Department of Electronic Engineering

MICROCOPTER

Submitter Submitted by:

SURAJ WANKHEDE

ROHAN POWALE

PRASHANT SANNAKKI

SHASHANK CHAUREY

JIGNESH MISRTY

Department of Electronics

Department of Electronics

Vidyalankar institute of technology

Wadala(E), Mumbai 400 037

 University of Mumbai

2009-10

Department of Electronic Engineering

CERTIFICATE

MICROCOPTER

Submitted by:

SURAJ WANKHEDE

ROHAN POWALE

PRASHANT SANNAKKI

SHASHANK CHAUREY

JIGNESH MISRTY

GUIDED BY:
 PROF: Dr. ANJALI DESHPANDE

A project report submitted to

the University of Mumbai in partial fulfillment of degree course in

Electronics

Leading to bachelor’s degree in engineering.

Signature of guide Head of department Principal

2009-10

Department of Electronic Engineering

ABSTRACT
Historically, helicopters with four rotors (quadrotors) have not been very common,
mainly because most of the usual payloads could be lifted using one or two rotors.
However, the quadrotor possesses some special characteristics that make it attractive.
One, of course, is the superior payload capacity. The other is the simplicity of its control
system: just by independently adjusting the speed of each rotor it is possible to control
both the attitude and the horizontal/vertical motion. This system is particularly suitable
for small UAVs, because it reduces the mechanical complexity of the rotors (saving
volume and weight) and simplifies the control algorithms.

In order to be successful in selecting the appropriate control algorithms it is essential to

have a complete understanding of microcopter flight dynamics.
The microcopter relies on standard helicopter theories, although these have been
severely modified to account for the particularities of the microcopter.

A microcopter consists of four brushless dc outrunner motors. This is because it mainly

requires stationary thrust rather than high speed. The rotation speed of the motors are
controlled by the respective ESC(electronic speed control).

As the microcopter is controlled wirelessly it also consist of transmitter–receiver section.

A RF transmitter-receiver using ASK(Amplitude shift keying) modulation is considered
for microcopter. Modulation is carried out using four channels.

Number of propellers used are four and they are selected as such to get same thrust as
the takeoff weight at about 3000-4500rpm. Accordingly size of the propeller is selected.
Propellers are available in size of (10" x 4,5") , (10’’x3.8") and (12"x3.8") etc.

LIPO i.e. Lithium polymer battery is used to supply power to the microcopter. They have
a voltage of 11,1 V or 14,4 V.Normal sizes are 1200mAh/20C to 5000mAh/30C
batteries.

The microcopter can be successfully applied to applications like Camera Surveillance in

which mobile surveillance is accomplished using aerial platform. Other applications
include Remote Volcano Sensing, Air Pollution Sensor (Inner-city), Microwave Cavity
Resonator ,etc.

Department of Electronic Engineering

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are very grateful to numerous individuals for their assistance and

co-operation. We can’t express our gratitude to all those who encouraged,
supported and guided us.
 We are especially grateful to our project guide Dr. Anjali Deshpande for
her valuable advice, timely advice and constant support in design of this
project.

We are also grateful to our principal Mr.Prashant Sonare and Our Head
of Electronics Department, Prof. Shrikant Velenkar for their constant
support.

Finally we are thankful to our staff members and colleagues for their
constant support.

Department of Electronic Engineering

 CONTENTS

Sr.No Page Title Page No

1 List of figures and tables 1

2 Introduction

2.1 Helicopter Technology

2
2.2 Quadcopter Technology
2
2.3 Advantages of Quadcopter Technologg 3
3 Basic theory of motors

3.1. Brushed motors and its disadvantages 5

3.2. Brushless motors 6

3.3 Inrunners and Outrunners 7

3.4 motor specifications 8

3.5. Comparison between

Brushed & Brushless Motors 9

3.6. Why brushless outrunner motors are

used in Microcopterr

4 Electronic speed controller 10

4 Transmitter & Recevier

5 Propellers

6 Battery

7 Principle and Operation

7.1 Diagrammatic Representation of layout

7.2 Operation and flight control

Stages of Development

9 Applications of Microcopter
10 Conclusion

Department of Electronic Engineering

5 Transmitter & Recevier 12

6 Propellers 15

7 Battery 16

8 Principle and Operation

 8.1 Diagrammatic Representation of layout
17
8.2 Operation and flight control
18
9 Project status

9.1 Work planned 20

9.2 Work completed 21

10 Applications of Microcopter 22
11 Conclusion 23
12 References 24

1.0 List of figures and tables

Sr.no. Title Page no.

