Drones!

4th Year Capstone

For my 4th-year capstone I teamed up with Ben Agro, Jerry Chen, and Connor Lee to design drones. This project effectively integrates a wide range of concepts and skills developed over the course of our undergraduate degree, such as:

  • Engineering Design.
  • Control.
  • Sensor Integration.
  • State estimation.
  • Motion Planning.
  • Computer Vision.
  • General programming & mechanical assembly skills.

View the project on Github.

 

Nuclear Plant Safety in an Emergency

Drones have the potential to revolutionize emergency response in nuclear power plants by providing crucial data from hazardous and inaccessible areas. The dangers and extreme hazards posed by radiation make it challenging for human responders to gather vital information in such situations. However, drones equipped with radiation sensors and high-resolution cameras can offer a safe and effective solution to this problem, providing real-time data and insights to enhance safety protocols and mitigate risks.

This project serves as a proof of concept for the use of drones in nuclear power plant safety, highlighting the immense potential of this technology in enhancing emergency response and ensuring the safety of both workers and the public.

Position Hold Test

For our most recent challenge, we were tasked with designing the drone to hold a single position without human input—using only vision, ToF, and the internal IMU. Watch us do our initial testing in this video!

The design successfully held to ±15cm from the set point when tested using the Vicon motion capture system. Our next steps are following paths and completing tasks.

Software Tools

  • ROS Noetic on Ubuntu 20.04.
  • Python 3.
  • QGroundControl software.

Hardware Tools

  • Intel RealSense T265 Tracking Camera.
  • NVIDIA Jetson Nano 4 GB.
  • Terabee TeraRanger Evo 60 Time of Flight Sensor.
  • Pixhawk 4 mini flight controller.
  • Sony IMX219-160 Monocular HD Camera
  • RotorGeeks 7075 Series 2206 2350 KV motors.
  • Spedix ES30 HV 30 A Electronic Speed Controller.
  • FrSky Taranis X9 Lite Transmitter / Archer R4 Receiver.
  • Minion Mini H-Quad Carbon Fibre frame.
  • 2300mAh Lithium Polymer batteries.