FIRST-AID DRONE DELIVERY
Capable of flying up to 5 miles, this full scale and fuctional search and rescue drone will be able to deliver up to 2 pounds of life saving supplies to individuals who cannot be immediately reached by a rescue team. The drone features a clamshell body casing capable of being injection molded for rapid and cheap production. The architecture features a collapsible frame with a tactile locking system for quick and effortless packing and storing. The design includes custom PCB and antenna integration with built-in power pathways through the channels in the foldable arm architecture.
Prototype 1
The first iteration of a prototype first-aid drone mount kit that allows a user to deliver first-aid to places out of reach by traditional means. This led to the development of my Senior Capstone Project.
Prototype 2
The Start Of My Senior Capstone Project
Ideation Sketches
Prototype Model and Renders
These are the necessary components for the drone prototype assembly. The drone body and components were designed and physics rendered within Solidworks. There were 27 total parts needed to construct the outer shell of the UAV prototype.
The drone architecture incorporated the ability for the arms to fold, allowing it to take on a smaller form factor for transportation and storage.
Above is the drone arm assembly. This assembly incorporated the wire path from the ESC controller boards to both the motors and LEDs.
The arm locking mechanism is shown here in both the folded and open position, allowing the drone to be packed into a smaller form factor, with inclusion of a power pathway from the ESCs to the motors.
In the above image, the model has been sliced to show internal features for fastening the top and bottom shells (red arrow), as well as to show the columns that will fasten to the electronics (blue arrow). Below are a few more cross sectional images highlighting the layout of the interior of the drone assembly, specifically the package dropping mechanism and the package itself.
Photos and Video
Construction Process
Video
Crash and Failure Point Analysis
When going through the development process of any product, it is always expected that you are going to face failure at some point. The development of this product was no different. During a test flight in an open field, the drone became unstable and crashed from roughly 20 feet up. Below is an analysis of two different failure points observed in the crash, backed up by FEA analysis of the failed parts.
It is clear, after seeing the failure points and the stress analysis of the parts, that these areas need to be reinforced to reduce the possibility of failure.