DEVELOPMENT OF LONG RANGE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM AND AIRDROP MECHANISM FOR UNMANNED DISASTER RELIEF HELICOPTER

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.