Drone Development from Concept to Flight: Design, assemble, and discover the applications of unmanned aerial vehicles

Drone Development from Concept to Flight
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About the reviewers
Preface
   Who this book is for
   What this book covers
   To get the most out of this book
   Conventions used
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Part 1: Fundamentals of Flight Engineering
1
Getting Started with UAV and Drone Engineering
   Introduction to unmanned systems – unmanned ground, air, and water vehicles
      Various unmanned vehicles
      History and evolution of drones
      Need for an unmanned system
      What are unmanned aerial systems?
   Types of drones and their relevance to applications
      Types of drones and their specifications
      System composition of a UAV
   Major mechanical and structural components of a drone
      Airframe
   Avionics systems and subsystems of drones
      The propulsion system or drive train of a drone
      The power system of drones
      Command and control system
   Summary
2
Understanding Flight Terminologies and the Physics of Motion
   Introduction to thrust, weight, lift, drag, and cruise
      Thrust
      Weight
      Lift
      Drag
      Cruise
   Introduction to the flight axis and its terminologies
      Roll movement
      Pitch movement
      Yaw movement
      Throttle
      Thrust-to-weight ratio (TWR)
   Introduction to the flight physics of a quadcopter
   Engineering to achieve movements across all three axes of rotation
      Hover motion
      Horizontal movements
      Pitch movement or forward-backward movement
   Summary
3
Learning and Applying Basic Command and Control Interfaces
   Introduction to GCS hardware and software
      GCS hardware
      GCS software
      Types of GCS
   Introduction to MAVLink and other open source telemetry protocols
   Introduction to RCs and the different available options
      Components of the RC transmitter system
      Modes of working of an RC controller
      Major RC protocols
      Transmitter protocols
      Receiving protocols
      SBUS protocol
   Summary
4
Knowing UAV Systems, Sub-Systems, and Components
   Technical requirements
   Understanding and conceptualizing the system
   Designing the propulsion system
      Selection criteria for motor and propeller combination
      Characteristics of motors to be used
      Motor specifications and thrust charts
      Motor and propeller selection
      Battery selection
      Calculating the flight time (endurance)
   Designing and developing the airframe
   Developing the control system
      Electronic speed controllers and flight controllers
      Flight controller
   Selecting the navigation and communication systems
      Communication systems
      Integrated GCS system with communicating devices
      Selection of GPS and navigation system
   Summary
Part 2: System Conceptualization and Avionics Development
5
The Application of Sensors and IMUs in Drones
   The inertial measurement unit and its role
      Composition of an IMU
      Use of IMUs in unmanned systems
   The barometer and its role
      How does it work?
   GPS and magnetometer and their roles
      How does GPS work?
      The use of GPS in drones
   Voltage and current sensors and their roles
   Sensor fusion and state estimation
   Summary
6
Introduction to Drone Firmware and Flight Stacks
   Technical requirements
   Introduction to firmware
      Components of firmware and their roles
      Firmware example
      Tools used to develop firmware
   Differences between software and firmware
   Introduction to drone firmware
      How it is different from general firmware
      The structure of drone firmware
   Introduction to drone flight stacks
      Open source drone flight stack
      Closed source (proprietary) drone flight stack
      Basic PX4 controller loop diagram
      PX4 flight stack
      The ArduPilot flight stack
   Summary
7
Introduction to Ground Control Station Software
   Technical requirements
   Introduction to GCSs
   Major GCS software that is available on the market
      Mission Planner or APM Planner
      QGroundControl
      UgCS
   AeroGCS software overview
      AeroGCS main dashboard
      AeroGCS home menu
   Methods of connecting a drone
   RPA or drone configuration
   Autonomous mission planning
      Waypoint planning
      Survey planning
   Summary
8
Understanding Flight Modes and Mission Planning
   Technical requirements
   Flight modes and types
      Types of fight modes
   Assigning flight modes via remote control
      How it works
   Assigning and changing flight modes in a GCS
      Configuring the flight modes of the remote controller switch
   Planning and executing an autonomous waypoint mission
   Summary
Part 3: Configuration, Calibrations, Flying, and Log Analysis
9
Drone Assembly, Configuration, and Tuning
   Technical requirements
   Components and tools required to build a drone
   Assembling the components of a drone
      Airframe assembly
      Motor assembly
      Assembling and configuring the ESCs
      Installing the flight controller
      Mounting a PDB on a drone
      Installing the battery
      Configuring the RC transmitter and receiver
      Telemetry connection
   Setting up and configuring avionics
      Firmware flashing
      Configuring the flight controller
   Understanding calibration and failsafes
      Calibrating sensors
      Failsafe setup and configuration
   Setting up a maiden flight
      Performing a maiden flight
   Summary
10
Flight Log Analysis and PIDs
   Technical requirements
   Introduction to flight logs and their applications
      Types of logs stored
   Working with GCS software on logs and their graphs
      Steps to download logs from the flight controller using QGC as the GCS
      Analyzing download logs
      Interpreting graphs
   Understanding PID controllers and their uses
      Methods to detect bad PIDs in drones and how to fix them
      Rate controllers in a drone and tuning PIDs
   Summary
11
Application-Based Drone Development
   Technical requirements
   Survey-based drones
      Why aerial surveying is required
      The role of drones in aerial surveying
      Payloads used in survey missions
      Integrating the payload with the drone
      The Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) and Post-Processed Kinematics (PPK) positioning systems
      Mission planning for a survey mission
      Image stitching and post-processing
      Final deliverables
   Agricultural spraying drones
      Spray tank integration with a drone
      Agriculture spraying flight planning
      Precautions and safety
   Aerial delivery drones
      Payload release mechanism
      Safety regulations in the drone ecosystem
   System redundancy
   Summary
12
Developing a Custom Survey Drone
   Technical requirements
   Geospatial surveys
      The use of geospatial surveys in the industry
   Setting up the requirements for a survey drone
      High-quality imaging sensors
      GPS
      Autonomous flight planning
      Long flight time
      Real-time monitoring and telemetry
      Durability and weather resistance
      Payload capacity
      All-up weight or gross weight
   Selecting the drone’s components
      Airframe
      Propulsion system or power trail
      Flight stack selection
      GPS module selection
      Camera or payload
      Telemetry system and selection considerations
   Wiring and assembly
   Drone configurations
      Motor and ESC calibration
      ESC calibration
   Summary
References
   Chapter 1, Getting Started with UAV and Drone Engineering
   Chapter 2, Understanding the Dynamics of 3D Space
   Chapter 3, Learning and Applying Basic Command and Control Interfaces
   Chapter 4, Knowing UAV Systems, Sub-Systems, and Components
   Chapter 5, Sensors and IMUs with Their Application in Drones
   Chapter 6, Introduction to Drone Firmware and Flight Stacks
   Chapter 7, Introduction to Ground Control Station Software
   Chapter 8, Understanding Flight Modes and Mission Planning
   Chapter 9, Drone Assembly, Configuration, and Tuning
   Chapter 10, Flight Log Analysis and PIDs
   Chapter 11, Application-Based Drone Development
   Chapter 12, Development of Custom Survey Drones
Index
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