1. Figure of brushless motor 5
2. Comparison table: brushless dc motor vs. brushed motor 6
3. Block diagram of transmitter and receiver 12
4. Block diagram of ASK modulation 13
5. Waveform of ASK modulation 14
6. Propellers 15
7. Diagrammatic representation of microcopter 17
8. Block of microcopter 18

1
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Helicopter technology

A helicopter is an aircraft that is lifted and propelled by one or

more horizontal rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades.
Helicopters are classified as rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft to distinguish them
from fixed-wing aircraft because the helicopter achieves lift with the rotor blades
which rotate around a mast.

The primary advantage of a helicopter is from the rotor which provides lift without
the aircraft needing to move forward, allowing the helicopter to take off and
land vertically without a runway. For this reason, helicopters are often used in
congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft cannot take off or land. The
lift from the rotor also allows the helicopter to hover in one area more efficiently
than other forms of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, allowing it to accomplish
tasks that fixed-wing aircraft cannot perform.

2.2 Quadcopter /Microcopter technology

A quadrotor, also called a quadrotor helicopter, is an aircraft that is lifted and

propelled by four rotors. Quadrotors are classified as rotorcraft, as opposed
to fixed-wing aircraft, because their lift is derived from four rotors. They can also
be classified as helicopters, though unlike standard helicopters, quadrotors are
able to use fixed-pitch blades, whose angle of attack does not vary as the blades
rotate. Control of vehicle motion can be achieved by varying the relative speed of
each rotor to change the thrust and torque produced by each. Here exist two
generations of quadrotor designs. The first generation quadrotors were designed
to carry one or more passengers. These vehicles were among the first successful
heavier-than-air vertical take off and landing (VTOL) vehicles. However, early
prototypes suffered from poor performance, and latter prototypes required too
much pilot work load, due to poor stability augmentation. The more recent
generation of quadrotors are commonly designed to be unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs). These vehicles use an electronic control system and
electronic sensors to stabilize the aircraft. With their small size and agile
maneuverability, these quadrotors can be flown indoors as well as outdoors.

2
2.3 Advantages of Quadcopter / microcopter technology

The advantages of the current generation of quadrotors, versus comparably

scale helicopters, are as follows. First, quadrotors do not require mechanical
linkages to vary rotor angle of attack as they spin. This simplifies the design of
the vehicle, and reduces maintenance time and cost. Second, the use of four
rotors allows each individual rotor to have a smaller diameter than the equivalent
helicopter rotor, for a given vehicle size, allowing them to store less kinetic
energy during flight. This reduces the damage caused should the rotors hit any
objects. For small scale UAVs, this makes the vehicles safer to interact with in
close proximity. Finally, by enclosing the rotors within a frame, the rotors can be
protected during collisions, permitting flights indoors and in obstacle-dense
environments, with low risk of damaging the vehicle, its operators, or its
surroundings.

3
3.0 Basic theory of motors
3.1 Brushed motors

A standard brushed motor is often referred as a canned motor. Every canned

motor consists of the following parts:

Armature- The rotating portion of the motor. It consists of the poles, terminals, and
the commutator.

Poles- Copper wires wound around a piece of metal forming an electromagnet.

The poles are attached to the armature. Most motors have 3 or more poles

Terminal- Point at which the copper wire of a poll attaches.

Commutator- A switch on the armature that reverses the current to the poles
every 1/2 rotation so that the magnetic fields of each will always maintain
rotation.

Brushes- Tabs in the motor cap that are wired to the battery and make
contact with the plates on the commutator as the armature rotates.

Magnets- The outer shell (or can) of the motor is lined with two permanent
magnets, of opposite polarity. This non-rotating portion of the motor is
also referred as the motor stator.

The battery is wired directly to the brushes. The brushes make contact with the
plates of the commutator as the motor turns. There are the same number of plates
on the commutator as there are poles on the armature.

When the brushes come in contact with the appropriate plates of the commutator, a
particular pole (electromagnet) is charged. When a pole is charged, it is attracted to
one of the magnets in the can and repelled by the other.

The commutator acts as a switch by switching the polarity of each pole every time
the pole passes a magnet. When the polarity is switched, the pole is attracted to the
next magnet in the can while being repelled by the one it just passed. This process
repeats as long as power is supplied to the motor.

