July 14, 2010
Written by Miki Szmuk, UAV Team Lead
This year marked the UT Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Group's second appearance at the 2010 Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Student Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Competition, held in Lexington Park, Maryland. The internationally renowned competition mimics a real-world military scenario, structured around a close-proximity, autonomous reconnaissance mission. Teams are scored in three areas: a journal paper describing the UAS and the systems engineering approach taken to design it, an oral briefing resembling a Test Readiness Review (TRR), and most importantly, a 20 to 40 minute flight demonstration. Additional prize money is awarded for the completion of prize barrels.
The UT UAV Group premiered its next generation system, the Phoenix II UAS, a result of the dedicated work of an interdisciplinary group of undergraduate and graduate students from the Aerospace and Electrical Engineering departments. The system features a new and improved airframe, a repackaged avionics system, a stabilized, dual-axis Electro-Optical (EO) sensor, and a redesigned Ground Control Station (GCS).
The Phoenix II airframe boasts a number of design improvements over her predecessor, Phoenix I. These include a larger 10ft wingspan for slower flight speeds, larger hatches for improved payload accessibility, and an external switch box that controls all of the on-board electronics.
The consolidated avionics system comprises many of the same electronics used in the Phoenix I UAS. The team placed an emphasis on minimizing wiring and increasing the reliability of connections. As part of this effort, a six-layer Printed Circuit Board (PCB) was designed, and proved conducive to reducing payload volume and weight, eliminating half a pound of wiring. This endeavor served to increase the team's electrical engineering capabilities, and is sure to aid in future designs.
One of the greatest improvements made to the Phoenix II UAS is a newly implemented camera-gimbal stabilization system. Utilizing a student-developed algorithm, coupled with a reformulated avionics architecture, the dual-axis gimbal is actuated by the on-board flight computer. As a result, the system is able to compensate for the aircraft's changes in attitude, and resulted in highly improved reconnaissance capabilities. Next year's system will also include a GPS target tracking capability.
Last, but not least, the re-designed, GCS presented the UAS operators with improved situational awareness and functionality. Of particular importance was the Target Recognition System (TAS), which provided the UT team with a unique autonomous capability. Consequently, the UT UAV Group was the only team to win the prize barrel for Autonomous Target Recognition (ATR), an award worth $1,000.
The UT UAV Group won a total of $2,200 in prize money, placing 14th out of 26, and stood alone as the only team to design and build all of the subsystems in-house. Several competing teams commented on the Phoenix II design, stating that it was the best looking airplane at the competition. The UT team returned home in high spirits and aspires for an even higher performance at next year's competition. By utilizing the Phoenix II UAS, as well as the technical foundation established this year, the group plans to devote next year to testing, mission operations, and competition readiness.
