Using the BeagleBone Black in flying robots

You've now built robots that can move around on a wheeled structure, and robots that have legs, and robots that can sail. You can also build robots that can fly, relying on the BeagleBone Black to control their flight. There are several possible ways to incorporate the BeagleBone Black into a flying robotic project, but the most straightforward way is to add it to a quadcopter project.

Quadcopters are a unique subset of flying platforms that have become very popular in the last few years. They are a flying platform that utilizes the same vertical lift concept as helicopters; however, they employ not one but four motor/propeller combinations to provide an enhanced level of stability. The following image displays such a platform:

The quadcopter has two sets of counter-rotating propellers, which simply means that two of the propellers rotate one way; the other two rotate the other way to provide thrust in the same direction. This provides a platform...