Development of an Intelligent Quadcopter Using Smartphone Sensor Technology

This paper presents the design of a smartphone-based quadcopter in which a smartphone acts as the main processing, sensing and communication unit. Instead of relying on several separate onboard sensors and a conventional flight controller, the system makes use of the smartphone's pre-installed accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, GPS, barometer, camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for sensing, navigation, data processing and wireless communication. Flight commands generated by the smartphone are transmitted to an ESP32 microcontroller through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The ESP32 then produces PWM signals to control the Electronic Speed Controllers (ESCs), which drive the four brushless DC motors of the quadcopter. The drone is built on a lightweight X-shaped frame with a motor-to-motor distance of 450–500 mm and an overall weight of approximately 700–1000 g. By using the capabilities already available in modern smartphones, the design decreases hardware requirements, lowers overall cost and simplifies the drone architecture while still supporting functions such as GPS-based navigation, wireless control and object monitoring. The offered design proposes a low-cost, lightweight and simplified drone structure by using the smartphone's integral capabilities, reducing the need for dedicated hardware. This approach lets easier development, improved scalability and supports advanced applications such as independent navigation, real-time monitoring and aerial surveillance.