Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Major
Computer Engineering and Computer Science
Research Advisor
Finaish, Fathi
Advisor's Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Funding Source
Missouri S& T Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experiences (OURE) Fellows Program NASA Space Grant Program
Abstract
A semi-autonomous helicopter has been created to fill both civilian and military rolls. In a civilian role, the aircraft is capable of assisting disaster relief personnel in surveying damaged structures and other hazardous areas. In a military role, the aircraft can provide valuable, time-sensitive intelligence in urban environments. A number of sensors and pieces of computer hardware have been mounted on a small remote-control helicopter to allow for near autonomous operation. The helicopter is controlled from a portable, laptop computer-based ground station that allows the operator to monitor the helicopter's position and video from an onboard camera. Image processing software station assists the operator in identifying windows and doorways of buildings. A fuzzy logic control system has been developed for the helicopter and has been tuned with partial success and tested using flight simulation. Additional work is needed to finish tuning and testing the control system.
Biography
Paul Drews is a senior double ma1ormg in Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Missouri S& T. He is currently a chief engineer for the Missouri S& T Robotics Team. He has experimented w1lh microcontroller and robotics sensors since high school and applied that experience to Missouri S& T's entries in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 IGVC. He was a primary designer of control systems for the 2006 robot as well as a researcher for the LAGR project (November 2005 to September 2006) and a team member on Project SA VER. He has experience developing software in both Linux and Windows for high- and low-level robotics systems. He has previous research experience in the OURE Ultrasonic Range Sensors and their applications in avoiding obstacles in IGVC. This OURE was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Steve Watkins during 2005. He also worked at Boeing during the summer of 2006 writing bus testing software for F-15 and F-18 avionics.
Research Category
Engineering
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Document Type
Presentation
Award
Engineering oral presentation, Second place
Location
Havener Center, Ozark Room
Presentation Date
09 Apr 2008, 8:00 am- 5:00 pm
Development of an Aerial Robot for Surveillance Missions around Buildings
Havener Center, Ozark Room
A semi-autonomous helicopter has been created to fill both civilian and military rolls. In a civilian role, the aircraft is capable of assisting disaster relief personnel in surveying damaged structures and other hazardous areas. In a military role, the aircraft can provide valuable, time-sensitive intelligence in urban environments. A number of sensors and pieces of computer hardware have been mounted on a small remote-control helicopter to allow for near autonomous operation. The helicopter is controlled from a portable, laptop computer-based ground station that allows the operator to monitor the helicopter's position and video from an onboard camera. Image processing software station assists the operator in identifying windows and doorways of buildings. A fuzzy logic control system has been developed for the helicopter and has been tuned with partial success and tested using flight simulation. Additional work is needed to finish tuning and testing the control system.
