Alternate Propulsion Drone
Project Overview:
The Alternate Propulsion Drone project endeavors to revolutionize the drone industry by addressing two significant concerns: noise pollution and safety. By leveraging innovative bladeless technology, this project aims to redefine the standard for drone propulsion, offering quieter operation and enhanced safety features compared to traditional propeller-driven drones.
Skills: fusion 360, C++, PID controls, circuit design, PCB design, mechanical engineering, electrical lab equipment.
Stage 1: In order to refine various skills such as C++, circuit design, and CAD design, and to gain a better understanding the physics of typical quadcopter drones, a quadcopter was built. Fig 1-6 show this model.
The code for the microcontroller can be found here.
Fig 1: Quadcopter
Fig 3: Circuitry (excluding power distribution)
Fig 5: PCB
Fig 7: 3D printed balance to tune PID parameters
Fig 2: Quadcopter bottom view
Fig 4: Circuitry (excluding power distribution)
Stage 2: The next step was to start prototyping a bladeless propulsion system. Tests on various propellers were also performed to understand their airflow and thrust capabilities in order to run comparative tests. The test set up for the propellers can be seen in Fig 9.
Fig 9: Thrust distribution unit
Fig 11: Propeller test setup
Fig 6: PCB
Fig 8: 3D printed balance plus drone for stabilization tests.
Fig 10: Thrust distribution unit (Top view)
Video 1: Demonstration of propulsion system V1