Drone Hardware Components
Understanding the hardware is essential before building AI systems on top. This lesson dissects every component inside a real drone and shows exactly how they connect.
Flight Controller PCB Layout
This is a realistic top-view of a modern F4 flight controller board, showing every IC, connector, and signal path:
Component Specifications
| Component | Model | Interface | Data Rate | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCU | STM32F405RGT6 | — | 168MHz | Main processor, PID loop |
| IMU | MPU6050 | I2C | 400kHz | 6-axis motion (accel+gyro) |
| Barometer | BMP388 | I2C | 400kHz | Altitude ±0.5m |
| Magnetometer | HMC5883L | I2C | 400kHz | Heading (compass) |
| OSD | AT7456E | SPI | 10MHz | On-screen display overlay |
| Flash | W25Q128 | SPI | 10MHz | Blackbox flight log |
| GPS | NEO-M8N | UART | 115200 | Satellite navigation |
| Receiver | R9SL | UART | 100000 | SBUS RC input |
| VTX | TBS Unify | UART | 9600 | SmartAudio control |
Motor and ESC System
Brushless DC motors are the muscles of a drone. The ESC converts digital PWM signals into the 3-phase AC needed to spin the motor:
Power Distribution
Sensor Data Flow
Hands-On Project: Read Sensor Data
Next lesson: Flight dynamics and aerodynamics →