I'm currently deployed to Iraq with the Marines, and since the war is winding down here I'm finding much more time on my hands than the last trip I took over here. The other day I helped one of our intel guys preflight our Raven UAV's and I'm really interested in the idea. I've seen just about all the other UAV's we've got in service at one time or another, but this was the first time I really got hands on with any of them. I'm planning to get into robotics when I'm out, I've got some experience building submersible robots, but they were all tethered, so the wireless thing is entirely new to me, along with probably just about everything else, going from underwater to in the air.Are there any books that outline the basics of UAV design and production? I think it could prove to be an interesting project to build a high-endurance bird somewhat based off of the military surveillance designs I've seen. I thought the autopilot idea was pretty intense, but from the minimal reading I've done online in the last few days makes the entire thing seem a lot less complicated than I had imagined.Any pointers on where to start (preferably offline, internet access is limited and excruciatingly slow) to learn some basics would be great! I'm more interested in fixed wing than rotary or balloons, but if anything applies to all of them I'm willing to absorb the information.Thanks for any help!
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Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century
On Amazon
While this book is not on hobbyist UAVs it does go into detail on how they are being used. I have this book on my wish list. I listened to the author on BookTV. P.W. Singer is a very interesting author. There are 50+ reviews and all up in the 4+ range.
I hope this helps.
While not a book that deals directly with design/production issues, "Wired for War" by P.W. Singer is an excellent read about the concepts behind UAVs and how they may develop in the future.
Depending on what you want to do, building a UAV can be as easy as buying an off-the-shelf trainer and outfitting it with off-the-shelf equipment. If you want a little more complex, you can build the aircraft out of straight pieces of balsa wood and add some circuitry to do whatever fits your definition of "cool".
The next step up might be to a fiberglass fuselage or some other composite (reference http://www.uscomposites.com/ for more information on these topics). There are two good ways to do this to my knowledge: make foam plugs and then create female molds from these (cheapest method), or use a CNC machine (more expensive, but reduces the learning curve). The latter requires computer aided drafting software (up goes your learning curve), a CNC machine, and software to run interpret the G-code. What I use is Pro/Engineer ($220 or so for an individual license with manufacturing file capabilities; others use SolidWorks, but I don't know much about this program other than it's pretty), Mach 3 Mill to interpret the G-code for the machine (free up to 150 lines I believe), and a $3000 3-axis milling machine. I built a 3-axis milling machine for under $800 using a $550 motor setup from Xylotex and the remainder in balsa wood, hardware, and a veneer trimmer, but it doesn't pull the tolerances of the more expensive machine, and that's what my university has so I didn't have to pay for it. The veneer trimmer has a 1/4" collet (spelling?) which will allow you to use any tool between 13/64" and 1/4". I haven't needed anything larger or smaller. Of course, milling aluminum gets a little noisy.
It's a pretty good book, it's mostly science, and I'd recommend reading through chapters 2-5 and 9 while following the references to the other chapters. This will at least get you to the point where you can ask good aircraft design questions. The next book you should look at is "Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach" by Dan Raymer: http://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-Design-Conceptual-Approach-Education...
This takes care of the design portion that "Aircraft Performance and Design" leaves out. It's part of an educational series from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA, at http://www.aiaa.org). I wouldn't skip the first book I mentioned to get to the second one. Besides, you're tax-free over there! :)
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If you have any questions I can probably help you with some of them, but if I can't I'm sure I can find someone that can. My specialty is in the manufacturing side of the house.
Also, "Introduction to Aeronautics: A Design Perspective, 2nd Edition" sounds interesting but I don't know anyone that owns it, so I have no opinion on it. However, it's also an AIAA Education Series book, and I haven't gotten a bad book from that series yet.
-Johnny
Fiberglass , Epoxy , Composites, Carbon Fiber - U.S. Composites, Inc.
Sales of Marine and Composite Materials including Carbon Fiber, Polyester, Vinyl Ester, Epoxy Resins, Expanding Urethane Foam and Urethane rubbers
I agree with the others. UAVs require a combination of technical skills:
--Electrical engineering (both digital and analog electronics)
--Computer science
--Embedded systems
--Aircraft engineering
--RF/wireless engineering
--Systems integration
--Piloting
Most UAVs are built by teams, so no one person has to be skilled in all of that. As for books, each one of those disciplines above has good books. You just need to pick which one(s) to concentrate on.
I am not sure if there is a good book on the subject (not yet at least). Maybe someone else can suggest it. I did a quick search on Amazon , and few books come up (some recent and some old) but am not sure how useful they will be.
