A Project Report On AMPHIBIOUS SURVEILLANCE HOVERCRAFT

Submitted in the partial fulfillment for the Award of Degree of Bachelor of Technology In Electronics and Communication Engineering By Md Arshad (2902831002) Saurabh Srivastava (0802831087)

Under the Guidance of Mrs. Nisha Thakur Assistant Professor Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Ideal Institute of Technology, Ghaziabad (U.P.) INDIA 2011-12

Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering Ideal institute of Technology Ghaziabad India

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Project entitled as Amphibious Surveillance Hovercraft submitted by Mr. Md Arshad and Mr. Saurabh Srivastava in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Technology in Electronics & Communication Engineering of this college is a record of their own work carried out by them under our supervision and guidance.

Mrs. Nisha Thakur (Assistant Proffessor)

(Dept. of Electronics & Comm. Engg.)
Date: 31 may 2012

Mr. N.P.GUPTA (H.O.D.)

(Dept. of Electronics & Comm. Engg.)
Date:31 may 2012

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all we are thankful to our project guide Mrs. Nisha Thakur who motivated us to work on our project Amphibious Surveillance Hovercraft. We express our sincere thanks and gratitude to college authorities for allowing us to undergo our project. We want to especially thank Mr. Atul Kashyap without whom we would never have been able to work on the undertaken project. He has been constantly guiding and motivating us during the project development. We shall always remain indebted to Mr. Vikramaditya Chauhan, Guwahati, Mr. Skanda Kishore, Bengalore, Mr. Tigmanshu Goyal, IIT-Kanpur, Mr. Swapnil, Hyderabad, Mr. Vivek Kumar Singh, Ghaziabad and Dr. Kirti Prakash, CEERI-Pilani, for their unparalleled help and consistent guidance at various instants during the project completion cycle. We thank Mr. Hemant Chauhan, Amity University, Noida who gave us his precious time and valuable advices and suggestions for our project. At last but not the least we thank Mr. Raj Kumar Yadav, Electrical Engineering Deptt. who helped us by their valuable advices and suggestions. Last but not the least we would again like to express our sincere thanks to all the people who are supporting us by various ways during our project development.

Md. Arshad Saurabh Srivastava

ABSTRACT
The proposed project aims at developing and designing a wirelessly controlled hovercraft suitable for surveillance purposes in areas where human intervention is either unintended or puts life to risk. Situations involving surveying of areas where terrain conditions are not uniform cannot be addressed by the conventional methods as effectively as a hovercraft can do.

Moreover, areas which are prone to any kind of hazard can also be surveyed by this vehicle in far better way and that too, without putting any life to risk. The efficiency and effectiveness of the system is also taken into consideration throughout the development process.

Table of Contents
1. Overview1 2. Literature Survey.2 2.1. Hovercraft.2 2.2. History..........3 2.3. Need of Hovercrafts.........3 2.4. Effect of Terrain conditions.3 2.5. Scalability.3 2.6. Hovercraft versus Cars and Boats....4 2.7. Impact on Environment4 3. Design and Material Specifications...5 3.1. Hovercraft Hull/Deck...........5 3.2. Skirt..6 3.3. Lift System...........8 3.4. Propulsion system.........8 3.5. Maneuverability9 4. Applications/Uses 11 5. Project Description........12 5.1. Design Methodology..12 5.1.1. Software Packages Used.13 5.2. A Schematic of Single Propeller Based Design.15 5.3. Components Description...16 6. Practical Working Details.18

6.1. Designing of the RF Receiver18 6.2. The 556 IC Based Circuit...24 6.3.Controlling the Motor with Arduino Board28 6.3.1. Arduino Uno Development Board...30 6.3.2. Circuits Using Arduino...37 7. Block Diagram, Layout and Designs.47 7.1. Block Diagram of the System.47 7.2. Plan Layout/Drawings48 8. Result.52 9. Scope.53 REFERENCES..54 APPENDIX...55

Table of Figures
3.1. Hull/Deck of Hovercraft...5 3.2. Bottom View of the Skirt.6 3.3. Momentum Curtain Effect7 3.4. Bottom View of a Toy Hovercraft Skirt...7 3.5. Horizontally placed Ducted Lift Fan8 3.6. Proportional Thrust Division System...9 3.7. Rudder Based Control....10 3.8. Thrust Vectoring.10 5.1. A 3-D Model of Hovercraft13 5.2. Output Waveform with 2ms ON time and 20ms ON+OFF time...14 5.3. Circuits using 555 and 556 ICs.14 5.4. Vertical Fan Based Design.15 5.5. L293NE Pin Description....17 5.6. The IR Remote control...17 6.1. Circuit analogous to Fan Regulator Circuit18 6.2. CD 4017.19 6.3. TSOP..20 6.4. Rudder Mechanism.22 6.5. Thrust Vectoring Mechanism.23 6.6. Circuit Diagram for 556 IC based Circuit..24 6.7. Arduino Development Board.28 6.8. Arduino Uno...30

6.9. Servo Control Using Arduino.....37 6.10. ESC Control Using Arduino.37 6.11. Brushed Motor Control using Arduino38 6.12. How Servo Motor Works.39 6.13. A Real Servo Motor.39 6.14. Electronic Speed Controller.40 7.1. Block Diagram...46 7.2. Plan Layout.48 7.3. Modified skirt.48 7.4. Modified Hull.49 7.5. Bag Skirt.49 7.6. Final Skirt Design Based on Bag Skirt...50 7.7. Camera and Tuner kit.....51 8.1. Physical Appearance of Our Project..52

CHAPTER 1 1. Overview
The proposed project that is Amphibious Surveillance Hovercraft is a real working hardware model controlled wirelessly which would provide us with live video feed from the area under surveillance with a camera sensor mounted on the hovercraft and a tuner connected to a laptop/PC/TV. Brushless motor in conjunction with a relevant rotor/fan has been used to generate required lift and thrust for the vehicle. A servo motor has been used for maneuvering the hovercraft. To control the direction of the vehicle and to START/STOP the vehicle we have used an IR remote control. The circuit uses the Arduino-uno Board and involves the software programming of the Arduino Development Board.

