Cell Phone in the Sky: Quadcopter for Aerial Photography

Presenter Information

Hengwei Zhang

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Campus where you would like to present

SURC Ballroom B/C/D

Start Date

21-5-2015

End Date

21-5-2015

Keywords

Quadcopter, Frame, Aerial Video, Thrust/Weight Ratio, Motor

Abstract

With the development of aircraft model technology, quadcopters equipped with cameras are more frequently used for aerial video. Cell phones, moreover, allow people to share photos online immediately, so many people prefer to take photos or videos by cell phones instead of expensive cameras. Thus, the purpose of this project is to design and build a light weight quadcopter frame and select the system components that allow the quadcopter to fly smoothly while carrying a cell phone for aerial video. The method for creating the quadcopter is separated into three steps: design, build, and test. The design part includes frame design on the SolidWorks and Thrust/Weight ratio calculation with a safety factor of 1.0 to 1.5. The build consists of a center plate made of carbon fiber plate. Aluminum sheet metal arms are formed into a U-shape and attached to the plate. A drill press, treadle shear, and manual turret punch are used during the building process. The remaining parts, such as cellphone carrier, battery, motors, speed controller, and control board were purchased after the analysis. The frame and electric parts were assembled with screws, nuts, and glue. During the testing section, two different propellers are tested to determine which size and type provide maximum thrust with the least battery consumption. Additional testing will evaluate stability of flight and payload capacity.

Poster Number

10

Faculty Mentor(s)

Roger Beardsley

Department/Program

Engineering Technologies, Safety, & Construction

Additional Mentoring Department

Engineering Technologies, Safety, & Construction

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May 21st, 2:30 PM May 21st, 5:00 PM

Cell Phone in the Sky: Quadcopter for Aerial Photography

SURC Ballroom B/C/D

With the development of aircraft model technology, quadcopters equipped with cameras are more frequently used for aerial video. Cell phones, moreover, allow people to share photos online immediately, so many people prefer to take photos or videos by cell phones instead of expensive cameras. Thus, the purpose of this project is to design and build a light weight quadcopter frame and select the system components that allow the quadcopter to fly smoothly while carrying a cell phone for aerial video. The method for creating the quadcopter is separated into three steps: design, build, and test. The design part includes frame design on the SolidWorks and Thrust/Weight ratio calculation with a safety factor of 1.0 to 1.5. The build consists of a center plate made of carbon fiber plate. Aluminum sheet metal arms are formed into a U-shape and attached to the plate. A drill press, treadle shear, and manual turret punch are used during the building process. The remaining parts, such as cellphone carrier, battery, motors, speed controller, and control board were purchased after the analysis. The frame and electric parts were assembled with screws, nuts, and glue. During the testing section, two different propellers are tested to determine which size and type provide maximum thrust with the least battery consumption. Additional testing will evaluate stability of flight and payload capacity.