Description

This project aims to continue development and improve upon an autonomous drone platform to facilitate data collection. It is a continuation of the autonomous drone and base station project completed in April 2024 by the Aerial Robotics Group. This project specifically addressed the limitations of the previous design and integrated functionality that brings the system closer to full autonomy. The project's focus is primarily on developing and integrating autonomous precision landing within a base station, which the project currently lacks. Also, it will improve robustness and utilization of the onboard communication systems, particularly the LoRa module and its corresponding firmware, to improve the long range communication abilities of the system.

In many different scenarios, the use of an autonomous aerial robotic system to aid in data collection could significantly improve the quantity and quality of data, as well as the man hours required to collect data. The previous project, while functional, lacked the ability to perform fully autonomous missions from mission acquisition, to takeoff, mission execution, and finally, precision landing. With this continuation project, we have implemented functionality that allows the platform to perform all steps reliably, a large step closer toward fulfilling its original intended purpose.