CHAPTER 2 2. Literature survey

2.1. Hovercraft
A hovercraft is one of the children of the air cushion vehicle (ACV) family that flies above the earth's surface on a cushion of air. It is powered by an engine that provides both the lift cushion and the thrust for forward or reverse movement. The hovercraft child is a true multi-terrain, yearround vehicle that can easily make the transition from land to water because it slides on a cushion of air with the hovercraft skirt and only slightly brushes the surface. In its simplest form, a hovercraft is composed of a hull that can float in water and is carried on a cushion of air retained by a flexible 'skirt'. The air cushion (or bubble), trapped between the hull and the surface of the earth by the skirt, acts as a lubricant and provides the ability to fly or slide over a variety of surfaces. Hovercrafts are boat-like vehicles, but they are much more than just a boat, because they can travel over not only water, but grass, ice, mud, sand, snow and swamp as well.

2.2. History
During the 1950s, an Englishman by the name of Christopher Cockerell developed and patented the first official hovercraft. For his contribution to the British people and the Queen, he was knighted and named "Sir" Christopher Cockerell. Soon after, British Hovercraft Corporation developed the first commercial hovercraft for passenger transport across the English Channel. With the ability to carry up to 400 passengers and 50 automobiles, this passenger hovercraft have operated since 1968 and have carried more than 30 million passengers. The hovercraft concept, however, can be traced back to the early 1700's, and ideas for flying machines date back to ancient Greece.

2.3. Need of Hovercrafts

Their unique abilities make hovercraft extremely useful. Hovercraft can fly smoothly over land; still or swift water; shallow, flooded or frozen rivers; sandbars; swamps; snow; and thin or broken ice, giving us access to areas that can't be reached with other vehicles. Their high speed amphibious capabilities are little affected by the movement or the depth of water, or whether or not it is frozen. And hovercrafts are safer and more fuel-efficient than boats. In search and rescue operations, hovercraft keep first responders above the danger not in it - because they safely hover 9 inches above the surface, and can save victims that a boat or helicopter can't reach.

2.4. Effect of Terrain conditions

Both the terrain and the weather affect the speed of a hovercraft. There is less friction on smooth surfaces, such as ice, so a hovercraft is faster on ice than it is, for instance, on dense grass or rough surfaces. A hovercraft operating on water is affected by the roughness of the water - it will travel faster over smooth water than over waves. In addition, a hovercraft will travel faster when traveling downwind than it will when it faces a headwind. Depending upon the terrain and the weather, the average speed of a hovercraft is 35 mph (56 km/h). Today's light recreational hovercraft can reach speeds in excess of 70 mph (112 km/h). Road travel is possible with Hovercrafts, but it isn't recommended. Roads are designed for cars and have a 'camber' the surface is slightly humped up in the middle to allow water to run off. This causes very unstable driving conditions for hovercraft. Also, the abrasiveness of the road's surface causes excess skirt wear.

2.5. Scalability
Small single engine craft are around 10 ft (3.048 m) long by 6 ft (1.828 m) wide, and can weigh as little as 100-200 lb (45.5-91 kg). Hovercraft designed for use in industrial, rescue, and military applications are often more than one hundred feet long and weigh many tons.

2.6. Hovercrafts versus Cars and Boats

It is not very helpful trying to compare the amount of fuel various vehicles use in order to see which is the more efficient. There are efficiency formulas which can compare different transport vehicles, and one of the most famous compares "the amount of weight moved over a distance divided by time". Because distance divided by time is speed, the efficiency becomes weight moved by speed. Now, if you divide by the energy required to move the weight at a certain speed, you have one method for comparing various transportation means. Just for kicks and giggles, the average car uses about 3.2 US gal/hour. A similar sized hovercraft uses about 2.8 US gal/hour and an equivalent boat uses about 5 US gal/hour. You can see, however, that when wind, waves and the weight carried change then everything becomes much more complicated. When we compare the car with the hovercraft we are doing the same thing as trying to compare chalk with cheese.

2.7. Impact on Environment

The unique characteristics of the hovercraft make it one of the most environmentally friendly vehicles in the world. One of these characteristics is the hovercraft's low "footprint pressure." The pressure a hovercraft exerts on its operating surface is conservatively 1/30th that of the human foot! The average human being standing on ground exerts a pressure of about 3 lb per square inch (20 KPa), and that increases to 25 lb per square inch (172 KPa) when walking. In contrast, the average hovercraft exerts a pressure of only 0.33 lb (2.2 KPa) per square inch - even less as speed increases. This "footprint pressure" is below that of a seagull standing on one leg! Hovercrafts have literally flown over a pedestrian without inflicting harm.

CHAPTER 3 3. Design and Material Specifications

A hovercraft is a vehicle which is suspended upon a cushion of air. The cushion of air is generated by a fan which is attached to an engine which is attached to the hovercraft. The cushion of air is contained by a flexible sleeve called a 'skirt' that is attached around the perimeter of the craft to hold the air under the craft and thus upon an air cushion. The craft is then propelled by whatever means is necessary to carry it forward. A majority of craft simply utilize a ducted fan or a propeller. Control of a hovercraft is accomplished primarily through the use of rudders like the type used on aircraft

3.1. Hovercraft Hull/Deck

A hovercraft hull is typically constructed from aluminum, fiberglass, plastic or plywood, or a combination thereof. Some racing hovercrafts have been made from composite honeycomb sheet aluminum. It is important that a provision be made for buoyancy so the craft will float on water. This is usually done by installing urethane or styrene foam inside the hull. We are using reinforced commercial grade thermocol to make the deck /hull of our hovercraft.

Figure 3.1 Hull/Deck of our hovercraft

3.2. Skirt
A hovercraft skirt is made from a flexible waterproof material such as neoprene-coated nylon. The skirt is one of the most important parts of a hovercraft because it allows the hovercraft to clear obstacles: the higher the skirt, the larger the obstacle that the hovercraft will clear. However, if the skirt is too tall, the hovercraft will 'slide off' the cushion and the cushion will deflate; the craft will become extremely unstable. There are several types of hovercraft skirts, but the most common are the bag skirt, the segmented skirt and the jupe skirt. The bag skirt consists of a tube that encircles the hovercraft's perimeter. The segmented skirt, also called a 'finger skirt', consists of several separate nylon segments that press together when inflated. The jupe skirt, also called a 'cell skirt', consists of several cells that look like cones with their tops cut off, with their bases attached to the bottom of the hovercraft with breakaway plastic wire ties. In our case we tried flexible plastic skirt in such a way that creates a plenum chamber is created by the pressurized air coming out from tiny holes made at the boundary of inside, but this design did not work so we used a bag skirt design.
Holes at the periphery of the bottom side of skirt.