"UAV" field is synergy of other disciplines, and you should be familiar with all of them, and perhaps be expert in some. For example aerodynamic come to mind, although at the beginning you can just buy RC plane and "be done" with most of it - however you should know few things, such as how CG impacts flight characteristics, etc. Also , you should be versed in programming, and know few things about electronics. IMO, main area for UAVs (and most robotics systems) is in "control systems" and automation. Perhaps all this sounds scary but really it's not - it's actually fun. With ArduPilot project and basic RC plane you can get your "feet wet" and start learning a lot. Additionally it sounds like you might be getting first hand experience, and access to state of the art equipment - an excellent starting point.
Replies
http://www.phy.davidson.edu/instrumentation/NEETS.htm
On Amazon
While this book is not on hobbyist UAVs it does go into detail on how they are being used. I have this book on my wish list. I listened to the author on BookTV. P.W. Singer is a very interesting author. There are 50+ reviews and all up in the 4+ range.
I hope this helps.
************************************
Manufacturing:
Depending on what you want to do, building a UAV can be as easy as buying an off-the-shelf trainer and outfitting it with off-the-shelf equipment. If you want a little more complex, you can build the aircraft out of straight pieces of balsa wood and add some circuitry to do whatever fits your definition of "cool".
The next step up might be to a fiberglass fuselage or some other composite (reference http://www.uscomposites.com/ for more information on these topics). There are two good ways to do this to my knowledge: make foam plugs and then create female molds from these (cheapest method), or use a CNC machine (more expensive, but reduces the learning curve). The latter requires computer aided drafting software (up goes your learning curve), a CNC machine, and software to run interpret the G-code. What I use is Pro/Engineer ($220 or so for an individual license with manufacturing file capabilities; others use SolidWorks, but I don't know much about this program other than it's pretty), Mach 3 Mill to interpret the G-code for the machine (free up to 150 lines I believe), and a $3000 3-axis milling machine. I built a 3-axis milling machine for under $800 using a $550 motor setup from Xylotex and the remainder in balsa wood, hardware, and a veneer trimmer, but it doesn't pull the tolerances of the more expensive machine, and that's what my university has so I didn't have to pay for it. The veneer trimmer has a 1/4" collet (spelling?) which will allow you to use any tool between 13/64" and 1/4". I haven't needed anything larger or smaller. Of course, milling aluminum gets a little noisy.
**********************************
Aircraft Design:
I'm taking my first aerodynamics course, the book used in class is "Aircraft Performance and Design" by John Anderson. http://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-Performance-McGraw-Hill-Internationa...
It's a pretty good book, it's mostly science, and I'd recommend reading through chapters 2-5 and 9 while following the references to the other chapters. This will at least get you to the point where you can ask good aircraft design questions. The next book you should look at is "Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach" by Dan Raymer: http://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-Design-Conceptual-Approach-Education...
This takes care of the design portion that "Aircraft Performance and Design" leaves out. It's part of an educational series from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA, at http://www.aiaa.org). I wouldn't skip the first book I mentioned to get to the second one. Besides, you're tax-free over there! :)
*********************************************
If you have any questions I can probably help you with some of them, but if I can't I'm sure I can find someone that can. My specialty is in the manufacturing side of the house.
Also, "Introduction to Aeronautics: A Design Perspective, 2nd Edition" sounds interesting but I don't know anyone that owns it, so I have no opinion on it. However, it's also an AIAA Education Series book, and I haven't gotten a bad book from that series yet.
-Johnny
--Electrical engineering (both digital and analog electronics)
--Computer science
--Embedded systems
--Aircraft engineering
--RF/wireless engineering
--Systems integration
--Piloting
Most UAVs are built by teams, so no one person has to be skilled in all of that. As for books, each one of those disciplines above has good books. You just need to pick which one(s) to concentrate on.
"UAV" field is synergy of other disciplines, and you should be familiar with all of them, and perhaps be expert in some. For example aerodynamic come to mind, although at the beginning you can just buy RC plane and "be done" with most of it - however you should know few things, such as how CG impacts flight characteristics, etc. Also , you should be versed in programming, and know few things about electronics. IMO, main area for UAVs (and most robotics systems) is in "control systems" and automation. Perhaps all this sounds scary but really it's not - it's actually fun. With ArduPilot project and basic RC plane you can get your "feet wet" and start learning a lot. Additionally it sounds like you might be getting first hand experience, and access to state of the art equipment - an excellent starting point.
Be safe!