Drone Project Tech Air

Project Overview We are developing a drone which is able to scan a construction site before and during construction to assist workers and reduce construction times. It will get precise measurements and enable better manoeuvrability around the site as well as detect potential hazards and monitor workers.

Current drones We have been researching current drones in an attempt to design ours to a better standard and to make our more cost efficient. Some current drones include; 3DR Quadcopter - £450 -computer compatibility -attachable go-pro -1 hour Parrot-Bebob drone- £199 -fixed camera -22 mins

Previous Ideas/Concepts We started with the initial idea to design an underwater construction drone. We had the idea for the drone to be a hex copter. As well as detecting fires, we considered putting out fires too with our drone.

Problems and our solutions General camera use Thermal imaging Landing Darkness

our drone design concept

Aesthetics Curved Allows the drone to be more aerodynamic Small/Compact This makes the drone lighter with the use of less material. Therefore it requires less power to carry its weight and the battery lasts longer.

Material We initially planned on using PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) but it turned out to be too expensive so we settled on using HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) which also has a higher density than most plastics but is also more durable. HDPE is also common which means it’s cheaper (0.82- £ per Kg) It’s resistant to high temperatures It’s resistant to common weather conditions It’s cost efficient

Our drone features 360° scanning and digital reconstructing Thermal imaging to detect leaks or fires Night time viewing Custom gyroscope/stabilisation Custom landing gear Aerodynamic Weather resistant

Components and their prices 360° Lidar - £337.59 Lidar - £112.77 URF - £62.74 Bluetooth - £2.69 Laser Sensor -£8.11 Thermal Core-$207.60 Thermal Card-£36.78 NoIR Camera-£20.45 GPS Module-£10.53 Wi-Fi Module-£7.88 360° Lidar - £337.59 URF - £62.74 Bluetooth - £2.69 Thermal Card-£36.78 NoIR Camera-£20.45 GPS Module-£10.53 Wi-Fi Module-£7.88 Total= £478.86

Research evaluation Hydrophobic coating Software – CS One Universal Ground Control Software (£48.87) Open Source Software Hydrogen Fuel Cell charger - £19.96 Fontus - £16-£36 when publically available

Accelerated dynamics We spent the day with Accelerated Dynamics, a company which have developed their own drone software which we had a chance to fly. This inspired some features in our own drones such as; Stabilisation Multi-drone control Return home feature

Power Source We considered using a common Lithium-Ion battery to power our drone but we found that Hydrogen Fuel Cells would be much more efficient for the following reasons; Higher energy density ( Li=0.15 kWhr/kg H=almost 2.5 kWhr/kg ) Charges faster Charges with its own waste product Unlike Lithium Ion batteries, they wont need replacing as often However, Hydrogen weighs about 10 times more than the battery but hydrogen is 16.6 times more powerful per kg.

Precautions Some things can get too close to the drone and it can crash on site. Weather can be a problem such as wind and rain The user may lose control of the drone.

Benefits of our drone over others Gyroscope algorithm rather than component Better landing gear Weather resistant 3D scanning and digital reconstruction Thermal imaging for safety and monitoring Anti-collision Adjustable camera angle mid-flight Wirelessly transfers data Cleaner and more efficient power source

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