Bitcraze Forums

Hey,

I need a drone which can communicate within a 5G lab environment. Now I'm curious if I could use a Crazyflie for that.

My idea is to use the Crazyflie 2.1 with a BigQuad deck, then adding a Raspberry Pi Zero W with a SIM8202G-M2 5G HAT attached. In addition I would need the Lighthouse positioning deck for control tasks.

Since I have never worked with a Crazyflie yet, I hope to get some tips/advices about this possible setup.

I saw this Blog post (https://www.bitcraze.io/2017/07/crazyfl ... pi-camera/) where a Pi Zero W is attached to a Crazyflie so this should not be a problem. The main issue could be combining the Pi+5G HAT together with the postitioning deck.

What do you think? Any form of reply is highly appreciated.

Best
Julian

Hi!

I think the Crazyflie Bolt is a better choice then CF2.1 + BigQuad since the BigQuad will occupy some of the expansion port signals.

Other then that I don't see any reason it wont work. Keep in mind though that the VCOM (5V out) on the Bolt only can supply around 300mA which is not enough for the Pi Zero so a separate power supply for this is needed.

Thanks for the reply Tobias, that sounds good!

The power supply should't be a problem then, since there are lightweight batteries for the Pi Zero available.

Is it possible to use the Bolt with the standard components of the Crazyflie 2.1 like motors, propellers, etc? Or do I need a custom setup as it is shown in your YouTube workshop for the Bolt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiWLhr-HpG8)?

So the question is basically: Can I get the Crazyflie 2.1 package and just change the board from 2.1 to the Bold?

Hi!

No that will not be possible. The Crazyflie's motors and such are not compatible with the Bolt, as that is tailored to brushless motors and ESCs and the crazyflie uses coreless motors. You can check for usage instructions on the product page of the Bolt.