Each step we take, no matter the size, is a step forward to achieving our goals.
This week has been busy as the members of UAV Forage juggle homework assignments, midterms, and the project itself.

The Propulsion team has repaired an quad copter from our old works with a 3mm pure CF plate frame to do research on helicopter propeller limits. They tested the quad and discovered its motor thrust works best with 12 degree pitch, thus creating 2.77 lbs of thrust.

The Mechanical Design team finished their first prototype of the tilt rotor assembly. The rotors themselves will rotate on two helicopter swash plates in place of the rotors. Soon the prototype will be developed by the Fabrication team. The Fabrication team is currently manufacturing the plane’s tail assembly.

Ground Station is improving the graphic user interface (GUI) program that monitors and controls the UAV. They’ve added altitude and velocity control options while testing the functions of the mission recording and loading program SQLite.

he Avionics team paralleled Ground Station’s work with their progress on software and hardware components. They found an altimeter to use and are testing for input channel and data correspondence in the ESC software. They are also working on building circuit layouts for the tilt rotor, servos, and voltage regulators.

Lastly, the Radio and Communications team are coding AT commands to establish sockets for the wireless connection between the GUI and UAV itself.

It’s been great progress so far, let’s keep it up UAV Forge!