4
 Disadvantages of Brushed Motors

• The brushes and commutator wear out

• The brushes and commutator must be cleaned periodically
• Friction from the brushes slow the motor down
• Friction from the brushes lead to shorter flight times and battery life.
• Friction from the brushes cause lower power to weight ratio

3.2 Brushless motors

Figure:1 brushless motor

Brushless RC motors work on the same principle as brushed motors, except the
electromagnets(poles) are stationary and the permanent magnets are on the
spinning portion of the motor.

Since the electromagnets are stationary, there is no need for brushes!

The electronic speed controller(ESC) takes care of switching the voltage of the
electromagnets.

It's important to know that a brushless speed controller and a brushed speed
controller can not be used interchangeably. They perform completely different tasks.

The quickest way to tell the difference between a canned motor and a brushless
motor is to count the number of wire leads. All brushless RC motors have 3 wires.
Canned motors have 2 wires. The third wire is used for feedback. Switching any two
of these wires will change the rotation of the motor. 5
 3.3 Inrunner and outrunners

There are two types of brushless motors.

Inrunners

Inrunner brushless motors are set up very similar to the canned motor explained
above, except the permanent magnets and electromagnets are in opposite
positions.

The faster a motor spins, the more efficient it is. Inrunner motors turn very fast and
are much more efficient than outrunner motors. Inrunner brushless RC motors
require a reducing gearbox between the motor and propeller of your RC airplane.
For this reason, the output speed and torque of the propeller can easily be
"tweaked" to facilitate different flying characteristics by using different size gears.

The downside is added parts that can and do fail. The gears get stripped, and the
gearbox shafts are easily bent. It can also be an obstacle when mounting the
gearbox motor combination for your RC airplane neatly, especially under a cowling.

Outrunners

An outrunner brushless motor has the permanent magnets on the outside of the
electromagnets. the outer hub holding the permanent magnets has the output shaft
attached in the center.

Outrunners Inrunners

• Low RPM's, high torque • High RPM's, low torque

• Less efficient than • More efficient than outrunners
inrunners • Require a gearbox
• No gearbox required • Wide prop selection
• Narrow prop selection • Noisy

• Silent
 6

3.4 Motor Specifications

Voltage Constant

Kv is the "Voltage Constant". This is how many RPM's the motor turns for each
volt applied. Actually, it's a tad less because even brushless motors aren't 100%
efficient.For example, if you apply 12volts to a 200Kv motor, it will turn at just
under (12 x 200) 2400 RPM's

Torque Constant

Kt is the "Torque Constant". For all motors, Kt= 1355/Kv.

In a nut shell, this means the faster the motor spins for a given voltage (Kv), the
lower the output torque will be (Kv).

Outrunners generally have a lower Kv, which in turn produces more torque at a
slower speed for spinning those larger props. The opposite is true with inrunners.

No Load Current

Io is the "No Load Current". This is the amount of current it takes to spin the
motor with no prop.

For example, if your motor is pulling 25Amps, and the Io is 2Amps, then you
really only have 23Amps turning the prop.

Terminal Resistance

Rm is the "Terminal Resistance". This is the internal resistance of the motor

measured in Ohms. The higher the Rm, the less efficient the motor is.

Current and Power

The maximum current and power is what determines how large of a prop and
what size plane can be used with the motor. Simply multiply the current by the
battery voltage to get power.

The larger the propeller's diameter and pitch, the more current the motor will
draw for a given RPM. For example, the 200Kv motor will run at 2400 RPM's
regardless of whether it has a 10x6 prop or a 11x5 prop. But, the 11x5 propellers
 cause the motor to draw more current. Drawing too much current will destroy the
motor.

