1. Air Dropped Communication Relay System for Unmanned Vehicles 04/24/07 SENIOR DESIGN MAY07-05

2. 2May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System2 Team Information Client: Mr. Todd Colten Lockheed Martin Advisor: Dr. Ahmed Kamal Professor, ISU Team: John Chargo CprE Andrew Hanrath EE Jonathan Hoback EE Matthew Pross EE

3. 3May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System3 Presentation Outline Introduction –Problem Statement –Environment, users, and uses –Functional requirements Project Activity –Design approach –Implementation activities –Testing activities Resources and Schedules Closing –Additional Work –Lessons Learned –Risk Management

4. 4May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System4 Project Overview

5. 5May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System5 Definitions UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle IEEE 802.11 – specification for wireless LAN QoS – Quality of Service KTAS – Knots true airspeed

6. 6May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System6 Acknowledgements Lockheed Martin Dr. Ahmed Kamal Ubiquiti Genuine Innovations Professor Patterson Leland Harker

7. 7May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System7 Problem Statement “Develop a system of self-contained communications nodes that can be air- dropped from a UAV at an altitude of 500ft. The nodes will then provide ‘network-centric’ IEEE 802.11 communications between ground and aerial vehicles separated by a large geographic area”

8. 8May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System8 General Solution Approach

9. 9 Operating Environment Terrain –Plains –Tundra –Desert –Forest –Marsh Conditions –Open battlefield –Natural disaster area –Possible moisture –-20°C to 50°C

10. 10May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System10 End Users and Uses

11. 11May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System for UAVs11 Assumptions and Limitations Assumptions Ground and air vehicles are 802.11 compliant Deployable from UAV traveling at 55ktas (63mph) UAV payload bay is 24”x12”x12”, holds 50 lbs Nodes will drop from 500 feet Multiple UAVs can be used for deployment Nodes are not reusable Limitations Battery life limits operating time Only authenticated devices can use the system Nodes must cost less than $500 Nodes must be as compact as possible System must be compatible with IEEE 802.11 devices

12. 12May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System12 End-product and Deliverables End-Product Fully functional relay nodes (2) Deliverables Project plan Design document Poster Testing results Final report Project presentations (3)

13. 13May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System13 Present Accomplishments Parachute system Antenna mast system Routing software Sequencing software Power supply Enclosure

14. 14 Approaches Considered Enclosure Landing System Antenna Support Structure Radio Antenna Processing Platform Software Power Supply

15. 15 Project Definition Activities Examined problem statement Communicated with client Established assumptions/limitations

16. 16 Research Activities Technical journals and publications –Current routing protocols –Embedded systems –Antenna/radio technology Company-based web search

17. 17 Design Activities Examined overall system Defined subsystems Designed subsystems –Link distance –Parachute drag calculations –Power consumption –Sensitivity analysis Designed subsystem interaction –Block diagram –Layout

18. 18May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System18 Node Design

19. 19May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System19 Node Lifecycle Four main stages in each node’s life:

20. 20May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System20 Enclosure High-impact lexan –Will not interfere with RF communications –Will withstand the drop –Inexpensive to produce

21. 21May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System21 Parachute Type: Semi-hemispherical Material: Ripstop Nylon Size: 1.70 m diameter 3.5 m/s impact velocity Shoud lines: 2.55 m Deployment: SBC triggered nichrome coils with drone chutes

22. 22May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System22 Antenna Support Structure Raised antenna –42 inches –Maximize link distance –Signal strength Inflatable –Tubular sleeve design Ripstop nylon Inner tubes –CO 2 cartridges

23. 23May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System23 Radio/Antenna Ubiquiti SuperRange 2 MiniPCI radio Tx: 400 mW IEEE 802.11e 5dBi 8.4” Dipole Antenna

24. 24May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System24 Processing Platform Soekris Engineering net 4526 single board computer MiniPCI slots (x2) 133MHz CPU 64 MB SDRAM 64 MB CompactFlash Small form-factor

25. 25May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System25 Operating System Pyramid Linux Designed for wireless networking applications Support for the Soekris 4526 SBC and Atheros Total size: < 64 MB

26. 26May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System26 Power Supply Ultralife ® UBBL04 Lithium Ion batteries (2) –Rechargeable –7.2 Volts nominal National Semiconductor LM3478 controller (1) –High efficiency –Suitable for boost topology

27. 27May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System27 Power Supply Schematic design/simulation –National Semiconductor WEBENCH® Tools

28. 28May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System28 Power Supply PCB Layout –ExpressPCB TM

29. 29May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System29 Network Components AODV-based Routing

30. 30May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System30 Network Components Quality of Service (QoS) –IEEE 802.11e –Provides priority to UAVs Encryption –128-bit WEP

31. 31May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System31 Overall System 300m between nodes/100km = 334 nodes in system Each node: 10”x10”x4”, 6lbs = 6 nodes per UAV = 56 UAVs to deploy 100km system Cost per Node: $515 $515/node * 334nodes = $172,010 $1,720/km of coverage

32. 32May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System32 Implementations Activities Parachutes –Main chutes (2) –Drone chutes (2)

33. 33May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System33 Implementations Activities Inflatable Mast –Sleeves sewn (4) –End-caps devised (2)

34. 34May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System34 Implementations Activities Software –Sequencing –General I/O interface

35. 35May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System35 Implementations Activities Power Supply PCB –ExpressPCB TM –Completed soldering of surface mount components

36. 36May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System36 Implementations Activities Enclosure

37. 37May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System37 Testing Activities Tx power test –Actual power requirements Parachute drop test –2.08 m/s Routing tests –Multi-hop route Link distance test –532 m

38. 38May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System38 Resource Requirements

39. 39May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System39 Schedules Project Schedule Deliverable Schedule

40. 40May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System40 Project Evaluation

41. 41May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System41 Commercialization Prototype Possible future applications

42. 42May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System42 Recommendations for additional work UAV deployment mechanism Node 2.0 concept –Rotational directional antennas –Dual-radio for multi-channel links –Servo-controlled parafoil –GPS guided auto-positioning –Wireless sensor network

43. 43May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System43 Lessons Learned Project documentation –Better efficiency and accuracy Schedule planning –Resources –Timeline Design verification –Important step for success Expanding technical horizons –Get help/advice when needed

44. 44 Technical Lessons Learned Power Supply Design Parachute Design Pneumatic system design Ad-hoc routing protocols Embedded Linux Cross-compiling System Integration

45. 45May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System45 Risk Management Potential Risks –Loss of team member –Loss of an advisor –Time of completion –Budget Risks Encountered –Budget restraints Unanticipated risks –Laptop hard drive failure –Hardware failure Resultant changes –Backup of all source code

46. 46May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System46 Closing Summary “Development of an IEEE 802.11 wireless network that can increase situational awareness to military personnel, supply data to environmental researchers, or aid emergency responders in their effort to save lives.”

47. 47 Demonstration

48. 48May07-05 Air Dropped Communications Relay System48 Questions Questions?