Ask HN: Adult learning Calc

Posted by nubb on Sunday November 20, 2016 @11:04AM
from the ask-hn dept.

For fun in my free time I'm writing a game in unity and c# where you pilot a plane. I could not find an auto pilot script so i am writing it from scratch.

While trying to figure out how to dynamically set the planes elevator deflection based on the planes vertical speed and distance from the desired altitude i discovered that writing an auto pilot involves some advanced math :)

My math resume ends at high school trig.

I am hoping to discover what flavor of math should i focus my studies on to achieve my goal and possibly hoping to avoid learning any fluff in the process.

Thanks all

( 3 comments | 5 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Adult learning Calc by FourierT-form on Sunday November 20, 2016 @11:53AM (#12999728)

I would start with vectors and physics.

Note that there is some basic calculus involved in both of those.

The Wikipedia is a bit dense, but if you take the time to follow links to concepts that you aren't familiar with you should be good.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_calculus

You might have done a little bit of calculus with High School trig without knowing it. Sometimes Trig is mixed in with Analysis for some nuanced reasons.

I would check out the Khan academy post for a basic grounding in calculus.

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/calculus-home/limits-and-co...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Adult learning Calc by PaulHoule on Sunday November 20, 2016 @11:32AM (#12999610)

See http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920028970.do

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Re:Ask HN: Adult learning Calc by danielvf on Sunday November 20, 2016 @11:28AM (#12999593)

This sounds like a fun project !

Have you looked into PID controlers? The basic idea is stupid simple and uses no big math.

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