ME4000 2007-2008 Final Report for fall ‘07 Sponsor: Team: Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Utah, Salt Lake City UT 84112-9208 TEAM: Dr Mark Minor Sean Busby Matthew Walthius Jack Stites Razvan Platon Jared Roberts Hamid Sani Marques RasmussenME 4000 – Final Report 12/10/2007 Section: Front Matter JR Auto Chopper Page 2 of 41 1. Front Matter 1.1. Executive Summary While the obstacle of designing a hovering unmanned aerial vehicle (HUAV) has been attempted in the recent decade, a common, adaptable flight platform has not yet been found. The JR Auto Chopper project will use a radio-controlled (RC) helicopter (JR Super Voyager E) as a flight platform which will be modified for semi-autonomous/autonomous flight. The goal for semi-autonomous flight is to aid the pilot by allowing the artificial intelligence (A.I.) monitoring system to control some of the more challenging aspects of flight while leaving the simpler tasks up to the pilot. Semi-Autonomous flight will be the main focus of the JR Auto Chopper project. The helicopter will provide an adaptable platform that could be personalized to connect with almost any sensor without modifying the helicopter. This approach will allow the helicopter to fit the specific needs of a variety of customers. Sensors and Control For the autonomous control of the helicopter, JR Auto Chopper will use an onboard controller interface to continuously monitor the helicopter’s orientation and position. These readings will then be used by the controller to stabilize the helicopter. The sensors that will be explored for use on the helicopter are: accelerometer, gyro, sonar, laser range finder, solid state compass and GPS. The accelerometers and gyros will be used in tandem to react to motion and stabilize the helicopter. Sonar sensors or a laser range finder will sense the distance to the ground on take-off and landing situations. The digital compass will establish bearing and also give feedback to correct for stabilization error. Finally, the GPS will give the A.I. feedback on bearing and destination coordinates. The controller will also have the functionality of adding additional sensors using common languages and interfaces.ME 4000 – Final Report 12/10/2007 Section: Front Matter JR Auto Chopper Page 3 of 41 Cognition In order to fly the helicopter autonomously using the implemented controller, algorithms will be developed to plan out flight trajectories and/or paths based on the helicopter’s perception of the world. These paths will consist of a bread crumb trail that defines points along the intended path or to the final destination. From each point to the next the cognition system will define a vector in 3-D space that is then fed to the controller. The controller will then ‘drive’ the helicopter to the next point in the trail making a connection between the cognition and the controller. Adaptability The immediate application that the helicopter will provide is semi-autonomous flight. Semi-autonomous flight is advantageous because the user can execute multiple flight missions without being restricted to the confines of a single, programmed flight path. The user will use a standard JR helicopter remote to simply guide the helicopter in any direction, while the helicopter will automatically hover and stabilize—a task that normally requires extensive user training. The controller will act to relay the user’s commands into directions for the helicopter, while constant sensor feedback will adjust commands to stabilize and level it. This semi-autonomous flight system will eliminate the need for a trained pilot to operate the helicopter. The purchaser of a JR Auto Chopper could adapt it for their specific needs, such as wildfire cameras or auto-hovering surveillance. Using the supplied common interfaces (Serial, Wi-Fi and Ethernet) the semi-autonomous design would allow for many uses, and can be sold at a reasonable price relative to other HUAV’s. JR Auto Chopper has proposed to retrofit a commonly available RC helicopter for semi-autonomous and autonomous flight. The sensors needed to perform these tasks have been outlined along with the necessary control and cognition algorithms. This platform will provide consumers with a base package that can be customized to fit their specific needs.ME 4000 – Final Report 12/10/2007 Section: Front Matter JR Auto Chopper Page 4 of 41 1.2. Table of Contents 1. Front Matter .............................................................................................................. 2 1.1. Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... 4 1.3. List of Figures ................................................................................................................ 6 1.4. List of Tables ................................................................................................................. 6 1.5. Glossary ......................................................................................................................... 7 2. Context ...................................................................................................................... 8 2.1. Need Statement .............................................................................................................. 8 2.2. Problem Statement ......................................................................................................... 8 2.3. Design Team .................................................................................................................. 9 2.3.1. Student Design Team Members ............................................................................................ 10 2.3.2. Teaching Team ..................................................................................................................... 11 2.3.3. Corporate Liaisons ................................................................................................................ 12 2.4. Team Circumstances .................................................................................................... 12 3. Design Requirements .............................................................................................. 14 3.1.