I Can Fly! ...

Or at Least My Drone Can

Anna Selbrede

Mr. Craig Hughes

Mr. Richard Hooks

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

River Hill High School

Ms. Mary Jane Sasser

6 February 2017
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The CRACUNS sits at the bottom of the ocean, waiting for a signal. Once the signal is

received, and immediately it begins rising up level after level to the surface. Popping out of the

water, the CRACUNS flies to a specified point, beginning a complex Navy mission. Effectively

combining advanced additive manufacturing (3D printing) techniques and design features

adaptable to both water and air operation, the CRACUNS reflects the incredible progress

achieved in the autonomous field (Johns Hopkins 1). The device is a recent development in

unmanned aerial vehicles at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), one of many

projects related to these flying feats of engineering. This paper outlines the design and testing

of another unmanned aerial vehicle, a quadcopter called Al-Phaq; it discusses the theory of

flight, the mechanics, and the electronics of the Al-Phaq design.

Before explaining the design, some technical terms must be defined. The technical term

for this project is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), although the title of this paper references

a drone. A UAV is a device that flies through the air without a human directly touching it. The

user sees through the UAV's First Person View (FPV) camera or visually observes the UAV

from the ground, or controls the UAV via a ground system. UAVs can be fixed wing, such as an

airplane, or rotary wing, such as a helicopter or quadcopter (Preface Advances in Unmanned

Aerial Vehicles). Sometimes UAVs are called drones as well, but that definition generally

connotes the larger armed UAVs used by the military. The focus of this project is the creation of

a specific type of UAV, called a quadcopter. A quadcopter is a flying vehicle which uses...four

equally spaced...rapidly spinning rotors [propellers] to push air downwards, thus creating a thrust

force keeping the [craft] aloft (Gibiansky 1). Technical terms used to explain the flight of the

quadcopter include roll, pitch, and yaw. They describe three of the six degrees of freedom - the
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different directions an object can move in space. The six degrees of freedom include translational

motion along the x, y, and z axes, rotational motion about the x-axis (roll), rotational motion

about the y-axis (pitch), and rotational motion about the z-axis (yaw) (Leong et al. 1). Whereas

an object on the ground generally only has two or three degrees of freedom (x and y translation

and yaw), a quadcopter maintains all six because it is in the air.

This quadcopter design will be able to carry a half pound camera for half an hour. Many

areas of engineering go into the design, from the theory of flight to the usage of mechanics, and

electronics. The main purpose of a quadcopter is to fly. In any flying object, lift is generated

from air flowing over something. The air accelerat[es] over the upper and lower surfaces

[...causing...] pressure on the surfaces to drop below the static pressure in the freestream,

creating a suction effect that pulls the object upwards (Nicolai et al. 33). The suction effect is lift.

The four rotors of a quadcopter generate lift. Quadcopters do not have any control surfaces (e.g.

rudders), so the only way to control their motion is through changing the speed of the motors,

which affects the thrust the motors generate. The force of differing thrusts causes instability that

will make the craft move (The Physics 1). To move forward, the front two motors slow down

while the back two speed up. Speeding up the left motors and slowing the right causes a

rightward movement. To spin to the right, the front right and back left motor speeds increase,

and the front left and right back motor speeds decrease (The Physics 1-4).

There are only a few main mechanical parts of a quadcopter, but their design can vary

dramatically depending on certain constraints. All quadcopters must have propellers (props) to

generate lift. They are placed with two spinning clockwise and two spinning counterclockwise to

cancel out the resultant torque from the spinning motor. A smaller propellor will allow the
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quadcopter to fly faster, but efficiency is compromised. By contrast, a larger propellor (which is

used with low Kv motors) is easier to fly steadily, uses less current, and lifts more weight

(Montgomery 5). However, a UAV using larger propellers is not likely to be as accurate at

position holding and will have a harder time changing direction. Because the primary purpose of

this quadcopter is to have greater endurance and hold a larger payload, speed is not as important.

Longer propellers will be more efficient for the motor speeds. The airframe has many different

design options, the most common being an x, but also with others such as +. Material is also

a consideration. The common x design works well because it equally spaces motors and rotors

in four quadrants creating symmetry for easy flight. The + frames allows for a definite center

of gravity and more space inside the propellers, but it is harder to control. Other designs vary

depending on specifications, as many engineers design a custom frame based on electronics

weight and size (Hooks 1). Online experts recommend that hobbyists wishing to mount

something with additional weight such as a camera [use] a sturdier frame rated for more weight

(Quadcopter 2). However, adding a sturdier material typically creates more weight itself,

requiring longer propellers and a stronger motor to create the lift necessary.

