Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Project-Based Engineering Education

Abstract

Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) have gained significant popularity with applications ranging from aerial imagery acquisition to package delivery and military surveillance. This popularity is reflected in a variety of startups, the hobbyist community, and in academia. sUAS are employed in academia for both research and teaching purposes. Despite widespread use of sUAS at the university level, most literature focuses on research and commercial applications with few publications dedicated to sUAS for engineering education. This paper investigates the use of sUAS and student-designed manipulator payloads to support both Aerospace and Robotics senior and graduate-level courses developed at the University of Michigan. Four project case studies relying on small unmanned systems will be investigated that collectively provide an integrated learning environment over software, sensor, actuator, and decision-making (control) algorithms. Two of the projects also offer the opportunity for students to design, build, and test a manipulator on a fixed base then integrate it within a quadrotor platform tasked with accomplishing an autonomous manipulation mission. The paper discusses specifics of the projects, project and student learning outcomes, and safety measures applied, including institutional safety policy. Specific outcomes and challenges of course projects are discussed.

Wind Tunnel Testing and Aerodynamic Characterization of a QuadPlane Uncrewed Aircraft System

“…A square pusher quadrotor layout was superimposed on a conventional tail fixed-wing airframe. Avionics and software were adapted from [36,37] to minimize overhead. The QuadPlane hosts four vertical thrust pusher propulsion modules, one forward thrust puller propulsion module, and servos controlling aileron, elevator and rudder deflections.…”

A Program for Managing Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Engineering Education

“…For example, the previously cited article by Donato, et, al, highlights specific physical risks associated with UAS usage. [9] These include loss of control, cutting hazards from spinning rotors, and flyaway situations. Some of the physical hazards or as or less severe than other physical hazards associated with engineering education.…”

“…Authors from the University of Michigan describe projects that leverage UAS technology and incorporate elements of Aerospace education, and Robotics and cover topics ranging from structures, aerodynamics, propulsion, sensors, controls, software, processing, and design. [9] The advantage is that the systems are relatively affordable, scalable, and can be modified to support certain projects.…”