DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOTYPE DRONE FOR

DELIVERY SYSTEM USING PIXHAWK FLIGHT CONTROLLER

A mini project report submitted to

Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN MECHNICAL

ENGINEERING

Submitted by

D. MADHU : 22WJ5A0320
E. NAVEEN REDDY : 22WJ5A0323
G. JOSHUA : 22WJ5A0329
G. GANESH : 22WJ5A0330

Under the Guidance of

Dr. M. ANJAIAH
(Professor)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING GURU

NANAK INSTITUTIONS TECHNICAL CAMPUS
(AUTONOMOUS)
(Affiliated with JNTU, Hyderabad, Approved by AICTE, New Delhi)
Ibrahimpatnam, Ranga Reddy District-501506
Telangana, India.

(2022-2025)

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Industrial Oriented mini-project entitled “DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF
PROTOTYPE DRONE FOR DELIVERY SYSTEM USING PIXHAWK FLIGHT CONTROLLER”
is being presented with a report by D. MADHU (22WJ5A0320), E. NAVEEN REDDY (22WJ5A0323),
G. JOSHUA (22WJ5A0329), G. GANESH (22WJ5A0330), in partial fulfilment of the award of the
degree of Degree of Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering, to Jawaharlal Nehru
Technological University is the record of Bonafide work carried out by them my guidance and
supervision. The results embodied in this Mini-Project report have not been submitted to any other
University or Institute for the award of any Degree or Diploma.

Dr. M. ANJAIAH Head of the department

Internal Guide MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

EXTERNAL EXAMINIER

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 DECLARATION

We declare that the Mini Project report titled “DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOTYPE
DRONE FOR DELIVERY SYSTEM USING PIXHAWK FLIGHT CONTROLLER” submitted partial
fulfilment for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering to the Guru Nanak
Institutions Technical Campus, Ibrahimpatnam is a record of original work carried out us under the guidance of
Dr. M. ANJAIAH (Professsor), Department of Mechanical Engineering, and has not formed the basis for the award
of any other degree or diploma, in this or any other Institution or University. In keeping with the ethical practice in
reporting scientific information, due acknowledgement has been made whenever the findings of others have been
cited.

D. MADHU E. NAVEEN REDDY

(22WJ5A0320) (22WJ5A0323)

G. JOSHUA G. GANESH
(22WJ5A0329) (22WJ5A0330)

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We wish to express our sincere thanks to Dr. H. S. SAINI, Managing Director, Guru Nanak
Institutions and Dr. S. SREENATHA REDDY, Director Guru Nanak Institutions Technical Campus, School
of Engineering and Technology, for providing us with all the necessary facilities and their support.

We place on record, our sincere thanks to Dr. A. RAJ KUMAR, Professor and Head of the Department,
Mechanical Engineering for their whole hearted co-operation, providing excellent lab facility, constant
encouragement and unfailing inspiration.

We would like to say sincere thanks to Mr. V. SHYAMU, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical
Engineering for Co-ordinating Projects We would like to say sincere thanks to our guide
Dr. M. ANJAIAH (Professor), Department of Mechanical Engineering for Coordinating Projects for the
suggestions and constant guidance in every stage of the project, we also like to thank all our lecturers
helping us in every possible way. On a more personal note, We thank our beloved parents and friends for
their moral support during our project.

D. MADHU E. NAVEEN REDDY

(22WJ5A0320) (22WJ5A0323)

G. JOSHUA G. GANESH
(22WJ5A0329) (22WJ5A0330)

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 Abstract
Drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are aerial systems that use aerodynamic forces
for lift and can be operated remotely or autonomously. Initially designed for military applications such as
reconnaissance and surveillance, drones have now evolved into versatile tools across various industries. This
project focuses on the design and development of a quadcopter prototype tailored for a delivery system
using a Pixhawk flight controller. The quadcopter is capable of vertical take-off and landing, making it
ideal for applications like package delivery, where time efficiency and accessibility are crucial. The drone is
controlled remotely from a ground station using Raspberry Pi, with a GPS module integrated for real-time
location tracking and navigation. A centralized server is employed to manage and coordinate multiple
drones, allowing for seamless and scalable delivery operations.

The project adopts a mechatronics-based approach, incorporating mechanical, electrical, and digital
components. Simulations and analyses were conducted using tools such as MATLAB, SolidWorks, Ansys,
and CAD/CAM to optimize the drone design. Material selection and propeller dynamics, including air
pressure and velocity impacts, were studied to ensure durability and efficiency. Additionally, mathematical
models for flight dynamics and electrical calculations were developed to evaluate system performance and
flight autonomy. The proposed drone design demonstrates the potential to significantly reduce delivery time,
optimize energy consumption, and provide an efficient alternative to conventional delivery systems.

Keywords: Drone, delivery system, quadcopter, Pixhawk, mechatronics, Raspberry Pi, GPS, SolidWorks

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 Acronyms
BLDC: Brushless DC

CAD: Computer-Aided Design

CAE: Computer-Aided

Engineering CW: Clockwise

CCW: Counter-Clockwise

DXF: Drawing Interchange Format

ESC: Electronic Speed Control

GNC: Guidance, Navigation and Control

GPS: Global Positioning System

IMU: Inertial Measurement Unit

LiPo: Lithium Polymer

MCU: Microcontroller Unit

PWM: Pulse Width

Modulation RC: Remote

Control

RPAS: Remotely Piloted Air Systems

RPM: Revolutions Per Minute

6-DOF: Six-Degrees of Freedom

STL: Stereolithography

3-D: Three Dimensions

UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

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 Contents
List of Figures viii

List of Tables ix

I. Introduction............................................................................11
1. Quadcopter Drone......................................................................... 11

2. Background Studies.......................................................................12

3. Scope of the Capstone....................................................................14

II. STEEPLE Analysis................................................................ 16

III. Engineering Design Process.................................................. 18

1. Objective Tree................................................................................18

2. System Requirements.................................................................... 19

3. System Block Diagram.................................................................. 21

4. Technical Specification..................................................................21

IV. The Flight Dynamics..............................................................23

1. Six Degrees of Freedom (6-DOF)................................................. 24

2. The Newton-Euler Mathematical Model..................................... 27

3. MATLAB Simulation.................................................................... 29

V. Mechanical Analysis...............................................................30
1. CAD Design and Analyses.............................................................30
1.1 Frame.......................................................................................................30

1.2 Propellers.................................................................................................39

VI. Electronic Design....................................................................43

1. BLDC Motors.................................................................................43

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 2. Electric Speed Controllers (ESCs)............................................... 45

3. Battery.............................................................................................46

4. Arduino Nano Microcontroller Board.........................................49

5. Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)................................................51

6. RC Controller.................................................................................52

VII. Cost Analysis.......................................................................... 55

VIII. Implementation.......................................................................56
1. Software.......................................................................................... 56
1.1 MultiWii....................................................................................................56

1.2 Proteus.....................................................................................................57

1.3 Gazebo Simulator.....................................................................................59

2. Prototype.........................................................................................61

IX. Conclusion & Future Work.................................................. 63

Bibliography......................................................................................65
APPENDIX A: MATLAB Simulation & Functions.....................................69

APPENDIX B: Schematics and Connections................................................70

APPENDIX C: MultiWii Configuration....................................................... 71

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 List of Figures
Figure 1: An Example of a Quadcopter Drone......................................................................11
Figure 2: The Estimated Investment Growth in Drone Hardware [7]...................................13
Figure 3: STEEPLE Acronym...............................................................................................16
Figure 4: Objective Tree.......................................................................................................18
Figure 5: Hierarchical Decomposition of a Quadcopter.......................................................19
Figure 6: Block Diagram of a Quadcopter............................................................................21
Figure 7: The Relative Orientation Between Inertial-frame and Body-frame of a
Quadcopter in 3D Space
...................................................................................................................................................
23
Figure 8: Direction of Propeller's Rotation...........................................................................24
Figure 9: Throttle Movement................................................................................................25
Figure 10: Roll Movement....................................................................................................25
Figure 11: Pitch Movement...................................................................................................26
Figure 12: Yaw Movement...................................................................................................26
Figure 13: Forces and Moments...........................................................................................27
Figure 14: Position and Orientation......................................................................................28
Figure 15: Quadcopter Flight Simulation.............................................................................29
Figure 16: (a) The collapsed view of the drone. (b) The exploded view of the drone.........31
Figure 17: The Top View Dimensions of the Drone............................................................31
Figure 18: (a) Von Mises Stress, (b) Displacement, and (c) Strain in Plywood...................33
Figure 19: (a) Von Mises Stress, (b) Displacement, and (c) Strain in Acrylic.....................33
Figure 20: (a) Von Mises Stress, (b) Displacement, and (c) Strain in ABS.........................34
Figure 21: Factor of Safety of Plywood................................................................................35
Figure 22: Factor of Safety of Acrylic..................................................................................35
Figure 23: Factor of Safety of ABS......................................................................................36
Figure 24: (a) Damage Percentage and (b) Life Cycle of Plywood......................................37
Figure 25: (a) Damage Percentage and (b) Life Cycle of Acrylic........................................37

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 Figure 26: (a) Damage Percentage and (b) Life Cycle of ABS............................................38

