Time and Monetary Budgets

Repair Expense CostAutopilot Replacement $2,500

RX Antenna Replacement $55Camera Lens Replacement $78

Camera Replacement $190Total Repair Cost $2,823

Project RequirementsFR01-The UAV shall be capable of flying at a cruising speed of 40-50 knots.FR02-The UAV shall be capable of flying for 1 hour.FR03-The UAV shall be capable of resolving a 6 inch target 100 feet below the aircraft.FR04-The UAV shall be capable of vertical or near vertical launch from a pneumatic rail system.FR05-The UAV shall be capable of climbing to an altitude of 100 feet.FR06- The UAV shall be capable of clearing a 40 foot tall obstacle, 20 feet downrange from launch.FR07-The UAV shall not be very noticeable to a ground observer.NFR01- The UAV shall use an electric motor.NFR02- The UAS shall fit into the back of a Military Humvee (5’x2.5’x1.5’).NFR03- The UAV shall only fly under moderately calm, clear conditions.NFR04- The UAS shall be capable of autonomously navigating through GPS waypoints.

AutopilotThe autopilot is a commercial, off-the-shelf system designed by MicroPilot. It uses various sensors and feedback control loops to achieve fully autonomous flight. Each of the feedback control loops have three gain values associated with them which determine the timing and magnitude of the changes made to the aircraft’s control components. In order to maintain stability in flight, each gain value must be carefully tuned to fit the aircraft’s design. This tuning is done manually through a series of trial and error test flights.

On the ground, the operator uses MicroPilot’s Horizon software to set way-points for the aircraft or to vary its speed and altitude. Once a potential ground threat is identified, the operator can simply drag and drop a way-point for the aircraft to circle, and the camera will automatically focus on the center of its flight path, providing a clear image of the ground target.

Ground Station

UAV

Video Camera OSD Board Transmitter TX Antenna

RX Antenna Down-Converter IF Converter Video Screen

Design Item CostVideo Transmitter $179

Base station antenna $50Down converter $75

IF Converter $62OSD Board $139

Power Supply/Launch System

$300

Batteries $80Total Design Cost $885

630 Total Hours

AbstractModern warfare has seen a shift in location to more urban settings. Urban structures are the new terrain for soldiers. These structures can be a large hindrance to military operations because they block large lines of sight. To better equip the modern solider a new system needs to be implemented. This new system should allow soldiers to see around urban structures which will provide them an advantage over their opponent.

Communication• Increase range• Decrease effect of interference

Power Supply• Decrease weight• Increase flight time• Improve launch safety

Autopilot• Allow for autopilot takeover of manual control • Tune control system•Develop point of interest orbit functionality

Problem StatementIn 2008, students began designing and building an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to address this need. The work addressed here is the continued development and improvements made to the work of the original group to better meet the needs of the client, Lockheed Martin. The Electrical and Computer Engineering members of the multidisciplinary team focused on three main areas of improvement in order to meet the program’s requirements:

Power SupplyTo keep the total aircraft system weight below ten pounds, a custom power supply was designed. The new power supply quadruples flight time and provides the correct voltage(12V or 5V) to each avionics component through switching voltage regulators. This redesign allowed us to integrate a throttle cutoff into the system. The new throttle cutoff prevents the propeller from spinning while on the launcher, thereby eliminating any accidental throttle-up from occurring until the plane leaves the launch rail. Together with thethrottle cut-off, the launch control system was integrated into a single control box. The power supply redesign reduced weight, simplified the launch system, increased flight time, and made the system significantly safer.