UAS Flight Hub experience

 The UAS design/assembly part of the lab was actually fairly well made. The UI is simple and easy to understand and use. However, I do also have some gripes. Why is it that the payload capacity is so easily exceeded on the Rotary Wing UAS? 

I have the bare bones of a motor, flight controller, IR sensor, GPS module, and 25% fuel capacity and I'm just barely under the 2800 grams of payload capacity. Adding a battery, or altimeter, or generator would make it overweight. I only noticed this issue after assembling and trying to fly this thing the first time. I couldn't get it to move past 1 m/s and was so confused.

For the Performance section, I'm fairly satisfied with how the simulator runs. The UI emulates the kind of visuals you would see on a real UAS I think. However, the joystick control for the operation of the gimballed cameras is a little bit unwieldy when using a keyboard and mouse. If the camera optic was linked directly to mouse movement like in First Person video games, then I think it would feel a little bit more natural. 

The Mission section is the most lacking out of the three sections we are discussing. There are three missions to choose from: Lost hiker in Yosemite, Agriculture, and Crash Site. None of the three have a written description as to what the mission is composed of and what the objectives are. Without mission objectives, it's difficult to come up with mission requirements, which in turn makes it tough to assemble a UAS tailored to the specific mission. Of the three, the lost hiker mission is the most straightforward, as one can assume that the objective is to find the missing hiker, but no other requirements such as time or costs are mentioned. If these mission objectives and descriptions do exist, they are not located in an easy to reach or eye-catching place. 

Overall, I don't think I could recommend this lab to any new students. The takeaways and learnings from this lab seem to be UIsimulation tools/simulation platform related, rather than related to real UAS issues. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Risk Management and ADM

Image
This week we learned about Risk Management and ADM, or Aeronautical Decision Making. ADM is a systematic way of making decisions in the air. To help with this, we can look at human factors that effect decision making, such as being Anti-Authority, Impulsive, feeling Invulnerable, being Macho, or Resignation. In order to make sure you avoid falling into these behaviors, you must first recognize your own behaviors and take conscious action to change them.  Something that stood out to me for Risk Management was the table/matrix you can use as a guide.  This table was Table 2 from Chapter 2 of the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. This stood out to me because in Mechanical Engineering Design, you use a similar guide to come up with failure modes and how likely and severe they will be. I suppose now that I'm typing and thinking things out, it does make sense that the two would be similar, as they are both forms of risk management.  Some unique human factors challenge...
Read more

UAS Mishaps and Accidents

     This week's discussion topics talk about hazards and risks for UAS operations, tools to mitigate Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations, and how human factors have contributed to UAS mishap and accident rates.       A few hazards and risks to UAS operations are: Collisions Mainly other aircraft and terrain Can be $$$ if colliding with property such as cell towers, antennae, other expensive equipment. Loss link Can result in a collision Weather Can result in equipment loss/damage Human Factors Pilot experience Aeronautical Decision Making Beyond Visual Line of Sight or BVLOS operations present increased risk in accidents happening. Tools can be used to mitigate BVLOS risk and accidents: Thorough planning of the flight Extensive research of the flight area Terrain, obstacles, and human activity Weather Make sure it's in the operation area, and not simply at home. Make sure it's for the time period the flight is scheduled for. Pilot health Sleep well...
Read more

UAM, UTM, and NextGen

This week we learned about UAM, UTM, and NextGen. I'll give a quick summary as a refresher for the reader. UAM = Urban Air Mobility. These are aerial vehicles for use in urban areas, acting as either cars, taxis, buses, or potentially even ambulances and police vehicles. There are many companies developing products to fill and expand this niche that is currently occupied by rotary wing aircraft, aka helicopters. UTM = Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management = UAS Traffic Management. This is a collaboration amongst the FAA, NASA, and other federal and private actors to research how to manage operations, communicate, and track UAS operations in airspace where Air Traffic Service is not provided by the FAA. NextGen = Next Generation Air Transportation System. The FAA is upgrading the NAS, or National Airspace System, to handle the increased demand, as well as new capabilities involving UAS and other non-traditional aviation uses.  What do you think are the greatest challenges for ...
Read more