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 Figure 27: Frame in the LaserCAD App...............................................................................39
Figure 28: Static Thrust and Ampere Calculations...............................................................41
Figure 29: Propeller Model Used in the Simulation.............................................................41
Figure 30: (a) Velocity Gradient and Flow Trajectories, (b) Pressure Gradient and Flow
Trajectories
...................................................................................................................................................
42
Figure 31: Quadcopter Electrical Connections Schematics [28]..........................................43
Figure 32: A 1000KV BLDC Motor [29].............................................................................44
Figure 33: Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) [30]..............................................................46
Figure 34: 3300mAh 3 Cell Li-Po Battery [31]....................................................................47
Figure 35: Arduino Nano Microcontroller Board [32].........................................................49
Figure 36: Arduino Nano Pinout [32]...................................................................................50
Figure 37: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) [33]................................................................51
Figure 38: (a) HC-05 Bluetooth Module [34] and (b) MultiWii App...................................53
Figure 39: HC-05 Bluetooth Module Circuit Connections [34]...........................................53
Figure 40: HC-05 Bluetooth Module Pinout [34].................................................................54
Figure 41: The Drone Code Flowchart.................................................................................56
Figure 42: Electronic Connections in Proteus......................................................................58
Figure 43: Simulation Started While all the Motors are Set to 0..........................................58
Figure 44: Take-off Procedure While all Motors are Running with the Same Speed..........59
Figure 45: The Programs Connections..................................................................................60
Figure 46: The Destination of the Drone (a) While Flying and (b) After it Landed............61
Figure 47: (a) Frame Laser Cut and (b) Propellers 3D Printed.............................................61
Figure 48: (a) Full Prototype of the Drone, (b) The drone starting to take-off.....................62

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 List of Tables
Table 1: STEEPLE Analysis..................................................................................................17
Table 2: System Requirements..............................................................................................20
Table 3: Table of Specification..............................................................................................22
Table 4: Properties of the Materials.......................................................................................32
Table 5: BLDC Motor Specs.................................................................................................45
Table 6: The I/O Test Data....................................................................................................45
Table 7: ESC Specifications...................................................................................................46
Table 8: Battery Specifications..............................................................................................48
Table 9: Arduino Nano Features............................................................................................50
Table 10: Arduino Nano Technical Specifications................................................................50
Table 11: Technical Specifications........................................................................................52
Table 12: Accelerometer Specifications................................................................................52
Table 13: Gyroscope Specifications......................................................................................52
Table 14: HC-05 Bluetooth Module Pin Configuration........................................................54
Table 15: HC-05 Bluetooth Module Specifications...............................................................55
Table 16: Respective or Estimated Costs of the Selected Components and Materials.........55

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 I. Introduction
1. Quadcopter Drone
A quadcopter is a simple flying mechanism also known as a quadrotor that has four arms,
which each one of them has a motor that is attached to a propeller. In the quadcopter, two of
the rotors turn counter-clockwise (CCW) while the two others turn clockwise (CW) [1].

Aerodynamically speaking, quadcopters are not stable which require them a flight controller
in order to send information to the motors through their electronic speed control (ESC) to
make a desired motion. In the figure below is an example of how a quadcopter drone looks
like:

Figure 1: An Example of a Quadcopter Drone

The UAV technology (drone) has gained a lot of interest in the last couple of years. It is one
of the fastest growing sectors related to IT. The concept of using drones to hover around
crime scenes to collect information and evidence in order to speed up remote investigations
and to provide fast-response units is already implemented in the United States [2].

Nowadays, drones are able to use sensors such as laser, infra-red, and optical sensors to keep
track of its environment from multiple angles to imitate the human eye. By taking advantage
of this technology, a drone is able to navigate on its own to accomplish any task that it was set
to perform. With the advancements in technology, more precisely intelligent systems, it is
now possible to customize and increase the autonomy of drones [3].

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 This amazing advancement of an astonishing technology in drones has produced and
developed applications that led to new fields. Now, drones can be used for several purposes in
various areas. Drones can be utilized as a guiding unit for disabled people for navigation
purposes. They are also used in the architectural sector to map buildings and check their
compliance with safety regulations. Below are some other drones applications’ common areas
[4].

Agriculture
Engineering applications
Search and rescue
Aerial photography
Shipping and delivery
Aerial surveillance
Research and science
Military use
Minerals exploration, and many other fields.

2. Background Studies
In a paper published in 2004 by Newcome [5], he explained that unmanned aviation
started almost the same time period as the manned one; thus, drone technology has existed for
a century, but it is rooted to its testing done in the first world war while its success was noted
by most scholars in the second world war [6].

The main uses of the UAVs were applied in aerial photography, safety inspection building,
deliveries shipments, monitoring of crops precision, thermal sensor drones which are
applicable for rescue operations as well as information collection for border and law
enforcement surveillance, disaster management, storm tracking, tornado forecasting and
hurricane [7].

According to the figure below, the estimated investment in drone hardware in government,
consumer, and enterprise has been increasing since 2015.

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 Figure 2: The Estimated Investment Growth in Drone Hardware [7]

These small drones have a limitation, which is they need pilots who are highly skilled. In
addition, an already built-in access to data wireless link or maps is required for semi-
autonomous drones as well. Researchers in some higher education institutions like in Zurich's
Federal Institute of Technology are working on making drones more independent
(autonomous) [8].

Undeniably, it was disclosed by research that human help is still required in order for the
drone technology to start operating in new spaces. Currently, there are two types of drone.
The former does not need a GPS as it hinges on a highly skilled person to keep full control of
it; in other words, it relies on visual tracking in order to determine orientation as well as
position. As for the latter, it contains GPS technology, which at first was reserved only for
military purposes. Then, when they start allowing the use of this type of drone, many doors
have opened for new fields of applications. It allows the drone to have multiple functions; for
instance, it allows it to remain in a fixed position with respect to location and latitude.
Another function is return to home, which allows it to remember the spot at which it took off
and automatically returns to it, and this is made by pressing on a button called “return”.
Clearly, This type of technology does not require any human pilot as it uses the autopilot
concept by following the trajectory given by a set of GPS points, which is a way the
autonomous flight predetermines the path of the drone [9].

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 Literature records that currently UAVs are applied to the building’s construction surveillance,
road maintenance, and building inspection. From all the mentioned aspects, the predetermined
GPS points are followed by the drone technology within and without a building, and this is
allowed by a functionality of the drone called waypoints. Besides, for the inspection roles in
closed areas, the drone’s controller system accords a larger capacity to the camera, which
sends signals like pictures for example. It was also shown that the navigation and the drone
technology expand dramatically in terms of range of use, utility, and application.

Literature shows that the drone technology is amongst the ten technological innovation that
will lead a major change to the people’s lives and the world forever [10]. Obviously, at this
present moment the drones can capture pictures at different angles even in 360 degrees angle
of a desired place, environment, or the world at large.

After making my investigation about my capstone project by reading articles and books, two
terminologies have triggered and captured my attention, which are UAVs which stand for
either Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or rarely as Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles, and the other one
is Remotely Piloted Air System RPAS. UAVs are meant to occur autonomously while the
RSPA control is meant to occur outside of the aircraft. The application key of the drone used
by the civilians authorities and military hinges on discharging security, policing, or safety
duties which will rely on intelligence gathering network as well as surveillance conduct.

The drone’s future is to give assistance in many operations that could be risky by both the
members of the military and public such as spying, forest fire fighting, and navigating
rooftops. Also, a critical strategy can be formed by the drone technology to enhance both the
speed of logistics and efficiency of the delivery companies. Law enforcement agencies
documented and implemented resulting impacts and practical applications of the drone [11].

3. Scope of the Capstone

The main objective of my capstone project is to design and develop a stable flying drone
as a model for general purposes that can be used for deliveries. The drone should be able to
support lifting a phone or similar weight, and some minor modifications should be applied to
it. The drone could be replaced in such a way that would fit any other application. I started the
introduction of my report by defining what a quadcopter is, simply because my drone’s flying

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 System will be in that form in which a brushless motor will be inserted in each arm. As for the
control part, I will be using a remote controller in which a transmitter will be inserted inside
that would communicate the receiver placed in the drone. Besides, if time allows, I will
investigate the feasibility of using the image processing technology in order to enable the
drone to avoid obstacles and recognize people’s faces.

The project I will design targets multiple disciplines that fall under the Mechatronics
umbrella. Two main domains need to be analyzed which are Software and Hardware, which is
composed of mechanical, electronic, and electrical parts. The components that will be used
will be discussed later on in this report, and as for the battery autonomy it should allow the
drone to fly at least for fifteen minutes. A stability sensor needs to be used in order to allow
the system to fly steadily enough so that it gives a steady image in case I decide to mount a
camera in the drone. In this case, if necessary, a vibration cancellation system may be used.
The knowledge that will be gained throughout this project will expand my expertise on its
development and new insight might contribute to the final product.

The desired design if taken advantage of, can have a great impact on the society. A payload
will be designed so it can be later used for deliveries; however, the quadcopter’s size needs to
be changed. Moreover, it should motivate students, researchers, and people in general to add
more features to it or to build on its result so that it fits other applications. For example, in the
future if someone is interested in my project, they can add the image processing knowledge in
the drone’s camera to identify missing people, civilians, and criminals. Especially, that there
is a massive increase in crime rate in Morocco and other countries. It can also be used to reach
locations inaccessible by humans. In addition, it can be used in favor of many institutes to
record attendance by detecting faces without wasting time or effort. In other words, this
project can grab the attention of people and make them fascinated in new technologies and
hence give them many opportunities and possibilities to modify and enhance it.