Figure 3.2 Bottom view

Figure 3.3 - Momentum curtain effect

Figure 3.4 - Bottom view of a toy hovercrafts skirt

3.3. Lift system

Fans generate air pressure that lifts a hovercraft. Fans inflate the cushion contained within the skirt beneath the hovercraft to provide lift and they also provide thrust, which propels the craft forward. Two types of lift systems can be used to provide the air for the lift cushion. Some hovercraft use a separate engine driven fan at the front of the craft, while many craft use some of the air from the propulsion fan, which is ducted under the craft. The latter method is called an integrated system. A hovercraft can use as many fans as the designer wishes. Most recreational light hovercraft use the single fan or dual fan design. Many large military and commercial hovercrafts often use as many as six lift fans and two thrust fans.

Figure 3.5 - Horizontally placed ducted lift fan

3.4. Propulsion system

A hovercraft is propelled forward by fan(s) or propeller(s) running in specially shaped ducts. In our project, we are using a dedicated motor for propelling the craft. Initially we considered to use some proportion of lifting thrust to generate optimum forward thrust. For this modified our design in such a way that some part of pressurized air generated by the lifting fan is allowed to pass

through a cylindrical pipe like structure made over the top of the hull via a small hole. But we have to change the design because of some practical difficulties in moving the hovercraft.

Figure 3.6 - Proportional thrust division mechanism

3.5. Maneuverability
Learning to steer a hovercraft is more like learning to fly a helicopter than learning to drive a car or steer a boat. That's why a person operating a hovercraft is usually referred to as a "pilot" rather than a driver. As with any motorized vehicle, it takes practice to maneuver a hovercraft. As Sir Christopher Cockerell , the inventor of the hovercraft, explained, "Driving a hovercraft is like driving a car with four flat tyres on ice!" Although at first it might seem impossible to point the craft in the direction you want to go, it doesn't take long to master the principles.

Figure 3.7 - Rudder based control

Figure 3.8 - Thrust Vectoring

Thrust vectoring, also thrust vector control or TVC, is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor in order to control the attitude or angular velocity of the vehicle.

CHAPTER 4 4. Applications
Hovercrafts are so versatile that their applications are as diverse as the people who use them. They are used for recreation, education, racing, rescue, military and a multitude of commercial uses. The major value of hovercraft is they can reach areas that are inaccessible on foot or by conventional vehicles. A partial listing of present uses includes: Exploring the vast number of shallow and narrow waterways that cannot be reached by boat. Rescue work on swift water, ice, snow, mud flats, deserts, in wetlands, shallow water, swamps, bogs, marshes and floodwaters. Affordable, safe way to fly without a pilot's license. Transport in environmentally sensitive areas where habitat, erosion and soil compaction are a concern Wildlife conservation and research Traveling from land to water where there is no boat dock Military services: Assault vehicles and transporting troops Dive recovery teams Border Patrol and Homeland Security Port authorities/drug enforcement Agricultural spraying; cranberry, rice and pecan farming. Survey work Forestry Heavy load movement across difficult surfaces Environmental testing; intertidal zone soil sampling Charter operations and passenger ferries Oil spill clean up "Bird hazing" chasing geese from lakes in the vicinity of airports

CHAPTER 5 5. Project Description

The project primarily aims to demonstrate an application of Hovercraft which is Surveillance. This will be done with the help of a tiny spy camera/mobile camera/camera sensor mounted over the vehicle. This camera will feed the tuner attached to a Television set/laptop/mobile wirelessly. Vehicle is controlled with a wireless controller designed specifically for it. The controller will be able to control the speed and directions of the Hovercraft wirelessly. The model under development aims to meet the following expectations: 1. To be able to hover at a place. 2. To be able to move in forward direction. 3. To be able to maneuver as per commands given wirelessly via Remote Controller. 4. To be able to give Live Video feed to the Television set/Laptop/Mobile phone.

5.1. Design Methodology

First we prepared a rough sketch of the model as per our requirements and available resources. Then we chose the building materials to be used in our project and cut out structural element out of a commercial grade thermocol box for building the hull of our vehicle. We prepared the Skirt from high grade polythene by sketch preparation of it followed by cutting. Next step involves attaching a motor to the hull for lifting the hovercraft and one motor for propulsion. Appropriate propellers will be used for lift and thrust generation.

We used a Brushless DC motor for lifting purpose and a DC motor for propulsion purpose. The movement of the Hovercraft will be controlled by a Rudder assembly connected to another DC motor with the help of a set of gears. A camera will be mounted over the vehicle which will feed the tuner attached to a TV set. We designed a circuit analogous to fan regulator so as to end up in a circuit capable of regulating the speed of motor(s) and Servo(s). We designed and tested a circuit based on 556 dual timer IC so as to generate a pulse train which is supposed to trigger the ESC and control the position of servo. Both the ideas did not work practically, so we used the arduino board to control the vehicle.

5.1.1.

Software Packages Used Solidworks Design Suite 2011 We used this tool to create models of various designs we considered for our project.

Figure 5.1 A 3D model of Hovercraft

Multisim 11.0 We used this tool to design our circuits and observe simulation results.

Figure 5.2- Output waveform with 2ms on time and 20ms on+off time

Figure 5.3 Circuits using 555 and 556 timer ICs

Arduino IDE 1.0-

This is an Integrated Development Environment used to edit, compile, debug and upload sketches to the arduino development board using a PC.

5.2. A Schematic of Single Propeller Based Design

The hovercraft can have two types of designs the single propeller design and the double propeller design. In the single propeller design a single motor is used for lifting the vehicle and to provide it forward movement. Contrary to it, in the double propeller design we two separate motors are used for the lifting and propulsion purpose.

