Micro-CART Micro-Controlled Aerial Robotics Team

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Micro-CARTMicro-Controlled Aerial Robotics Team
December 13, 2001
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Team Information

• Designation Ongo 3
• Team Members
• Second Semester
• Nathan Ellefson
• Scott Dang
• Steve Smith
• Bernard Lwakabamba
• Advisors
• Prof. John Lamont
• Prof. Ralph Patterson III
• Prof. Ganesh Rajagopalan

• First Semester
• Kirk Kolek
• Eric Frana
• Loc Pham
• Corey Lubahn
• Todd Welch
• Matt Devries
• Client
• EE/CprE Department

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Agenda

• Problem Statement
• Design Objectives
• End Product
• Assumptions/Limitations
• Risks
• Technical Approach
• Flight Controls
• Communications
• System Requirements
• Financial and Human Budgets
• Lessons Learned
• Conclusion

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Problem Statement - Background

• International Aerial Robotics Competition
• Held by Georgia Tech annually
• Started in 1990
• Autonomous aerial vehicles
• Accomplish series of tasks in least amount of
  time
• Tasks change and expand once completed (every 4
  to 5 years)

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Problem Statement Technical Problem

• ISUs first entry into IARC competition
• Modify RC helicopter to function autonomously
• 1 hour to complete tasks
• Create wireless base station link
• Image recognition system that can
• Identify a beacon at 3km
• Identify a 1 square meter figure (target
  building)
• Ground vehicle sensor platform (deploy from air)
• Full integration among all components

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Design Objectives

• Gas powered, modified RC helicopter (X-cell
  1005)
• Autonomous (PC/104 board for control)
• Dimensions 54x17.5x6
• Unit weight 11.75 lbs
• Maximum lift 6-10 lbs
• Total project cost 10,000
• Sensors package
• Sonar, GPS, Compass, Gyros, Accelerometer
• Autonomous ground vehicle (specs not set)
• Ground station
• Dell 500Mhz PC
• Image recognition software
• Wireless communications between ground and air
• Meets all criteria for IARC competition
• Fair weather operating environment

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End Product

• Fully autonomous gas powered helicopter
• Sensors package
• Flight control algorithms
• Collect and transmit digital images to the ground
  station
• Recognize targets and react appropriately
• Ground vehicle sensor platform
• Qualified to compete in IARC

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Assumptions

• Suitable hardware available at affordable price
• Helicopter can be controlled by a CPU
• Sensors will send information accurately and
  reliably
• Off-the-shelf image recognition software will be
  suitable
• Wireless technology exists to allow for
  transmission of video
• Enough funding
• The competition criteria will not change
  radically in the near future

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Limitations

• Helicopter payload (6-10 lbs depending on
  variables)
• Aerodynamic issues
• Helicopter flight time (depends on variables)
• Sensors accuracy (GPS, sonar)
• Range, resolution and accuracy of image
  recognition
• Power consumption
• Limited mounting space
• Funding dependent on outside donors
• Lack of previously skilled RC helicopter pilot
• Lack of ME or Aero E members
• High personnel turnover rate

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Potential Risks

• Major rules change invalidates large amounts of
  work
• Helicopter crash
• Serious design flaw halts progress
• Money and funding runs out

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Technical Approach

• Micro-CART has been divided into subteams
• Flight Controls (Scott Dang)
• Flight algorithms, central processing
• Communications (Steve Smith)
• Sensors, Communications vehicle ?? ground
• System Requirements (Bernard Lwakabamba)
• Long range planning, hardware

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Flight Controls Subteam

• Create software helicopter model
• Create software that will allow the helicopter to
  maintain stable flight
• Responsible for
• Control algorithm that will work reliably if
  there are hardware failures

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Flight Controls
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Flight Controls

• Past Accomplishments
• Model of the helicopter written in MatLab
• Researched specific PC/104
• Written C code that reads data from
• serial ports

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Flight Controls

• Present Semester Goals and Status
• Design communication flow hardware
• Goal 1 Design the communication between
  servo-motor controller and servo
• 100 complete
• Research helicopter servos
• Goal 2 Determine what is necessary to control
  the servos
• 100 complete

