Project final reportOver the past year and a half, the Mizzou Unmanned Systems Team (MUST) has empowered dozens of Mizzou students to take their interest in unmanned systems and transform it into a passion. While we have witnessed a drastic decrease in the cost of obtaining such systems, even in the relatively short period of time the Team has been established, the initial cost of building and utilizing an unmanned system (suitable for academic purposes) is still in the area of $500-$1,000. The majority of college students cannot devote that much of their income to what is essentially a hobby (since commercial use is still illegal in most cases), but MUST allows those students to plan, build, configure, test, and operate these systems at no cost to the student

Mizzou Unmanned Systems Team (MUST)

University of Missouri: MOspace

Mizzou Unmanned Systems Team IIF Final Report 	Background		Over the past year and a half, the Mizzou Unmanned Systems Team (MUST) has empowered dozens of Mizzou students to take their interest in unmanned systems and transform it into a passion.  While we have witnessed a drastic decrease in the cost of obtaining such systems, even in the relatively short period of time the Team has been established, the initial cost of building and utilizing an unmanned system (suitable for academic purposes) is still in the area of $500-$1,000.  The majority of college students cannot devote that much of their income to what is essentially a hobby (since commercial use is still illegal in most cases), but MUST allows those students to plan, build, configure, test, and operate these systems at no cost to the student. 	 What	has	been	accomplished	on	your	project	goals?	 Our goals can be summarized into four parts: • Create and establish the Mizzou Unmanned Systems Team (MUST) as an interdisciplinary student organization devoted to the research and development of small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS) • Facilitate an environment that supports the research and development (R&D) of: unmanned systems; software that supports the autonomous nature of SUAS; and applications for the use of unmanned systems • Publish unmanned systems-related research as performed by one or more of our team members • Compete in various national and international competitions in order to win prize money and become a self-sustaining organization  Additionally, we created a goal of community outreach and education.  We have accomplished three of these four goals.  First, we created and established MUST, which is now a recognized student organization at the University of Missouri.  The organization is open to all who wish to join, regardless of experience or academic path.  To date, we have members from the Colleges of Engineering, Arts & Science, and Biology, as well as the School of Law.  Though our community outreach events both on and off campus, we have become well-known for our collective regarding the safe and effective use of SUAS.  In order to facilitate the R&D of unmanned systems, the software that runs on them and their various potential uses, we have purchased a number of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) unmanned systems components as well as fully-assembled SUAS in order to provide team members with the necessary hardware to do their work.  This hardware has been supplemented with a wide array of specialty tools that aid in the R&D process.  Additionally, we have purchased a pair of laptops with true-to-life physics simulators in order to safely test SUAS without incurring any potential losses in the event of an incident.  As a result, we have seen the beginnings of a number of research projects, although none of yet to see full fruition. We continue to work with external collaborators, for example we have been asked to design a system to work with Missouri State Parks for deer population studies from the air – this is a great example of some interdisciplinary work because we need to understand the project from biological and engineering perspectives.  Finally, MUST has entered and competed in its first international competition (2015), the Student Unmanned Aerial Systems competition.  Although we did not place very high in the competition this year, our team members learned a lot about how the competition works and, despite our low ranking, we did come home with a small amount of prize money to help recuperate our cost of entry.    In 2016, the team decided to take a year break from entering the competition. It was deemed that the amount of changes necessary to the airframe and systems would place an unduly high burden on the students involved, and possibly “rush” to get the competition and reflect badly upon the team. As such, a strategic decision was made to provide a stronger entry for 2017.  Some of our members have also engaged in unmanned systems research, focusing primarily on how 360* cameras can be integrated with the system and what applications such cameras would be suitable for.  We refer to one obvious application that we have identified as “eISR”, or Enhanced Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance: there is no shortage of information regarding the use of unmanned systems as tools to facilitate ISR, but we posit that the additional field of view offered by 360* video will provide a more whole picture of the system’s surroundings to the pilot without requiring the pilot to maneuver the system in order to obtain that picture.  