Figure 5.4 Vertical fan based design

5.3. Components Description

Components used: 1. Brushless DC Motor: EMax 2822 Outrunner Type 11.1 Volt

2. DC Servo motor: Hextronics 9 Grams weight, Plastic geared.

3. Propeller: Dual pole Plastic 6x3.

4. Nitrile Pipes: Kemflex Malaysia 16mm x 6mm.

5. Arduino Development Board: Freeduino type Atmel Atmega 328 based

6. 10k ohm variable resistance pot.

7. 3V DC Motor

8. TSOP: 1738

9. IC L293NE (H-Bridge)

Figure 5.5 -L293NE Pin Description

10. IR Remote Control

Figure 5.6 The IR Remote Control

CHAPTER 6 6. Practical working details:

6.1. Designing of RF Receiver
In the beginning of the project we decided to control the brushless motor and the rudder assembly with the help of an RF transmitter-receiver system. We did the designing of the RF receiver. The circuit diagrams are shown below. The plan was to attach a fan regulator circuit to the RF receiver as shown below:

Figure 6.1 Circuit analogous to Fan Regulator circuit

ICs Used:

CD 4017

Figure 6.2 CD 4017

The 4017 takes a clock pulse in and then steps the output from negative to positive in a series of ten steps, with only one pin being on at a time. It has the unique capability of counting up to a certain number and then restarting the count, counting up to a certain number and halting, or it can be cascaded to more 4017's for a higher count. The outputs are labeled 0 through 9. It can sink about 10 mA of current per pin and is a very versatile IC. It operates from 3V DC through 15V DC.

TSOP

Figure 6.3 - TSOP

The TSOP Sensor is a miniaturized receiver for infrared remote control systems. PIN diode and preamplifier are assembled on lead frame, the epoxy package is designed as IR filter. The demodulated output signal can directly be decoded by a microprocessor. TSOP is the standard IR remote control receiver series, supporting all major transmission codes. Series Photomodules are excellent Infrared sensors for remote control applications. These IR sensors are designed for improved shielding against Series Photomodules are miniature IR sensor modules with PIN photodiode and a preamplifier stage enclosed in an epoxy case. Its output is active low and gives +5 V when off. The demodulated output can be directly decoded by a microprocessor. The important features of the module includes internal filter for PCM frequency, TTL and CMOS compatibility, low power consumption (5 volt and 5 mA), immunity against ambient light, noise protection etc. The added features are continuous data transmission up to 2400 bps and suitable burst length of 10 cycles per burst. Inside the Photo module there is a circuitry inside for amplifying the coded pulses from the IR transmitter. The front end of the circuit has a PIN photodiode and the input signal is passed into an Automatic Gain Control(AGC) stage from which the signal passes into a Band pass filter and finally into a demodulator. The demodulated output drives an NPN transistor. The collector of this transistor forms the output at pin3 of the module. Output remains high giving + 5 V in the standby state and sinks current when the PIN photodiode receives the modulated IR signals.t electrical field disturbances.

Features: 1. Photo detector and preamplifier in one package 2 .Internal filter for PCM frequency 3. Improved shielding against electrical field disturbance 4. TTL and CMOS compatibility 5. Output active low 6. Low power consumption 7. High immunity against ambient light 8. Continuous data transmission possible (up to 2400 bps)

Issues and constraints encountered while development: The primary issue we faced while developing the project was the triggering and controlling of brushless motor by the circuits we developed. Brushless motors (herein after referred to as BLDC motors) have no mechanical brushes for commutation, they use electronic commutation instead. For this purpose an ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) circuit sends signals to the three input wires of the motor having some phase difference with respect to each other. BLDC motors are equipped with Hall Sensors mounted inside the motor can which provide the feedback to the ESC in terms of rotor position. In accordance to the feedback produced, the ESC sends pulses to the BLDC motor, which in turn make the motor rotor rotate.

In order to switch on a BLDC motor, we must arm it first. To do that we must send pulses of 1ms width having 20ms cycle time for at least 20 milliseconds. The 555/556 based circuits we developed were not producing desired results due to the noise factors and non ideal pulse generation. Hence we were required to find some other way of doing it. We did some more research to get a possible solution and at the end we were left with no other option than to use ARDUINO DEVELOPMENT BOARD. Second problem we encountered was the designing and controlling of the Rudder assembly. Rudders are nothing but a set of fins made of plastic sheet or corofoam or balsa etc. which can be used to control the directions of the hovercraft by following the simple concepts of pressure and pressure differences.

Figure 6.4 Rudder mechanism

In our project, we are developing a very small and light weight hovercraft which must work efficiently in given conditions. Designing the Rudder assembly in this case would have required too much of time, analysis and experimentation. And even after so much of experimentation, the perfect operation is never guaranteed. So in place of using a rudder we decided to use the concept of Thrust Vectoring. By doing this, we are assured that we will end up in obtaining better and desired results when compared to the previously mentioned rudder based set up.

Figure 6.5 Thrust vectoring mechanism

6.2. The 556 IC Based circuit

After the failure of fan regulator based design we designed a circuit with the 556 timer ic to control the brushless motor which we are using for lifting purpose.

Figure 6.6 Circuit Diagram

ICs Used

NE556

Features Direct replacement for SE556/NE556 Timing from microseconds through hours Operates in both astable and monostable modes Replaces two 555 timers Adjustable duty cycle Output can source or sink 200mA Output and supply TTL compatible Temperature stability better than 0.005% per C Normally on and normally off output

Description

The LM556 Dual timing circuit is a highly stable controller capable of producing accurate time delays or oscillation. The 556 is a dual 555. Timing is provided by an external resistor and capacitor for each timing function. The two timers operate independently of each other sharing only VCC and ground. The circuits may be triggered and reset on falling waveforms. The output structures may sink or source 200mA. Applications Precision timing Pulse generation Sequential timing Time delay generation Pulse width modulation Pulse position modulation

Circuit Description
We completed the designing of the above circuit. In this circuit the variable resistor R9 is varied to give the pulses of different cycle times. The output from Pin no. 9 along with the V cc and Gnd goes to the ESC which is then connected with the brushless motor to control it.