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 II. STEEPLE Analysis
In order to make a good project plan, it is imperative that both the factors, which are able
to have an impact on it and the external and internal elements to be analyzed. Even some
prominent organizations and companies use the commonly analysis strategy tools, which
include STEER, SWOT, PESTLE, STEEPLE, and so on and so forth. All these are methods
to help analyze the effect of a certain product before taking any informed decision. The
difference between them is only in the variants they incorporate [12].

In this report, I will cast some light upon the STEEPLE implications of my project as well as
the analysis, design, testing, and implementation, which make it the key factors of my
capstone process.

This latter analysis permits entities to foresee imminent trends by taking into consideration the
variables that are external in which any organization operates and enables it to figure out the
different factors that would impact it after.

STEEPLE analysis is assessed as one of the well-known methods for the operational activities
of corporations and business examination and is considered as more sophisticated and
practical than SWOT analysis [13].
Below is the STEEPLE analysis of my project:

Social Technological Economic Environmental

STEEPLE

Political Legal Ethical

Figure 3: STEEPLE Acronym

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 Social: This drone of type quadcopter will assist students as a starting point to
evolve it so that they can design or develop their own applications. Another help that it
would provide is it would arouse the creativity of students and open the doors for them to
have a new aid on which they can hinge on to set their systems, so that they can make a
new contribution to the society’s improvement. In case of adding a camera to the drone,
society’s acceptance of it will vary greatly. Some will think of it as an attempt to spy on
people and manage the information that is displayed to the public while others will see it as
an extension to their security and safety which will be our main intention.

Technological: The technologies that are essential for the drone’s deployment
Already exist, which makes it feasible. Many people have already managed to create
drones; however, a meticulous study needs to be done with the components in mind, which
are available and eventually give it a personal touch.

Economic: I still have not envisioned the economic model in depth; nevertheless, it
is thought that this system has a great impact on the Moroccan economy and society. More
than that, I am planning to use the laser cutter for the drone’s frame and 3D print any other
possible parts, which make it economical.

Environmental: Thankfully, this system does not have any deleterious effect on the
Environment in any way, but on the contrary, it helps cut down the emissions of the carbon
dioxide if used to execute given tasks that customarily require deliveries or transportation
[14].

Political & Legal: According to the Moroccan government, it is not permissible to

use the drones in the country and this has been banned through a Royal decree [15].
However, as I said previously my main focus on the project is to create a drone without a
camera at first, and this would not be a problem since it cannot be used to spy or harm
anybody; thus, this makes it permissible. Nonetheless, if time allows and I intend to add
one by the end, I will make sure to fill and submit any proper work to the authorities.

Ethical: The use of the drone is ethically controversial. As it all depends on the
user’s intention, which can lead to dire consequences if the user has bad aims. It can be
used for surveillance to track victims by criminals. Nonetheless, this should not stop the
advancement and development of this technology and its different applications to serve
society.

Table 1: STEEPLE Analysis

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 III. Engineering Design Process
1. Objective Tree
An objective tree is a tool used to make a project plan, which helps analyze and
graphically break down objectives into smaller and more manageable parts as shown below.

Cost The drone should

Objectives be affordable

The drone needs

to withstand all
Durability the seasonal
Objectives weather, so it can
fly in different
areas and places

should be ≥ 2
Lifts the Load to be lifted
appropriate weight
kg for the
prototype

Performance Flies in different Rotation and

Objectives orientations (up, flexibility
down, left, right)
Design a quadcopter
drone that should be Delivers the object
able to be used for lifted where
deliveries supposed to

Appearance Meet the customers’

Pleasant to see needs
Objectives

Size
Not very big and
not very small size
Technology The system needs to – Medium (500
monitor and supply mm)
power to manipulate
the drone to meet
the users’ needs

Safe for humans

Environmental
Objectives Minimal
environmental
impact

Figure 4: Objective Tree

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 2. System Requirements
Requirements are important because they establish a foundation for product scope, vision,
schedule, and cost. They eventually should target the quality and performance of a finished
product. Requirements supply stakeholders like electrical engineering, marketing, software
engineering, and mechanical engineering with one uniform set of goals and vision. Each
stakeholder holds realistic expectations after understanding the requirements of the final
product. No surprises should occur from the final product in terms of functionality and design,
which will yield a profitable and a successful product launch [16]. In order to determine well
the project requirements, I made a hierarchical decomposition of a quadcopter as shown
below.

Quadcopter
UAV

propulsion Power GNC Structure Payload

Motors Battery Arms Body Landing Gear

Radar IMU GPS Flight Computer

Figure 5: Hierarchical Decomposition of a Quadcopter

Figure 5 describes a hierarchical decomposition of a simplified model of a quadcopter drone

by dividing it into two tiers. The first one has five primary subsystems, which consist of
power, propulsion, structures, GNC, propulsion, and payload. As for the second one, it
comprises battery, IMU, flight computer, radar, motors, GPS, body, arms, and landing gear
[17].
The table below shows the quadcopter’s requirements along with their descriptions.

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 Requirements Description
The user should control the drone by using a handheld
The drone should
1 controller. The user should be able to fly the drone in any
fly remotely
direction and at any height up to the maximum altitude.
The drone should fly to a
The drone should be able to fly at any altitude up to 100
2 maximum height of 500
meters.
meters
The drone should be able to carry a 2 kg load in the
The drone should carry payload
3
a load up to 2kg while flying. It should be controllable and stable while
delivering whatever is inside.
The drone should fly left,
4 right, back, forward, up, The user should be able to fly the drone at any direction.
and down

The drone should fly up to The drone should be controllable up to a distance of 600
5
600 meters away from meters from the user by operating it with the remote
the user controller.
The drone should fly with
The drone should provide a stable flight while carrying the
6 the maximum payload for
maximum payload for a minimum of 15 minutes.
at least 15 minutes
The drone should spin The drone should be able to spin while flying when the
7
both CW and CCW user needs it to. The spin needs to be in both directions.
The drone’s frame should The drone’s frame should have enough room and support
be designed to provide a for an Arduino, flight controller, BLDCs, LiPo battery,
8
payload and an enough ESCs, and any sensor. Also, a payload is required so that
room for all components. it can lift any object to deliver.
9 It should be a medium size The drone’s design should be compact (500 mm at most).
Propellers of high thrust Propellers need to be 10 inch into 4.5 pitch to have enough
10
are needed thrust to lift the drone in such size.
Propellers should be 3D The propellers’ design should be exported as an STL file
11 printed, and the frame to be 3D printed, and the drone’s frame should be
should be laser cut exported as a DXF file, so it can be laser cut.
Table 2: System Requirements

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 3. System Block Diagram
A block diagram is a high-level and specialized flowchart used in engineering. It is used
to describe and improve existing systems or to design new ones. The block diagram’s
structure provides a high-level overview of important working relationships, key process
participants, and major system components [18]. Below is the overview of the major
quadcopter components
[19] represented as a block diagram.

Figure 6: Block Diagram of a Quadcopter

4. Technical Specification
The drone’s technical specification is nothing more than a document that through
technical data makes a clarified description for the drone’s specific use, functionality, or
performance levels.

We should hence abridge the previous concept by claiming that the quadcopter’s technical
specification is a set of key performance indicators (KPIs), which is able to describe the
performance competence of a quadcopter.

The set of the significant technical data or the technical specification plays a crucial role when
it comes to make a formal decision about choosing the ideal drone; especially, when making a
comparison between different quadcopter models. Nonetheless, when acquiring the right
indicators of the technical specifications is not always easy for two reasons. The first one
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 because some fundamental parameters are hidden by some manufacturers as they are not
optimal when compared to the rivalry [20]. The second one because the specifications are not
the same reported by all manufacturers. For instance, producer A can report his drone’s
maximum tangency quota; on the other hand, producer B can only omit this data in the
technical specs.

After reviewing my system requirements, the figure shown below describes the specifications
that my quadcopter should meet.

Metric Value
Dimensions 405mm x 371mm x 70mm
Weight 1000 g
Power 200 W
Rotors 4
Propellers 10” x 4.5” (10 inches in diameter and 4.5 inches in pitch).
Battery 3300 mAh (C) 3S LiPo 35C (Max)
Controller Arduino uno
Payload Mass 150 g
Diagonal Size (Propellers
520 mm
excluded)
A2212 brushless outrunner dc motor, 1000kv.
Motors (for medium size
No load current @ 10V: 0.5A
quadcopter 500mm)
Thrust @ 3S with 1045 propeller: 800gms approx.
Current Capacity 12A/60s
Motor Dimensions 27.5 x 30mm
ESC Specification 18A (30A Recommended)
Propellers RPM 7536 RPM
Input Voltage 11.1V
Pitch Speed 32.1 MPH (51 KMH)
Efficiency 80%
Weight that the drone can lift 2 kg or more
Flight Time Up to 15 minutes
Table 3: Table of Specification

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 IV. The Flight Dynamics
Before talking about the 6-DoF and start deriving the quadcopter’s dynamics, two frames
in which we will operate need to be introduced. The first one is called the inertial frame and is
defined by its position that is with respect to the ground along with the gravity pointing in the
negative z-direction. The latter is called the body frame which is defined by the quadcopter’s
different orientation. The figure below illustrates my explanation [21].

