Hello all,This is my debut to the site and I will try to continue to post throughout the development of my project. I am a senior in Computer Engineering and for my senior design I have chosen to make a fully autonomous aircraft. I have no experience in flying rc airplanes but I just have extreme interest in airplanes. I have three other team mates (1 computer engineer, and 2 electrical engineers). For the last month, I have been researching rc aircrafts and devices that I will need to use to make my autonomous flight successful.My intent is for the airplane to take off, navigate to gps coordinates, either record video for a specific duration of time or take pictures, then return and land.Another team tried making one of these in the spring of 2008 but not with such high goals. They completed building but were not successful because interference from the microcontroller was preventing the transmitter from having full control.Based off my initial research, these are some things I will have to use:• Spread Spectrum Transmitter/Receiver to eliminate the microcontroller from interfering with manual control• GPS receiver to specify current position and altitude (heard mixed things about gps’s altitude measurement)• A two axis tilt sensor (Looking for one that does 360 degrees)• A SD card to store and retrieve all information on flight and camera output.I have been debating my choice in rc airplane. I heard multiplex has good material for crashing and easy repair. I would really like to use either the predator or a jet design but I have a hard time figuring out how much thrust and extra space models have. As far as thrust goes, I wanted to use ducted fans but I have no idea if this is a “no-no”. I say this because I haven’t seen any other experiments with them. From what I have read, they are better at high speeds but cause a lot of drag at low speeds. The team from last year used a Multiplex Easy Glider Electric. Any suggestions!???A few ideas that I was playing with:• I would like to sensor the battery life with the microcontroller to see if each flight is can be done• Even further if I can somehow make a base where it the plane easily taxi to and charge its battery without human intervention• Retractable landing gear (probably would have to buy the plane like this)• Send information wirelessly when in reach (either though Wi-Fi or Bluetooth• Object avoidance using RF signalsAs you can see, I have ran away with the idea of this project. I am open to all opinions, questions, comments, and random rants. I really need people to challenge my ideas. Thanks and FIRE AWAY!View my next project update HERE.
Thanks for all the advice guys. You can get a full update of whats going on at my new post. Here.
I am going to maintain contact with the plane once it is in the air except for the Transmitter, which is going to be about to override the autopilot. I downloaded FMS but it works real funny for me. Maybe I just need to get used to the controls.
Hey Curt, we haven't yet decided completely on the exact pieces that we are going to use for any three of those. The last team used a 9S12A64 microcontroller, a quad thermopile sensor(MLX90247), and an ETek EB-85A for GPS data. As for my team, we are meeting with some researchers in a few minutes to discuss which methods we will use for stability and altitude. I will post again once we had decided which direction we will go and what products we are considering.
--The EasyGlider is a lovely plane, but has almost no room inside for equipment. See our review here y
--If you want to stick with Elastapor foam (a good idea, especially if you haven't flown before the Multiplex Mentor is a better choice for a UAV. The EasyStar is a great training plane, too, and handy for quick testing of sensors, etc, since you can launch it from anywhere.
--You CAN'T fly a plane with just a two-axis tilt sensor (it will crash). You also need gyros. See this for an explanation.
--Avoid ducted fans until you're much more comfortable with traditional electrics.
Comments
I am going to maintain contact with the plane once it is in the air except for the Transmitter, which is going to be about to override the autopilot. I downloaded FMS but it works real funny for me. Maybe I just need to get used to the controls.
Also away and download FMS its a free RC sim, get several hours on that.
For your task a flying wing would work fine. They are easy to fly and very crash resistant!
Good luck and have fun.
Oh always treat propellers as live and be careful with electrics.
Old mans speech ends.
I'm still trying to figure out why the gyros are needed. Are you sure you have the right link?
A few thoughts:
--The EasyGlider is a lovely plane, but has almost no room inside for equipment. See our review here y
--If you want to stick with Elastapor foam (a good idea, especially if you haven't flown before the Multiplex Mentor is a better choice for a UAV. The EasyStar is a great training plane, too, and handy for quick testing of sensors, etc, since you can launch it from anywhere.
--You CAN'T fly a plane with just a two-axis tilt sensor (it will crash). You also need gyros. See this for an explanation.
--Avoid ducted fans until you're much more comfortable with traditional electrics.