3.5 Comparison Table: Brushless DC Motor vs Brushed DC Motor

Feature BLDC Motor Brushed DC Motor

Commutation Electronic commutation based Brushed commutation
on Hall position sensors
Maintenance Less required due to absence Periodic maintenance is
of brushes required
Life Longer Shorter
Speed/Torque Flat - Enables operation on all Moderately flat - At higher
Characteristics speeds with rated load speeds, brush friction
increases, thus reducing useful
torque
Efficiency High - No voltage drop across Moderate
brushes
Output Power/ High - Reduced size due to Moderate/Low - The heat
Frame Size superior thermal produced by the armature is
characteristics. Because dissipated in the air gap, thus
BLDC has the windings on the increasing the temperature in
stator, which is connected to the air gap and limiting specs
the case, the heat dissipation on the output power/frame size
is better
Rotor Inertia Low, because it has Higher rotor inertia which
permanent magnets on the limits the dynamic
rotor. This improves the characteristics
dynamic response.
Speed Range Higher - No mechanical Lower - Mechanical limitations
limitation imposed by be the brushes
brushes/commutator.
Electric Noise Low, because it has Arcs in the brushes will
Generation permanent magnets on the generate noise causing EMI in
rotor. This improves the the equipment nearby
dynamic response.
Cost of Building Moderate - Since it has Moderate - Due to increases in
permanent magnets, building steel & copper. ( with wound
cost may be higher. However, field stator)
steel & copper prices are up

3.6 Why brushless outrunners are used in microcopter

The choice of the motor models heavily depends on purpose and takeoff weight
of microcopter or quadcopter. Since a tri- or quadrocopter needs mainly
stationary thrust and not a high maximum speed, its ideal to use slow running,
big propellers with a low pitch. To avoid gearboxes (weight, clumsy, inefficient,
noisy) it is highly recommended to use brushless outrunner motors with a low
"kv" (RPMs per volts, about 1000kv are fine) rating. The revolutions per minute
should be in the range of 3000 to 4500 when hovering.

Due to above reasons we are using brushless outrunners in

microcopters/quadcopters.
 9

4.0 Electronic Speed Controller

An Electronic speed controller (ESC) is what controls how fast the motors turns.
The ESC plugs into the throttle channel of the receiver.

The factors that determine what ESC to use include the type of motor you have,
the size of the motor, and the type of batteries.

Selection of Motor ( Brushless or Canned )

ESC’s designed specifically for brushed motors will only work with brushed
motors. Likewise, electronic speed controllers designed specifically for brushless
motors will only work for brushless motors. There are a few ESC’s that are
designed to work with both.

A brushed ESC simply turns the voltage on and off very rapidly(several times a
second). To increase the speed, the ESC increases the amount of time that the
voltage is on while decreasing the amount of time that the voltage is off. This is
called “chopping” the voltage. To slow the motor down, this process is reversed.

The brushes on a brushed motor determine how the electromagnets are

energized to keep the motor spinning. A brushless ESC has the added task of
determining how each pole needs to be energized at any given time to keep the
motor spinning. The brushless ESC needs to have feed back from the motor in
order to perform this task.

The brushes on a brushed motor are in a fixed position relative to the permanent
magnets. When the armature rotates, the brushes contact the plates of the
commutator at the perfect spot each revolution to keep the motor turning. Without
feedback, the ESC on a brushless motor has no idea where the permanent
magnets are in relation to the electromagnets(poles).
All brushless motors and brushless ESC’s have three wires. Only two of the three
wires are energized by the ESC at any given time. The pole that is not energized
(coasting) will actually generate a small amount of voltage that is proportional to
how fast the motor is turning. This small voltage is used by the ESC to determine
how fast and in what direction the motor is turning at any given time.

Size of motor

Electronic speed controllers are rated for a maximum current. The more current
an ESC is rated for, the more expensive and heavier it will be. Choose an
electronic speed controller that is rated for slightly more than what your motor will
pull at full throttle. Too much current will damaged an electronic speed controller
very quickly. 10

Battery Eliminator Circuit (BEC)

The motor requires much more power than the receiver and speed controller. A
battery eliminator circuit (BEC) converts the voltage from the motor battery to a
lower voltage for the receiver and ESC. This eliminates the need for a separate
low voltage battery for the receiver and ESC.

The BEC also senses when the battery is getting low and cuts power to the
motor while allowing the servos to function for a safe landing.

The BEC is usually incorporated circuit board of the ESC for small to medium
size electric airplanes. Large RC airplanes that require larger voltages to power
the motor will require a stand-alone BEC, which is called a voltage regulator.
 11

5.0 RF transmitter & receiver

 Figure:2 transmitter and receiver block diagram

Four channel ASK transmitter and receiver

Special ASK transmitter and receiver modules are used to transmit and receive
digital code. It has carrier frequency of 433.92 MHz and operating range of
around 100-150 meters.

Amplitude Shift Key Modulation

Amplitude-shift keying (ASK) is a form of modulation that represents digital data

as variations in the amplitude of a carrier wave.

