SB Components has provided some exciting updates its latest crowdfunding campaign for PiWings 2.0 drone. This new board provides tools for makers that can be used to construct custom drones and, of course, it's powered by the popular single-board computer, the Raspberry Pi. The campaign is hosted through Kickstarter and has yet to launch, but you can sign up to be notified when it goes live.
We reached out to SB Components, which confirmed the new board is powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico as well as an ESP32, more specifically an ESP8266-12E module that makes use of ESP32 S3 WROOM-1. This opens up wireless options that are very useful when it comes to setting up remote piloting systems as well as POV goggles for a drone.
While SB Components confirmed the board is oriented toward STEM education, it's also designed with enthusiasts in mind who just want to create a custom drone. There are RGB LEDs in each corner that can be individually addressed as well as a couple of status LEDs that can be used to check the charging or power status at a glance.
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The team verified the new PiWings 2.0 board comes with an integrated MPU6050 IMU module which helps when checking the orientation of the drone in real time. The board can be recharged using a USB Type-C interface and also features a couple of boot and reset buttons for the Pico and ESP32.
There's also a degree of versatility available with the kind of drone you can create. There are six DC motor connections that can be use for the propelers but you don't have to use all of them. Going from a hexacopter to a quadcopter is as easy as connecting only as many motors as you need. Drones can be operated using a mobile Android-based app or an ESP32-powered controller.
But remember: supporting a crowdfunding campaign does not guarantee delivery of an item — it is a bit more like a speculative investment. You can read more about the PiWings 2.0 board over at Kickstarter for more details and information from SB Components.
