NASA DART VTOL UAV
As part of my senior capstone, I worked on a Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle called DART, which stands for Debris Autonomous Recovery and Tracking. DART utilizes a tilt-wing configuration to achieve vertical flight and the on-board computer and PixHawk 6s guide the transient phase of the flight to forward flight. DART is designed to track incoming and outgoing spacecraft using multi-spectral imaging. NASA currently uses WB-57 aircraft to track rocket launches and reentry. The goal of DART is to study the feasibility of replacing the old aging WB-57 with autonomous unmanned vehicles to perform these missions. My role in this year-long project was to lead the systems engineering of the UAV as well as designing and building a 2-axis gyrostabilized multi-spectral targeting system (MTS) or the payload of the UAV. I have also devised a custom PID controller for the imaging system to lock and follow targets using OpenCV. Please read below for technical details.
2-Axis Gyro-Stabilized Imager
Teledyne FireFly FLIR
Benewake TF03 Rangefinder
High Definition RGB Camera
Payload Engineering Schematics
Payload Internal Pitch & Yaw Mechanisms
DART UAV MTS Control System Design
DART UAV Model CFD & Airfoil Selection
DART UAV Aerostructures Composite Manufacturing
Flight Testing
