RUNNING HEAD : L'AVION DU NORD 1

RWDC - L'avion du Nord

Nawah Ahmad, Ulrich Atongazi, Sean Harrigan, Haris Khalid

January 14, 2021

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Materials

Apparatus Materials

- Framework with loading platform

- 4 Brushless DC Motors

- RC Flight Controller

- RF Receiver

- Control Server

- Aircraft Propellers

- Lithium Ion Rechargeable Batteries

- Charging Station

Design Materials

- Measuring Tape

- DC Electrical Multimeter

- Soldering Iron

- Solder

- Electrical Tape

- Electrical Wire

- AutoCad Software
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Methods

Construction of Drone

1. Design and construct an Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (UAV) framework, with allowance

for carrying a large load

2. Mount motors and propellers to UAV framework, with space allowance away from each

propeller such that no propellers collide with one another.

3. Mount the flight controller and antenna underneath the UAV, and wire the brushless

motors to the flight controller

4. Mount the appropriate Lithium Ion battery to the framework, and do not connect the

battery to the flight controller.

5. Design and assemble the charging apparatus, such that it can charge the Lithium Ion

batteries.

6. Design and assemble the flight control server, and program such apparatus to

communicate with the UAV

7. Connect battery to flight controller, and run drone commands from the main control

server.
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Data and Results

After completing our Engineering Notebook from two weeks prior, we decided as a team

we wanted to build a prototype model of one delivery drone. In shadow of our engineering

notebook, this drone will be made of the same materials and design footprint of our final sketch,

but it will be built at a ½ scale compared to the final design. Once we had this idea approved by

our mentor, we created a shopping list of supplies to order for such a project. We plan to begin

construction of our drone prototype in a few weeks, as shipping of supplies takes time, as well as

the planning phase of construction.

● Nanomap​: It models the uncertainty of a drone’s location for accurate drone navigation

over time, Depth sensing is used in order to measure its surroundings. It also includes

searching its previous history of its recent views to predict how to move in an unseen

area. Computer scientists have been working on adding advances to drones which allow

them to pinpoint their locations, understand surroundings, and travel with limited

difficulty. Tracking uncertainty can help scientists in improving its ability to travel better

in different surroundings.

● Digital​ Gearbox​: A company named Top Flight has been working on creating hybrid

drones. They have been working on changes for Digital Gearbox, a microscale hybrid

engine concept. It copies the same systems of engines in vehicles but uses electricity to

control everything by putting gasoline into a small generator from which a digital

gearbox sends pulses to the electronics and motors. ​Pulsing electricity can allow control

of the torque and revolutions per minute of the motor.for control of torque and

revolutions per minute of the motor.​ Scientists can determine how far a drone with this

engine can travel and make​ any adjustments if needed for maximum optimization
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Concept Sketch

Above is our team's first concept sketch of a Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (UAV) for our

project. Each unique part is labeled throughout the sketch, such as the structural, mechanical, and

payload components. This is not our final sketch, but it has addressed certain design flaws to

reconsider, such as access to charging, better landing support, and concerns of drone lifting force

from one motor. New concepts will come in the future, and can be viewed in our team

Engineering Notebook, which may be found on our website no later than Friday, January 8,

2021.
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References

Chu, J. (2014, August 21). Delivery by Drone. Retrieved October 6, 2020, from

https://news.mit.edu/2014/algorithm-monitors-delivery-drones-0821

Conner-Simons, A. (2018, February 12). Programming drones to fly in the face of uncertainty.

Retrieved September 15, 2020, from

https://news.mit.edu/2018/mit-csail-programming-drones-fly-face-uncertainty-0212

M. Alwateer, S. W. Loke and N. Fernando, "Enabling Drone Services: Drone Crowdsourcing

and Drone Scripting," in IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 110035-110049, 2019, doi:

10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2933234.

Matheson, R. (2017, August 4). Hybrid drones carry heavier payloads for greater distances.

Retrieved September 24, 2020, from

https://news.mit.edu/2017/hybrid-drones-carry-heavier-payloads-greater-distances-0804

Sheridan, Iain. (2020, March 18). Drones and global navigation satellite systems: current

evidence from polar scientists. Retrieved September 29, 2020, from

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.191494