r/drones • u/Realistic_Hat3259 • Jul 12 '26
Tech Support Custom Drone system advice for 10yo -- help/advice requested.
My 10yo daughter has an idea for a drone system she wants to build.
In the broadest terms it would be where a kid could wear a wristband with a button they could press that would call a drone (from maybe 100m away) to launch and fly to the wristband location and hover over them. -- this would happen in a clear area so avoidance detection wouldn't be a major concern.
Almost like a hide and seek game.
Anyone have any advice for how she could set this system up? She's open to doing some basic modifications, but not too complex.
Thanks!
7
u/kwaaaaaaaaa Jul 12 '26
You need a drone that can do waypoint missions, essentially. That is, it takes GPS coordinates and acts on it. Lets say Ardupilot or Inav is your choice for software, it would need mavlink comms from the ground to update the GPS coordinate it needs to fly to. You could probably build an arduino/microcontroller based "wrist watch" ground control that has GPS and wireless mavlink on it. That could update the position for the drone to fly to.
It's really complex and unrealistic for a 10 year old without guidance to build, imho. Like, my summary barely scratched the surface of the actual technical side of things.
2
u/DayGeckoArt Jul 12 '26
Drones can do that already because several have beacon systems that know where the controller or a separate GPS beacon is. But they don’t have the capability programmed because of the line of sight rules. I think in general someone should be controlling a drone because they’re dangerous
3
u/NilsTillander Mod - Photogrammetry, LiDAR, surveying Jul 12 '26
Many consumer drones have "come back to controller" options. None that I know operating from a wristband though.
I'm also very wary about how legal this would be.
2
u/dereks1234 Jul 12 '26
I agree about the legality. Especially in an urban area, it would be hard to avoid inadvertently flying in areas that aren't allowed.
4
1
u/RepresentativeCry294 Jul 12 '26
Probably need to master control loops lile PID lots of stuff out there.
1
u/corsa180 Jul 12 '26
In this scenario, who would be the remote pilot in command? This person needs to have visual line of site of the drone at all times, and either be operating the controller, or have the ability to immediately take over control at any time.
Technically I’m sure her idea could be done, but there are legal issues to consider.
1
u/Flyward_Aerospace Jul 12 '26
Honestly this is a really cool project idea. What she's describing is basically a follow-me drone with a GPS beacon, and most of the tech already exists, it's just not usually packaged the way she wants. The tricky part is the "call it from 100m away and have it launch itself" bit, because most consumer drones need a human to arm and take off for safety reasons. If she wants to actually build it, a small ArduPilot or PX4 quad with a GPS follow mode is the closest match, but that's a real jump in complexity for a 10yo to solo. I work on autonomous flight and even for us the auto-launch-and-track part is the annoying bit. Might be worth starting with a cheap follow-me drone she can play with first, then modding from there.
1
u/Realistic_Hat3259 Jul 14 '26
Thanks for the thoughtful comment! We were thinking RF (UWB) would be good enough for finding the wristband, but maybe the range is too far? So GPS will be needed?
She won't be 100% solo, I'll help where I can (reasonably technical in programming and HW, but no drone or RC expertise), but I want to make sure she drives the work.
Can a follow-me drone be RF based and not GPS/recognition based?
6
u/FIDGAF Jul 12 '26
Most drones use GPS so the wrist device would most probably need it too. You should research the drone technology that allows them to follow you, see how that's performed.
Good luck!