3-Axis:3-DoF Self Stabilizing Platform

When flying a drone, it's quite essential to maintain the camera stable and avoid any movement due to external elements or when flying it aggressively. However, a drone can also record videos and take pictures while on the ground. This means that to make super steady shots, you need to have a stabilzing platform on-the-go with the drone. However, as per the current technological advances, available options are too heavy and have impacts on the flight time. Thus, we came to a plan to design and create a self-stabilizing platform for the cameras on the drones.

1. 3D CAD Model & Prototype

The Self Stabilizing Platform is supposed to work on the principles of Gyroscope with the three axis set and should be able to accommodate an entity depending upon the torque of the motor such that the position of the entity shouldn't be affected by the motion of the outer frame, thus making it vibration free.

The centre ring should be vertically fixed with a pivoted support that would allow rotation of the entity in all the 3 axes. The three-axis self-stabilizing platform would thus allow any applicable entity mounted on the top of it to remain independent of the rotation of its supporting platform. The platform would thus dictate the movement of the entity, not the one carrying it and hence it could also act as a vibrational isolator.

2. Approaches

I would follow Generative Design Concept for the next steps in our project development.
Generative design is an iterative design process that involves a program that will generate a certain number of outputs that meet certain constraints, and a designer that will fine tune the feasible region by changing minimal and maximal values of an interval in which a variable of the program meets the set of constraints, in order to reduce or augment the number of outputs to choose from.

3. Demonstration

4. Challenges

Since the Servo Motors are giving the response time for 0.5 sec each, the motors need to be replaced by BLDC Motors so that the response time reduces to bare minimum and hence the current code needs to be modified accordingly for the proper working of the product. The Generative Design Concept may also pose some problems and challenges considering the weight and sturdiness of the complete product.