CASSIE, or its unabridged name, "Computer-Automated-Soaring-Sensor-Inducting-Energy" is a project that I have been actively developing for the past 4 months in cooperation with my two other collaborators: Ethan and Ani. The project is still in an active development phase and is on track to have a fully-functioning product by March 2026.
CASSIE is a sensor suite built on the Raspberry Pi Zero and enclosed in a self-contained shell, designed to be integrated into a fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for use in autonomous soaring maneuvers. (similar to what birds of prey perform when gliding in thermals)
CASSIE is designed to calculate and send flight-control instructions to the host aircraft to perform an autonomous soaring maneuver, in which the aircraft maintains high airspeed, but significantly lowers ground speed, so that the aircraft is moving as slowly as possible over the ground while still remaining airborne and stable.
Programming will remain closed-source for now
Components
1×
Raspberry Pi 02W
The SBC and primary host computer that runs the entire system.
1×
40-Pin GPIO Header Strip
GPIO Strip to be installed on the PI Zero if it does not already have headers soldered on.
1×
Waveshare Sense HAT (B)
Sensor HAT compatible with Raspberry Pi - Provides acceleratometer, Gyroscope, Barometric Pressure data, ETC.
1×
HolyBro I2C Differential Pressure Sensor and Pitot Tube
Differential Pressure sensor and pitot tube used to measure Airspeed.
1×
Assorted Jumper Wires (Female-Female) (Female-Male)
Used to connect the Raspberry Pi and Waveshare sense hat with the Airspeed Sensor and GPS.
Hello, my name is Adam, a developer attached to the C.A.S.S.I.E project.
I am proud to announce that the full documentation for CASSIE is now publicly available and can be accessed here.
This project is still in ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT, so the documentation is subject to change and will continue to be updated over the course of the next couple of months and beyond.
As we continue the project, I will publish 3D files and continue to add to the list of components here on Hackaday.
For now, the software used in CASSIE will be CLOSED-SOURCE. We will eventually consider releasing the software on our GitHub repository in the coming months.