Design of the I-BoomCopter UAV for Remote Sensor Mounting

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. McArthur ◽  
Arindam B. Chowdhury ◽  
David J. Cappelleri
Keyword(s):  
Flight Test ◽  
Force Sensor ◽  
Vertical Surface ◽  
End Effector ◽  
Autonomous Sensor ◽  
Remote Sensor ◽  
Line Force ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Sensor Package ◽  
Reverse Thrust

This paper presents the design of the Interacting-BoomCopter (I-BoomCopter) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for mounting a remote sensor package on a vertical surface. Critical to the design is the novel, custom, light-weight passive end-effector. The end-effector has a forward-facing sonar sensor and in-line force sensor to enable autonomous sensor mounting tasks. The I-BoomCopter’s front boom is equipped with a horizontally-mounted propeller which can provide forward and reverse thrust with zero roll and pitch angles. The design and modeling of the updated I-BoomCopter platform is presented along with prototype flight test results. A teleoperated wireless camera sensor mounting task examines the updated platform’s suitability for mounting remote sensor packages.

scholarly journals Design of the Interacting-BoomCopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Remote Sensor Mounting

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. McArthur ◽  
Arindam B. Chowdhury ◽  
David J. Cappelleri
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Force Sensor ◽  
Vertical Surface ◽  
End Effector ◽  
Autonomous Sensor ◽  
Remote Sensor ◽  
Line Force ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Sensor Package

This paper presents the design of the interacting-BoomCopter (I-BoomCopter) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for mounting a remote sensor package on a vertical surface. Critical to the design is the novel, custom, light-weight passive end effector. The end effector has a forward-facing sonar sensor and in-line force sensor to enable autonomous sensor mounting tasks. The I-BoomCopter's front boom is equipped with a horizontally mounted propeller, which can provide forward and reverse thrust with zero roll and pitch angles. The design and modeling of the updated I-BoomCopter platform is presented along with prototype flight test results. A teleoperated wireless camera sensor mounting task examines the updated platform's suitability for mounting remote sensor packages. Additionally, an autonomous control strategy for remote sensor mounting with the I-BoomCopter is proposed, and autonomous test flights demonstrate the efficacy of the approach.

Design, Fabrication and Flight Testing of a Surveillance UAV

2015 ◽  
Vol 1115 ◽  
pp. 450-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moumen Idres ◽  
Burhani Makame ◽  
Bala Nabil Ahmad ◽  
Saleh Naji ◽  
Ahmad Safiuddin
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Rescue Operation ◽  
Low Weight ◽  
Carbon Rods ◽  
Power Loading ◽  
Final Design ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is becoming increasingly popular because it can perform variety of functions. These functions include surveillance, reconnaissance, monitoring, data collection and rescue operation. The purpose of this work is to design, fabricate and fly a low weight, low cost, small size UAV for a surveillance mission. The design is carried out based on Advanced Aircraft Analysis (AAA) software. The design process starts with the design specifications for a typical surveillance mission. Aircraft weight, wing loading and power loading were estimated in performance sizing process. Geometry was estimated using preliminary sizing. Aerodynamics of the aircraft was determined, which enabled the performance and stability to be analysed. If the desired performance is not achieved, the sizing is readjusted until a final design is reached. The aircraft was manufactured using foam, carbon rods, and fibreglass. The aircraft successfully flew at the first trial flight. This was followed by a successful flight with aerial photography. Keywords: UAV, design process, fabrication process, composite structure, flight test

scholarly journals Aerodynamic Analysis of Blended Wing Body - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (BWB-UAV) Equipped with Horizontal Stabilizers

2019 ◽  
Vol 256 ◽  
pp. 02004
Author(s):  
Nornashiha Mohd Saad ◽  
Wirachman Wisnoe ◽  
Rizal Effendy Mohd Nasir ◽  
Zurriati Mohd Ali ◽  
Ehan Sabah Shukri Askari
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Cfd Simulation ◽  
Lift Coefficient ◽  
Angle Of Attack ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Longitudinal Direction ◽  
Static Stability ◽  
Pitching Moment ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Blended Wing Body

