Development of a co-axial tri-rotor UAV.

This paper discusses the initial design requirements and development of a Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV), sometimes referred to as a Miniature Aerial Vehicle (MAV) or Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (μUAV) as the backdrop to an entry for the MoD Grand Challenge Event 2008 (MoD GC 2008). A review of 61 SUAVs has been undertaken together with the development of a methodology for evaluation, review and rating against specific design criteria. This analysis concludes with a list of the top ten systems currently available which have been found to be best suited to the particular requirements of operating in the cluttered urban environment. Finally, we present a novel design of Co-Axial Tri-Rotor UAV (named HALO™) which has been developed by the i-Spy team at Middlesex University as our entry to the MoD GC 2008

Mini Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAV) - A Review of the Parameters for Classification of a Mini UAV.

In the recent years, Mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has generated a lot of interest both in military and civilian applications. Contemporary innovations have seen the entry of Mini UAV into a wide range of hitherto fore unexplored domains. Advancement in computer systems, miniaturisation of electronics, artificial intelligence and composite materials is propelling the development of Mini UAV. Mini UAV is a class of UAV within the large family of unmanned systems categorised by a set of parameters. However, there are glaring inconsistencies and lack of uniformity in specifying the parameters which define a Mini UAV. The paper explores the factors which define a Mini UAV to establish itself as a distinct class. Based on the review of the recent literature and various manufacturer’s data of Mini UAVs, both fixed-wing and rotary-wing, categorisation of Mini UAV have been analysed considering functional requirements of operating altitude, endurance, operating range, maximum take-off weight and size

Small unmanned airborne systems to support oil and gas pipeline monitoring and mapping

Acknowledgments We thank Johan Havelaar, Aeryon Labs Inc., AeronVironment Inc. and Aeronautics Inc. for kindly permitting the use of materials in Fig. 1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Distributed Control for Collective Behaviour in Micro-unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.The work presented herein focuses on the design of distributed autonomous controllers for collective behaviour of Micro-unmanned Aerial Vehicles (MAVs). Two alternative approaches to this topic are introduced: one based upon the Evolutionary Robotics (ER) paradigm, the other one upon flocking principles. Three computer simulators have been developed in order to carry out the required experiments, all of them having their focus on the modelling of fixed-wing aircraft flight dynamics. The employment of fixed-wing aircraft rather than the omni-directional robots typically employed in collective robotics significantly increases the complexity of the challenges that an autonomous controller has to face. This is mostly due to the strict motion constraints associated with fixed-wing platforms, that require a high degree of accuracy by the controller. Concerning the ER approach, the experimental setups elaborated have resulted in controllers that have been evolved in simulation with the following capabilities: (1) navigation across unknown environments, (2) obstacle avoidance, (3) tracking of a moving target, and (4) execution of cooperative and coordinated behaviours based on implicit communication strategies. The design methodology based upon flocking principles has involved tests on computer simulations and subsequent experimentation on real-world robotic platforms. A customised implementation of Reynolds’ flocking algorithm has been developed and successfully validated through flight tests performed with the swinglet MAV. It has been notably demonstrated how the Evolutionary Robotics approach could be successfully extended to the domain of fixed-wing aerial robotics, which has never received a great deal of attention in the past. The investigations performed have also shown that complex and real physics-based computer simulators are not a compulsory requirement when approaching the domain of aerial robotics, as long as proper autopilot systems (taking care of the ”reality gap” issue) are used on the real robots.EOARD (European Office of Aerospace Research & Development), euCognitio

Evaluating the use of Drones in the area of Transportation/Construction

Drones are proving out as a valuable tool and growing quickly in the world of technological advances. The applications of these vehicles are spreading widely in the areas of remote sensing, real time monitoring, goods delivery, security, defense, surveillance, infrastructure inspection. Although, the intent behind creating this tool was remote sensing. Smart drones will be the next big innovation and modification, which would have much wider applications especially in the field of infrastructure where it can reduce risks and lower costs. Current direct evaluation techniques are tedious, and the information caught is frequently not led in a precise manner with the areas tested not being geographically correct and the resulting reports being delivered past the point of no return. These were the reasons, which have increased the demand and usage of unmanned vehicles. In this research paper, we present critical review of main advancements of Drones in the area of transportation and agriculture. We present all the research related to civil applications in those areas and challenges including traffic monitoring, Bridge condition assessment, Roadway asset detection and many other applications related to infrastructure inspection enhancement. The paper also contributes with a discussion on the opportunities, which are opened, and the challenges that need to be addressed. Findings from the case studies, it is reported that around 25% of the bridges in united states are deficient and need continuous monitoring for enhancements to prevent any hazard. Unmanned vehicles could be a great help in monitoring these bridges and other important components of transportation, which can efficiently minimize the cost as well as the time spent on inspection for each of this component, as manual inspection requires labor and time which would be subsequently reduced by incorporating the usage of drones in the area of transportation