V.
Figure 7: The Relative Orientation Between Inertial-frame and Body-frame of a Quadcopter in 3D Space

The quadrotor’s position and attitude can be controlled by changing the speed of each motor
to a desired value. Some moments and forces are performed on the drone such as: the thrust
produced by the rotation of the motors, the rolling and pitching moments produced by the
thrust of the difference of the four rotors, the gyroscopic effect which only appears in the
drone construction lightweight, the gravity, and the yawing moment which may be cancelled
out when 2 rotors rotate in the opposite direction.

Hence, the propellers and motors are split into two parts, which in each group has two
diametrically opposite motors. Thanks to their rotation’s direction, we can distinguish as
shown in figure 8 that left and right propellers (number 1 and 3) are rotating clockwise while
rear and front ones (number 2 and 4) are rotating counterclockwise [22].

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 Figure 8: Direction of Propeller's Rotation

1. Six Degrees of Freedom (6-DOF)

Six degrees of freedom are required to describe any time space motion of a rigid body
and can be divided into two groups, which are the barycenter and the movement around it.
There are three barycenter movements named as three translation motions that make the
quadcopter move longitudinally (forward and backward), vertically (upward and downward),
and laterally (right and left). In addition, there are three rotation motions along three axes
which make the drone move rotationally among each axis to produce roll, pitch, and yaw
movements.

These aforementioned motions when combined together generate what we call by the six
degrees of freedom. The quadrotor’s yaw motion is realized by the rotor that produces a
reactive torque. The reactive torque’s size is relative to the speed of the rotor. When the speed
of the four rotors is the same, the reactive torques will balance each other and hence the
quadrotor will not rotate. However, when the speed of the four rotors is not absolutely the
same, there will not be a balance in the reactive torque; thus, the quadrotors will start to
rotate.

In order to control the quadrotors, its modeling process assumptions were made such as: its
symmetric structure, its rigid body, and its ground effect is ignored. The quadrotor’s four
basic movements which allows it to reach a certain attitude and height depending on each
propeller’s speed of rotation are shown below along with their descriptions [22].

 The Throttle Movements: This movement is provided by decreasing or increasing

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 the speed of all the propellers with the same amount, which leads to a vertical force with
respect to

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 the body frame that lowers or raises the quadrotor. The vertical direction of the body frame
coincides with the one of the inertial frames when the quadcopter is in a horizontal position.
Otherwise, the inertial frame’s both the horizontal and vertical accelerations are generated by
the thrust provided. The throttle movement in the quadcopter sketch is shown in figure 9. The
propellers speed Ω𝑖, 𝑖 = 1, … ,4 are equal in this case to Ω𝐻 + ∆𝐴 . For each. The ∆𝐴
(rad/s) is a variable (positive one) that represents with respect to the constant value an
increment. The
∆𝐴 should not be too big because the quadrotor would ultimately be affected by sturations or non-
linearities.

Figure 9: Throttle Movement

 The Roll Movements: This movement is provided by decreasing or increasing the left
and right of the propellers’ speed. With respect to the x- axis, this leads to a torque (figure
10), which makes the quadcopter tilt side to side (left or right). In hovering is the same as the
overall vertical thrust; thus, this movement yields only to a roll angle acceleration. Figure 10
shows the roll movement on a quadrotor’s sketch. The ∆𝐵 positive variable is chosen so that
the vertical thrust is remained unchanged. Similar to the previous case, it should not be too
big because the quadrotor’s would ultimately be affected by saturations or non-linearities.

Figure 10: Roll Movement

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  The Pitch Movements: This movement is very similar to the roll one and is provided
by decreasing or increasing the rear and front of the propellers’ speed. With respect to the y-
axis, this leads to a torque (figure 11), which would make the quadcopter tilt up and down
from front to back. In hovering is the same as the overall vertical thrust; thus, this movement
yields only to a pitch angle acceleration. Figure 11 shows the pitch movement on a quadrotor
sketch. Similar to the previous case, the ∆𝐶 positive variable is chosen so that the vertical
thrust is remained unchanged and cannot be too big.

Figure 11: Pitch Movement

The Yaw Movements: This movement is provided by decreasing or increasing the rear
and front of the propellers’ speed and by increasing and decreasing that of the right-left
couple. With respect to the z- axis, this leads to a torque, which makes the quadcopter move
around in a counter-clockwise/clockwise rotation as it remains level to the ground. The fact
that the rear- front propellers rotate counter-clockwise while the right-left ones rotate
clockwise, generates the yaw movement (figure 12). Therefore, as said previously, the
quadcopter turns on itself when the overall torque is unbalanced. In hovering is the same as
the overall vertical thrust; thus, this movement yields only to a yaw angle acceleration. Figure
12 above shows the yaw movement on a quadrotor’s sketch.

Figure 12: Yaw Movement

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 2. The Newton-Euler Mathematical Model
The most important thing before describing any motion, two reference frames were
defined previously and now in figure 7 and 13, which were world inertial frame (W-frame)
and body frame (B-frame). The motion’s equations are more appropriately formulated in the
B- frame because of the following purposes: The inertia matrix is time-invariant, equations
can be simplified because the body symmetry can be taken advantage of, on boards’
measurements can easily be converted to the B-frame, and control forces are always given in
the B-frame.

Figure 13: Forces and Moments

o Moments and Forces

There are two kind of forces produced in each propeller. A propeller produces upward thrust
given by: 𝐹 = 𝐾𝑓 × 𝜔2, which is shown by forces denoted as F1, F2, F3, F4 in figure 13
where omega (𝜔) is the rotation rate the rotor measured in (𝑅𝑎𝑑). The constant 𝐾
depends on many
𝑠 𝑓

aspects such as the torque proportionality constant, density of surrounding air, back EMF, and
so forth. The 𝐾𝑓 and 𝐾𝑚 (mentioned below) are empirically found.

All four propellers’ upward thrust is given by making a sum of all individual thrusts
generated, from i = 1 to 4 is as follow: 𝐹𝑖 = 𝐾𝑓 × 𝜔2. Besides the upward force, a
propeller when it rotates it generates a rotating spin called moment or torque, which is shown
by moments denoted as M1, M2, M3, and M4 in figure 13. For instance, a torque which
causes the drone’s body to spin in CCW direction is produced by a rotor that is spinning in
CW direction. This mentioned torque is 𝑀 = 𝐾𝑚 × 𝜔2. The total moment generated

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 around the z- axis of the quadcopter is given by

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 summing of all four moments. Not to mention that CCW and CW moments will have opposite
signs. 𝑀𝑧 = 𝑀1 + 𝑀2 + 𝑀3 + 𝑀4.

Unlike 𝑀𝑧, the total moment’s calculations generated around x and y are little different.
From the figure 8, we can see that motor 1 and 3 lie on the drone’s x axis. However, motors 2
and 4’ forces generated are different which will lead the body of the drone to tilt around x
axis. Therefore, the total moment around x- axis is 𝑀𝑥 = (𝐹2 − 𝐹4) × 𝐿, where L is
the distance from the rotation axis of the rotors to the quadcopter’s center. With the same
logic, 𝑀𝑦 is generated 𝑀𝑦 = (𝐹3 − 𝐹1) × 𝐿. To conclude, the total moment around
the three axes can be given by: 𝑀𝑇 = [𝑀𝑥, 𝑀𝑦, 𝑀𝑧]𝑇(T stands for transpose).
o Position and Orientation

Figure 14: Position and Orientation

Undeniably, a quadcopter has orientational as well as positional attributes. In other words, it

can make certain angles (psi (𝜓), theta (𝜃), phi (𝜙)), and can be in any position (x, y, z
coordinates) with respect to world- inertial frame like shown more clearly in figure 14. The
vector that makes a good description of the quadrotor orientation and position with respect to
w- frame is written in the form:
𝑆 = [ 𝑋 𝑌 𝑍 𝜙 𝜃 𝜓] 𝑇 (1)
In the following equations, the following notations has been adopted: 𝑐𝑘 = cos(𝑘) , 𝑠𝑘 =
sin(𝑘) , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑘 = tan (𝑘).
The rotation matric between the B- frames and W- frame has the following form [23]:

(2)

The corresponding transfer matrix has the following form [23]:

1 𝑠𝜙𝑡𝜃 𝑐𝜙𝑡𝜃
0 𝑐𝜙 −𝑠𝜙
𝑇=[ ] (3)
𝑐𝜙
0
𝑠𝜙 𝑐𝜃
𝑐𝜃

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 After writing the previous equations in their form, now we can write the Jacobian matrix. By

𝑅 03×3
taking equations (2) and (3), the Jacobian matrix [23] can be written as:
𝐽 =[ ]
03×3 𝑇
(4)

03×3 means that it is a zero-matrix. The generalized quadrotor velocity in the B-frame has
a form of [23]: 𝑉 = [𝑥˙ 𝑦˙ 𝑧˙ 𝜙˙ 𝜃˙ 𝜓˙]𝑇 (5)
Last but not least, the quadrotor’s kinematic model can be defined in the following form:
𝑆˙ = 𝐽. 𝑣 (6)

3. MATLAB Simulation
After I have completed the motion’s equations which describe the flight system’s
dynamics, now a simulation environment to view and test the results of several controllers and
inputs can be created. Even though some methods, which are more advanced, are available, a
simulator which uses the method of Euler can quickly be written to solve differential
equations that evolve the state of the system. This simulator along with the functions needed
to compute all the physical torques and forces are shown in APPENDIX A using MATLAB
[24]. Besides, values needed for all my physical constants, which were not shown are:
Functions to convert from the derivatives of yaw, pitch, and roll to an angular velocity vector
omega and vice-versa, and a function that computes the rotation matrix R. Then, the 3D
visualization quadcopter is drawn along with angular velocity and displacement as the
simulation is running like shown below.