Difficulty
Our requirement for controlling the motor from the above circuit was to generate a pulse of cycle time of 20 ms and ON time of 2 ms but the above circuit was not fulfilling this requirement. So we increased the variable resistance to 2 Mohm. The new circuit with this modification gives all the theoretical values required for controlling the brushless motor. It produces a pulse with cycle time

of 20 ms and ON time of 2 ms. The ON time can be varied from 1ms to 2 ms with the designed circuit. But when we connected the circuit with the ESC and the motor it was unable to arm with the motor and ESC. So finally we have to drop this idea.

6.3. Controlling the vehicle with the Arduino Board

Figure 6.7 - Arduino Development Board

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments. Arduino can sense the environment by receiving input from a variety of sensors and can affect its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators. The microcontroller on the board is programmed using the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring) and the Arduino

development environment (based on Processing). Arduino projects can be stand-alone or they can communicate with software running on a computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP). The boards can be built by hand or purchased preassembled; the software can be downloaded for free. The hardware reference designs (CAD files) are available under an open-source license, you are free to adapt them to your needs. Arduino received an Honorary Mention in the Digital Communities section of the 2006 Ars Electronica Prix. The Arduino team is: Massimo Banzi, David Cuartielles, Tom Igoe, Gianluca Martino, and David Mellis.

6.3.1.

Arduino Uno Development Board

Figure 6.8 - Arduino Uno

Overview The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started.

The Uno differs from all preceding boards in that it does not use the FTDI USB-to-serial driver chip. Instead, it features the Atmega16U2 (Atmega8U2 up to version R2) programmed as a USBto-serialconverter.

Summary Microcontroller Operating Voltage ATmega328 5V

Input Voltage (recommended) 7-12V Input Voltage (limits) Digital I/O Pins Analog Input Pins DC Current per I/O Pin DC Current for 3.3V Pin Flash Memory SRAM EEPROM Clock Speed 6-20V 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output) 6 40 mA 50 mA 32 KB (ATmega328) of which 0.5 KB used by bootloader 2 KB (ATmega328) 1 KB (ATmega328) 16 MHz

Power The Arduino Uno can be powered via the USB connection or with an external power supply. The power source is selected automatically. External (non-USB) power can come either from an AC-to-DC adapter (wall-wart) or battery. The adapter can be connected by plugging a 2.1mm center-positive plug into the board's power jack. Leads from a battery can be inserted in the Gnd and Vin pin headers of the POWER connector.

The board can operate on an external supply of 6 to 20 volts. If supplied with less than 7V, however, the 5V pin may supply less than five volts and the board may be unstable. If using more than 12V, the voltage regulator may overheat and damage the board. The recommended range is 7 to 12 volts. The power pins are as follows:

VIN. The input voltage to the Arduino board when it's using an external power source (as opposed to 5 volts from the USB connection or other regulated power source). You can supply voltage through this pin, or, if supplying voltage via the power jack, access it through this pin.

5V.This pin outputs a regulated 5V from the regulator on the board. The board can be supplied with power either from the DC power jack (7 - 12V), the USB connector (5V), or the VIN pin of the board (7-12V). Supplying voltage via the 5V or 3.3V pins bypasses the regulator, and can damage the board.

3V3. A 3.3 volt supply generated by the on-board regulator. Maximum current draw is 50 mA.

GND. Ground pins.

Memory The ATmega328 has 32 KB (with 0.5 KB used for the bootloader). It also has 2 KB of SRAM and 1 KB of EEPROM (which can be read and written with the EEPROM library). Input and Output Each of the 14 digital pins on the Uno can be used as an input or output, using pinMode(), digitalWrite(), and digitalRead() functions. They operate at 5 volts. Each pin can provide or receive a maximum of 40 mA and has an internal pull-up resistor (disconnected by default) of 2050 kOhms. In addition, some pins have specialized functions:

Serial: 0 (RX) and 1 (TX). Used to receive (RX) and transmit (TX) TTL serial data. These pins are connected to the corresponding pins of the ATmega8U2 USB-to-TTL Serial chip.

External Interrupts: 2 and 3. These pins can be configured to trigger an interrupt on a low value, a rising or falling edge, or a change in value. See the attachInterrupt() function for details.

PWM: 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11. Provide 8-bit PWM output with the analogWrite() function. SPI: 10 (SS), 11 (MOSI), 12 (MISO), 13 (SCK). These pins support SPI communication using the SPI library.

LED: 13. There is a built-in LED connected to digital pin 13. When the pin is HIGH value, the LED is on, when the pin is LOW, it's off.

The Uno has 6 analog inputs, labeled A0 through A5, each of which provide 10 bits of resolution (i.e. 1024 different values). By default they measure from ground to 5 volts, though is it possible to change the upper end of their range using the AREF pin and the analog Reference() function. Additionally, some pins have specialized functionality:

TWI: A4 or SDA pin and A5 or SCL pin. Support TWI communication using the Wire library.

There are a couple of other pins on the board:

AREF. Reference voltage for the analog inputs. Used with analog Reference(). Reset. Bring this line LOW to reset the microcontroller. Typically used to add a reset button to shields which block the one on the board.

Communication The Arduino Uno has a number of facilities for communicating with a computer, another Arduino, or other microcontrollers. The ATmega328 provides UART TTL (5V) serial communication, which is available on digital pins 0 (RX) and 1 (TX). An ATmega16U2 on the board channels this serial communication over USB and appears as a virtual com port to software on the computer. The '16U2 firmware uses the standard USB COM drivers, and no external driver is needed. However, on Windows, a .inf file is required. The Arduino software includes a serial monitor which allows simple textual data to be sent to and from the Arduino board. The RX and TX LEDs on the board will flash when data is being transmitted via the USB-to-serial chip and USB

connection to the computer (but not for serial communication on pins 0 and 1).

A Software Serial library allows for serial communication on any of the Uno's digital pins. The ATmega328 also supports I2C (TWI) and SPI communication. The Arduino software includes a Wire library to simplify use of the I2C bus; see the documentation for details. For SPI communication, use the SPI library. Programming The Arduino Uno can be programmed with the Arduino software The ATmega328 on the Arduino Uno comes preburned with a bootloader that allows you to upload new code to it without the use of an external hardware programmer. It communicates using the original STK500 protocol (reference, C header files). You can also bypass the bootloader and program the microcontroller through the ICSP (In-Circuit Serial Programming) header; see these instructions for details. The ATmega16U2 (or 8U2 in the rev1 and rev2 boards) firmware source code is available . The ATmega16U2/8U2 is loaded with a DFU bootloader, which can be activated by:

On Rev1 boards: connecting the solder jumper on the back of the board (near the map of Italy) and then resetting the 8U2.

