Brainwaves Fly a Drone
Introduction: Brainwaves Fly a Drone
Drones are fun to fly, and it’s possible to do limited flying using brainwaves. The headset senses my brainwaves and transmits them to a small computer. When I increase my attention level, the computer converts the signals and passes them to the drone’s controller, which I have connected to the computer. When I relax my mind, the drone lands.
The headset is a NeuroSky MindWave Mobile 2, the computer is an Arduino Uno microcontroller, and the Bluetooth module is an HC-05.
For some reason (?) the YouTube video will not embed into this instructable. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp1CeDSWQAg
There are 6 main steps in this project:
1. Wire the HC-05 to the Arduino.
2. Configure the HC-05 and pair it with the MindWave.
3. Connect the servo to the drone's controller.
4. Wire the Arduino.
5. The Arduino Sketch (The Code)
6. Upload the Arduino sketch and use it.
If you’re not familiar with these devices, the following links may be useful:
Getting started with Arduino: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide
https://www.instructables.com/A-Beginners-Guide-to-Arduino/
Online Arduino class: https://www.instructables.com/Arduino-Class/
NeuroSky’s website: https://store.neurosky.com/pages/mindwave
http://developer.neurosky.com/docs/doku.php?id=start
Differences between the 4 models of MindWave: http://support.neurosky.com/kb/mindwave-mobile-2/whats-the-difference-between-mwm2-mwm-and-original-mwm
NeuroSky’s Arduino project (it uses a BlueSMiRF Blluetooth module instead of the HC-05 I used. The sample code (which runs on an Arduino) should work okay regardless of the type of Bluetooth module.):
http://developer.neurosky.com/docs/doku.php?id=mindwave_mobile_and_arduino
Supplies
PARTS for the electronics:
1. NeuroSky MindWave Mobile 2 headset and 1 AAA battery
2. A computer (I used an Apple iMac)
3. Arduino Uno or another model and its USB cable
4. HC-05 Bluetooth module
5. Servo motor (I used a Solarbotics HXT900 Micro Servo)
6. Breadboard and breadboard wires
7. 939
Green LED and yellow LED
8. 2 x 330 ohm resistors
9. 2 x 1K ohm resistors
10. 2 x 2K ohm resistors
11. 10K ohm potentiometer
12. Power source, about 5 volts, such as 3 AA batteries in a holder
PARTS for the servo connection to the drone’s controller:
1. 2 elastics
2. a few toothpicks
3. small piece of thin cardboard
4. scissors
5. glue
6. tape
Step 1: Wire the HC-05 to the Arduino
A few websites describe how to set up an HC-05 Bluetooth module for the NeuroSky MindWave, but none of the methods worked for me. Maybe the reason was that my HC-05 has a newer version of firmware? Or my MindWave is a newer model? Anyway, I researched other Internet websites for info about configuring and pairing an HC-05, and eventually figured out how to do it.
Photos of the front and back of an HC-05 are shown.
Plug the HC-05 into the breadboard and connect it to the Arduino as described below and shown in the photo.
1. HC-05‘s RXD to pin 11 via a voltage divider made from 2 resistors,
2. TXD to pin 10,
3. GND to GND,
4. EN to pin 9 via a voltage divider made from 2 resistors.
5. Do not connect HC-05’s VCC yet.
The reason for using voltage dividers is that HC-05‘s RXD and EN tend to die after getting 5 volts for some time, and the voltage should be reduced to 3.3 volts. The voltage divider consists of a 1K ohm resistor with one end connected to Arduino’s 5 volts and the other end to a 2K ohm resistor with its other end connected to GND. 611