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Flight Controls

• Present Semester Goals and Status
• Write code to test controls of servos
• Goal 3 Use the servo micro-controller to test
  whether the code is able to communicate
  successfully with servos
• 100 complete

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Flight Controls

• Future Work
• Next Semester
• Begin developing control algorithms for servo
  program
• Code to communicate between PC104 and servos
• Long Term
• A working PC/104 board
• Have the servo micro-controller and various
  sensors integrated with PC/104 board

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Communications Subteam

• Design and implement communications systems
• Sensors to microprocessor
• Microprocessor to ground station (Wireless)
• Current Sensor Components
• - Polaroid 6500 Ranging Module ?
  Altitude Proximity
• - Digital Compass
  ? Direction
• - Accelerometers
  ? Acceleration
• - Gyroscopes
  ? Pitch, Yaw, Roll
• Future Sensor Components
• - GPS
  ? Global Coordinate
• - Imaging System ? Image Recognition

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Communications
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Communications

• Past Accomplishments
• Purchased sensors
• PIC tutorial labs completed in SSOL
• Initial assembly code developed for Sonar

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Communications

• Present Semester Goals and Status
• PIC introduction
• Goal 1 Introduce 1st semester students to PIC
  programmer
• 100 complete
• Sonar sensors
• Goal 2 Continue debugging Sonar code
• 85 complete

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Communications

• Present Semester Goals and Status
• Compass sensor
• Goal 3 Debug and test Compass Code
• 70 complete
• Interfacing sensors with PC/104
• Goal 4 Research components which are
  compatible
• 65 complete

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Communications

• Future Work
• Next Semester
• Finish debugging Sonar and Compass code
• Start code for Accelerometers and GPS sensors
• Image Recognition System
• Long Term
• Algorithm for polling data from all sensors
• Develop wireless communication

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Systems Requirements

• Oversee and act as an administrative source for
  the overall team
• Responsible for the following
• Develop the long term Strategic Plan
• Insure helicopter flightworthiness
• Identify design limitations
• Coordinate integration of the two groups
  

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Systems Requirements

• Past Accomplishments
• Created last semesters team-handbook
• Acquired Ground Station
• Acquired Flight Simulator Software

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Systems Requirements

• Present Semester Goals and Status
• Helicopter Repair
• Goal 1 Insure flightworthiness of the vehicle
• 100 complete
• Develop the long term strategic plan
• Goal 2 Identify the milestones to meet
  competition date
• 80 complete
• Edit Team Handbook
• Goal 3 Quickly orient the incoming members
• 100 complete

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Systems Requirements

• Present Semester Goals and Status
• Pilot Training Program
• Goal 4 Trained pilots to prevent helicopter
  damage
• 100 complete (ongoing)
• Check- out List
• Goal 5 Create an inventory tracking system
• 95 complete

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Systems Requirements

• Future Work
• Next Semester
• Helicopter Limitations
• Goal Identify the payload capacity and fuel
  consumption of the helicopter
• Deployed Vehicle Research
• Goal Identify performance requirements
• Long Term
• Sub-team Expansion and Integration
• Goal Specify personnel requirements

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Financial Budget
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Human Budget

• Estimated(hrs) Actual(hrs)
• Nathan Ellefson 84 83
• Steven Smith 93 86
• Scott Dang 81 87
• Bernard Lwakabamba 90 85
• Kirk Kolek 88 85
• Eric Frana 84 111
• Loc Pham 80 75
• Corey Lubahn 85 90
• Todd Welch 77 80
• Matt Devries 77 77

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Lessons Learned

• If you need to do something, it may have been
  done before
• GPS, aerial cameras, servos, sonars
• PIC programming
• RC helicopter flight
• Servo micro-controller programming
• Right skills for the job are important
• Investigation/research
• Long range planning

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Summary

• Goal
• Create autonomous aerial vehicle to compete in
  the IARC competition by 2004.
• Solution
• Modify RC helicopter to fit needs, create ground
  vehicle, integrate with image rec.

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Demonstrations Questions