1. UAV Aerial Imagery & Autopilot Integration
Aaron
Arick Reed Abraham-ME
Spencer Hanson - ME 
Tim Fratangelo - CE
Alex Klymkow - EE
Aaron Wilbee - EE

2. Agenda
Project Background
Desired State
Obstacles
Project Plan
Aaron

3. Team Team Name Role Picture Arick Reed Abraham ME / Coordinator
Spencer Hanson ME
Tim Fratangelo CE
Alex Klymkow EE
Aaron Wilbee
Team
Everyone In Order OMG

4. Project Background
Imaging Science Department needs to take aerial Images
Currently done with full-scale aircraft
High cost, infrequent flights
UAVs significantly reduce operational costs and pilot risk
Proper configuration for successful operation by less- experienced users
Easy to source replacement parts
Spencer
This project began about 5 years and ~12 teams ago, working toward a UAV for the Imaging Science Department. Then and now, Imaging Science hires aircraft to fly them and their camera equipment so they can test it and take photos from the air. The cost for this is prohibitive, somewhere around $1000/day, and they do a lot of tests, so the costs add up fast. Also, chartering an aircraft and pilot isn’t something that can be done on a spur-of-the-moment basis - it has to be planned ahead of time, and you have to work with the pilot’s schedule. So you end up with high cost, infrequent tests, which isn’t ideal. A UAV platform is designed as a partial solution to this problem. Obviously a small UAV does not have the same cargo capacity as a Cessna, and typically with these flights Imaging Science would take a lot of equipment - in excess of 200 lbs - so we can’t match that kind of load, but we can still carry a useful amount, around 20 lbs. UAVs offer several advantages for small scale tests: First, with a properly configured autopilot, a UAV can be operated by less experienced users - you don’t need to be a pilot to fly it. Because you don’t need to charter a pilot, you can work around your own schedule and fly when you want. Secondly, it reduces pilot and passenger risk significantly, by removing both from the aircraft entirely. Third, normal operational costs of a UAV of this design are essentially zero. There is marginal cost associated with charging batteries. Repair of the aircraft is also fairly inexpensive, since the aircraft is composed of mostly common materials - wood, fiberglass, etc. Utilizing off-the-shelf electronics, servos and motors common to RC hobbyists means that any part of the aircraft can be replaced easily and quickly.

5. Previous Projects P13231 UAV Wireless Communication and Control P10231
Modular Imaging System Frame and Stabilization
P11232
UAV Airframe C.1
P11231
UAV Image Integration and Performance
P10661
Image Calibration Device
P10236
Configurable control platform
P10232
UAV Airframe C
P10231
UAV Telemetry
P09561
Visible Spectrum Imaging System
P09233
Airframe Measurement and Aircraft Controls
P09232
UAV Airframe B
P09231
UAV Airframe A
Spencer
The history behind this project gives you an idea of the project progression - we’ve had several airframe configurations, at least two different telemetry and autopilot systems, and several projects focused entirely on the imaging package. So we’re not at the point where we have all this knowledge and hardware, and its time to put it all together into one seamless package.

6. Current State
Imaging Science still using hired aircraft for aerial photography.
Previous efforts have produced discrete systems.
Airborne imaging system previously developed, likely antiquated.
Existing payload-bearing aircraft requires more testing.
Spencer
As I touched on before, Imaging science continues to use full scale aircraft for all their tests - a final product has not been delivered to them, so they’re still incurring those costs.
The previous teams have all produced systems capable of completing their individual tasks - we have aircraft, we have cameras, we have camera mounts and we have autopilots. While many of these systems have been tested individually, or even two together, in the case of the autopilot, no team has ever completely integrated all the systems. So we have a lot of discrete hardware and software that, while it is designed to work together, has never actually worked together in flight.
Our team will look into replacement of the imaging system, since the teams tasked with selecting an imaging system did so a couple years ago, and the technology has progressed since then, Changes to immediately affected systems like the camera mount will probably be necessary to accommodate a new imaging system.
With respect to the physical ability to fly a prototype aircraft, the good news is we have several aircraft at our disposal for testing, all in repairable condition. The bad news is, the aircraft we intend to use for full integration of all the systems in the final prototype suffered a fatal crash at the end of its development phase. It was rebuilt, but has never been flight tested, and since the construction was rushed, it is possible there are structural defects. So at this time, we do not have a fully integrated UAV imaging platform capable of fulfilling mission requirements.
No fully integrated UAV imaging platform exists

7. Desired State
Full integration between airframe, autopilot, and imaging systems.
A UAV capable of autonomous waypoint-directed flight.
Integrated imaging system capable of taking and saving photos
Real-time control through the ground station.
On-demand transfer of control to a human pilot.
Reed

8. Stakeholders Dr. Jason Kolodziej RIT Imaging Science Department
MSD Team
Innocent Bystanders
Reed

9. House of Quality Captain Picard Says: 1 - ME
Priority
Maximum Energy Output
Aircraft Powerplant Sufficient
Stability
Functional Autopilot
Functional Communication Link
Camera Module 1
Autopilot follow Dynamically updating Waypoints 9 x 2
FAA Compliance 3
Meaningful Mission Time 4
GPS Triggered Image Capture 5
Functional Aircraft 6
Ground Station Update Waypoints 7
Receive Telemetry and display 8
Ground Station Image Capture
Record Inertial Position 10
Modular Camera Mount
Measure
KWH KW
BFT
Captain Picard Says:
1 - ME
Spencer: Powerplant: The main function of the aircraft’s powerplant, in this case an electric motor and batteries, is to provide enough thrust to keep the aircraft moving forward and allow it to maneuver.
2 - CE
3 - EE

10. Objectives Stable reusable aircraft Control strategy/algorithms
Interchangeable camera equipment
Accurate information recording
Alex

11. Deliverables Functional autonomous small (test) aircraft
Functional payload bearing (X-4) aircraft with:
Integrated autopilot
Integrated imaging hardware payload
Ground station software
Autopilot software
Image capture software
Aaron

12. Assumptions The team has adequate ability to complete the project.
Previous projects are functional but require testing
Budget $1000
Replacement of camera equipment
Tim

13. Risks
Any flight failure will probably require at least some aircraft repair, taking multiple days.
Pilot availability: There are no pilots on the team skilled enough to fly the large aircraft for testing.
Communication failure for manual control
Safety of fragile parts (camera, micro controller)
Part replacement lead time.
Aaron

14. Benchmarking Precedence with ArduPilot™, popular with amateurs
Previous Senior Design team successes/failures
Existing technology and expertise from model aviation
Comparison to professional technology neither practical nor possible.
Alex

15. Next Steps Prepare the small (test) airframe
Confirm the state of the imaging equipment
Determine specifications for next iteration of imaging equipment
Validate design of the UAV X-4’s control surfaces against theoretical models
Tim

16. Questions