The amplitude of an analog carrier signal varies in accordance with the bit stream
(modulating signal), keeping frequency and phase constant. The level of
amplitude can be used to represent binary logic 0s and 1s. We can think of a
carrier signal as an ON or OFF switch. In the modulated signal, logic 0 is
represented by the absence of a carrier, thus giving OFF/ON keying operation
and hence the name given.

12
Like AM, ASK is also linear and sensitive to atmospheric noise, distortions,
propagation conditions on different routes in PSTN, etc. Both ASK modulation
and demodulation processes are relatively inexpensive. The ASK technique is
also commonly used to transmit digital data over optical fiber. For LED
transmitters, binary 1 is represented by a short pulse of light and binary 0 by the
absence of light. Laser transmitters normally have a fixed “bias” current that
causes the device to emit a low light level. This low level represents binary 0,
while a higher-amplitude light wave represents binary 1.

The simplest and most common form of ASK operates as a switch, using the
presence of a carrier wave to indicate a binary one and its absence to indicate a
binary zero. This type of modulation is called on-off keying, and is used at radio
frequencies to transmit Morse code (referred to as continuous wave operation).

More sophisticated encoding schemes have been developed which represent

data in groups using additional amplitude levels. For instance, a four-level
encoding scheme can represent two bits with each shift in amplitude; an eight-
level scheme can represent three bits; and so on. These forms of amplitude-shift
keying require a high signal-to-noise ratio for their recovery, as by their nature
much of the signal is transmitted at reduced power.

Here is a diagram showing the ideal model for a transmission system using an
ASK modulation

Figure:3 ASK modulation block diagram.

In this method the amplitude of the carrier assumes one of the two amplitudes
dependent on the logic states of the input bit stream.
13

A typical output waveform of an ASK modulator is shown in the figure below. The
frequency components are the USB and LSB with a residual carrier frequency.
The low amplitude carrier is allowed to be transmitted to ensure that at the
receiver the logic 1 and logic 0 conditions can be recognized uniquely as shown
in figure below

Figure :4 Amplitude Shift Key Modulation waveforms

 14

6.0 Propellers

A propeller is a type of fan which transmits power by converting rotational motion

into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear
surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and air or water is accelerated behind the
blade. A pressure difference between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-
shaped blade is produced and air or water accelerated behind the blade.
Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's principle and Newton's
third law.

We should choose propellers to get the same thrust as the takeoff weight at
about 3000 to 4500 RPMs. If propellers are too small, the RPMs will be too high,
and efficiency and payload weight suffers. Also, flight time will decrease
significantly, because of too high current consumption. If propellers are too big,
the hovering RPMs are too low, so flight stability suffers.. Propellers are available
in size of (10" x 4,5") , (10’’x3.8") and (12"x3.8") etc.If we have a good motor on a
light frame then we can also use 3 blade propellers.

Figure:5 two blade propeller Figure:6 Three blade propeller

 15

7.0 Battery

Lithium polymer battery (Lipo battery)

Lithium-ion polymer batteries, polymer lithium ion, or more commonly lithium

polymer batteries (abbreviated Li-poly, Li-Pol, LiPo, LIP, PLI or LiP) are
rechargeable batteries (secondary cell batteries). Normally batteries are
composed of several identical secondary cells in parallel addition to increase the
discharge current capability.

As batteries usually Lithium-Polymer batteries or LiPos are used. These types of

batteries differ from other types by a light weight combined with high capacity.
Handling these batteries is not without any danger, so some rules have to be kept
in mind. These types need a special kind of charger, because the charging
procedure differs a lot from other types (like NiCad and NiMh). The cells should
not be overcharged, neither should they be unloaded to deeply.

To keep the charge difference between cells to a minimum, a balancer must be

used. This balancer might be integrated in the charger, or a separate balancer
should be attached to the charger. All LiPo-packs have a connector for a
balancer.

For a Quadcopter LiPo-packs with three or four cells are used. They have a
voltage of 11,1 V or 14,4 V. Depending on our Brushless Motors we will need a
bigger or smaller battery. Normal sizes are 1200mAh/20C to 5000mAh/30C
batteries.
 16

8.0 Principle and Operation

8.1 Diagrammatic Representation

Figure :7 Quadcopter showing direction of each propeller

As all the propellers are spinning at the same angular velocity, a yaw stabilising
tail rotor like the one found on a standard helicopter is not needed. Yaw is
achieved by increasing the torque produced by a pair of rotating motors either
the clockwise pair or the anti-clockwise pair and decreasing the torque produced
by the other pair. Similarly the pitch of the rotors need not be altered. Instead,
movements in the pitch (forward/backward) and roll (left/right) axes can be
achieved separately, simply by altering the thrust produced by a pair of motors
and all this can be done without affecting the yaw of the vehicle.
The front and rear propellers control the pitch of the vehicle while in flight and
the right and left propellers control the roll of the vehicle.

