Final Project — Educational Drone

🛩️ What Does It Do?

The Educational Drone is a small, safe, indoor quadcopter designed specifically for classrooms and STEM learning.
Its purpose is to help students understand:

• Basic aerodynamics
• Motor control principles
• Microcontrollers and electronics
• IMU sensor
• CAD + digital fabrication
• Programming (embedded systems)

It comes with a training kit that teachers can use to explain drone concepts practically.
The drone is lightweight, low-power, and wirelessly controlled using a smartphone application.

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Final Project Idea

🚁 Educational Drone

The goal is to create an affordable, accessible, reproducible drone kit that students can assemble and learn from.
It bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience.

✏️ Sketches

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⭐ Key Features

• Compact & Safe — designed for quiet, stable indoor use
• Low Cost — optimized for Fab Labs and schools
• Hands-On Learning — aerodynamics, IMU, electronics, coding

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🎯 Why This Idea?

Students often learn about physics and aerodynamics without ever seeing them in action.
This drone shows:

• How lift is generated
• How coding affects movement

It encourages creativity, experimentation, and STEM exploration in a safe environment.

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Who’s Done What Beforehand?

Many small drones already exist, including mini quadcopters used for indoor flying or basic training. However, most of these drones are pre-built and cannot be easily modified or fabricated by students.

What makes my project different is that it can be fully made in the Fab Lab from scratch using low-cost components and simple fabrication processes. This makes it more suitable for hands-on learning, allowing students to understand how the frame, electronics, and control system are built

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🔍 What Sources Did You Use?

• ESP32-S3 / XIAO documentation
• MX1508 motor driver datasheet
• MPU6050 IMU reference guide
• Micro-drone weight & thrust research
• CAD modeling tutorials
• Fab Academy archive projects
• YouTube tutorials for micro brushed drones

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🛠️ What Did You Design?

I designed:

• 3D-printed drone frame (SolidWorks)
• Custom single-layer PCB for the flight controller
• Laser-cut educational kit box
• Wiring diagrams + block diagram
• Embedded firmware (ESP32 + PWM motors)

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Materials & Components

Electronics

• XIAO ESP32-S3
• 4× Brushed Coreless Motors (1900KV)
• 2× MX1508 motor drivers
• MPU6050 IMU
• 3.7V Li-Po battery (850–1100 mAh)
• Propellers (CW + CCW)
• Wires, connectors, jumpers

Fabrication Materials

• PLA filament
• 4mm MDF sheet
• Single-layer PCB

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Where Did They Come From?

Source	Items
Makerspace	PLA, PCB sheet, ESP32-S3, connectors
Mikroelectron	drivers, IMU, battery
Amazon	Motor + propeller set

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Bill of Materials (BOM)

Component	Description	Link	Quantity	Price	Total
Frame	3D printed PLA	Makerspace	60g	$1.5	$7.5
Motors	6×15 mm Brushed Coreless DC Motors (1900KV, 70000 RPM)	Amazon: https://amzn.to/3EDFUZD	4	$11.99 per set	$11.99
Motor Driver MX1508	2-channel motor driver	Mikroelectron	2	$1.75	$3.50
Propellers	2 pairs CW + CCW 46mm Propellers for 0.8mm Shaft Coreless Motor	Amazon: https://a.co/d/0SaQRqm	1 set	$6.29	$6.29
XIAO ESP32-S3	Microcontroller	Makerspace	1	$23	$23
Single-layer PCB	A5 15×20 cm board for controller	Makerspace	1	$2	$2
Battery	3.7V Li-Po 1100mAh (25C) JST	Mikroelectron	1	$9.5	$9.5
Gyroscope	MPU6050	Mikroelectron	1	$9	$9
Misc	Wires, connectors, screws	Makerspace	—	free	free
4mm MDF	For kit box	Makerspace	1	$1	$1

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What Parts & Systems Were Made?

• Full drone frame (3D printing)
• Laser-cut kit box
• Custom PCB
• Motor control

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🛠️ Tools & Processes Used

Digital Fabrication

• SolidWorks (3D CAD)
• Laser cutting (MDF)
• 3D printing (PLA)
• PCB milling & soldering

Electronics

• Soldering station
• Bench power supply
• Multimeter testing

Software

• Arduino IDE
• ESP32 libraries
• PWM motor control firmware

Testing

• Thrust tests
• Motor control

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❓ What Questions Were Answered?

• How light must the frame be to maintain lift?
• How to drive brushed motors using MX1508?
• How to balance thrust vs. battery weight?
• How to document everything so Fab Labs can reproduce it?

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🎉 What Worked?

• Motor control
• CAD modeling of the frame
• PCB design & production

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⚠️ What Didn’t Work?

• Battery didn’t fit inside the frame → requires customized battery
• Heavy frames failed lift tests → so I redesigned the frame couple of times
• Achieving full stable flight is still challenging due to PID tuning.

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How Was It Evaluated?

• Functionality: Confirmed that the motors respond properly to the signals coming from the motor driver and the ESP32-S3
• Compactness: lightweight + portable
• Integration: electronics + fabrication + programming

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What Are the Implications?

• Can be used as a standard school STEM kit
• Fully reproducible in Fab Labs
• Scalable for workshops or STEM camps
• Encourages experimentation and hands-on learning

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Block Diagram & Components

Components

1. XIAO ESP32-S3
2. Brushed motors
3. MX1508 drivers
4. MPU6050 IMU
5. Li-Po battery
6. Propellers
7. Wires + connectors
8. PLA filament

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Connections Diagram

MX1508 → XIAO Mapping

MX1508 Pin	XIAO Pin	Motor
IN1	GPIO 44	Front Left
IN2	GPIO 7	Front Left
IN3	GPIO 8	Back Left
IN4	GPIO 9	Back Left
IN1	GPIO 1	Front Right
IN2	GPIO 2	Front Right
IN3	GPIO 3	Back Right
IN4	GPIO 4	Back Right

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Drone Block Diagram

                 ┌─────────────────────────┐
                 │     LiPo Battery (3.7V) │
                 └──────────┬──────────────┘
                            │
           ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
           │     Motor Driver (MX1508)               │
           │                                         │
           │   ┌──────┐  ┌──────┐  ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ │
           │   │M1 FL │  │M2 FR │  │M3 RL │ │M4 RR │ │
           │   └──┬───┘  └──┬───┘  └──┬───┘ └──┬───┘ │
           └──────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────┼─────┘
                  │         │         │        │
                  ▼         ▼         ▼        ▼
            ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌────────┐
            │Motor 1 │ │Motor 2 │ │Motor 3 │ │Motor 4 │
            └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘ └────────┘

                            ▲
                            │ PWM Control
                ┌────────────────────────────┐
                │      Xiao ESP32S3 MCU      │
                │                            │
                │  ┌──────────────────────┐  │
                │  │  MPU6050 (IMU Sensor)│  │
                │  └────────┬─────────────┘  │
                │           │ I2C (SCL/SDA)  │
                └───────────┴────────────────┘