Abstract Each July, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International holds an annual International Aerial Robotics Competition (IARC), with major universities from North America and Europe in attendance. The main goal of this competition is to develop an unmanned autonomous flying vehicle to carry out several different scenarios, such as surveying contaminated sites. A sub-vehicle may be designed to aid the primary vehicle in the completion of these scenarios. The main objective of the Micro-Controlled Aerial Robotics Team (Micro-CART) is to provide Iowa State University an entry to the International Aerial Robotics Competition. Problem Statement Micro-CART is Iowa State University’s entry into IARC Operating Environment Will operate in diverse conditions ranging from man-made and natural obstacles to fair weather conditions Intended User(s) and Intended Use(s) Team members of Spring 2004 will be responsible for entering and operating the aerial vehicle in the July 2004 IARC Use of the aerial vehicle will be to execute a specific mission in a structured competition environment Assumptions and Limitations Assumptions IARC mission rules may change after 2004 Necessary funding remains available Suitable hardware and software are available at an affordable price Limitations Physical limits of the helicopter Power consumption limits Lack of experience in aerospace engineering Frequent student turnover Lack of necessary lab equipment Expected End Product and Other Deliverables Micro-CART will create a system capable of completing Level 1 behavior of the current IARC mission and is easily modifiable for future missions. The basis of this system will be an autonomous helicopter capable of taking GPS locations as input, and flying to those locations. Modifications for future missions will likely include image recognition, obstacle avoidance, and sub-vehicle deployment systems. Proposed Approach System requirements Power supply/battery testing Helicopter maintenance and platform design Measuring coefficients necessary for algorithm development Strategic planning GPS evaluation Flight Controls Flight control algorithm research On-board processing Servo positioning control Manual override switch/kill switch Communications Sensor system development Serial communication between sensors and PC/104 board Technologies Considered Platform design Flight control algorithm Onboard processing Servo position control Manual override switch Sensor system development Sensor-processor communication Power system Testing Considerations Point-to-point flight navigation Tests with scaled servo model Circuit tests Flight algorithm tests Hover testing Onboard system testing i.e. sonar, GPS, etc Spring 2003 March 28, 2003 – PC/104 operates on AC and battery power April 4, Manual override switch is able to transfer flight control April 7, 2003 – PC/104 operates from disk-on-chip and external hard drive April 29, Controller software receives single sonar input April 11, Establish GPS connection with PC/104 May 1, All equipment is mounted on the helicopter May 1, Find process for data acquisition during flight Fall 2003 Integrate algorithms into flight control software Integrate GPS into overall functionality Integrate sonar with overall functionality Integrate software and IMU data with overall functionality Stable autonomous flight Design Objectives To design and build a fully autonomous flight vehicle Functional Requirements Level 1 behavior requires the following autonomous functionality: Maintain hover Fly to 5 GPS locations Safely land Design Constraints Cost Weight Power consumption Safety Flexibility Measurable Milestones Primary aerial vehicle (met) Functional sensor package (partially met) Functional onboard processing (partially met) Flight control algorithm (partially met) “In flight” data collection (not attempted) Autonomous hover (not attempted) Point-to-point flight (not attempted) Flight Control Members Byron KooimaEE 492 Lutz EngmannEngr Sp Thai ThachCprE 492 Justus GriesCprE 491 Brandon PlantageCprE 491 Gishe TukeEE 491 Todd WadsworthEE 492 Damian McGraneCprE Paul BrownEE 491 Adam ParkCprE 491 Funding Provided By Advisors John Lamont, Professor EE/CprE Ralph Patterson, Professor EE/CprE Client Communication Members Ryan LagneauxEE 492 Brian TholaCprE 492 Stephen CollinsCprE 492 Jeremy BennettCprE 491 James GriesCprE 491 Vidit LuthraEE 491 Ahmed NoamanyME Team Leader Jason KirchhoffCprE 492 Team website: System Requirements Members Introduction Project Requirements Budget and Personnel Effort Schedule Estimated total: 1,531 hours Estimated total: $81, The Micro-CART project teaches students how to familiarize themselves with a project that they were not part of from conception to deployment. Students must quickly come up to speed with Micro-CART at its current state and determine how they can actively contribute to the team for a relatively short period of time. Many students will not experience projects in the workplace that they design, implement, test, and maintain. Closing Summary Proposed Approach and Considerations