11-01-2014, 02:35 PM
b]DESIGN AND CONTROL OF AN AUTONOMOUS HELICOPTER[/b]
DESIGN AND CONTROL.docx (Size: 2.44 MB / Downloads: 42)
Introduction
The helicopter plays an invaluable role in many fields, incurring countless uses;
from military combat to scenic tourism and everything in between. Helicopters today
undertake a myriad of different and highly specialized missions; such as search and
rescue, seek and destroy, and simple transportation. The purpose of this project is to take
the first steps in creating a helicopter capable of completing such a mission entirely on its
own. The goal is to create an autonomous helicopter.
While the implementation of an autonomously operated helicopter has obvious
benefits in almost every conceivable mission, it is the surveillance based ones that make
the most use of this technology. Surveillance, with its demand for covertness and inherent
danger in the case of enemy and unfriendly observation profits from autonomization in
two ways. It does not put the pilot in danger, as it does in any mission; but it also allows
the helicopter to be built on the scale of an R/C toy, something a transportation mission
could never accommodate. It is this platform that the team has chosen to use to develop a
computer controlled guidance system for.
Background
Autonomization
Autonomous robots are gaining recognition as an increasingly effective method in
manufacturing, surveillance, and space exploration. As the technology to create such
automates becomes more cost effective, the practicality of such devices in everyday
situations increases. Giving the computer more control over flight is not a new concept.
The US-Iraq war saw the advent of UAV, or unmanned aerial vehicles, come into play as
surveillance vehicles as well as mobile weapons platforms. The UAV designed for this
project is based around a T-Rex 450SE electric hobby helicopter. The signals to and from
the multiple servos and the motor are to be intercepted and controlled via a computer
which monitors the helicopter’s stability using a network of gyroscopes and
accelerometers. The ultimate goal of this project is to create a heterogeneous network of
UAVs which can perform a variety of tasks.
Why is it important to make the technological jump from human operated
vehicles to autonomous vehicles? There are three main reasons for the advent of
autonomous wartime vehicles: economics, public opinion, and technological advantage.
Mission Specifications
Objective
While the implications of this project are as broad and expansive as they come,
the final objective of this MQP is in fact very defined. It is true the goal is quite simply to
create an autonomous helicopter; there are however, many details to that goal. Many
attempts, some successful, others not, have been made at achieving autonomous flight,
what separates this project from others is both the specific objective, and the path towards
it.
The success of this project relied on creating a control scheme which allows an
R/C hobby helicopter to autonomously maneuver to a predetermined location. A simple
goal, yet there were many variables inhibiting its achievement.
In the following chapters the team will outline the precise steps and approach
taken to get the helicopter to operate in this fashion. Component selection, hardware
arrangement, the guidance and navigation strategy, as well as the inhibiting variables are
described in detail.
Component Selection
The selection of proper components was a vital first step in the completion of this
project. Components had to meet strenuous regulations set forth by the team before they
were discussed officially, presented, and ultimately acquired. Due to the high cost of
precision aero and electrical parts required for the success of this project, it was
imperative that the right components were attained. An untimely failure would not only
set the project back, it would cripple it.
Different parts had different requirements, with a project of this caliber,
borrowing from many disciplines; the various components had to meet specialized and
particular requirements. Essential properties of the mechanical components included
weight and strength.