Tutorials¶
This section is the guided entry point into the project. While the topic sections (Hardware, Software, Autopilot, Sensors, Delivery System, Frame Extension) document each subsystem in depth, the tutorials tell you in which order to work through them and what a first hands-on session with the kit looks like.
What the tutorials cover¶
| Tutorial | For whom | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Start | A new team on day one with the delivered kit | Charging, binding, first power-up with a Smoke Stopper, first manual flight — safely |
| Build Guide | Anyone rebuilding the full autonomous-delivery setup | An ordered checklist that chains every page of this documentation into one rebuild path, with a "done when" criterion per step |
Recommended reading order for a new team¶
- Quick Start — get the delivered drone flying manually first. You will need confident manual flying (and the pilot-takeover safety net it enables) throughout the whole project, and the quick start front-loads the safety habits (Smoke Stopper, prop guards, props-off bench rule, kill switch) that everything else assumes.
- Build Guide — then follow the rebuild path step by step. It links into the topic sections at the right moments, so you read each deep-dive page exactly when you need it.
- Topic sections as reference — once you know the order, use Hardware, Software, Autopilot, Sensors, Delivery System and Frame Extension as lookup material while you work.
- Results — read the Limitations page and the incident report of 2026-08-21 before your first autonomous flight attempt. They exist so you do not have to repeat our most expensive lessons.
Simulation before hardware
The single most valuable workflow decision we made was SITL first: every piece of companion code and every parameter change is validated against an ArduCopter 4.6.3 software-in-the-loop simulation before it touches the real flight controller. The simulation setup page explains how to build it; the Build Guide tells you when to use it.
Prerequisites¶
- Basic Linux command-line skills (the Raspberry Pi companion runs Debian).
- Python fundamentals (the companion code uses
pymavlink).