This paper presents an aerodynamic characteristic study in longitudinal direction of UiTM Blended Wing Body-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Prototype (BWB-UAV Prototype) equipped with horizontal stabilizers. Flight tests have been conducted and as the result, BWB experienced overturning condition at certain angle of attack. Horizontal stabilizer was added at different location and size to overcome the issue during the flight test. Therefore, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis is performed at different configuration of horizontal stabilizer using Spalart - Allmaras as a turbulence model. CFD simulation of the aircraft is conducted at Mach number 0.06 or v = 20 m/s at various angle of attack, α. The data of lift coefficient (CL), drag coefficient (CD), and pitching moment coefficient (CM) is obtained from the simulations. The data is represented in curves against angle of attack to measure the performance of BWB prototype with horizontal stabilizer. From the simulation, configuration with far distance and large horizontal stabilizer gives steeper negative pitching moment slope indicating better static stability of the aircraft.

Visual servoing framework using Gaussian process for an aerial parallel manipulator

2018 ◽  
Vol 233 (9) ◽  
pp. 3408-3425
Author(s):  
Sungwook Cho ◽  
David Hyunchul Shim
Keyword(s):  
Gaussian Process ◽  
Parallel Manipulator ◽  
Visual Servoing ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Control Input ◽  
Body Velocity ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Three Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Traditional Image

This paper proposes a Gaussian process based visual servoing framework for an aerial parallel manipulator. Our aerial parallel manipulator utilizes the on-board eye-in-hand vision sensor system attached on the end-effector of three-degrees-of-freedom parallel manipulator. There are three major advantages: small, light in weight, and linearity with respect to the host vehicle rather than the serial manipulator, but it has a critical drawback that its workspace is too small to perform the mission itself during the hovering. In order to overcome the limited workspace problem and perform the mission more actively, proposed visual servoing framework is proposed to generate relative body velocity commands of the host vehicle by using the interpolated and extrapolated feature path between the initial and desired features to fed into the underactuated aerial parallel manipulator. It can generate not only numerical stable but also feasible control input. Furthermore, it can overcome the weakness of the traditional image-based visual servoing such as singularities, uncertainties, and local minimums during calculating image Jacobian under the large disparity environment between the target and the unmanned aerial vehicle. As a result of the proposed contribution, we show that our contribution is reliable to perform the picking-and-replacement autonomously, and it shows that it can be applied in the large displacement environments throughout the flight test.

scholarly journals Development of Flight Control System and Troubleshooting on Flight Test of a Tilt-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngshin Kang ◽  
Bum-Jin Park ◽  
Am Cho ◽  
Chang-Sun Yoo ◽  
Sam-Ok Koo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Flight Control ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Flight Control System ◽  
Tilt Rotor ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

scholarly journals Development and Flight Test of Moving-mass Actuated Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sampath Reddy Vengate ◽  
Sukru A. Erturk ◽  
Atilla Dogan
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Moving Mass ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

Nonlinear auto-regressive neural network for mathematical modelling of an airship using experimental data

2018 ◽  
Vol 233 (7) ◽  
pp. 2549-2569
Author(s):  
Farrukh Mazhar ◽  
Mohammad A Choudhry ◽  
Muhammad Shehryar
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Experimental Data ◽  
Artificial Neural Network ◽  
Network Model ◽  
Neural Network Model ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Auto Regressive ◽  
Artificial Neural ◽  
Trained Neural Network

Autonomous flight of an aerial vehicle requires a sufficiently accurate mathematical model, which can capture system dynamics in the presence of external disturbances. Artificial neural network is known for ideal in capturing systems behaviour, where little knowledge about vehicle dynamics is available. In this paper, we explored this potential of artificial neural network for characterizing nonlinear dynamics of an unmanned airship. The flight experimentation data for an outdoor experimental airship are acquired through a series of pre-determined flight tests. The experimental data are subjected to a class of dynamic recurrent neural network model dubbed as nonlinear auto-regressive model with exogenous inputs for training. Sufficiently trained neural network model captured and demonstrated the longitudinal dynamics of the airship satisfactorily. We also demonstrated the usefulness of proposed technique for Lotte airship, wherein the performance of proposed model is validated and analysed for the Lotte airship flight test data.

scholarly journals Design of a Low-Cost Fixed Wing UAV

2018 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 02045
Author(s):  
Mochammad Ariyanto ◽  
Joga D. Setiawan ◽  
Teguh Prabowo ◽  
Ismoyo Haryanto ◽  
Munadi
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Body Part ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Straight Wing

This research will try to design a low cost of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using low-cost material that able to fly autonomously. Six parameters of UAV’s structure will be optimized based on basic airframe configuration, wing configuration, straight wing, tail configuration, fuselage material, and propeller location. The resulted and manufactured prototype of fixed-wing UAV will be tested in autonomous fight tests. Based on the flight test, the developed UAV can successfully fly autonomously following the trajectory command. The result shows that low-cost material can be used as a body part of fixed-wing UAV.

