April 26, 2001

Team Information Designation Ongo-03 Members Advisors Dr. J. Lamont, Prof. R. Patterson, Dr. Rajagopalan, Dr. J. Basart ClientSpace Systems Operational Lab (SSOL) Second Semester Cory Carlson Nick Lindstrom Brian Peres John Dorsey Zach Smith First Semester Scott Dang Chad Winterhof Eugene Koob Bernard Lwakabamba Stephen Smith Nathan Ellefson

Problem Statement & General Background Project Assumptions and Limitations Design Objectives/Constraints End-product Description Risk and Risk Management Technical Approach Evaluation of Success Future Work Financial and Human Budgets Lessons Learned Summary Agenda

General Background Annual competition started in 1990 Sponsored by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International University teams build autonomous aerial vehicles that must complete predetermined tasks Tasks change every 4 to 5 years The team completing the most tasks in the least amount of time wins IARC (International Aerial Robotics Competition)

Problem Statement Build ISU’s first entry in IARC competition –Complete the requirements for the competition Modify an R/C helicopter for autonomous flight Establish a communication link between the helicopter and a ground-based PC station

End-product Description Fully autonomous gas powered helicopter that uses GPS and other sensors to navigate The ability to transmit analog image signals to a ground station Ground station able to recognize symbols via image recognition software Able to enter the IARC

Assumptions Funding will be available for the completion of the project Suitable hardware will be available to complete the project Our design will successfully control the flight of the helicopter used in the project The sensors chosen for the helicopter will work with the control system to control the helicopter and successfully identify ground markings

Limitations The payload carrying capacity of the helicopter Flight time of the helicopter without refueling Accuracy of the GPS system Range of the imaging hardware Range and accuracy of the data transmission equipment Available funding Limited mounting surface Power consumption

Potential Risks Serious design flaw that halts the development of the aircraft Helicopter crashes and needs repair Our funding runs out before the project is finished Time constraints, rule changes

Current Semester Approach 1. Split into three groups: System Requirements Controls Communications 2. Develop a strategic plan (team handbook) 3. Allocate and specialize responsibilities

Technical Approach We are planning to use a PC/104 control board as the on-board computer to control the helicopter. This controller will be interfaced with the sensors and telemetry. It will take data from the sensors and process it so that it can make flight control decisions. The control subsystem will reside in the software of the onboard computer. Control Subsystem

Technical Approach AutopilotServosHelicopter Reaction AFCS Inner Loop AFCS Outer Loop Figure 1. Simple block diagram showing control system interaction with helicopter Control Subsystem

Technical Approach Control Subsystem Model Helicopter Logic Sensors Position Desired Position

Sensors Subsystem Sensor System ONBOARD COMPUTER Polls the SLAVE(s) in a predefined order Packages sensor data and sends to the telemetry subsystem SLAVE (PIC) Performs A/D conversions if necessary Performs segmentation of data Controls operation of servos Technical Approach SLAVE SENSOR ANALOG SLAVE SENSOR ANALOG 1 2 ADDITIONALSENSORS DIGITAL CPU

Technical Approach Sensors Subsystem Current Sensor Components Polaroid 6500 Ranging Module (2)  Altitude & Proximity Accelerometers (2)  Acceleration Gyroscopes (2)  Pitch, Yaw, Roll Digital Compass  Direction Future Sensor Components GPS  Global Coordinate Imaging System  Image Recognition

Technical Approach -Telemetry Unit- It will interface with the on-board computer. This subsystem will relay flight and mapping information to the PC based ground station for processing. -PC Based Ground Station- The ground station will receive and log sensor data from the telemetry system on the helicopter. It will also do image recognition on the image relayed from the helicopters on-board video camera. We have chosen a Dell 500 MHz PC for this job. Information Transfer and Processing

Evaluation of Success Goals completed: Learned to program PICs Designed basic control algorithm Created new strategic plan Designed communications for onboard components Created interfaces between sensors and PICS

Evaluation of Success Past accomplishments Built and tested helicopter Designed compass circuit Created sonar software Acquired ground station Acquired flight simulator

Future Work Future Milestones: –Test hardware limitations –Finish development on control/communication software –Learn to fly helicopter manually (ongoing) –Start assembling hardware to mount onto the helicopter –Repair the helicopter

Expected Financial Budget

Human Budget

Lessons Learned Team work Meet regularly Interpersonal communications Thoroughly document work done Know the project requirements Work always takes longer than planned RISC architecture can be confusing I/O operations are easier in assembly than C++ Double check contacts

Summary Goal: Build autonomous vehicle for entry in IARC competition by 2003 Proposed Solution: Modify a gas-powered remote controlled helicopter for autonomous flight Current Status: 1. Helicopter built and flight tested 2. Sensor subsystem in the implementation phase 3. Control system entering design phase

Questions ?