1. HELICOPTER CONTROL USING THE VICON MOTION CAPTURE SYSTEM GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NOAH ALLEN KUNAL AMARNANI 22 OCTOBER 2008

2. Project Overview  Aerospace department  Vicon motion capture system  Automated helicopter control  Current position read by motion capture system  Eliminate human error  Total implementation cost  ~$25,000

3. Technical Objectives  Read raw current location coordinates from motion capture system  Compare current location and predefined flight path  Calculate necessary flight maneuver  Output to helicopter remote control through parallel port

4. Flight Lab

5. Current Setup ViconIQ EthernetParallel

6. Proposed Setup ViconIQ EthernetParallel MATLAB GaTech Hub

7. Remote Control  Three basic controls  Thrust  Rudder  Trim

8. Throttle/Rudder Switch  Digital switches turned on or off due to position of stick

9. Stock Remote Setup  Controls wired to inputs on the board. Throttle Control Rudder Control Remote Control Circuit Board 5 4

10. Modified Setup  Disconnected controls from board  Wired parallel port to the board inputs  Wired controls to parallel port cable Throttle Control Rudder Control Remote Control Circuit Board Parallel Port Parallel Port Cable 5 4 5 4

11. Modified Remote Control

12. Proposed Setup ViconIQ EthernetParallel MATLAB GaTech Hub

13. 1001 0011 0111 0100 0011 1111 0101 0010 Flight Control System EthernetParallel Flight Control System  MATLAB implementation  Retrieves raw Vicon data  Analyzes data and converts it to remote control input Function

14. Data Retrieval EthernetParallel  Utilizes Java command language  Queries ViconIQ over TCP/IP  Reads buffer stream as single byte strings into array Flight Control System 02000000 01000000 67000000 Function

15. Data Decoding EthernetParallel  Data comes in as two byte array  Array is segmented and converted to either a double or ASCII characters  Data is recorded into a cell structure Flight Control System 3E583C 72656B72614D M A R K E R Data Analysis Function Function

16. Data Analysis EthernetParallel  Implements proportional control flow  Examines error between current location and next location  Scales output amplitude based on gain and error Flight Control System Function Data Analysis Function Gain ControlSystem Output Flight Path

17. Parallel Output EthernetParallel  MATLAB capable of accessing parallel port directly  8 bit output will control throttle and rudder speed  Administrative access is necessary Flight Control System 1001110 Parallel Output Function Function Data Analysis Function

18. Parallel Port  D0-D7 are data lines (bi-directional)  C0-C3 are control lines (out)  S3-S7 are status lines(in)  Pins 18-25 are ground

19. Switches and Pin Map Control TypeSwitch Number Parallel Port Pin Pin Name Throttle12D0 Throttle23D1 Throttle34D2 Throttle45D3 ThrottleGround9D7 Rudder16D4 Rudder28D6 Rudder37D5 RudderGround9D7

20. Parallel Port Output  MATLAB capable of accessing parallel port directly.  Writing out 8 bits.  8 bits will control which switch is turned on or off

21. Demonstration Plan  Output current location of helicopter using MATLAB GUI  Control helicopter using MATLAB program  Fly a predetermined data path with minimum error

22. Problems or Issues  Discovering which switches on the control board control what level of output.  Matching ViconIQ system real-time output protocol

23. Remaining Tasks  Current position value decoding (Oct. 24 th )  Current position MATLAB GUI (Oct. 24 th )  Parallel port voltage map (Oct. 26 th )  Proportional control system coding (Oct. 26 th )  Control of helicopter from computer. (Oct. 29 th )  Control system to maneuver helicopter (Nov. 12 th )

24. Budget  Total Equimpent Cost = $0.  Total Labor Cost = $10,000

25. Current Status  Complete Remote Control Modification  Tested Parallel port output from MATLAB  Written MATLAB code for marker decoding  Analyzing data packets from emulator so that value decoding can be solved