Aerial Vehicles

This book contains 35 chapters written by experts in developing techniques for making aerial vehicles more intelligent, more reliable, more flexible in use, and safer in operation.It will also serve as an inspiration for further improvement of the design and application of aeral vehicles. The advanced techniques and research described here may also be applicable to other high-tech areas such as robotics, avionics, vetronics, and space

Environmental chemical sensing using small drones: A review

Recent advances in miniaturization of chemical instrumentation and in low-cost small drones are catalyzing exponential growth in the use of such platforms for environmental chemical sensing applications. The versatility of chemically sensitive drones is reflected by their rapid adoption in scientific, industrial, and regulatory domains, such as in atmospheric research studies, industrial emission monitoring, and in enforcement of environmental regulations. As a result of this interdisciplinarity, progress to date has been reported across a broad spread of scientific and non-scientific databases, including scientific journals, press releases, company websites, and field reports. The aim of this paper is to assemble all of these pieces of information into a comprehensive, structured and updated review of the field of chemical sensing using small drones. We exhaustively review current and emerging applications of this technology, as well as sensing platforms and algorithms developed by research groups and companies for tasks such as gas concentration mapping, source localization, and flux estimation. We conclude with a discussion of the most pressing technological and regulatory limitations in current practice, and how these could be addressed by future research

Electromagnetic interference shielding in unmanned aerial vehicle against lightning strike

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) due to lightning strike in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) became a critical issue, since it could cause a severe damaged to electronic equipment which was installed in UAV. This paper proposed a method to reduce EMI by creating shield over the body of UAV with aluminum foil with thickness 0.15mm. A standard lightning impulse-voltage generated by impulse generator was delivered to the high voltage (HV) electrode at a particular distance from UAV. Indirect effect of lightning strike was investigated by measuring induced voltage inside the compartment of UAV fuselage during flashover between the HV electrode and UAV. Flashover between the HV electrode and UAV simulated the lightning strike. The result showed that the highest voltage only 1V at UAV compartment when 150kV impulse voltage supplied to the electrode with striking area on the wing. The measured voltage was far below 100V as the insulation level of low voltage equipment inside UAV. Although the direct effect of lightning has created a burning hole on the surface aluminum foil with thickness 0.15mm, the effect was overcome by increasing the thickness to 0.3mm. The application of aluminum foil over the surface of UAV repelled the electromagnetic interference which acted as a Faraday cage. The shielding method was successfully reduced the effect of EMI

Wide-Area Surveillance System using a UAV Helicopter Interceptor and Sensor Placement Planning Techniques

This project proposes and describes the implementation of a wide-area surveillance system comprised of a sensor/interceptor placement planning and an interceptor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) helicopter. Given the 2-D layout of an area, the planning system optimally places perimeter cameras based on maximum coverage and minimal cost. Part of this planning system includes the MATLAB implementation of Erdem and Sclaroff’s Radial Sweep algorithm for visibility polygon generation. Additionally, 2-D camera modeling is proposed for both fixed and PTZ cases. Finally, the interceptor is also placed to minimize shortest-path flight time to any point on the perimeter during a detection event. Secondly, a basic flight control system for the UAV helicopter is designed and implemented. The flight control system’s primary goal is to hover the helicopter in place when a human operator holds an automatic-flight switch. This system represents the first step in a complete waypoint-navigation flight control system. The flight control system is based on an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. This system is implemented using a general-purpose personal computer (GPPC) running Windows XP and other commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. This setup differs from other helicopter control systems which typically use custom embedded solutions or micro-controllers. Experiments demonstrate the sensor placement planning achieving \u3e90% coverage at optimized-cost for several typical areas given multiple camera types and parameters. Furthermore, the helicopter flight control system experiments achieve hovering success over short flight periods. However, the final conclusion is that the COTS IMU is insufficient for high-speed, high-frequency applications such as a helicopter control system