Hardware Manager: Jason Banaska, EE Project Leader: Marcus Horning, EE So;ware Manager: Sagar Patel, CpE Archivist: Michael Wallen, EE Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jay Adams So+ware Block Diagram Abstract Marketing
The objective of this project is to design and construct a low-cost, remote-controlled aerial
surveillance blimp with self-stabilization capabilities and safety control. The focus of the project is
designing a compensator for the system to allow for suitable performance and stability. In addition,
the system will be designed to provide intuitive control, such that the user can directly command the
pitch, yaw, x-direction, and altitude of the aircraft. Along with continuous surveillance video
feedback, the blimp shall also provide transmitted data including: craft position, weather
measurements, craft battery level, and indication of oncoming obstacles. This poster conveys the
theory of operation as well as the engineering specifications that will be attained.
Hardware Block Diagram The airship should have an average flight duration Based on the 1900 mAh rating on the
of twenty-five minutes.
battery and the average current draw.
6
Display warning message on graphical user
This feature is intended for craft and
interface (GUI) on computer when battery voltage personnel safety. Critically low voltage
level reaches the critically low voltage level.
is determined from battery reading,
dependent on the number of cells and
battery type.
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The gondola, sensors, motors, and additional
hardware should be detachable from the blimp
envelope in less than 1 minute.
8
The airship must make one full rotation in the yaw This value is determined by user
direction in under 60 seconds.
specifications.
1,2,9
The maximum allowable drift during autonomous
flight in any direction is 1 m when wind gusts are
below 22 m/s.
The user control should allow the operator to
control the pitch and yaw rotational directions, as
well as the x and z translational directions. The
analog joystick on the remote will control the
rotational directions and the buttons will control
the translational movements of the craft.
The amount drift is based on the control
system compensation.
5
The craft must come to a stop and warn the user
via the GUI when an obstacle is within 1m and
lies in the direction of the flight path.
This value is based on the maximum
drift of the airship and the value of the
ultrasonic range finder.
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The airship’s velocity in the z-direction must be
able to achieve 0.25 m/s.
The airship should not exceed a maximum altitude
of 122 m above ground level and must warn the
user when the craft is approaching this position.
This value is dependent on the size and
speed of the motors.
This is a model aircraft operating
standard in the Advisory Cicrular 91-57.
4
The device must transmit 800 meters line of sight
the craft’s battery voltage level, position, altitude,
aircraft speed, distance to obstacles, and the air
pressure and temperature of the atmosphere.
The maximum range of transmission of
the XBee Pro transceiver is 1.609 km.
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The accuracy of the transmitted data must be as
follows:
-Temperature within 1ºC
-Air pressure within 100Pa
-Battery voltage within 2% of actual voltage
-Speed within 5% of actual speed
-GPS position within 5 meters
The accuracy of the data is based on the
constraints of the sensors quality.
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Motor 1
Theory of Opera:on •  The user will be able to directly control the pitch, yaw, x-translational movement, and the altitude
of the airship via an X-Box 360 controller. These commands are transmitted wirelessly with a Xbee
transceiver to the on-board unit.
•  The position of the airship will be controlled by four motors located on the hull of the envelope.
Single motors will be fixed to both the front and the rear of the envelope. Two motors fixed near
the center of mass will control the yaw and x-translational direction.
•  A motor control algorithm will determine the motor speeds based on the desired inputs and the
sensor data. The table below demonstrates the direction of travel with respect to the activated
motors.
•  Multiple PID controllers will be designed and implemented to improve the performance and
robustness of the system.
•  From on-board sensors, data transmitted back to the user on a custom-designed GUI includes GPS
coordinates, temperature, air pressure, battery voltage level, aircraft altitude and speed.
•  The blimp will be held in a specified location by utilizing dead reckoning using the data from an
inertial measurement unit (IMU) to provide feedback for motor control. An IMU will output the
attitude and vector acceleration of the airship by employing a combination of a 3-axis gyroscope
and accelerometer.
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Control System Implementa:on Basic Motor Control Table Motor 1 Motor 2 Motor 3 Motor 4 Direc:on CW CCW AUTO OFF +ᴪy CCW CW AUTO OFF -­‐ᴪy AUTO AUTO CW CW +z AUTO AUTO CCW CCW -­‐z AUTO AUTO OFF CW +θp AUTO AUTO CW OFF -­‐θp CW CW AUTO OFF +x CCW CCW AUTO OFF -­‐x Justification
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Motor 4
Motor 2
Engineering Requirements
Requirements
Key Features:
• Accurate and stable flight
• Intuitive remote control
• Feedback of live video and critical sensor data
• Remote-controlled and autonomous flight
Motor 3
Design Specifica:ons Table AUTO: Autonomous Control
CW: Clockwise (propels in positive
direction)
CCW: Counter-clockwise (propels in
negative direction)
M1: RPM of Motor 1
M2: RPM of Motor 2
M3: RPM of Motor 3
M4: RPM of Motor 4
The blimp must be transportable for
indoor and outdoor use. The envelope
will also be used independently by a
second party.
The user needs to be able to have full
control of the craft's flight trajectory,
with ease of use.
Marketing Requirements:
1.  The craft must be stable in flight in all directions.
2.  The craft must self stabilize in the absence of user control or when communication is lost.
3.  The craft must be intuitive to control via the remote control.
4.  The display unit must provide the user with the craft’s coordinates, altitude, video feed, and battery voltage.
5.  The craft must avoid contact with obstacles during flight.
6.  The craft must have battery life that will sustain long periods of flight and the user shall be warned when the
battery power is critically low.
7.  The craft must be easy to assemble to provide ease of use and transportation.
8.  The craft must respond readily to all user commands.
9.  The craft must be able to fly outdoors.
10.  The craft must comply with Advisory Circular (AC) 91-57 for Model Aircraft Operating Standards.
• 2011-2012 Senior Design Capstone Project • Dr. Jay Adams, Faculty Advisor • Gregory A. Lewis, Senior Design Coordinator • Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering • College of Engineering • University of Akron •