In response to request for proposal (RFP) document by Buzz Drone Inc., the design team at Falcon drone Inc. was contracted to design and develop a hybrid drone as a proof-of-concept. The objective of the project was to build a fully functional prototype of a drone that had the ability to both fly and drive on land. By adding the driving feature, the goal was to save energy and reduce power consumption due to the limited power supply that a drone would typically have from just its battery. This project was divided into two phases: Phase 1 which focused on the drone portion of the project, and Phase 2 which incorporate the addition of the driving aspect to the drone. The design was targeted towards the hobbyist drone market, including consumers, enthusiast, educators and new users. They require the drone to be unique, enjoyable to use, lightweight, portable, compact, robust, easy to user, safe and reliable. Moreover, some technical requirements include a maximum weight of 3.5 kg and maximum size of 2.5 ft3. The deliverables of this project include a 3D model, fabrication drawings and stress analysis of the final concept using SolidWorks, a wiring diagram, a LabVIEW code for the drone and drive controls and a physical prototype. In terms of documentation, a proposal presentation, a design review package and presentation, and a final report and presentations were required as well. The scope of the project consists of current status research, concept generation, concept selection, design refinement, theoretical background research, and prototyping and testing. The current status research included research on drones that were currently in the market and patented. Through this, concepts were generated through sketches, then selected and further refined to ensure requirements were met. Significant changes to the design were made throughout this process. The chosen concept was modelled in SolidWorks, where a brief stress analysis was conducted for verification. Further research was conducted regarding the design and operation of drones, which included aspects about the sizing of their propellers, motors, electronic speed controllers (ESC) and battery. Research was also conducted regarding the drive mode motors. Control of the motors for both the drone and driving aspects were investigated as well. This included rolling, pitching and yawing in drones and various speed differentials that would allow the drone to maneuver on land. The design incorporated both off-the-shelf components and customized parts. The entire manufacturing and assembly process was documented. This involved various process such as hand lay-up for the composite baseplates, drilling, band sawing, milling, punching and sanding. As well, a wiring diagram was provided to illustrate the connection between the electrical components. Lastly, details regarding the LabVIEW program was explained in detail to demonstrate how the drone was controlled. Multiple tests were conducted in order to refine the controls, which incorporated a complementary filter, low-pass filter, average calculator and PID control. Despite facing various mechanical, electrical and programming challenges, Falcon Drone Inc. was able to successfully build a physical prototype for Buzz Drone Inc. by May 3rd, 2019 which met the technical requirements and needs of the customer.
