Design Concept

1 Critical Evaluation Report Institution Affiliation Submission Date Course Title 2 Table of Contents Overview ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 3 Product Development ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................... 6 Design Challen ges and Mitigation ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 9 Constructive Analysis ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ 9 Conclusion ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. 9 References ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 11 3 List of figures Figure 1: Concept 1 ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 4 Figure 2: Concept 2 ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 4 Figure 3: Conc ept 3 ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 5 Figure 4: Embodied Sketch ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 6 Figure 5: Different Views of the Drone ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 7 Figure 6: Rendered 3D Design of the Drone ................................ ................................ ................................ . 7 Figure 7: Roll control system ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 8 Figure 8: Pitch control diagram ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 8 Overview The technology of unmanned aerial vehicles has been in the center of exploration for decades now, with its application majorly witnessed in geospatial survey, warfare and aviation industry. In the last five years, unmanned aerial vehicles, the application of the UAVs technology has diffused into other sectors including medicine, agriculture, and film industry among others thus revolutionizing the mode of operations in these industries ( Bravo et al. 2019) . Likewise, there is need to incorporate these technol ogy in humanitarian activities to help ease and enhance service to humanity. In particu lar, this project integrated the engineering concepts of unmanned aerial vehicle techniques in the development of a portable heartbeat sensing drone to help in detecting and discovering life trapped under buildings in the event of earthquake, floods, tsunami among other forms of natural disaster. In this critical appraisal report, it details the sequences and phase of developing the proposed SmartSaver drone for detectin g life trapped under after occurrence of the disaster. It also entails the product development stages, the progress of developing the design and the device, modules and techniques applied to meet the objective, challenges experienced during the process and how the team enabled to navigate through the identified challenges. It also entails the cons truction analysis of the device, highlighting where it worked as planned and areas it failed and importantly how to improve on the weakness for future projects. De sign Concept The primary purpose is to integrate engineering concepts and principles fused with machine learning and robotic technology to design and develop a drone that would ease the operation of humanitarians in their efforts to rescue and save lives in the event of natural calamity or disaster. In the effort to align the project with the aim, various design concepts were proposed and best alternative chosen for the work. these are the concept proposals; 4 Conc ept 1 Figure 1 : Concept 1 Concept 2 Figure 2 : Concept 2 5 Concept 3 Figure 3 : Concept 3 Concept Scoring & Selection based on Feasibility Concept1; This concept proposes the design and development of drone extra motor system that would provide actuation for the impeller shafts of the drone. It is relatively easy to design and construct. However, the challenge with this design concept is on the weight and cost. The extra motor provides additional weight; this would result to additional cost of fabricating the drone. Lastly, with extra motor, t he system would require plus - sign attachments to provide drone with stability. Installing these plus - sign makes the process difficult and complex. Concept 2: It gives proposal to solve the challenges identified with the first concept. It applies buck ling mechanism, similar to backpack mechanism. In works o n a quad - copter design, having four propellers platform is on upward male buckle components, to allow simple exchange of momentum. On the bottom are female buckle components to hold cylindrical base in position for propelling. Concept 3: this relies on de - attaching and attaching components on the drone. This is not in line with the project ambition as it is the aim to develop a heartbe at sensing devices but not lifting mechanism for the drone system. Therefore it was considered not viable for these project ambitions. Selected design concept Design Concept 2 was selected and used in the development of the project. The decision was reac hed at since it has more advantages as compared to other two concepts. It features a drone with four arms for support and stability, lightweight, quad - copter fashion, design and construction simplicity among other favorable advantages. 