While some Raspberry Pi projects are notably complex in design, they don’t always require much computing power. Such is the case today with Anish Natekar’s Raspberry Pi Pico W copter project. Using our favorite microcontroller, he’s created a Pico W-powered quadcopter capable of remote control.
This quadcopter is made entirely from scratch and was designed by Natekar. It weighs less than 100g due to its simple construction and hardware selection. The Pico’s wireless support enables remote control that takes place through an app. Users can access this remote control using any device with a web browser including a smartphone, computer or tablet.
The Pico alone wasn’t enough to power the unit and control all of the components so a custom PCB was necessary. Natekar opted to make his PCB design open source and shared the Gerber files over at GitHub for anyone who wants to create it at home. In addition to creating a custom PCB, he also made a 3D-printable frame for the copter. These files are also available on the project’s GitHub page.
Natekar made a complete list of parts available in his project documentation but the major components beyond the Pico W include things like an MPU6050 accelerometer/gyroscope module, four coreless motors along with 55mm propellers, and a BMP 280 barometric pressure/altitude sensor. For power, it uses a 360 mAh LiPo battery and charger.
The software for the project was created by Natekar, as well, and was made open source as well. It includes everything you need for the flight controller and mobile app to get the project off the ground. You can find the source available at GitHub as well as a detailed look at how it all works in his documentation.
If you want to recreate this Raspberry Pi project or just get a closer look at how it works, we recommend reading through the Pico W Copter documentation put together by Natekar. Be sure to follow him for more cool projects as well as any future updates on this one.
