Team AIR designs and develops drones, with a strong focus on autonomy. The team is currently working towards the Student Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) competition. Every year, they use rapid prototyping techniques to create modular frames for various mission requirements. With a commitment to continuous improvement, the team consistently works on advancing software capabilities to enhance autonomous functions.
Each sub-team consists of members from many different majors who work together to streamline the implementation of various systems into the final product.
Our custom-built aircraft is engineered for durability, stability, and efficiency. Featuring a lightweight carbon fiber frame and an aerodynamic design, it delivers optimal flight performance while carrying specialized payloads for the SUAS competition. With advanced avionics, precise autonomous control, and robust payload systems, the aircraft is built to excel in complex mission environments while prioritizing safety and reliability. The Aircraft Subteam designs and constructs the drone’s frame and mounting systems using tools like SolidWorks and Ansys, along with principles of statics and dynamics. Parts are produced through in-house 3D printing or outsourced for carbon fiber fabrication.
The payload system is designed to ensure reliable and accurate delivery of payloads during mission operations. It manages every stage of the process, including containment, deployment, and controlled descent, to achieve precise and safe landings on target. Through careful engineering and rigorous testing, the system is built to operate efficiently and consistently in challenging competition environments. The Payload Subteam focuses on the design, fabrication, and integration of the entire payload delivery system, including any necessary electronics for deployment. The team’s goal is to optimize performance, ensuring payloads are released with precision and land safely, all while maintaining a streamlined and reliable system.
The avionics system serves as the backbone of the drone’s electrical and control infrastructure, enabling seamless integration of all onboard systems. It encompasses everything from power distribution to communications and navigation, ensuring reliable and efficient operation during missions. The avionics team designs and implement the drone’s entire electrical system, including power distribution schematics, custom battery packs that we assemble and spot-weld, and PCBs for low-power regulation and battery management. They also integrate flight controllers, telemetry radios, GPS/RTK modules, cameras, and motors using custom wiring harnesses and power cables. When off-the-shelf solutions do not meet mission requirements, they build custom hardware to ensure optimal performance and reliability.
The Optics subteam broadly works on the software the drone uses to sense its environment. This typically entails detecting the targets in unknown locations we have to drop payloads on, creating a top-down map of a specified area like Google Maps, and detecting other teams’ aircraft so we don’t collide. Our subteam spends our time writing and testing code, including training deep learning models, doing math, and writing algorithms to process the camera images into usable information for GNC to use to command the drone.
The Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Subteam is responsible for the autonomous operation of the drone. They solve challenges such as autonomous target navigation and dynamic path planning for mapping unexplored areas. To enable this functionality, they use the ArduPilot flight controller and configure missions through QGroundControl and Mission Planner. They verify and test our software systems through extensive software-in-the-loop simulations using platforms such as Gazebo to ensure reliable and precise autonomous flight.