On Rev2 or later boards: there is a resistor that pulling the 8U2/16U2 HWB line to ground, making it easier to put into DFU mode.

You can then use Atmel's FLIP software (Windows) or the DFU programmer (Mac OS X and Linux) to load a new firmware. Or you can use the ISP header with an external programmer (overwriting the DFU bootloader).

Automatic (Software) Reset Rather than requiring a physical press of the reset button before an upload, the Arduino Uno is designed in a way that allows it to be reset by software running on a connected computer. One of the hardware flow control lines (DTR) of the ATmega8U2/16U2 is connected to the reset line of the ATmega328 via a 100 nanofarad capacitor. When this line is asserted (taken low), the reset line drops long enough to reset the chip. The Arduino software uses this capability to allow you to upload code by simply pressing the upload button in the Arduino environment. This means that the bootloader can have a shorter timeout, as the lowering of DTR can be well-coordinated with the start of the upload. This setup has other implications. When the Uno is connected to either a computer running Mac OS X or Linux, it resets each time a connection is made to it from software (via USB). For the following half-second or so, the bootloader is running on the Uno. While it is programmed to ignore malformed data (i.e. anything besides an upload of new code), it will intercept the first few bytes of data sent to the board after a connection is opened. If a sketch running on the board receives one-time configuration or other data when it first starts, make sure that the software with which it communicates waits a second after opening the connection and before sending this data. The Uno contains a trace that can be cut to disable the auto-reset. The pads on either side of the trace can be soldered together to re-enable it. It's labeled "RESET-EN". You may also be able to disable the auto-reset by connecting a 110 ohm resistor from 5V to the reset line. USB Overcurrent Protection The Arduino Uno has a resettable polyfuse that protects your computer's USB ports from shorts and overcurrent. Although most computers provide their own internal protection, the fuse provides an extra layer of protection. If more than 500 mA is applied to the USB port, the fuse will automatically break the connection until the short or overload is removed.

Physical Characteristics The maximum length and width of the Uno PCB are 2.7 and 2.1 inches respectively, with the USB connector and power jack extending beyond the former dimension. Four screw holes allow the board to be attached to a surface or case. Note that the distance between digital pins 7 and 8 is 160 mil (0.16"), not an even multiple of the 100 mil spacing of the other pins.

6.3.2.

Circuits using Arduino:

Following is the picture depicting the set up of servo control using Arduino development board.

Figure 6.9 - Servo control using Arduino

Figure 6.10- ESC control using Arduino

Figure 6.11 Brushed motor control using Arduino

Servo Motor Servo motors are used in closed loop control systems in which work is the control variable, Figure 9. The digital servo motor controller directs operation of the servo motor by sending velocity command signals to the amplifier, which drives the servo motor. An integral feedback device (resolver) or devices (encoder and tachometer) are either incorporated within the servo motor or are remotely mounted, often on the load itself. These provide the servo motor's position and velocity feedback that the controller compares to its programmed motion profile and uses to alter its velocity signal. Servo motors feature a motion profile, which is a set of instructions programmed into the controller that defines the servo motor operation in terms of time, position, and velocity. The ability of the servo motor to adjust to differences between the motion profile and feedback signals depends greatly upon the type of controls and servo motors used. See the servo motors Control and Sensors Product section.

Figure 6.12 - How Servo motors work

Figure 6.13 - A Real Servo motor

ESC (Electronic Speed Controller)

Figure 6.14 - Electronic Speed Controller

Early electric R/C car speed controls consisted of nothing more than a hefty variable resistor, the wiper of which was moved by a servo. This had the advantage of being simple, but was very inefficient at partial throttle settings. Such a control works by reducing the voltage to the motor, but this means that any voltage that does not appear across the motor terminals must appear across the speed control. For example, at half throttle, a resistor speed control that is controlling a motor drawing 10A from a 6-cell pack will have 3.6V across it, and 10A flowing through it. From our second law, thats 36W, which all becomes useless heat. This would be like running a 40W light bulb in the radio compartment of your plane. Furthermore, half the power being produced by the battery is being wasted. A resistor speed control is only efficient at zero throttle (when no current is flowing), and at full throttle (when there is no voltage drop across the speed control). An electronic speed control (the photo shows a typical high-rate speed control) works by applying full voltage to the motor, but turning it on and off rapidly. By varying the ratio of on time to off time, the speed control varies the average voltage that the motor sees. Since at any given

instant, the control is either fully off (no current flowing, so P = 0 V = 0W) or fully on (no voltage drop across the speed control, so P = I 0 = 0W), this kind of control is theoretically 100% efficient. In reality, electronic speed controls are not 100% efficient. Ignoring the factors introduced by switching rate (discussed later), the loss in efficiency is due to the fact that the components doing the actual switching are not perfect. They are not mechanical switches, and therefore have significant resistance. Whenever there is current flowing through a resistance, there is power loss. Some early electronic speed controls used ordinary (bipolar) transistors to switch the motor current. These generally have a 0.7V drop, regardless of the current flowing through them. This means a power loss. For example, at 20A (full throttle on a small 05 sized sport plane), this would result in a 14W loss (P = I V = 20A 0.7V = 14W). Modern speed controls use MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors). Rather than having a fixed voltage drop like a bipolar transistor, a MOSFET has a fixed resistance when turned on. Therefore, the voltage drop depends on the current flow. A typical MOSFET used in inexpensive speed controls has 0.028 Ohms resistance. Using Ohms law, we can determine the voltage loss. At 20A, this produces a 0.56V drop (V = I R = 20A 0.028 Ohms = 0.56V). We can use the second law to compute that the power loss would be 11.2W (P = I V = 20A 0.56V = 11.2W). The power loss can be reduced by using more MOSFETs in parallel, or using modern lower resistance MOSFETs. For instance, an Astro 211 speed control has a resistance of only 0.002 Ohms. At 20A, this would result in a 0.8W power loss. If it were being used with 10 cells at 20A, that would be less than a 0.4% loss (10 cells at 20A produces about 220W). Theoretically, the speed control will be equally efficient at all throttle settings. (One could argue that it is more efficient at lower settings, because it spends more of its time in the 100% efficient off state.) The rate at which a speed control turns the motor on and off is also rather important. Early speed controls, including some still made today, were low-rate controls. These turn the motor on and off at the same rate that your radio sends pulses to the servos (usually 50 to 60 times per second). The

