UTILIZING UAV PAYLOAD DESIGN BY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT An undergraduate team consisting of mechanical and electrical engineering students at the University of North Dakota developed an electro-optical and un-cooled thermal infrared digital imaging remote sensing payload for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The first iteration of the payload design began in the fall of 2005 and the inaugural flight tests took place at Camp Ripley, Minnesota, a National Guard facility, in the fall of 2006 with a corporate partner. The second iteration design with increased performance in object tracking and data processing is expected to fly in the summer of 2007. Payload development for integration into a UAV is a process that is not currently well defined by industrial practices or regulated by government. These processes are a significant part of the research being conducted in order to define the "best practices." The emerging field of UAVs generates tremendous interest and serves to attract quality students into the research. As with many emerging technologies there are many new exciting developments, however, the fundamentals taught in core courses are still critical to the process and serve as the basis of the system. In this manner, the program stimulates innovative design while maintaining a solid connection to undergraduate courses and illustrates the importance of advanced courses. The payload development was guided by off-the-shelf components and software using a systems engineering methodology throughout the project. Many of the design and payload flight constraints were based on external factors, such as difficulties with access to airspace, weatherrelated delays, and ITAR restrictions on hardware. Overall, the research project continues to be a tremendous experiential learning activity for mechanical and electrical engineering students, as well as for the faculty members. The process has been extremely successful in enhancing the expertise in systems engineering and design in the students and developing the UAV payload design knowledge base and necessary infrastructure at the university

The Reduction of Modal Sensor Channels through a Pareto Chart Methodology

Presented herein is a new experimental sensor placement procedure developed to assist in placing sensors in key locations in an efficient method to reduce the number of channels for a full modal analysis. It is a fast, noncontact method that uses a laser vibrometer to gather a candidate set of sensor locations. These locations are then evaluated using a Pareto chart to obtain a reduced set of sensor locations that still captures the motion of the structure. The Pareto chart is employed to identify the points on a structure that have the largest reaction to an input excitation and thus reduce the number of channels while capturing the most significant data. This method enhances the correct and efficient placement of sensors which is crucial in modal testing. Previously this required the development and/or use of a complicated model or set of equations. This new technique is applied in a case study on a small unmanned aerial system. The test procedure is presented and the results are discussed

The evolving role of the state hospital in the care and treatment of older adults: state trend, 1984 to 1993

OBJECTIVE: To understand the current and potential role of state hospitals in serving geriatric patients, national trends in the use of state mental hospitals by adults age 65 and older were examined. METHODS: State hospital use by older adults in the 50 states and the District of Columbia was compared for the years 1984 and 1993 using published data from the Center for Mental Health Services. RESULTS: Nationally, the number of state hospital admissions and residents declined between 1984 and 1993, and the rate of decrease was greater for older adults than for younger adults. However, states varied considerably in the rate of decrease in the number of older adult state hospital residents and admissions and in the proportion of older adult patients diagnosed with an organic mental disorder. In ten states, the older-adult state hospital population increased. CONCLUSIONS: Although the national trend is toward a declining role for state hospitals in treatment and care of older adults, in several states the hospitals fill an important function in providing custodial care and acute care for this population