Phase I: Two-Person Supervisory Control of sUAS Research

I am happy to report I have managed to successfully integrate the three 120-degree Cyclic/Collective Pitch Mixing (CCPM) servos of my small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) platform (Storm 430 R/C Electric Helicopter) with my custom developed wireless PC servo control system. This intitial step was a big breakthrough as it proves the software that provides wireless PC, USB gamecontroller, and CCPM servo control does work as required. I still need to fine tune some of the controls and smooth out some slight stuttering, which could lead to adverse operation when in flight. Nonetheless, I was very happy to reach this milestone in development.

















The next step in this process will be connect the tail rotor servo and gyroscope for yaw control. Once I have connected the remaining controls (e.g., engine throttle) and fine tuned the movements, I will be ready for an initial flight test. Upon succesful completion of the flight testing I will proceed onto Phases II-VI, as described below:

Phase II
1) Construct supervisory control unit (SCU)
2) Integrate SCU into the sUAS platform to provide primary vehicle control (PVC) and secondary supervisory control (SSC) of the system
3) Confirm capability of SSC system to relinquish control to the PVC and regain as needed (i.e., when SSC controls are engaged)

Phase III
1) Purchase first person view (FPV) visual system
2) Integrate FPV visual system into sUAS platform and base station (i.e., laptop and monitor)
3) Confirm capability to operate the sUAS from an egocentric viewpoint (i.e., video from the sUAS view) using PVC system, with secondary operator providing supervisory control using SSC

Phase IV
1) Purchase onscreen display (OSD) system (see example OSD)
2) Integrate OSD system with FPV subsystem on the sUAS platform
3) Confirm capability to monitor location (GPS coordinates and return to home indicator), altitude, airspeed, and battery voltage using OSD and FPV system

Future Upgrade
At the completion of Phase IV, the sUAS will be fully operational as designed for this research application (proof of concept two-person supervisory control system). With future funding opportunities, I hope to upgrade the sUAS to support additional research with the following:

• Nine-degree of freedom (9-DOF) inertial measurement unit (IMU; see example 9-DOF IMU) to measure x, y, and z accelerations, x, y, and z rotations, and x, y, and z magnetic heading readings to provide accurate orientation state (pitch, roll, yaw relative to Earth and magnetic north)
• Range finder sensors for x+, x-, y+, y-, z+, and z- to provide accurate distancing
• Onboard PC for increased injteroperability and calculation capability to support autopilot functionality (i.e., increased autonomy and simplified user control routines; see example single-board PC)

I'm also happy to report, this past Wednesday I earned a Technician Class Amateur Radio License. Once my name and callsign appear in the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Universal Licensing System (ULS) database, I will be able to operate FPV and radio communications gear to support sUAS and R/C operations. Check back for future updates of this ongoing research project.

12 Feb 2013 Update: I've been able to improve the resolution by increasing the communicatio Baud Rate from 9600 to 57600. I've also added in the tail rotor/gyro control. Here is a link to a video update (Updated sUAS Control): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c51dKZpmcAk