17
Motors , electronic speed controllers, and battery are connected as shown blow.
 Figure: 8 Microcopter connections

8.2 Operation and flight control

The Flight Control (FC) is the main controlling board on the quadcopter and all
the necessary sensors and microprocessors used to achieve and maintain stable
flight are located on this board.

Due to the nature of the project a strict power to weight ratio budget was
designed. From initial estimations, maximum payload for the vehicle would be
approximately 500-700 grams. The motors used in RC vehicles vary greatly so it
was desired to find a light motor with low power consumption. The main
requirement was that it provided 1000 rpm V^-1. A Brushless motor fulfils the
specifications.

Brushless motors are more complicated to operate because they need to

changethe DC supply voltage of the battery into a phased AC (usually three
phase) with controlled power output so that the speed of the motors can be
accurately controlled. In total there are four Brushless Controllers (BL-Ctrl) one
for each motor.

18
To achieve a very stable level of flight it is desired to change the throttle value
very rapidly (<0.5m).

Control of the vehicle is achieved through use of a RF transmitter and receiver

pair. A transmitter with a minimum of four channels is required to control the
quadcopter in the various planes.. The receiver demodulates the instructions
given by the pilot and converts them into electrical signals. A receiver with a
summing signal is required for the MikroKopter (MK). This signal contains all of
the channels sent by the transmitter and is made available to the FC for
processing.

The design of the frame is only limited by one factor: it must be as light as
possible. The frame designed took on a basic cross shape similar to many open
source projects .

Bearing in mind that the frame must be lightweight some of the materials
considered include: aluminium , carbon fiber or polystyrene; it is possible to have
a combination of these. The most cost effective material for this project is
aluminium or wood because it is readily available and cheap.

The batteries needed to power all the onboard electronics have to have a low
weight to power ratio so that maximum flight time may be achieved. The different
types of battery considered suitable for use in RC vehicles are: Lithium polymer
(Lipo), Nickel-cadmium (NiCd) and Nickel metal hydride battery (NiMh). The Lipo
types are the most advanced and offer the most power. They are volatile and
must be handled with care but they can have a capacity of over 10,000 mAh.
NiMh batteries are a slightly older technology but they are still capable of
capacities around 5000 mAh. However if a poor quality of battery is purchased
then bad cells can develop quickly when the capacity is increased. NiMh
batteries are cheaper than Lipo batteries and are also less volatile. NiCd
batteries are the cheapest overall and have similar characteristics to that of NiMh
but are unable to achieve an equal capacity.
A decent flying time is desired to test the software and hardware which will be
added and due to the powerful motors and large propellers the best weight to
power ratio with a high capacity can be achieved using the Lipo batteries.

The propellers play a major role on the takeoff weight and the speed that the
vehicle will fly at. The diameter of the propellers as well as their pitch must be
considered. Due to the slow spinning motors a low pitch is desired.
 19

9.0 Project status

9.1 Work planned

STAGE I:
Determining the project and assessing the availability of the components of the
hardware & deciding upon the feasible software for the purpose.
STAGE II:
Procurement of literature & literature review.
STAGE III:
Hardware: Designing the circuit diagrams
Software: Designing basic flowcharts & algorithms.
STAGE IV:
Finalizing the basic design of the hardware
Designing the PCB: PCB design is ready, components selected.
STAGE V:
Hardware: Testing & troubleshooting
Software: Algorithms finalized. Coding begins. Code tested & troubleshooting
solved.
STAGE VI:
Assembling the entire project, testing & troubleshooting it in entirety.
Stage VII:
Annexed features of levels, synchronization and flight control tested and
troubleshooting solved.
STAGE VIII:
Entire unit encompassing all the features is tested & troubleshooting is solved,
project is ready for display.
 20

9.2 Work Completed

• Microcopter basic block diagram was designed and hence accordingly

detailed research was done.
• Different designs of microcopter like tricopter and quadcopter were studied
in detail.
• After thorough research we came to the conclusion that quadcopter design
with four rotors is more stable.
• Components and their specifications were decided according to the
requirement of the project.
• Theory of brushless motors and electronic speed controllers (ESC) were
studied.
• Different circuits of ESC were searched and simulated on multisim.
• Different motors and propeller combinations were considered.
• Transmitter and Receiver circuits were decided which uses ASK modulation
at frequency 433.92 MHz.
 21

10.0 Applications
A number of options were considered as a possible applications for quadcopter
below is a list of some of the applications investigated and the reason why they
were eliminated.