6 Figure 4 : Embodied Sketch Product Development Drone is a typical complex engineering product as the unmanned aerial vehicles and the wireless sensors network comprise of numerous systems and subsystems with intricate synergies and hidden interdependency. With the synergies and dependency of components and systems, multidisciplinary design optimization (MOD) product development technique was applied in the development of the SmartSave drone. This was necessary as it allowed the concurrent consideration of different engineering concepts from different disciplines under a common framework to develop the desired product. The whole process of developing the device was sequential and progressive in that completion of one phase led to another phase. First phase was the development of design various components of the drone; the control board design, sensory networks, mechanical systems, artific ial intelligence interface and the neural network systems for the device. After successful design of various components through software, these components were subjected to functionality analysis. For instance the mechanical components were subjected to fi nite analysis to establish if they meet the required threshold strength. For the development and construction of the prototype device, electronic speed controllers (ESC), brushless DC motors, aluminium bars, multi rotor controlled board, lending bars and 33 00nAh Li - Po battery was required. Developing dynamic UAVs we attached other essential electronic devices such as digital servo motor, wireless sensory network with higher sensitivity rate to detect the heat beating rate and impulse and relay to the system giving the coordinate location of the life trapped under debris thus directing search and rescue team on the act spot that requires emergent action. After developing and testing the functionality of individual components, they were assembled to provide th e SmartSaver device. The device was tested with the vicinity of the workshop to verify its functionality as per desired aims and objectives. CAD Images and Block Diagrams 7 Figure 5 : Different Views of the Drone Figure 6 : Rendered 3D Design of the Drone 8 Control System Design Electrical block diagrams Figure 7 : Roll control system Figure 8 : Pitch control diagram Physical Design Parameters 9 Design Challenges and Mitigation Design and implementation of UAV and drone systems is very complex exercise that requires plenty of resources and time. During the development of the prototype, the team faced challenges, ranging from time constraints to f inancial implications to acquisition of relevant technician to assist in the software analysis. Starting with time constrains, the duration allocated for the product development proved to be so squeezed such that things were to be hasten in order to attain the submission deadline. Second challenge was cost implications, the electrical components of the drone are quite expensive and some were beyond our budget thus it forced us to source for more funds to purchase these items. Lastly, the challenge manifeste d in the product design and implementation, developing UAVs is multidiscipline project that requires the input of electrical, aeronautical, mechanical and mechatronic engineers ( Chowdhury et al. 2017) . It became a challenge sourcing the expertise of these other experts to help in completion of the design section or by parts. In every process exist challenges, what defines the success of a projec t are the mitigation actions upo n every challenge experienced. After realizing th e time duration was short for the entire project, we had to double on the time schedule so that we could deliver the project within the stipulated time period. Though it became strenuous but we had to sacrifice this much to meet our objective. The challeng e of cost of device components was overcome by adjusting on the initial budget for the product development. Though there was price disparity between our allocations and actual market price but we managed to compensate from other items that we over quote th e price. And on expertise, we managed to hire individuals with the required expertise to assist in developing the codes and software analysis for the compl etion of the project. Constructive Analysis and Discussion The project was a success as we met alm ost all the desired objectives within the stipulated time frame. The coordination between team members was exceptional as every member dedicated their time and resources towards the project and ensured that it was a success. The project showed the real ess ence and importance of teamwork, through team coordination we achiever the milestone within the shortest time and the product quality was great. The designs worked well and provided the opportunity to learn new skills from other engineering disciplines. Ho (Europe) in our study though the design theme was for international application on humanitarian services. Therefore for future advancement on the project, it is re commended that feasibility analysis be conducted that reflects global standards takin into consideration economic statuses both in developed and developing countries. Being part of this project has positively impacted me in all dimensions, professionally , technically and personal skills. Through this have learnt that with dedication and commitment, all is possible, at the beginning of the project, it seemed an uphill but as we started working on it, it became interesting. Communication and teamwork are oth er life skills that this project has enhanced on me. Now I confidently express my opinion among professionals without fear of anything because within our team, every opinion was regarded and considered in the product development. Professionally, I have gai ned a lot. Appreciating the interdependency of stand - alone affair; it requires condonation from other disciplines. Conclusion The basis of engineering conc epts is to help solve the real life challenges that society faces. Engaging in the development o f UAV system with capability to detect heartbeats and 10 impulse rate of individuals burred underneath is a typical manifestation of how engineering principles can be used to save lives in difficult situations. Interacting with colleagues has positively impacted on my professional development in that it has changed my focus and perception of engineering from manufacturing related achievements to service to humanity. There humanitarian sector needs a lot of such like inventions from engineering principles and solution. 11 References Bravo, R. Z. B., Leiras, A., & Cyrino Oliveira, F. L. (2019). The Use of UAV s in Humanitarian Relief: An Application of POMDP Based Methodology for Finding Victims. 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