The electrical components within a quadcopter remain generally constant as they are

required to fly any version, but there are slight variations depending on purpose and budget. APL

can provide high performance electronics for this project, allowing for a more mechanically

focused design. The flight controller, also known as an autopilot, is considered the brain of the

quadcopter. It direct[s] the RPM of each motor in response to input. A command...is fed into the

flight controller, which determines how to manipulate the motors accordingly (Montgomery 2).

Many flight controllers detect the vehicles position and calculate what needs to be changed to
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get to the requested position. The autopilot can also run autonomous waypoint missions in

certain quadcopters. It is generally placed at the center of gravity of the quadcopter so it has the

best movement detection (Hooks 1). The power distribution does just that; it distributes power

from the battery to the different motors or anything else that needs power. Quadcopter Academy

explains that An ESC [Electronic Speed Controller] supplies the proper modulated current to

the motors, which in turn produce correct rates of spin for both lift and maneuvering

(Quadcopter Parts 1). Each rotor needs its own ESC, and the quadcopter can not fly without

them because the motors do not accept DC (Direct Current) power. The GPS and Magnetometer

work together to determine the exact position of the quadcopter on the earth. While the

magnetometer measures the direction and strength of the magnetic field [to] determine which

way is south and north [and...] calculate a stable Yaw angle, the GPS uses satellite

transmissions to determine position (Build 15). Motors spin the propellers. Generally all

motors are brushless, meaning minimal friction. Within the motor, a cylindrical shell of

magnets rotates on precision bearings around a core of tightly and neatly coiled wire. The

propeller is fastened atop (Montgomery 5). There are many different speeds and powers. Kv is

how many rotations per minute (rpm) a motor will spin when 1 volt (V) is applied. (Kv =

rpm/V.)

To complete the specified task of carrying a half pound camera for half an hour,

additional parts are needed. There are many different options for the camera. For this project, a

GoPro will likely be used due to its availability and quality. The camera is also used for First

Person View (FPV) connections so the quadcopter can be flown without the pilot directly seeing

the vehicle, or a second camera can be added. If the quadcopter includes FPV, a video
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transmitter will be necessary to send the video down to the ground. If the quadcopter is

autonomous as well, a ground control link ensures that the pilot knows what is happening in the

air.

Methods, results, and a conclusion will be incorporated following the end of design and

testing.
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Works Cited

Build a Quadcopter from Scratch - Hardware Overview. Oscarliang.com. Oscar Liang. 25 Jun.

2013. 9 Jan. 2017.

Gibianski, Andrew. Quadcopter Dynamics and Simulation. Andrew Gibiansky :: Math and

Code. 23 Nov. 2012. 4 Jan. 2017.

Hooks, Richard. Personal Interview. 29 Nov. 2016.

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. New UAV Can Launch from Underwater for Aerial

Missions. Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The Johns Hopkins University

Applied Physics Laboratory LLC., 17 Mar. 2016. Web. 3 Dec. 2016.

Leong, Bernard Tat Meng, Sew Ming Low, and Melanie Po-Leen Ooi. Low-Cost

Microcontroller- based Hover Control Design of a Quadcopter. Procedia Engineering, vol. 41,

2012, 458-464.

Montgomery, Clym. "Multi-Rotors, First-Person View, And The Hardware You Need." Toms

Hardware. Purch Group, 3 June 2014. 17 Nov. 2016.

Nicolai, Leland M. and Grant E. Carichner. Fundamentals of Aircraft and Airship Design, Vol 1.

Reston: Amer. Instit. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2010.

"Preface." Advances in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: State of the Art and the Road to

Autonomy. Ed. Kimon P. Valavanis. Vol. 33. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2007.

Quadcopter Parts: What Are They and What Do They Do? Quadcopter Academy. 24 Feb.

2015. 3 Jan. 2017.

The Physics of Multirotor Drone Flight - The Drones Mag. The Drones Mag. 29 Jan. 2016. 16

Dec. 2016.
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