Figure 15: Quadcopter Flight Simulation

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 V. Mechanical Analysis
1. CAD Design and Analyses
As a CAD design I used Solid Works, which is a 3-D modeling CAD and CAE software
that runs primarily on Windows operating systems. It is used for mechatronics systems
development from the start to the end. Initially, Solid Works is used to plan, visualize
ideation, model, assess feasibility, prototype, and manage projects. Then, it is used to design
and build software, mechanical, and electrical elements.

This software can also perform different analyses on the product in order to check its behavior
in the real world. Hence, it can be tested differently before the product is manufactured. To
make it clearer, the product can go through three stages using this software.

First, the product is conceptualized and drawn. Second, it is modeled and analyzed virtually
depending on the user’s use. Finally, it is modeled and analyzed in real life by 3-D printing it
or laser cutting it.

One of the SolidWorks major advantages over other CAE and CAD Software is that the
desired part design can be rendered in many different materials, and the quality is so good in
such a way that makes it very realistic.

1.1 Frame
One of the most critical parts is the frame in every design. It needs to be formable, rigid
(the material is selected carefully), and able to withstand the pressure and the seasonal
weather like rain, wind, and so on so that the vehicle does not fail. Furthermore, it can be used
as a mounting platform for all crucial components (mechanical, electrical, and propulsion).

In order to prepare a design for my drone project, many designs were observed from different
websites. However, the one chosen by me is a wooden drone frame from a website called
Grab- Cad, and many modifications have been made according to the material, dimensions,
and thickness needed. I chose this type of frame because I am planning to laser cut it. Once I
am done with the project the new developed design will be uploaded to the same website in
order to make it available for interested members. The two figures below show the frame
chosen in both the collapsed and exploded view [25].

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 (a) (b)
Figure 16: (a) The collapsed view of the drone. (b) The exploded view of the drone.

The figure down below is the top view dimensions of the drone:

Figure 17: The Top View Dimensions of the Drone

Before launching a product in the market, a prototype should be made. Nonetheless, in

addition to the time and money to make a prototype, analyses and tests should be performed
to assure its design effectiveness and physical capabilities. Nowadays, many manufacturers
use CAE or CAD to either 3D print or laser cut a desired product.

I took into consideration the latter information and made different analysis to compare
materials used in laser cutter and 3D printing. There are two materials available that I can
choose for the laser cutter, which are: Fiberboard (Plywood) and acrylic (plexiglass). I
compared the

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 aforementioned materials with the ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), which is used as a
material in 3D printing. The table below shows the properties of the discussed materials.
Materials Plywood Acrylic ABS
Properties Values Units
Elastic Modulus 8 × 109 3 × 109 2 × 109 𝑁/𝑚2
Poisson’s Ratio 0.3 0.35 0.394 𝑁/𝐴
Shear Modulus 0.62 × 109 0.89 × 109 0.3189 × 109 𝑁/𝑚2
Mass density 615 1200 1020 𝐾𝑔/𝑚3
Tensile Strength 31 × 106 73 × 106 30 × 109 𝑁/𝑚2
Yield Strength 15.6 × 106 45 × 106 40 × 106 𝑁/𝑚2
Thermal conductivity 0.21 0.2256 W/(m.K)
Table 4: Properties of the Materials

From the above table of properties, I made the SolidWorks software generate different
analysis. One of the analysis is the drop test. It assesses an assembly or a part’s impact with a
flexible or rigid planar surface. The software calculates the gravity and impact loads
automatically, and no other restraints or loads are allowed. I chose the case if the drone is
dropped from a height of 100 meters (front plane) for all materials. The software generated
three results, which were:

Von Mises Stress: is used as a value to determine whether a given material is going to
fracture or yield. The von mises yield criterion states if a material’s von Mises stress under
load is greater or equal the yield limit of the same material then the material will yield.
Displacement: shows how my model moves in the chosen direction, and if the deformation
scale given is one then it is a real deformation; otherwise, it is not the case.
Strain: is a geometric response measure and the shape change due to its applied forces. It is
expressed as: 𝜀 = Δ𝑙/𝑙.

The figures below show the drop test analysis results of each material:

 Plywood:

In figure 18 (a) , it shows that the yield strength of the material is 15.6 MPa, and after the
drone is dropped from a height of 100 meters the von Mises stress is around 16 MPa, which
means that von Mises stress > The yield strength then the material will yield. In figure 18 (b),
it shows that the minimum displacement is 9.634 mm, and the maximum is 10.43 mm. The
red area it shows where it is going to deform. However, from the colors, we can see that the
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 displacement

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 of the drone at a height of 100 m is in between. From figure 18 (c), we can see that the
minimum and maximum strains are 3.829 × 10−4 and 2.623 × 10−2.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 18: (a) Von Mises Stress, (b) Displacement, and (c) Strain in Plywood.

 Acrylic (Plexiglass):

In figure 19 (a), it shows that the yield strength of the material is 45 MPa, and after the drone
is dropped from a height of 100 meters the von Mises stress is around 45.2 MPa, which means
that von Mises stress > The yield strength then the material will yield. In figure 19 (b), it
shows that the minimum displacement is 8.726 mm and the maximum is 10.16 mm. The red
area it shows where it is going to deform. However, from the colors, we can see that the
displacement of the drone at a height of 100 m is in between. From figure 19 (c), we can see
that the minimum and maximum strains are 1.046 × 10−3 and 4.484 × 10−2.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 19: (a) Von Mises Stress, (b) Displacement, and (c) Strain in Acrylic.

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  ABS:

In figure 20 (a), it shows that the yield strength of the material is 40 MPa, and after the drone
is dropped from a height of 100 meters the von Mises stress is around 41 MPa, which means
that von Mises stress > The yield strength then the material will yield. In figure 20 (b), it
shows that the minimum displacement is 7.516 mm and the maximum is 9.856 mm. The red
area it shows where it is going to deform. However, from the colors, we can see that the
displacement of the drone at a height of 100 m is in between. From figure 20 (c), we can see
that the minimum and maximum strains are 1.279 × 10−3 and 5.644 × 10−2.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 20: (a) Von Mises Stress, (b) Displacement, and (c) Strain in ABS

After this analysis, I wanted to know the factor of safety, so I had to do a linear static analysis.
I was asked to choose a type of load, and I chose pressure at 25 MPa. The body deforms when
loads are applied to it and its effects are transferred to the whole body. The factor of safety is
criterion and is expressed as 𝐹𝑂𝑆 =
𝐹𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑒
evaluated at each node based on a failure𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠
.
𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠

When we have a region with a large factor of safety, it indicates that the material can be saved
from that specific region. Several codes require a minimum FOS between 1.5 and 3.0. The
interpretations of FOS are:
 When FOS < 1.0, it indicates that failure has occurred at that location of the material.
 When FOS = 1.0, it means that the material at that specific location is on the point
of failing.
 When FOS > 1.0, it indicates that the material at that location is safe.
 A FOS of 3 for example indicates that it is three times stronger.

The figures below show the Factor of Safety of each material at a pressure of 25 MPa:

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  Plywood:

In figure 21, the plywood material has failed because as we can see the minimum FOS = 0.56
and is less than 1. However, we can strengthen the material by increasing the thickness.

Figure 21: Factor of Safety of Plywood

 Acrylic:

In figure 22, the Acrylic material is safe because as we can notice the minimum FOS = 1.6
and is bigger than 1.

Figure 22: Factor of Safety of Acrylic

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  ABS:

In figure 23, the ABS material is safe because as we can notice the FOS = 1.3 and is bigger
than 1.

Figure 23: Factor of Safety of ABS

The last analysis I have done is called the fatigue analysis because I wanted to know how long
the material will last. It means that when a certain material is loaded and unloaded repeatedly,
it is observed that it gets weakened over time when the allowable stress limits are
considerably bigger than the induced stresses. The material gets weakened in each cycle of
stress fluctuation to some extent. In other words, the material becomes so weak that it fails
after a number of cycles. It is primarily the main cause why many objects fail.

The figures below show the damage percentage and life cycle of each material:

 Plywood:

In figure 24 (a), it shows that it has a minimum and maximum percentage damage of 1.913
and 1.979. From the figure we can see that the part is colored with blue close to light blue,
which means it has a percentage damage of roughly 1.93. From the figure 24 (b), it shows a
minimum of a total life of cycles of 101000 and a maximum of 104500. Since it is colored
with yellow mixed with light green, we can say it has around 103500 cycles.

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 (a) (b)
Figure 24: (a) Damage Percentage and (b) Life Cycle of Plywood.

