College

College of Engineering and Polymer Science

Date of Last Revision

2023-05-04 19:40:22

Major

Mechanical Engineering

Honors Course

4600_471_001

Number of Credits

4

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Date of Expected Graduation

Spring 2021

Abstract

For this project, we set out to create a lightweight carrying case that would be mounted to a DJI Phantom 3. This case is designed to transport small packages, such as medications, from a delivery vehicle to their final destination. Based on our maximum drone lifting capacity of 600 grams, our case, servomotor, and contents had to weigh less than or equal to that value. The coronavirus pandemic has led to an increase in contactless delivery options along with the push for immunocompromised people to avoid contact with people that may be sick. Our product would help transport necessary supplies to those that have a difficulty leaving their homes to get them. We also envision the case to be scalable based on the size and lifting capacity of the drone. We used multiple design revisions to create our ideal design. This design has two release mechanisms; a manual option with a sliding clip and a powered option with a servomotor that is integrated into the control of the drone. To integrate additional servo inputs to the drone, we need a NAZA-M Lite flight controller. Since our drone did not come standard with this flight controller, we chose to forgo these changes to the drone and to explain how the flight controller would be integrated and programmed. Our final design reflects this change, but still includes the cut out for the servomotor on the front side. Our prototype combines the manual release mechanism and the powered release mechanism. The servomotor can be added, and the manual clip can be moved to the open position to create the powered release. Future designs would remove the manual clip to create the powered release. When our final design and testing were complete, we completed a product that met our initial goals and was fully functional in testing.

Research Sponsor

David Peters

First Reader

David Leshock

Second Reader

Daniel Lacey

Honors Faculty Advisor

Gopal Nadkarni

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