Autonomous Ag Drone
Develop the advanced functionality for an existing hexacopter drone prototype platform. The majority of the work will be done by CS and ECE capstone students to make this open-source platform something which can be deployed world-wide. ME contributions will include refinement of existing prototype with an eye to reliability and ease of use.
Objectives
CS: - Develop autonomous functionality, including easy mission programming, obstacle avoidance, pausing and resuming missions from precise locations, etc.
EE - Develop a robust electronics design to replace or improve the existing prototype. Add several sensors to support advanced functionality such as obstacle avoidance. Focus on power efficiency, reliability, and ease of repair in a worldwide field setting.
ME - Review and revise the existing platform with an eye to reliability, design for repair and ease of use. Light weight will also be an important factor in increasing flight time.
Motivations
Our goal for this project is to improve the accessibility of UAVs for agricultural use in low-income countries. In 2022-23, a Capstone team built a prototype drone that is open source, rugged, and designed for easy repair. It can fly manually under remote control, and now it needs to get smarter, meaning that significant autonomous functionality needs development, as do various other “smart” features like obstacle avoidance, pausing and resuming missions from precise locations, etc. The resulting product will improve efficiency in agriculture at a lower cost to the user than conventional farming practices.
We are partnering with Raitong Organics Farm to bring engineering beyond the classroom to farms and fields. The 2023-24 team is planning a field test in Thailand of the current drone, and we anticipate the final drone delivered by the 2024-25 team would also travel to Thailand to deliver the final product (with potentially partial to full sponsorship for travel).
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
- a desire to make a difference by working on an impactful humanitarian project
- existing skills in or willingness to learn about autonomous function development
- existing skills in power management and optimization in system like drones or remote-control aircraft or the like
- willing to consider travel to Thailand to field test and deliver the final product
Details
Project Partner:
John Greeven
NDA/IPA:No Agreement Required
Number Groups:1
Project Status:Accepting Applicants
Website:https://osuaiaa.com/agricultural-drone https://raitong-organics.webflow.io/
Keywords:
ThailandAutonomousdronehumanitarian
