Unmanned Remote Hovercraft Team Hovercraft 4/16/09 Unmanned Remote Hovercraft Mitchell Lentini Brandon Dyer Justin Earnest

Team Hovercraft 2 Project Overview Web controlled unmanned hovercraft with remote “command station” For exploration and monitoring purposes For military and recreational use Affordable and competitively priced for clientele Real time controls Live video feedback 2

Design Objectives / Results Team Hovercraft 3 Design Objectives / Results Specification Objective Actual Cost < $400 $350 Weight < 15 lbs. 20 lbs. Dimensions 18” x 8” x 6” 24” x 12” x 6” Battery Life 2 hrs 1 hr 3

Phase 1: Hovercraft Body Team Hovercraft Phase 1: Hovercraft Body We have broken down the design into 3 separate pieces that once finished will be integrated. Phase 1 of the design approach is the construction of the physical body of the hovercraft Rigid body – plexi-glass frame 24”x12”x6” Skirt – plastic or rubber sheet designed to create an air cushion under the hovercraft Lift fan – blower 18 volt dc Thurst fans – which will be further detailed in the next slide/phase

Phase 2: Thrust Mechanism Team Hovercraft Phase 2: Thrust Mechanism Phase 2 or the thrust mechanism will revolve around two V-pitch variable speed motors with propellers. Forward/backward Each motor will be controlled by an electric speed controller which will be connected to the eBox via the cypress PSOC The signal from the command station will be sent to the eBox and processed accordingly V-pitch

Phase 3: Command Station Team Hovercraft Phase 3: Command Station Control GUI Server Application Gui designed in C/C#

Approach Hovercraft Thrust Motor/Fan Lift Motor/Fan Web Video Camera Team Hovercraft Approach Hovercraft Thrust Motor/Fan Lift Motor/Fan Web Video Camera Servo Controller System eBox Vortex Soc (processor) Command Station Via WiFi Module

Demo Setup Receive live video feed from craft Team Hovercraft 8 Demo Setup Turn on lift motor Power up eBox Run communication software initialization Receive live video feed from craft Transmit desired controls Explore the halls of the Van Leer building 8

Problems Lack of documentation for support with eBox Team Hovercraft 9 Problems Lack of documentation for support with eBox Thrust Motor signaling error High voltage supply for thrust motor -When testing the thrust motors we ran into a serious grounding issue. When the thrust motors ran with a bench top function generator and power supply they worked perfectly. When replacing the bench top power supply with the mobile battery it stopped working altogether. -The voltage supply from the USB was not high enough to power the controls function for the motor. -Lack of documentation for support with eBox in particular the web cam 9

Schedule and Major Milestones Team Hovercraft 10 Schedule and Major Milestones Task Date Finish Craft Body 3/25/09 Finish Software 4/17/09 Integrate 4/20/09 Demo 4/21/09 10

Cost: Build Team Hovercraft Part Quantity Purchased Unit Cost Total Cost Rechargeable Battery 2 $50.00 $100.00 Thrust fan Hovercraft body $200.00 eBox $240.00 $480.00 Camera $20.00 $40.00 Cypress Controller Kit Mounting, Cables, and Packaging Total Material Cost   $1,120

Cost: Manufacture Team Hovercraft 12 Parts Cost 627 Assembly Labor 11 Testing Labor 22 Total Labor 33 Fringe Benefits, % of Labor 8 Subtotal 668 Overhead, % of Matl, Labor & Fringe 334 Subtotal, Input Costs 1,002 Sales & Marketing Expense 650 Warranty & Support Expense 125 Subtotal, All Costs 1,777 Profit 623 Profit Percentage 26% Selling Price 2,400 Total Revenue $2,400,000 Total Profit $623,000 Cost: Manufacture 12

Results Individual components work exceptionally well Team Hovercraft 13 Results Individual components work exceptionally well Integrated components not so well Lift mechanism exceeds expectations Thrust motor signal sending issues Send/receive communication works Webcam integration trouble 13

For more information please visit our website Team Hovercraft For more information please visit our website http://www.ece.gatech.edu/academic/courses/ece4007/09spring/ece4007l03/lm4/