simple theory presented above breaks down at these low rates, and such speed controls are very inefficient at partial throttle settings. There are many technical reasons for this, involving factors like motor coil inductance, impedance, and so on. There is also one simple reason, and that is bad timing. Consider a typical low-cost motor with a three slot armature. As this motor rotates, each of the three commutator segments passes each brush three times per revolution. Each armature winding is energized in a given direction once per revolution. Now suppose that the speed control is being operated at 1/3 throttle (so it is on 1/3 of the time and off 2/3 of the time), and that this results in the motor turning at 60 revolutions per second (3,600 RPM). If the speed control is pulsing the motor 60 times per second, then each pulse corresponds exactly to the beginning of one revolution. Since the power is on only 1/3 of the time, only one armature winding is energized in each revolution, and it will always be the same one. Therefore, this one winding is doing all the work, and will get much hotter than if the work were shared by all three windings. The rotation will also not be smooth, as the motor accelerates and decelerates with each revolution. If you used such a speed control with a geared motor, the gears would take quite a beating and quickly wear out. Modern speed controls turn the motor on and off at a much higher rate (typically 1,000 to 4,000 times per second, with 2,500 being typical). Even at 1,000 cycles per second, the problem described above would not happen until the motor reached 60,000 RPM, which is beyond the reach of most motors. This results in much smoother operation and due to a better match of the switching frequency to armature winding characteristics, results in less heat loss within both the motor and the speed control. Speed Control Features The ads and literature describing the many speed controls on the market today list many features. We will briefly examine some of them here:

Soft Start This term describes both speed controls and a special kind of on/off-only motor switch. In both cases, it indicates that the control will go from off to full throttle slowly (for example, over the course of one second) instead of instantly. This is very important if using a gearbox or folding propeller, since an instant start can strip gear teeth, or shear propeller hinge pins. Some speed controls let you adjust the soft start time interval. Digital or Microprocessor Until fairly recently, the majority of speed controls were analog, meaning they worked with voltages and pulse widths, and had dedicated circuitry to perform each of their functions. Most modern speed controls are digital. These controls use a microprocessor to measure the incoming pulse with from the radio, and to generate the pulses to the MOSFETs. Digital designs have the advantage of being adjustment free, and of being able to provide sophisticated safety features. For example, most digital controls will refuse to turn on until the throttle stick has been moved completely to off first. Battery Eliminator Circuit (BEC) In small planes, it is advantageous to eliminate the weight of a receiver battery. Many speed controls provide a BEC feature that provides power to the receiver and servos from the motor battery. There is still a great deal of debate as to whether this is safe, primarily due to the danger of electrical noise getting into the receiver and causing reduced radio range. The other danger of course is that the motor battery could run down to the point that the BEC cannot provide power to the receiver. BEC is very popular with the electric pylon racing crowd, where the planes never get very far away, and land immediately after the race. Automatic Cut-Off This feature is generally used with a BEC, so that the motor will shut down before the battery is depleted, thus reserving some power for the radio.

Optical Isolation To reduce the possibility of the speed control interfering with the radio receiver, some controls use an optoisolator chip. This is basically an LED (light emitting diode) and phototransistor encased in plastic. The signal from the receiver drives the LED, which optically transfers the signal to the rest of the speed control. There is no electrical connection between the receiver and the main part of the speed control. Obviously, this eliminates the possibility of providing a BEC. Selecting a Speed Control Selecting a speed control is a matter of determining the conditions under which it must operate, and then choosing one with specifications that fit those conditions and your budget. The parameters to consider are:

Number of cells Expected current draw Space available Weight limits Need for a bec Need for a brake Other desired features

Most speed controls operate over a range of cell counts, such as 6 to 12 cells. You must choose a control that covers the range with which you want to use it. Do not go below or above the manufacturers specified range, or you will damage the speed control. Determine the current draw that you will get at full throttle. If you have no idea, you can measure it on the bench (without a speed control, although this is hard on the gearbox if you will be using one). Alternatively, consult with the manufacturer of your motor, or with other modellers. You can also use one of the motor performance prediction programs, like MotoCalc or ElectriCalc, to get fairly accurate predictions.

Many speed controls have both a continuous current rating (the current level that the control can handle indefinitely), and a peak current rating (the level it can handle for a short time, usually less than 30 seconds). For sport flying, select your speed control based on the continuous rating. This rating should be higher than or the same as your expected maximum current draw. Be careful if you are considering any of the R/C car speed controls. Most of these have grossly overstated continuous current ratings. For example, one popular control is advertised to have a 250A continuous rating, when in actual fact it would fry in seconds at 80A. The size of your motor compartment and the size of your plane will affect the size and weight of speed control you can fit in. When determining the weight of the speed control, be aware that some manufacturers state the weight with the motor and battery leads, and others without these. For many of the newer miniature controls, two pairs of 6 inch 12 gauge leads can easily weigh more than the rest of the control. Note that most of the car speed controls are two to four times the size and weight of a good quality aircraft control, and are thus generally unsuitable for our use. Whether or not you want or need a BEC depends on the application. If you are flying an electric glider and you want to climb until you are out of power, and then glide for a long time, you do not want a BEC. On the other hand, if you are running 4 minute pylon races and will land immediately afterwards, you probably do want a BEC. If you want a BEC, be sure to select a control with an automatic cut-off. When choosing a speed control with a BEC, note that many controls will provide the BEC over a smaller range of cell counts than the control would otherwise work at. For example, the popular FX35D from Ai/Robotics will provide a BEC only for 6 to 10 cells. Optical isolation is only worthwhile if a non-optically isolated speed control is giving you radio interference trouble that you just cant solve, or if you are operating at extremely high currents. Very few inexpensive speed controls provide optic al isolation.

