Ornithopter Avionics Package

For my senior thesis project at Princeton University, I designed, wired, programmed, installed, and tested a custom avionics package for a robotic ornithopter. The goal of the project was to outfit the robot with sensors to enable it to sense velocity, orientation, flapping rate, and tail position during flight. The final package enables in-flight data collection and provides a platform on which closed-loop control can eventually be implemented.

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The avionics package uses a Teensy 4.1 microcontroller and interacts with a variety of sensors while also reading and relaying signals from a human-operated remote control. The final project made use of a most of my engineering skills: circuitry design, wiring/soldering, CAD, 3D-printing, and software development. I validated the sensory output of the package by running tests within a 12-camera motion capture system.