Roll aerodynamic characteristics study of an unmanned aerial vehicle based on circulation control technology

2017 ◽  
Vol 233 (3) ◽  
pp. 871-882
Author(s):  
Kun Chen ◽  
Zhiwei Shi ◽  
Jiachen Zhu ◽  
Haiyang Wang ◽  
Junquan Fu
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Flight Control ◽  
Attitude Control ◽  
Aerodynamic Force ◽  
Flight Test ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Control Technology ◽  
Circulation Control ◽  
Aerial Vehicle

To explore the control efficiency of circulation flow control technology, a circulation control actuator with an independent gas source has been designed and applied in roll attitude control of a small unmanned aerial vehicle. The circulation control devices are arranged at the two ends of the wing on an unmanned aerial vehicle scale model, the changes in aerodynamic force and aerodynamic moment caused by turning on the actuator are measured in a wind tunnel, and the flow field characteristics are analysed using particle image velocimetry technology. The flight control effect of the roll attitude is verified via a flight test. Experimental and flight test results show that the control of roll attitude can be achieved by turning on the circulation control actuator on one side, and the maximum efficiency that the circulation control generates is equivalent to 8° aileron deflection with production of a favorable yaw moment to achieve a coordinated turn. The circulation control actuator can increase lift and reduce drag when opened on both sides simultaneously. The maximum lift-to-drag ratio of the UAV increased from 5 to 9, and this approach can also suppress flow separation and delay stall at high angles of attack. The aileron or trailing edge flaps can be replaced with circulation control actuators, and the circulation control technology can also be applied to aerodynamic performance improvement and flight control in other types of aircraft.

Development of a Robotic End-Effector for Apple Tree Pruning

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azlan Zahid ◽  
Long He ◽  
Lihua Zeng ◽  
Daeun Choi ◽  
James Schupp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cutting Force ◽  
Apple Tree ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Force Sensor ◽  
Pneumatic Cylinder ◽  
List Type ◽  
End Effector ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Simulation Results ◽  
Tree Pruning

HighlightsAn end-effector with two degrees of freedom (2R) was developed for pruning apple trees.A rational 2×2 relationship (R2 = 0.93) was found for ‘Fuji’ apple tree branch diameter and cutting force.Simulation showed that the cutter can be aligned in a wide range of orientations in a spherical workspace.The developed end-effector was able to cut branches up to 12 mm in diameter.Abstract. Robotics and automation technologies are now used extensively in agriculture, while production operations for tree fruit crops still largely depend on manual labor. Manual pruning is a labor-intensive and costly task in apple production. Robotic pruning is a potential solution, but it involves several challenges due to the unstructured work environment. This study focused on designing an end-effector prototype for pruning considering the maneuvering, spatial, mechanical, and horticultural requirements. Branch cutting force was measured with a thin force sensor to provide guidelines for the end-effector design. The test results indicated the relationship between the force required to cut different diameter branches with an R2 value of 0.93. The end-effector was developed using two rotary motors, a pneumatic cylinder, and a pair of bypass shear blades. A three-directional linear manipulator system and a control system were built for moving the end-effector to targeted locations. A mathematical model was developed for simulation of the workspace utilization and reachable points of the end-effector. The simulation results indicated that the end-effector can be aligned in a wide range of orientations of the cutter. Field tests were conducted for validation of the simulation results and performance assessment of the end-effector. The results indicated that the end-effector with the current parameter settings successfully cut branches up to 12 mm in diameter and was able to cut branches in a wide range of possible orientations in a given 3D space. The robotic end-effector developed in this study is a core component of an automated pruning system for fruit trees. In future work, an integrated manipulator system will be developed for branch accessibility with collision-free trajectories. Keywords: Malus × domestica (Borkh.), Pruning end-effector, Reachable-points simulation, Tree pruning.

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