Home

Table of Contents

1 Administrative Information
- 1.1 Mission Statement
- 1.2 The Team
2 General Project Information
3 Design History File

Administrative Information

Quadcopter Concept Sketch

3-D SolidWorks Model

Project Name: Autonomous Quadcopter
Project Number: P07122
Project Family: P07120 Micro Air Vehicle
Track: Aerospace Systems and Technology
Start Term: 2006-2
End Term: 2006-3
Faculty Guide: Dr. Vincent J. Amuso (EE)
Primary Customer: Dr. Vincent J. Amuso (EE Dept. Head)
Secondary Customers: RIT Honors Program - Dr. David Mathiason, Director
Customer contact information: Dr. Vincent J. Amuso,; Associate Professor and Electrical Engineering Department Head; vjaeee@rit.edu

Project Readiness Package

Mission Statement

The mission of this student team is to develop a flight vehicle that can be operated autonomously. The vehicle should be able to control its own flight based on information gathered by sensors aboard the aircraft. The vehicle should also be able to carry interchangeable payloads to meet the needs of various potential customers. The team must provide complete documentation of the analysis, design, manufacturing, fabrication, test, and evaluation of this subsystem to a level of detail that a subsequent team can build upon their work with no more than one week of background research.

The Team

Design Team (L to R) - Glenn Kitchell, Jeff Welch, Jason Enslin, Courtney Walsh, Richard Nichols

Team Member	Discipline	Role / Skills	E-mail address
Vincent J. Amuso	EE	Faculty Guide, Will work closely with the team on an on-going basis to facilitate success.	vjaeee@rit.edu
Jason Enslin	EE	Project Manager, Circuit Design	jwe1583@rit.edu
Richard Nichols	EE	Controls, Sensor Selection and Interfacing	ran0572@rit.edu
Courtney Walsh	ME	Flight Dynamics and Propulsion	cbw9125@rit.edu
Jeff Welch	ME	Mechanical Design and Analysis	jsw8517@rit.edu
Glenn Kitchell	CE	GPU Programming & Interfacing	gmk6467@rit.edu

General Project Information

Administrative Documents

Project Schedule (XLS) - Schedule for MSD II (.xls version)

Project Schedule (MPP) - Schedule for MSD II (.mpp version)

Budget_5_18_07 (XLS) - Final Budget

SD I Presentation (PPT) - Project Review Presentation 1 (2/23/07)

General Parts Info (XLS) - Misc. Info on Electronic Parts

Bill of Materials (DOC) - Bill of Materials

Technical Paper (DOC) - Final Conference Paper for SD II

Poster (PPT) - Final Poster for SD II

SD II Presentation (PPT) - Project Review Presentation 2 (5/18/07)

Datasheets

Rabbit Overview (PDF) - Specs on the GPU

Rabbit User's Manual (PDF) - Detailed instructions for GPU

ADS7870 (PDF) - A/D Converter on board GPU

OPA2337 (PDF) - OpAmp used in Level Shifter

HAC-UM12 (PDF) - Wireless Links

IDG-300 (PDF) - Dual-Axis Gyroscope

MMA7260Q (PDF) - 3-Axis Accelerometer

MicroMag3 (PDF) - Digital Compass

EM-406 SIRF3 (PDF) - GPS Unit

UCC3941-5 (PDF) - DC to DC Boost Converter

H21A1 (PDF) - Phototransistor Optical Interrupter Switch

ADG436 (PDF) - Dual Analog Switch

Rabbit Pinouts (XLS) - Pinouts and Connections for Electronic Parts

Web Resources

Spark Fun Electronics
Digikey Electronics
Tower Hobbies

Sponsoring Organization

This project is supported by two different organizations. The RIT Honors Program has generously awarded an Interdisciplinary Research Grant to the honors students participating in this project. The intent of the RIT Honors Program is to enrich student's academic endeavors, further their personal growth through leadership, foster a sense of unity, promote service in the community, and develop skills lasting beyond their time at RIT. The RIT Electrical Engineering department will also be sponsoring this project with the aspiration of using the autonomous flight vehicle for Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) research.

Customer Deliverables

Design and build a flight vehicle that can be controlled autonomously and carry a payload consisting of at least one picosatellite. This project should establish a platform that future students can build upon in subsequent quarters.