Mechanical components

We have been working on the coding aspects of the drone as well as the mechanical parts such as the body frame and the wires associated. These all had to be soldered into place to be used on the drone frame. A picture can be seen below that shows these components. We are using a C++ language in the arduino system to code the drone. This is how we want to program it and we feel it will be the easiest to translate into the predetermined flight path. Over the past nine weeks, we have been working on this project and appear to be slightly off pace. The delay of the parts getting shipped here set us back somewhat as we could not move forward with any aspect of the project. By week ten however we expect to have the drone fully operational as well as the recorded demo of our final goal.

Lack of Parts

The past two weeks our group has been waiting for these very specific screws that could not be purchased in a hardware store. The original screws we had were too wide for the motor, then we went out and bought some smaller screws, however this ended up being incorrect as well. The most recent group of screws fit radius wise, however it was too long and did not give the motor a secure fit. We have ordered a different size now, and are simply waiting for the screws. As far as that goes, we are just waiting for them to be able to put together the mechanical components of the drone. Otherwise we have been programming the drone itself and are trying to get the autonomous search pattern finished.

Week 4 (Assembly)

Last night our group was finally able to get our hands on all of the parts required for the project. The total cost came out to only around 225 dollars. Of which we were able to acquire 4 motors, one body frame, a motion sensor, a microphone sensor, and an arduino kit that will be used to code the autonomous drone and allow it to accomplish the tasks at hand. Each item is shown below:

Microphone 

Arduino

Drone Frame

Motion Sensor

Motor (x4)

 One problem that we are facing is that the motors we have and the body frame do not particularly match up. There is a specified hole in each arm of the frame, which is meant for the motors to be attached to, however our specific motors are too large to fit properly. This minor issue can be solved by shaving some material off of the frame, which will open the hole for the motors to fit and be secured onto the body. Over the next few days we will be working on the assembly of our drone and be fixing any small problems such as this one. Our plan is to finish the physical construction by next week, and by then be able to start the programming side of the project.

Week 3 (Preparation)

For week 3, our main focus was to simply order any parts we would need for the completion of this project. Given the available amount of time, we were able to order all parts needed as well as being very cost effective. Our orders and their links will be displayed below:

http://www.buddyrc.com/sunnysky-x2208-kv1100-ii-brushless-motor.html

http://www.buddyrc.com/a450-quadcopter-frame.html

http://www.buddyrc.com/black-gemfan-9x4-7-inch-slow-flyer-normal-ccw-propellers-1533.html

https://www.adafruit.com/?q=1%20x%20Electret%20Microphone%20Amplifier&

https://www.adafruit.com/products/189

Each part will vary as far as delivery goes, so we can expect to have just about every piece by at least before class on Thursday in week 4. On top of all of these parts, we will be using arduino to program and help in the accomplishment of our ultimate goal which is autonomous drone surveillance. The arduino kit can be seen to the right:

Introduction

Welcome!

This blog site has been set up by our team of current engineer students at Drexel University. Our goal for this site is to keep everyone updated on our current design project. The project we have chosen to complete is that of a new surveillance drone. There will be weekly posts of our progress on this topic that describe detailed entries of things such as the design specifications, the flight testing, code used to control said drone, and many more aspects. The overall goal of the advanced surveillance drone is to autonomously cover a set area, and once the motion sensor mounted on the drone is triggered, it will then travel over to that specific location and use a light as well as a camera to record the disturbance. The audience that we feel this will appeal to can range from someone worried about the safety of their home, to even a large scale company that wants extra security. This past week our team has been filling out our design proposal which essentially plans out the entirety of this project, and we all feel confident in the information we have provided on our advanced surveillance drone. For the next week or so, we will be ordering and creating all necessary parts, as well as assembling what we can. For now we will just be waiting for their arrival.