Abstract:
Increase in the occurrence of natural disasters due to climatic changes has caused
destruction in terms of property and lives in the last couple of decades. In South Asia,
especially in Pakistan, natural disasters are causing damages every year. Post disaster
surveys are significant in saving the lives of victims, as first 72 hours after disaster are
very critical for rescuing. In order to utilize the resources efficiently, quick surveying
of disaster struck area to scan and collect useful information is necessary. Developing
countries like Pakistan have inadequate facilities for quick surveying which costs
precious lives. Full scale helicopters surveys and manned rescue teams have been used
in the past for surveying and rescue purposes but are not cost effective. Use of fully
equipped small sized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for quick surveying is one of the
alternate cheap solution.
This thesis is a part of overall research about development of fully equipped unmanned
disaster relief helicopter. It is focused mainly on the development of long range radio
control system, elevated skid and airdrop mechanism for the disaster relief helicopter.
Long range flight control system has been developed using ultra high frequency (UHF)
based long range transceiver modules and tested on both a test mockup and then the
actual helicopter. Elevated skid and airdrop mechanisms have been specifically
designed, simulated and fabricated for the 90 size model helicopters. Solid Works, Pro
E and ANSYS software platforms have been used for the simulations and modeling
purposes. Overall this research is a combination of design, development, integration and
implementation of proposed methods for achieving the long range flight control,
elevated skid and airdrop mechanism for first aid kit drop.