This should also allow for longer mission times by virtue of not needing to use the system’s limited battery power for movement in order to know what is around the system; of course, the additional weight of the 360* camera (compared to a traditional one, such as a GoPro) will have a negative impact on mission time, but whether or not it will outweigh the power savings from reduced movement will have to be determined.  The systems to be used for this experiment are still being designed.  FAA	and	University	Policies		Dickinson	is	involved	with	the	policy	making	process	at	MU	with	regard	to	the	ability	to	use	drones	for	University	activities.	Additionally,	the	IT	program	and	MUST	are	working	towards	obtaining	a	“Section	333”	exemption	from	the	FAA	to	allow	parties	to	operate	UAS	legally	in	accordance	with	federal	rules	and	regulations.	This	in	essence	legitimizes	the	MU	business	need	to	fly	UAS	as	part	of	university	activities.		Recently,	the	FAA	released	an	“interpretation”	which	makes	it	legal	for	students	to	fly	UAS	as	part	of	their	course	work.	This	is	of	tremendous	importance,	as	students	are	now	able	to	fly	UAS	as	part	of	courses	and	team	development	work.		Community	Outreach	and	education		We	have	made	arrangements	with	a	hobbyist	R/C	community	in	Columbia,	the	Mid-Missouri	Radio	Control	Association	(MMRCA),	to	allow	our	members	to	fly	unmanned	aerial	systems	(UAVs)	on	their	property	at	no	cost	to	the	student.		MUST	members	must	be	accompanied	by	a	trained	MMRCA	pilot;	this	decision	was	made	to	reduce	the	risk	of	an	accident	due	to	inexperienced	pilot	error,	as	well	as	to	encourage	relationships	between	members	of	MUST	and	MMRCA.		Although	MMRCA	is	exclusively	a	UAV	flying	club,	the	knowledge	that	their	members	have	regarding	design	methodologies,	configuration	of	components,	and	troubleshooting	can	be	(and	have	been)	applied	to	unmanned	systems	in	general.		While	we	have	been	working	hard	to	educate	our	fellow	interested	Mizzou	students	about	the	joys	of	unmanned	systems,	we	have	also	engaged	in	various	community	outreach	events	to	bring	our	message	of	safe	and	responsible	applications	of	unmanned	systems	to	students	in	the	Columbia,	Missouri	area;	most	notably,	our	local	Cub	Scout	troop,	as	well	as	students	at	Oakland	Middle	School.		During	these	events,	we	cover	the	various	parts	of	an	unmanned	system,	how	they	interact	with	one	another,	how	they	are	controlled,	and	what	applications	a	particular	unmanned	system	might	have	in	the	real	world.		This	is	followed	up	with	a	live	demonstration.		To	date,	the	requests	we	have	received	from	the	community	regarding	our	expertise	in	unmanned	systems	has	been	focused	on	the	aerial	aspect;	for	better	or	for	worse,	everyone	conjures	up	some	image	(usually	negative)	in	their	mind	when	they	hear	the	term	“drone”,	but	we	are	happy	to	report	that	we	change	the	minds	of	nearly	all	those	to	whom	we	speak.		While	the	younger	students	we	are	actually	providing	the	lesson	for	are	usually	just	left	with	a	reaffirmed	belief	that	UAVs	are	“really	cool”,	the	parents	that	accompany	these	young	students	will	often	talk	to	us	afterward	to	learn	more.		A	number	of	MUST	members	have	actually	taken	to	focusing	on	the	community	outreach	aspect;	while	this	was	not	the	intention	when	we	created	MUST,	it	is	without	a	doubt	a	welcome	addition	to	the	scope	of	the	Team.		What	remains	to	be	accomplished?		What	remains	to	be	done	is	to	publish	the	research	done	by	our	team	members.		One	of	our	team	members	is	working	on	a	research	project	related	to	disaster	recovery	efforts	within	the	Department	of	Computer	Science	and	is	looking	to	incorporate	unmanned	systems	into	the	project.		Due	to	working	with	multiple	disparate	groups	on	this	research,	this	has	been	a	slow-going	process.		We	hope	to	have	more	work	done	on	this	research	project	within	the	year.			Evaluation	Criteria		We	established	the	following	evaluation	criteria	in	our	proposal:		• The	creation	of	working	prototypes	designed	for	a	specific	application	• Proof-of-concept	tests	• Developing	quality	use	cases	and	documenting	efficient	and	practical	workflows	• The	solving	of	a	real-world	problem	using	information	obtained	and/or	carried	out	by	unmanned	systems	• The	entry	into	a	national	student	student	competition	regarding	unmanned	systems		The	first	and	last	pieces	of	criteria	have	been	met	and	explained	on	the	previous	page.		Our	proof-of-concept	 tests	 have	 not	 been	 recorded	 due	 to	 having	 spent	 our	 time	 thus	 far	 familiarizing	ourselves	with	the	copious	amount	of	software	that	continues	to	be	developed	for	use	with	UAS.		While	we	have	had	some	ideas	for	novel	solutions	to	real-world	problems	using	UAS,	we	have	thus	far	been	unable	to	test	these	systems	due	to	FAA	regulations	on	where	we	are	able	to	fly.		Finally,	we	 have	 begun	 the	 process	 of	 solidifying	 and	 documenting	 our	workflow	 on	 how	 to	determine	the	right	UAS	for	a	given	task;	we	hope	to	publish	this	are	part	of	ongoing	work.		Current	Expenditures		There are many small expenditures that go into the creation of multiple drones and accessories.  These accessories include microcontrollers, batteries, spare parts, gimbals, motors, props, balancers, antennae, GPS receivers and many other things.  Additionally, we purchased computer hardware necessary to drive the real-world simulation software and work on research projects. Also, MUST had travel expenses to travel to the competition. Here is a summary of our expenses.   		Category	 Cost	Field	Computer	Equipment	 5235.27	Drone	equipment/Cameras	 6639.35	Travel	Expenses	 1855.01	Supplies	and	parts	for	Drones	2144.7		Total	 15874.33		The	remaining	funds	have	been	returned.	

Mizzou unmanned systems team IIF final report

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Missouri: MOspace