UAV: Autonomous Flight
Date
2014
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Engineering
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Thesis (B.A.)
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en_US
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Full copyright to this work is retained by the student author. It may only be used for non-commercial, research, and educational purposes. All other uses are restricted.
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Abstract
In this project, we have assembled an aircraft with some autonomous capabilities. The implications of autonomous flight are substantial. Without pilots, flight can be mechanically and deterministically optimized; this could greatly benefit all aircraft applications. We implemented an autonomous aircraft by adding sensors and a processing unit to a Multiplex EasyStar II, a small remote-controlled aircraft kit. These sensors, including a barometer, accelerometer, and gyroscope, monitor the state of the aircraft. The state data is processed on the airplane and used to send signals to the plane's controlling motors. We have also built a mechanism for our onboard computer to read signals sent by the plane's remote receiver to the servos, in order to retain remote control capabilities. Although our autonomous tests have not been successful, we have implemented a system where the airplane is controllable by software, and we have gathered data from wind tunnel experiments.