1. Radio controlled aerial vehicles
You probably call them “drones”

2. Today’s drone – A Flying camera

3. Yesterday’s drone – Weapon of War

4. Drones from 1987 – Agricultural drone

5. What is a “drone” Definition varies depending on the source
Webster’s dictionary: 3 :  an unmanned aircraft or ship guided by remote control or onboard computers.
Key feature is unmanned flying vehicle
May be autonomous or Radio controlled
Does not mean “Quadrotor helicopter” but includes them.

6. Early days of drones
Early drones were radio controlled model airplanes first flown in 1917.
Used simple AM radios, gas motors, and actuators (solenoids)
Servos for more precise control came around the 1950’s.
FM radios became popular in the late 1980’s.
The term drone didn’t refer to unmanned aircraft until the mid 1990’s. Was reserved mostly for military vehicles.
Electric aircraft became common in early 2000’s.

7. Key technological developments
Radio transmitters and receivers
Video systems
Electronic stabilization
Microcontrollers
GPS
Battery/motor technology

8. Radio transmitters (control)
Classic RC radio
Computer hand controller

9. History of control Early controllers were single joystick AM radios
By the 1960’s – 4 channel control
By 1980’s Frequency modulation
Early 2000’s – FHSS (frequency hopping Spread Spectrum
Today – Tablet computers or mobile phones often combined with a 2 joy stick FHSS radio

10. Video systems First systems were wireless security cameras Benefits:
Convenient 12V power system
Relatively small and light
Inexpensive
Problems
Low resolution
Short range
Very heavy for small aircraft
Use same frequencies as control

11. Improvements (hacks) to security systems
Smaller/lighter cameras
Better antennas

12. Antenna systems
Circular polarized omni
Long Range directional

13. Improvements to security systems
Smaller/lighter components – Allow fitting to smaller vehicles
Circularly polarized antennas – Greatly improved video clarity and capability
Directional antennas – Improved range to more than 50 miles
Digital systems – High definition video feed

14. A view from the pilot’s seat

15. Electronic stabilization

16. Early stabilization – The Multi Wii
Nintendo Wii’s nunchuck controller has built-in gyros to sense movement. This was connected to an inexpensive Arduino microcontroller to read and communicate.

17. MultiWiiCopter
One of the first multirotor projects which combined the Wii stabilization system with an Arduino microcontroller to connect with a common RC radio.

18. Improvements since MultiWii
All-in-one boards cost ¼ the price and are significantly smaller
Addition of accelerometers
User-friendly programming interfaces such as CC3D copter control, Baseflight, and ClaeanFlight applications
Addition of GPS positioning

19. The heart of the Flight controller
Arduino microcontroller
Programmer interface

20. GPS Systems

21. GPS systems
GPS systems allow the drone to know where it is at any time. This opened the gateway for better stability control as well as autonomous control.

22. Power systems – The brushless motor
Drones are mostly electric and are driven by brushless DC electric motors. Usually, these are direct driven outside runners which produce a large amount of torque and relatively low RPM.

23. The brushless outrunner
Significantly improved efficiency (often 80+%)
Very high power-to-weight ratio (3 Watts per gram of motor)
Variable motor timing through the controller
Inexpensive to manufacture
Does not require a gearbox to turn a large propeller
Virtually maintenance free

24. Brushless DC motor controller
The sensorless brushless DC motor controller creates an AC sychronous signal to the brushless motor. It senses position by electrical feedback. Modern controllers even use predictive timing for high speed applications.

25. Power systems: The Lithium battery
Without the lithium battery, the modern drone would not be possible. Their incredibly high power to weight ratio coupled with the extremely high discharge rates (can discharge fully in 3 minutes) makes them the power systems choice for the modern drone.

26. The Future of the Drone
Aerial photography
Weapons of war

27. The Future of the drone
Package delivery
Agriculture

28. FPV Racing
First Person Video (or FPV) racing is the fastest growing tech sport in the World.

29. Race video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77FFSXipCks