1] Camera Surveillance
Possibly the most obvious use for an aerial platform would be as a mount for a
camera so that it may be used as a mobile surveillance device. A decision was
made to build the quadcopter/microcopter for use as a platform for a camera
which would be wireless. The standardized connection could then be used to
attach different devices and essentially enable the quadcopter to be used for a
multitude of applications.

2] Remote Volcano Sensing

Andrew McGonigle, a Scottish scientist working for the University of Sheffield,
has developed a novel means for determining whether or not a volcano is due to
erupt.It involves sending a Radio Controlled (RC) helicopter/microcopter into the
crater of a volcano and measuring the level of various gases. This information
can then be processed once the Helicopter returns. The sensors were the main
reason this idea was abandoned. They were found to be too expensive and there
was nowhere to test the vehicle i.e. a local active volcano.

3] Air Pollution Sensor (Inner-city)

It was thought that the vehicle could be used to navigate a pre-determined flight
path and measure several air pollutant levels en route. The resulting
measurements could then be used as an indication of the air pollution in a
particular area of a city. However, the idea was abandoned due to a problem
with the measurement sensors i.e they were either both large and bulky or a
passive measurement was needed. The passive measurement would once again
be affected by the moving vehicle and is usually taken over a longer period.

4] Microwave Cavity Resonator

An idea put forward by Dr. Ian Glover a strathclyde lecturer involved testing the
reflectivity of a content in the boundary layer. The boundary layer is the first few
hundred meters above the earth surface. The reflectivity of air affect the
transmission of radio waves. The proposed method of measurement included
building a microwave cavity resonator. The resonator chamber would allow to
 pass through it and by testing the capacitance of the air the reflectivity could be
determined. The rotating propellers posed a problem because they would force
air pass the cavity thus affecting the measurement. A different method was to
actively monitor the temperature and humidity of the surrounding air and perform
a calculation using the two variables. The problem with this is obtaining an
Instantaneous and accurate measurement of the humidity. Once again the
rotating blades would affect the measurement

22

11.0 Conclusion

The control system demonstrates in simulation that reliable and controlled flight
can be achieved. Tests have confirmed the functionality and range of wireless
transmission. Theoretical calculations have determined that the desired amount
of lift can be achieved. Experimental tests must be completed to verify these
calculations. A complete and thorough test plan has been provided and can be
used by subsequent design teams to complete this project. This plan includes
assembly diagrams and instructions as well as a complete bill of materials.
Reflecting on this project, it was very aggressive for a five person design team.
This project required an extreme amount of engineering to be done in a short
amount of time. With respect to this aggressive nature of the project, its status at
this point can be deemed a mild success. Since we have completed the entire
study and research required for this project; our next step would be to design a
working prototype. It includes building a light weight frame for microcopter,
design of electronic speed controller circuit, and and mounting these
components on microcopter frame with motors, battery and receiver circuit, and
then performing test flights.
 23

12.0 References

1. http://www.mikrokopter.de/ucwiki/en/MikroKopter
2. http://www.quadcopter.org/index.php5?title=Quadcopter_Home
3. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=768115
4. http://radiocontrol.wikia.com/wiki/Brushless_motor
5. http://www.himodel.com/electric/1290KV_Outrunner_Brushless_Motor_Type_FC2
830-9T.html
6. http://www.rentron.com/rf_remote_control.htm
7. http://www.himodel.com/electric/1290KV_Outrunner_Brushless_Motor_Type_FC2
830-9T.html
8. http://mikrokopter.de/ucwiki/KategorieNachbauten
9. http://aeromodelling.nitc.googlepages.com/links
10. http://www.electric-rc-helicopter.com/article/gyroconfusion.php
11. http://www.anglia.com/newsarchive/261.asp?article_id=921
12. http://www.microchip.com/ParamChartSearch/chart.aspx?
branchID=8093&mid=14〈=en&pageId=75