(Week Six) Annual Undergraduate Poster Symposium

The opportunity to participate in this years "Annual Undergraduate Poster Symposium." was proposed to the UAS capstone class. The class will be divided into working groups that will target aspects of flight operations for UAV's, Single Pilot Crew Resource Management (SRM), and UAS training doctrine.

As the class decides on what direction to take and how to separate the class into working groups, other important UAS flight aspects need to not be forgotten. Examples include the following:

1) Creation of parachute packing training material for the Bramor's parachute.

The creation of a parachute guide that is focused towards an audience that is student based will take a better understanding and for myself to become proficient with the packing process. Practice will need to be done until a high level of understanding and development of packing techniques can be established. This is going to take a good deal of time. The process is not one that can be learned in a single setting. The overall goal is to have a video that highlights the finite details of packing, tips to make it faster or more efficient, and of a quality that can be used for future classes to use and understand. Hopefully, someone could, after reading the training manual for the Bramor and watching the parachute training video, could then fold the parachute with little oversight and learn the process faster than with the manual alone.

2) Plan for materials to go into the UAS Display Case in Niswonger.

Display case draft and parameters

The display case is located in the back hall of the Niswonger Aviation Technology Building at Purdue University The plan for this display is to showcase the activities of the AT-419 capstone class throughout the spring semester. Some brainstorming was conducted during this week but more is need for what exactly should be included and what the focus of it should be.

3) Drone Log Book Issues

Drone Logbook Login Homepage

This week, there were quite a few issue with the recording and reporting software being used to track UAV missions and flights. Issues ranged from logging in on the Purdue Drone Log Book (DLB) site, to efficiency for checklist creation with the software. The software is not excel friendly and will only allow you to create one line of a checklist at a time. This increases the amount of time to put an already created checklist into DLB by, in my opinion, an unacceptable amount. What should have taken 10 minutes to do, now takes multiple 3 hour class session to complete. This issue is further complicated when creating multiple checklist within the DLB software. Time can be saved by using the same steps from one checklist to the other, however, if you delete the line from one checklist, the software will then delete the step for all other checklist. I hope t see the transition to a different, more user friendly software package in the future. Measure, a different internet based logbook program has some potential for replacing DLB.

4) DJI Matrice 600 familiarization and payload installation.

DJI Matrice 600 in storage case

DJI Zenmuse X5

Work needs to be done on attaching the Zenmuse X5 to the Matrice for RGB data collection and mapping of the Tippecanoe County Amphitheater. Ryan and myself have the plan to install it in the upcoming week. As the Zenmuse is a DJI product, it should integrate easily.

Further reading on the technical manual for the Matrice should provide the answers i need for how to install the payload and collect data using DJI software and an Apple Ipad. The x5 is a 3-Axis gimbal camera is capable of capturing 16MP images and video at 4K resolution. This should provide more than enough quality data for making a 3d map of the target location,