wet? Excuse my ignorance as I've never had to clean a gutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_John Foreman Posted June 6, 2015 Author Share Posted June 6, 2015 Ron Nichols most likely the leave will be wet and there will be other things that may not blow out very easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Wayne Black Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 John Foreman Well if you can mount a saw blade, I don't see why you couldn't do something with a gutter wide circular brush.(?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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