Fab Academy 2026
Final Project
RC DRONE
AI generated sketch for visual purposes
Project Idea
My final project consists of a radio controled Drone vehicle built from scratch. It merges the physics of a drone with the agility of radio controlled waves (hopefully with a remote control). The helix powered brushless motors are mounted on a tilting mechanism (thrust vectoring), allowing the vehicle to do air movement.
The system is powered by an ESP32-C6 and controlled via a custom-made control gloves (With another ESP32-C6), providing a more intuitive pilot interface.
Initial Prototype Sketch
After various ideas, I made the first sketch of the prototipe, detailing the helix placement and the integration of the 3D-printed chassis.
Challenges
Building a vehicle from zero involves complex challenges in programming for stabilization, 3D design for mechanical endurance and post-processing. I am documenting every iteration, failure, and improvement in my repository to showcase the engineering cycle. Key challenges include:
- Obtaining the electronics and materials.
- Managing the center of gravity to stabilization in the air.
- Latency reduction between the glove and the drone.
- Power efficiency with heavy LiPo batteries.
"The goal is not just to build a flying machine, but to master the integration of 3D manufacturing, embedded systems and wireless control."
Project development
To start the making of the final project first of all I need to think, design and make a lot of things, and I'll be applying all the knowledge we have been learning throughout the course, I will be detailing everything later.
PCB designing
This is the first thing I started to do, is checking all the electronic components that I needed to use, and after a deep research comparing a lot of components and prices, I was left with the following:
| Qty | Description | Price (USD) | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microcontroller ESP32-C6 | $ 18.00 | Electronics |
| 4 | Brushless Motors Rs2205 + ESCs | $ 90.00 | Propulsion |
| 1 | BMI-160 Gyroscope | $ 6.00 | Sensors |
| 1 | 4S LiPo Battery (14.8V) | $ 25.00 | Power |
| 1 | Energy Regulator and ESC holder | $ 10.00 | Power |
| 1 | Sunulu PLA filament coil | $ 20.00 | Structure |
| - | Total | $ 169.00 | Investment |
After buying every component, I started making the master PCB, and taking in count every component, the traces and the PINOUT were designed. I needed to put I2C comunication for the BMI-160, a LED indicator, 4 ADC outputs for the brushless, a button and a buzzer, and for power I added several pins with 5v entrances and outputs, 3.3v outputs and a lot of GND's.
If you want to check out with more detail how I made this PCB, go check out my Electronics Production Week →
Milled Death Star PCB.
Soldered Death Star PCB.
3D Modeling
The frame is designed for 3D printing with post-processing.