 Acrylic:

In figure 25 (a), it shows that it has a minimum and maximum percentage damage of 1.893
and 1.983. From the figure we can see that the part is colored with blue mixed with light
green, which means that the blue area has a percentage damage of roughly 1.902, and the light
green area has around 1.956 of percentage of damage. From the figure 25 (b), it shows a
minimum of a total life of cycles of 100900 and a maximum of 105600. Since it is colored
with yellow mixed with light green, we can say it has around 103700 cycles.

(a) (b)
Figure 25: (a) Damage Percentage and (b) Life Cycle of Acrylic.

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  ABS:
In figure 26 (a), it shows that it has a minimum and maximum percentage damage of 1.868
and 1.987. From the figure we can see that the part is colored with blue mixed with light
green, which means that the blue area has a percentage damage of roughly 1.904, and the light
green area has around 1.939 of percentage of damage. From the figure 26 (b), it shows a
minimum of a total life of cycles of 100700 and a maximum of 105600. Since it is colored
with yellow mixed with light green, we can say it has around 107100 cycles.

(a) (b)
Figure 26: (a) Damage Percentage and (b) Life Cycle of ABS.

I cannot 3D print my frame because its dimensions are not compatible with the 3D printer I
am using from the University. From the materials’ table of properties and all the above
analysis simulations taking into account the materials’ costs. I would say that the best option
for me is to laser cut the frame with acrylic material. More than that, acrylic does not rot or
absorb water and has more other advantages.

In the figure below, I uploaded the frame to the laserCAD app to laser cut my frame.

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 Figure 27: Frame in the LaserCAD App

1.2 Propellers:
The quadcopter’s one of the most crucial parts are the propellers. My craft’s wings are
these spinning blades which lift the system into the air by creating an airflow. There are many
different sizes and shapes but the same overall purpose that the drone propellers come with;
however, each’s flight characteristics can be different dramatically.

In order to choose the right drone propeller, we must take into consideration miscellaneous
factors. Power and the drone flight smoothness can be significantly affected by the propellers;
hence, the flight efficiency is one of the most fundamental considerations to be taken. Size
and number of blades are important factors when selecting new propellers of a drone.

Depending on the platform, payload, and usage requirements, the number of blades per
propeller required will vary. Smaller blades (under 8 inches) are most usually used for
acrobatics and racing drones. Generally, smaller motors with high kV ratings are paired with
smaller blades. Larger blades (over 8 inches) can be used to carry heavier payloads like
spraying containers for agriculture and video equipment. They are generally paired with low
kV motors. When selecting a propeller, we need to choose wisely taking into account its
diameter and pitch.

Pitch: is known as the propeller’s traveling distance per each revolution. Frequently, it
depends on what the specific application is for a quadcopter platform to determine the correct
pitch. Lower pitch generally leads to less turbulence and more torque for lifting; as a

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 consequence, it

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 relieves how hard the motors have to work to lift heavy payloads resulting in a flight time
increase because less current is drawn by the motors from the battery. Higher pitch propellers
can move more air, but they create less torque and more turbulence.

Diameter: typically, a propeller blade with a larger diameter permits more contact with the
air. This latter has a relation with the flight efficiency, when there is a small decrease or
increase in diameter, it can change the efficiency of the drone performance. There is a
tendency that when hovering, larger propellers are more stable than smaller ones.
Nevertheless, less effort is required for the smaller propeller blades to slow down or speed up
than larger ones, which make them more responsive. As said previously, larger propellers
with low pitch are better suited for aerial video cameras and lifting heavy payloads while
smaller propellers with high pitch are more appropriate for quick and fast manoeuvres.

As a summary, depending on the planned utilization and many other factors as

aforementioned that need to be taken into account in order to select well the propeller blades
of the quadcopter. For instance, larger propeller blades with low pitch are more suited in
applications that require heavy lift [26].

Since I already know what components I will be using to create a quadcopter, I took
advantage of what discussed in this report: my 30A ESC, A2212 1000 KV brushless motors,
and the size (10” x 4.5”) of my propellers to see how much thrust and ampere I can get from
them using excel. I wanted to use this motor propeller combination because it is what I will be
using for my quadcopter, and this test gives me some important data for the dimensioning.

The equation 7 shown below shows the static thrust calculation with all pieces plugged in:
propeller’s diameter, pitch (unit in inch), and thrust (unit in Newton (N)). The 0.0254 shown
in the equation is simply a conversion factor to convert inches to meters because there are
0.0254 m/in. After 1.5 was chosen as the power constant, the coefficient constant for the
diameter to
𝑜𝑟 0.303447 as the optimal coefficient constant to minimize
pitch ratio gave a value of 1
3.29546

or reduce the actual and predicted thrust values for the 149 points that was looked at [27].

𝐹 =
1.225
𝜋(0.0254.
(𝑅𝑃𝑀 . 0.0254. 1𝑚𝑖
1.5
𝑑)2
𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐𝑕. 𝑛 (7)
) ( )
4 60𝑠𝑒𝑐 3.29546.𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐𝑕

𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝

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 The figure below shows everything I have talked about in this section:

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 Figure 28: Static Thrust and Ampere Calculations

When the set of propellers chosen is used with the 3 cells battery and 1000KV motors, the
ability of 0.97 kg of static thrust can be given by each motor in which 172 Watts that will be
consumed. In other words, around 4kg that the system will be able to lift. From my
background studies, it is known that it is recommended for the quadcopter to lift twice its
weight, which means that at least 500 grams should be lifted by each arm.

I made a simulation of the propeller in SolidWorks using Computational Fluid Dynamics

(CFD), but before, I had to import a propeller to the Software. The propeller used is shown in
the figure below [28].

Figure 29: Propeller Model Used in the Simulation

Myriad of analysis methods are used by engineers to better understand the world’s impact
around us on their designs. One of the best and a key analysis method that is used to analyze
and solve problems, which involve the fluid flow impact like gases or liquids is
Computational Fluid Dynamics. Many industries use CFD to solve a wide range of
engineering problems,

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 including aerodynamics and aerospace analysis, high-tech electronics cooling, combustion
and engine analysis, industrial systems design, and many others.

The figures below show both the velocity and pressure trajectory plot which is more useful for
showing behavior over the full length of the propeller at any given time. A trajectory plot that
uses one of the system planes as a starting point reference that the flow passes through is easy
to set up after solving.

A single trajectory is generated by the program at all the points on the reference entity, which
shows how they continues throughout the computational domain. However, in my case, I
disabled the computational domain and created 100 trajectories. Here, we can see the
variation of velocity and pressure as the air flows, and also, we can get some idea of
vortices/turbulence created by the propeller.

(a) (b)
Figure 30: (a) Velocity Gradient and Flow Trajectories, (b) Pressure Gradient and Flow Trajectories.

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 VI. Electronic Design
In order to have a safe and smooth flight, all drone components and parts are vital. When
knowing the drone components, the user can have more confidence while flying it. After
knowing each drone component, it will help the user to get to the bottom of any flight issue.

The figure 32 shows the schematics of the electrical components and in APPENDIX B it
shows it in detail. Each component is shown and explained in detail in the following sections.

Figure 31: Quadcopter Electrical Connections Schematics [28]

1. BLDC Motors
Brushless motors are brushless outrunner motors or DC electric motors, which are also
known as ECMs (Electronically Commutated Motors). Those motors are synchronous,
powered by an electric DC source through an integrated inverter switching power supply that
produces an electric alternating current (AC) signal in order to drive the motors. This latter
implies a bi- directional current with no restriction on waveform rather than a sinusoidal one.

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 The BLDC motors I chose to work with are 1000 kV ones made specifically for multirotor
and quadcopters. They provide power, high performance, quality, dependability at an
affordable price, and brilliant efficiency. They are perfectly suited for medium size drones
with propellers of 8 to 10 inch.

Once ordered, they come with power leads, prop adapters, and mounting bolts as shown in the
figure below. Each 30A ESC should be used to drive each motor [29].

Figure 32: A 1000KV BLDC Motor [29]

These kinds of motors were made with wire wound stator poles and a permanent magnet
rotor. The attractive magnetic forces between a rotating magnetic field, which is induced in
the wound stator poles, and the permanent magnetic motor convert the electrical energy into a
mechanical one.

There are 3 electromagnetic circuits that are commonly connected to a point, and each one of
them is divided in the center; hereby, allowing the permanent magnetic rotor to move amidst
the induced magnetic field.

Brushless motors can be used in so many applications, such as: electric bicycles, fans to raise
the system’s overall efficiency, spindle drives, pumps, and so many others.

The tables 5 and 6 show the technical data sheet and the input/output test data [29].

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 Table 5: BLDC Motor Specs

The IO test data:

Table 6: The I/O Test Data

2. Electric Speed Controllers (ESCs)

ESC or an electronic speed controller is a device installed in a remote-controlled model to
control the speed and direction of a brushless motor. Each one of them has an output for a
motor and an input for a battery. Four of them are required so to control each motor.