CHAPTER 7

7. Block Diagrams, Layout and Designs

7.1. Block Diagram of the system

Wireless remote controller

Reciever on the vehicle

Arduino Board

Batteries / Power supply

Motor(s) & Propeller(s)

Camera

Servo(s)

TV/PC

Figure 7.1 - Block Diagram

7.2. Plan Layout

This is the design which we decided to base our project upon. However we had to drop it as we switched to double fan design. The plan layout shown here uses a vertically aligned whose motor has a horizontal axis of rotation. As the fan starts moving ,it generates thrust. A slit is made in the rear portion of the hull so as to let some air enter the skirt via slit. This is known as partial thrust division. Rest of the air pressure is used to move the craft linearly in forward direction. In this way a single fan can be used to both lift and propel the craft.

Figure 7.2 - Plan Layout

Modifications to Hull and Skirt

Figure 7.3 - Modified Skirt

Figure 7.4- Modified Hull

Figure 7.5 - Bag Skirt

Figure 7.6 - Final Skirt design based on Bag Skirt

We designed the first skirt with the help of a polythene bag, connected to the base of our hovercraft. But this design did not work. So we modified the skirt design and used tri axially wounded parachute fabric to make skirt. Although the hovercraft was able to produce lift but was not able to controlled and balancing issues arose. So we had to use some other kind of material to obtain desired results. Finally we have used nitrile piping to shape our skirt and sealed it on the periphery of the vehicle with glue and tape. Upon testing we got desired results as the vehicle was levitating on air without experiencing any balancing issues.

Camera and Tuner Kit:

We will be opting for a tiny spy camera capable of streaming video to a TV with a tv tuner card. The power supply will be given by a battery mounted on the craft attached to the camera sensor by a barrel connector cable

Figure 7.7 - Camera and Tuner Kit

Alternate: We may make use of two mobile phones running on similar operating system with a specially developed application software on both the devices.The application software establishes a link between both the devices using any of the available wireless data communication technologies e.g. Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.One device will be mounted on the vehicle while other will be used for observing the output. Note: The output device can be a tablet PC or Desktop/Laptop as well.

CHAPTER 8 8. Result
We were able to achieve the desired results upon completion of our project. We succeeded in controlling the hovercraft wirelessly with the help of an IR remote. The vehicle moved in the forward and backward directions with the help of a dedicated fan used for propelling the vehicle. We succeeded in steering the vehicle with the help of rudders attached to the servo motor wirelessly. We also succeeded in the task of streaming live video to a laptop and mobile by using a mobile camera as the camera sensor. The finally developed project is shown in the figure below:

Figure 8.1 - Physical Appearance of Our Project

CHAPTER 9 9. Scope
Our system will consist of a camera sensor which would be used for surveillance purposes. However, several enhancements can be introduced in it so that it can be used in myriad of applications. The Scope of the project may include: Controlling the camera sensor remotely. Using RF based controller instead of IR remote so as to increase range and decrease response time. Implementing sensors to avoid any kind of collisions automatically. Equipping a microcontroller so as to make it work as per a specific program developed for a particular task/job. Equipping it with a motion detector to detect any unwanted intrusion by any unauthorized person in the vicinity. It can be used for painting the targets remotely in places where human intervention is either risky or impossible. It can be scaled up to a size which would make it possible to transport people or commodities from one place to other. The hovercraft industry is still a wide-open area for research and potential breakthroughs. The most important improvements are needed in reduction of necessary maintenance, as well as reduction of noise, spray and dust. Improvements could also be made to help the hovercraft more pilot-friendly.

REFERENCES
Papers
[1] A. Theo Coombs_ Andrew D. Lewisy (14/10/2000), Optimal control for a simplified hovercraft model. [2] Eindhoven. March 2003, Control of a Model Sized Hovercraft [3] Georgila,K.fakotakis(2003), A Research Paper on the History of the Hovercraft

Books
[1] Discover the Hovercraft Published by Flexitech , Author: Kevin Jackson [2] Encyclopedia of Marine Science By Robert G. Williams, C. Reid Nichols

Web Resources
[1] www.geeky-gadgets.com/build-your-own-radio-controlled-hovercraft/ [2] www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=2154.0 [3] www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=971216

APPENDIX
Sketch:#include <IRremote.h> #include <Servo.h> const int irReceiverPin = 2; int dirbpinB = 13; int speedbpinB = 9; int speed = 100; int dir = 0; Servo myservoRudder; Servo esc; int arm = 1000; IRrecv irrecv(irReceiverPin); decode_results results; void setup() { irrecv.enableIRIn(); Serial.begin(9600); pinMode(dirbpinB, OUTPUT); myservoRudder.attach(10); esc.attach(12); esc.writeMicroseconds(arm); } void loop() { if (irrecv.decode(&results)) { if (results.value==0x1FEE01F) myservoRudder.write(60); // Start the receiver object //begin serial connection, prints o/p to your PD //create an IRrecv object //stores results from IR detector //adds the irremote library code to sketch //adds the Servo library code to the sketch // The receiver is connected to pin 2 // Direction pin for motor B is Digital 13 // Speed pin for motor B is Digital 9 (PWM)

if (results.value==0x1FE50AF) myservoRudder.write(30); if (results.value==0x1FE30CF) myservoRudder.write(0); if (results.value==0x1FE10EF) myservoRudder.write(90); if (results.value==0x1FE906F) myservoRudder.write(120); if (results.value==0x1FEF807) myservoRudder.write(150); if (results.value==0x1FE708F) myservoRudder.write(180); if (results.value == 0x1FE40BF) { //UP forward digitalWrite(dirbpinB, 1); analogWrite(speedbpinB, speed); } else if (results.value == 0x1FEC03F) { //UP forward digitalWrite(dirbpinB, 1); analogWrite(speedbpinB, speed); } } esc.writeMicroseconds(1800); if (results.value==0x1FE7887) esc.writeMicroseconds(0); Serial.println(results.value, HEX); irrecv.resume(); } } //sends the IR code to the computer using serial monitor // Receive the next value //close first IF "if (irrecv.decode(&results))" //close loop // set direction // set speed (PWM) // close UP // set direction // set speed (PWM) // close UP