ggSkyGrid · Learning autonomous robotics
My goal is to build robots that can understand where they are, move toward a goal and eventually work together. I’m starting with a ground rover, then one small indoor drone, before attempting coordinated flight with several aircraft.
ggSkyGrid is my plan for learning autonomous robotics from the ground up: robots that work out where they are, choose a route and reach a goal without me steering every move.
The destination is a small group of drones flying planned formations, checking that they stay apart and with a way to stop one drone, or all of them, when something goes wrong. I’m getting there in steps: a ground rover first (easy to test, cheap to crash), then simulation, then one small indoor drone, and only then more drones.
ggSkyGrid is the umbrella over five projects. Three sit on the main path; the stages they appear in are the milestones in the roadmap below.
A rover with four steerable wheels. The goal is to go from reliable remote driving to sensing its own movement, building a map and driving itself to a destination.
Where it fits: where I learn motors, sensors and control on a vehicle that is safe to test.
Status: building now — motor tests, the radio link and the chassis.
Software that gives each drone a place in a formation, plans its route and checks that the routes stay apart and within motion limits.
Where it fits: turns a formation into movements I can check in simulation before anything flies.
Status: version 1 built; it plans, checks and replays routes in simulation.
A research project that began as a simulation capstone: several drones learning to work together. The goal is real coordinated flight, starting with planned routes and later adapting plans in flight.
Where it fits: brings planning, flight and group behavior together.
Status: simulation capstone complete. No physical drone swarm yet.
Related interests, but neither is needed to finish the main path.
A custom quadcopter for learning how flight electronics and control software keep an aircraft stable. The main path flies an existing indoor drone instead, so this build stays a separate experiment.
A possible future use for coordinated flight: outdoor drone light shows. The operating requirements and business scope are still open; the indoor work here is only an early foundation.
Five milestones, read top to bottom. Each shows what it covers, the work inside it on a 13-stage scale, and the demonstration that lets me move on. Stages are an order, not weeks or deadlines; a stage lasts as long as the build and testing need.
Assemble the chassis, control the motors and steering, and measure movement with sensors. Start with remote driving, then teach the rover to hold a steady heading.
Ready to move on when: The rover drives reliably, holds its heading and stops if the radio connection fails.
Connect the rover’s measurements to a computer using ROS 2, a robotics software framework. Learn to estimate position and test navigation with virtual vehicles, including one drone.
Ready to move on when: Virtual vehicles repeat their routes, and the simulated drone handles a lost connection.
Start with a Crazyflie, a small indoor drone platform. Learn its standard flight tools before connecting it to the shared robotics software. Compare its real movements with the simulation.
Ready to move on when: One drone completes ten takeoff, route and landing missions without pilot correction.
Add a laser distance scanner so the rover can map its surroundings and find its position. Run the navigation software on a connected computer first; move it onboard only if needed.
Ready to move on when: The rover reuses a saved map, finds itself on it and completes three runs without contact.
Test several virtual drones following ggChoreo’s routes together. Work out how real aircraft will share a position reference and how one aircraft’s failure can be handled before buying a second.
Ready to move on when: Simulated drones stay separated, with tested ways to stop one aircraft or the whole group.
| When | Item | Track | Type | Demonstration | Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stages 1–2 | Build chassis and test one motor | Ground robot · ggGridRunner | Work | Chassis assembled; motor commands stay within limits; disabling control or losing commands stops the motor. | — |
| Stages 2–3 | Connect all motors, steering and wheel sensors | Ground robot · ggGridRunner | Work | Steering calibrated; sensor readings recorded together; no unexplained controller resets. | — |
| Stages 3–4 | Hold a heading and stop on radio loss | Ground robot · ggGridRunner | Work | Record a 20-minute drive; losing the radio stops motion; restarting requires a deliberate command. | — |
| Stage 4 | Check: rover is safe to drive | Ground robot · ggGridRunner | Readiness check | The rover drives safely by remote control and can hold a steady heading. | — |
| Stage 5 | Connect rover sensors to the computer | Software and simulation · shared tools | Work | The computer receives wheel and motion-sensor readings with matching times and a consistent model of the rover. | — |
| Stages 5–6 | Estimate position and practice virtual navigation | Software and simulation · shared tools | Work | Combine sensor readings into a position estimate, inspect its errors and repeat navigation routes in simulation. | — |
| Stage 6 | Practice one drone mission in simulation | Flight · toward ggSwarm | Work | A virtual drone takes off, flies a square and handles an intentionally lost connection; write the real-flight test procedure. | — |
| Stage 7 | Check: ready for indoor flight | Flight · toward ggSwarm | Readiness check | The simulation passes, an appropriate indoor flight area is ready and the purchase fits the budget. | — |
| Stage 7 | Buy the first small indoor drone | Flight · toward ggSwarm | Purchase | Buy one Crazyflie indoor drone bundle after the readiness check; recheck the historical price estimate. | $320 |
| Stage 8 | Repeat a real takeoff, route and landing | Flight · toward ggSwarm | Work | Complete ten takeoff, route and landing missions without pilot correction. | — |
| Stage 9 | Add a laser scanner for mapping | Ground robot · ggGridRunner | Purchase | Confirm the laser scanner works with the robotics software and check price and return policy before buying. | $69 |
| Stages 9–10 | Build a map and navigate with the rover | Software and simulation · shared tools | Work | Save and reload a map, find the rover’s position on it and complete three runs without contact; record failures. | — |
| Stage 11 | Decide: does the rover need its own computer? | Ground robot · ggGridRunner | Readiness check | Only add an onboard computer if the cable limits testing; account for power and storage, and verify the rover stops if the computer fails. | — |
| Stage 12 | Rehearse several drones moving together | Software and simulation · shared tools | Work | Virtual drones follow checked routes with adequate separation and synchronized starts; test stopping one aircraft and the whole group. | — |
| Stage 13 | Check: ready to consider a second drone | Flight · toward ggSwarm | Readiness check | Before adding another drone, repeat single-drone missions and demonstrate how aircraft share position coordinates and handle failures independently. | — |