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\

Figure 33: Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) [30]

In this experiment, I have used a 30A ESC to control each of the brushless motors which
constantly provide required current to drive the motors. My ESC has the following
specifications:

Continuous Current 30A

Burst Current (>10s) 40A for 15 seconds
Battery Cell 2-3S (Li-Po)/ 5-9 cells (NiMH)
210000 RPM (2 poles motor), 70000 RPM (6
Maximum Speed
poles motor), 35000 RPM (12 poles motor)
Usage Applicable for medium size quadcopter
Weight 39 g
Dimension 68mm × 25mm × 8mm
Bec Output 5V/ 2A
Bec Mode Linear
Motor Type Brushless
Voltage Input 6.4V- 16.8V
Table 7: ESC Specifications

3. Battery
Li-Po batteries currently dominate the market due to their high current discharge and high
energy density when it comes to lightweight drones. They are composed of many cells
connected in series but rarely in parallel, which are denoted respectively by S or P. Depending
on the charge’s state how the cell voltage changes; nonetheless, there is going to be
permanent damage when discharging a Li-Po cell below 3V. Hence, discharging about 20%
the battery is
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 recommended, which gives an 80% depth of discharge. Besides, these batteries are
characterized by a C rating, which identifies the maximum drawn current continuously, and
their capacity in mAh. Obviously, this shows that maximum discharge current cannot be
dependent on the battery capacity.

In this experiment, a high amount of current is needed for the brushless motors I have used.
Therefore, I chose to use a 3 cell 3300 mAh 11.1 V Li-Po battery that can supply roughly 3A
current constantly (figure 33). This latter is not heavy and provides sufficient current, which is
ideal for this application. Unlike Li-Po, NiMH is cheaper but much heavier. These kinds of
batteries (Li-Po) vary from single 3.7 cells up to 37V 10 celled. The most well-known one is
the 3SP1 that is three celled and is 11.1V.

Figure 34: 3300mAh 3 Cell Li-Po Battery [31]

The power that each motor outputs at 7500 RPM rotation is 52 Watts, which after summing
four of them up, we get 208 Watts. As previously mentioned, the motors have a maximum of
208 = 260 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠. (8)
80%
80% efficiency, which leads to an input power of the motors of roughly

No more than 20 Watts will be used by the rest of the system. This permits a total input power
of 280 Watts as a safe estimation that the battery should deliver. Taking into consideration
that a 3 cell 11.1V battery is used, a 22A will be drawn by the current, and as previously
mentioned, the battery capacity is 3300 mAh with a 35C max current discharge, this clearly
means that the battery can safely draw 3.3𝐴𝑕 × 35 = 115.5 𝐴 (9)

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 This latter puts my system on the safe side. If we consider a constant current draw of 20A (the

3.3 𝐴𝑕 × 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛⁄ ≅ 10 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠.

drone will not run at 7500 RPM the whole time), then the maximum flight time will be

𝑕
(10)
20𝐴

This shows that my system will be able to fly for roughly 10 minutes at full throttle. Since from
the start of the project, I specified that I want my drone to be able to fly for at least 15 minutes,

× 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛⁄ = 15.23 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠.

we should consider a constant current draw of 13 A to fulfill that. In this case, the total flight
3.3 𝐴𝑕
time will be

𝑕
(11)
13𝐴

The table below shows my current system’s battery specification.

Table 8: Battery Specifications

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 4. Arduino Nano Microcontroller Board
When it comes to pinouts and features, the Arduino Nano Microcontroller board is quite
similar to Arduino UNO. The only difference is its size, which made it better since it has the
same functionalities but lighter. In my project, I made sure that each component I choose
should be as light as possible so that my system’s flight remains smooth, and as it is known, it
is preferred that the embedded devices to be smaller in size.

The Arduino Nano is a complete, small, and breadboard-friendly based on the ATmega328.
This general-purpose microcontroller allows me to make my own flight controller by
assembling the controller and coding it on my own. It is a robust and reliable platform that
can be connected to a computer by using a USB cable, an AC/DC adapter to power it up, and
a battery. The best thing about this controller is it allows me not to worry about destroying it
in case I mess with it. Finally, in order to program my Arduino Nano, I used the Arduino IDE
Software.

Figure 35: Arduino Nano Microcontroller Board [32]

Some of this Arduino features that need to be known are shown in the table below.

In total, it has 22 input/output pins.

14 of these pins are digital.
The last 8 are analogue.
Among the digital pins, the Arduino Nano has 6 PWM.
Its crystal oscillator has 16 MHz
Its operating voltage varies from 5V to 12V.

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 It supports different ways of communication, which are
serial, I2C, and SPI protocols.
It has a Reset button on it.
It has a mini–USB Pin that is used to upload code.
Table 9: Arduino Nano Features

The Arduino Nano Pinout is represented as shown in the figure below.

Figure 36: Arduino Nano Pinout [32]

The table below shows my Arduino Nano technical specifications [32].

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 Table 10: Arduino Nano Technical Specifications

5. Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)

The IMU or Inertial Measurement Unit is used to level my quadcopter and measure its
velocity, orientation, and force of gravity. This data is very significant for maneuvering the
quadcopter. This board uses the I2C-bus to interface with the Arduino Nano Microcontroller
board.

The IMU I am using is a collection of sensors which is comprised of a gyroscope that reads
the angular velocity values around the X, Y, and Z axis of the IMU and an accelerometer that
measures the force (downwards gravity) and acceleration on the X, Y, and Z axis. These when
combined are called the six degrees of freedom (6-DOF), which were previously explained in
detail in this report. In this way how it senses the orientation of the quadcopter.

Sometimes the IMU can be comprised of other sensors such as barometers, magnetometers,
and other sensors to supplement these. As I reported previously, mine is a 6-DOF IMU that
only contains a gyroscope and an accelerometer.

Figure 37: Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) [33]

The tables below show its technical specifications, including the accelerometer and gyroscope
ones [33].

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 Specifications
Chip MPU-6050
3-5 V (internal low voltage difference
The Power Supply
voltage stabilizing)
On-board Crystal 32.768 KHz
Output Current 3.6 mA
Supply Voltage 5V
Communication Standard IIC communication agreement
Pin Pitch 2.54 mm
Size Roughly 20 × 15 × 1.2 mm
Table 11: Technical Specifications

Accelerometer Specifications
Communication Interfaces I2C
Range ± 2g, ± 4g, ± 8g, and ± 16g
16.384 LSB/g (± 2g), 8192 LSB/g (± 4g),
Sensitivity
4096 LSB/g (± 8g), and 2048 LSB/g (±16g)
Table 12: Accelerometer Specifications

Gyroscope Specifications
± 250°/sec (dps), ± 500 dps, ± 1000 dps,
and ± 2000 dps
Range

131 LSB/dps (± 250 dps), 65.5 LSB/dps

Sensitivity (± 500 dps), 32.8 LSB/dps (± 1000 dps),
and 16.4 LSB (± 2000 dps)

Table 13: Gyroscope Specifications

6. RC Controller
An RC controller is the use of a radio that transmits control signals to control a device
remotely. There are many expensive high range receivers and transmitters in the market.
Nevertheless, as what I am working on is a prototype and in order to minimize the cost, I have
used an HC-05 Bluetooth receiver Module that can be used with any device with Bluetooth
functionality like a Laptop or Phone, which acts like a transmitter. In my case, I chose to use
an app called MultiWii. By the help of this app, I can control the flight system of my
quadcopter.

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 (a) (b)
Figure 38: (a) HC-05 Bluetooth Module [34] and (b) MultiWii App

In my project, the HC-05 can add a full-duplex (two-way) wireless functionality. As

previously mentioned, it can communicate with a phone using already available android
applications, which makes this process easier. This module can interface with an Arduino or
any microcontroller that supports USART since it communicates with the help of this latter at
9600 baud. In other words, this wireless module is a right choice for transferring data from a
phone or computer to a microcontroller or vice versa [34].

The HC-05 Bluetooth module can easily be paired with microcontrollers because it operates
using the SPP (Serial Port Protocol). As shown in the figure below, the module is simply
powered with +5V, the Rx pin of the module is connected to the Tx of MCU, and the Tx pin
of the module is connected to Rx of MCU.

Figure 39: HC-05 Bluetooth Module Circuit Connections [34]

In the table below, it shows the pin configuration of the HC-05 module along with their
descriptions [34].

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 Pin Pin Name Description
Number
This pin is used to toggle between AT command mode (set
1 Enable/Key
high) and Data Mode (set low). By default, it is in Data mode.
2 Vcc Connect to + 5V supply voltage so to power the module.
3 Ground Connect to system ground, ground pin of module.
Transmits Serial Data, which means that everything received
4 Tx- Transmitter
via Bluetooth will be given out by this pin as serial data.
Receive Serial Data, which means that every serial data given
5 Rx- Receiver
to this pin will be broadcasted via Bluetooth.
The state pin is connected to on board LED, it can be used as
6 State
a feedback to check if Bluetooth is working properly.
Indicates the status of Module:
 Blink once in 2 sec: Module has entered Command Mode
7 LED  Blink twice in 1 sec: Connection successful in Data Mode
 Repeated Blinking: Waiting for connection in Data Mode

Used to control the Enable/Key pin to toggle between

8 Button
command mode and Data.
Table 14: HC-05 Bluetooth Module Pin Configuration

The figure below shows what was described in the table 14.

Figure 40: HC-05 Bluetooth Module Pinout [34]

Finally, the table below shows the HC-05 module technical specifications.

