Long Range Drone

Background:

Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), are aircraft capable of autonomous operation without a pilot. They are controlled remotely and come in various forms such as quadcopter and airplane-like models. This project aims to design an electric-powered, aircraft-like drone with a focus on optimizing flight duration and range within the constraints of limited battery capacity.

Goal and Objectives:

Launcher:

The team's objective is to design a simple and reusable launcher that is capable of launching objects of 5 kg into air.

Drone: 

The team's objective is to design a drone capable of efficiently utilizing its limited battery capacity for extended flight periods.

Design Features:

Launcher:

• Provide initial boost to the drone using elastic band system
• Light weighted, can be easily portable and set up by one person
• Launch angle of ~40 degrees

Drone: 

• Capable of flying ~30 minutes given the limited battery capacity
• Has landing gear to ensure reusability and ensure safe landing
• Weight around 5 kg
• Movements can be controlled using a controller

Team Contact:

Vincenzo Ethan Pizano [pizanoe@uci.edu]

Kristy Wu [bilinw@uci.edu]

Jenny Wang [hsuanyw@uci.edu]

Darron Vinn Tran [darront@uci.edu]

Aaron Lim [ajlim2@uci.edu]

Advisor:

Professor Yun Wang [yunw@uci.edu]