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 Serial Bluetooth For Arduino and other microcontrollers
Module
Length 28 mm (1 𝑖𝑛)
Width 15 mm (2⁄3 𝑖𝑛)
Height 2.35 mm (0.1 𝑖𝑛)
Operating Voltage 4V to 6V (Typically + 5V)
Operating Current 30mA
Range <100 m
Compatibility Compatible with TTL and works with serial communication
Frequency Uses FHSS (Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum)
Supported Baud Rate 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200, 230400, 460800
Interface Easily interfaced with mobile phones and Laptop with Bluetooth
Table 15: HC-05 Bluetooth Module Specifications

VII. Cost Analysis

The components and the materials are mentioned in detail as shown in the table below as
well as their estimated or respective costs in order to draw a simple cost analysis of the
project.

Component/Material Price in MAD Quantity Total Price in

MAD

1𝑚2
The frame that was laser cut with acrylic
250.00 250.00
(plexiglass) material
1045 Propeller Pair (CW and CCW) 30.00 2 60.00
1000kV BLDC Motors (A2212/13T) 150.00 4 600.00
30A ESC 120.00 4 480.00
3300mAh 3 Cell Li-Po Battery (Venom) 600.00 1 600.00
Arduino Nano Board 50.00 1 50.00
MPU-6050 IMU 70.00 1 70.00
HC-05 Bluetooth Module 50.00 1 50.00
Total Cost in MAD 2160
Table 16: Respective or Estimated Costs of the Selected Components and Materials

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VIII. Implementation
1. Software
1.1 MultiWii
The figure below shows the process of the drone code, namely, MultiWii. Also, its code
configuration is shown in APPENDIX C [36]. It is an open-source code, and it was written by
several people in more than a year.

Figure 41: The Drone Code Flowchart

To explain how MultiWii works, I made a simple flowchart that highlights the process in
which the drone goes through. As we can see, the drone starts by initializing the
communication
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 through the desired channel, which is Bluetooth for my drone. Next, a pre-loaded drone
profile, which contains the settings for the drone, are loaded from the EEPROM. After that,
the drone checks the modules chosen by the user in the parameters of the program and
calibrates the sensors used in the drone. Then, the loop of the program starts as previously
mentioned the parts were only performed once.

The drone takes user input from the controller through the desired channel and checks if there
is any modification that the drone needs to have; otherwise, the program loops back and asks
for input again until changes happen. If there is any, the drone checks if it is a noticeable one,
as some changes generated from vibration or small signal noise should not cause the drone to
go out of its course. The drone then selects the new state it needs to change into. After that, it
acquires sensor data from the IMU and sends it back to the controller.

This makes the debugging process much easier and provides useful data that can be used to
simulate the movement of the drone in a virtual environment. Finally, the drone calculates the
changes it needs to make to the motors and writes those values to the micro-controller’s ports,
sending those values to the ESCs and eventually to the brushless motors. In the end, the
program goes back to the loop state.

1.2 Proteus
Proteus is a virtual system modeling (VSM) program that enables the simulation of micro-
controller systems and electronic circuits. It is designed to provide a virtual environment for
rapid development of electronic systems without the need for any hardware. It is used by
embedded engineers to design their own PCB circuits and integrate it with other required
peripherals to create the desired systems. Because of its massive library of models such as
motors, drivers, micro-controllers, and so on, I decided to use it in order to model my system.

First of all, I imported all of the drone components that I talked about in the report from the
Proteus library except for the Bluetooth model HC-5. It was not available, thus, I had to look
for it online and found a model developed by TheEngineeringProjects.com and imported it to
my part library [37]. Next, I generated a hex file from an Arduino code I used to stimulate the
rotation of all 4 motors with equal speed, which simulates the take-off procedure.

The Figure below shows an electronic system that uses the Arduino model discussed in my report in addition to the
same Bluetooth module, namely, HC-05. Four Brushless motors are

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 used and are connected to L293D Drivers and all the drivers are connected to a battery that
supplies 12V.

Figure 42: Electronic Connections in Proteus

To demonstrate the take-off procedure for my system. I started the simulation and set the
speed for all motors to 0, which is shown in the figure 43. The reason for this is to make the
behavior of the system more controlled as the default value in the microcontroller pins are
unpredictable and the speed keeps changing.

Figure 43: Simulation Started While all the Motors are Set to 0

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 To start the take-off, I chose a specific speed for the rotation of all the 4 motors by sending a
signal from the Arduino to the ESCs. The speed of the motors started to rise until it reaches
162 RPM. These values can be modified, and we can go beyond them; however, the purpose
of this demonstration is to show that the system is working fine with the components I chose.

Figure 44: Take-off Procedure While all Motors are Running with the Same Speed

1.3 Gazebo Simulator

Gazebo is a 3D simulator used to virtually simulate robotic systems. It allows for the
rapid development of Algorithms, robot designs, and the train AI systems to respond to real
situations. It is an open-source project as well. It is integrated with a physics engine and
supports sensor simulation and actuators control. It can work with multiple high-performance
physics engines and can provide high quality graphics. It is also possible to control multiple
robotic systems simultaneously.

Gazebo is often used in collaboration with Robot Operating System (ROS), which is a
framework for the development of robotics and robotic systems. ROS contains the tools
necessary to create a robotic system and it is one of the best frameworks when it comes to
robotic development. For my drone, I will be using the two previously mentioned systems in
collaboration with PX4, which is an open-source auto-pilot software used to the debugging
and development of drone systems. PX4 is used for a while range of use-cases, ranging
from
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 industrial drones to consumer ones. It has also been used to control Unmanned Underwater
Vehicles (UUV).

To make controlling the drone easier, I used Q Ground Control, which is used for full control
of drone systems and provide tools for beginners who would like to work on drones using
PX4 in addition to providing feature support for experts as well. It can be used to control the
drone via a virtual controller of though providing a mission for the drone, which it will
follow. All of these programs are able to communicate with each other using MAVLink,
which is a tool used to connect and manage the connections.

The following diagram shows how the programs I mentioned work in collaboration with each
other.

Figure 45: The Programs Connections

The figure below shows the use of Gazebo and Q Ground Control to manipulate the drone.
The first image (figure 46 (a)) shows the flight of the drone heading to its destination while
the second image (figure 46 (b)) shows the drone after it landed. This is a way how I can keep
track of my drone wherever it goes.

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 (a) (b)
Figure 46: The Destination of the Drone (a) While Flying and (b) After it Landed

2. Prototype
A prototype is an early release, model, or sample of a built product to test a process or
concept. Here, in my case, pictures that are shown below demonstrate the process of
prototyping I went through during this capstone semester.

The picture on the left shows when the frame designed in SolidWorks was laser cut with the
acrylic (plexiglass) material. As for the picture on the right, it shows when the propellers were
3D printed.

(a) (b)
Figure 47: (a) Frame Laser Cut and (b) Propellers 3D Printed

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 The picture on the left shows the full prototype made during this capstone semester. For the
picture on the right, it shows the drone starting to take-off.

(a) (b)
Figure 48: (a) Full Prototype of the Drone, (b) The drone starting to take-off

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 IX. Conclusion & Future Work
This capstone project was one of the golden opportunities that prompted me not only to
gain knowledge on different topics and learn a fair number of new technologies but also put
them into practice. It was a great way for me to apply all the skills and knowledge I have
acquired throughout my undergraduate degree in general engineering. I was able to apply the
engineering development process on a real-life project. I managed conducting a feasibility
study, gathering requirements by prioritizing them, designing and implementing the project,
and eventually testing it.

During this capstone project, I became much more familiar with the quadcopter flight
dynamics and many software, such as SolidWorks, MATLAB, Gazebo, Proteus, and
MultiWii. I used SolidWorks to work on the mechanical part of my project to determine the
best available material to use and to see the air’s velocity and pressure impact on the
propeller. These were done by making different simulations and analyses, such as the linear
static analysis (to generate the Von Mises stress, displacement, strain and factor of safety), the
drop test analysis (to see which material would withstand falling from a height of 100 meters),
fatigue analysis (to determine the damage percentage and life cycles), and the flow simulation
(to simulate the air flows through and around the propeller in order to calculate its capabilities
and performance).

MATLAB was used to generate the quadcopter thrust while flying along with its angular
velocity and displacement. In addition, I made a sketch connecting the electrical components
using Proteus so that I can upload the code from MultiWii to the software and simulate it.
Finally, Gazebo was used to simulate virtually how my system would react in any
environment. Not to mention that a quadcopter prototype has successfully been achieved.

I can never say I have learnt much or enough as I will always strive for learning more.
Learning never ends and that being said, I do not see this project as complete. I aim to
develop it further and once fully completed; a final version will be published online for free.

The principal work to be done next is to ensure the drone’s smoothness and stability. Besides,
the feasibility of using the image processing has been investigated. The idea is to enable the
drone to avoid obstacles and recognize people’s faces in order to identify missing people,
civilians, and criminals. Thus, working on this will enable me to eliminate criminal activities;
especially, that there is a massive increase in crime rate in Morocco and other countries. In
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 addition, this can be used in favor of many institutes to record attendance by detecting faces
without wasting time or effort. This is only one of many other applications that this general-
purpose drone could be used to accomplish, which could have a huge impact on societies.

APPENDIX A: MATLAB Simulation & Functions

Simulation:

Functions:

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 APPENDIX B: Schematics and Connection

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 APPENDIX C: MultiWii Configuration

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