{"id":5810,"date":"2017-05-26T14:35:34","date_gmt":"2017-05-26T19:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/?p=5810"},"modified":"2017-05-26T14:35:55","modified_gmt":"2017-05-26T19:35:55","slug":"diy-drone-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/diy-drone-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"DIY Drone! What You Need to Know!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interested in learning more about drones? Ever thought about building your own? We have the resources\u00a0you need!<\/p>\n

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Della Libera Zanchetta (Graduate Research Assistant) (L) and Ricardo Mantilla (Assistant Prof of Civil & Environmental Engineering) (R). Photo courtesy of IIHR – Hydroscience & Engineering<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The best place to start might be understanding what a drone\u00a0is.\u00a0<\/em>Dictionary.com<\/a> defines a drone as “an unmanned aircraft or ship that can navigate autonomously, without human control or beyond the line of sight.” “Unmanned” is the term usually applied to drones, however, the term “uncrewed” has long been used by NASA, is gender-neutral, and thus is the term I will use whenever possible.<\/p>\n

In the book Make: Getting Started with Drones<\/a>, <\/em>authors Terry Kilby and Belinda Kilby differentiate between types of uncrewed aircraft. For instance, a\u00a0Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), refers to model aircraft flown by a pilot on the ground using a radio transmitter. A UAV (uncrewed aerial vehicle) is an aircraft which is flown remotely or controlled autonomously using computer software and GPS. Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS or sUAS for a small UAS) refers to all related processes involved with uncrewed aerial technology.<\/p>\n

The University of Iowa UAS Advisory Group<\/a>\u00a0says, “A UAS consists of an uncrewed\/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the components necessary to operate and control the UAV. UAS are often referred to as drones. According to the FAA, a UAS is the uncrewed\/unmanned aircraft and all of the associated support equipment, control station, data links, telemetry, communications and navigation equipment, etc., necessary to operate the unmanned aircraft….”<\/em><\/p>\n

Now that we have a basic understanding of what a drone\u00a0is<\/em>, what’s next in learning to build your own? Both\u00a0Make: Getting Started with Drones<\/em> and\u00a0DIY Drones for the Evil Genius<\/em>\u00a0begin with a brief history of flight and some basic principles of aeronautics. Understanding basic principles and the 4 physical forces involved in flight\u00a0– thrust, drag, weight and lift\u00a0– will help you design and build your own drone!<\/p>\n

Make: Getting Started with Drones<\/em> recommends building a\u00a0Little Dipper<\/a>\u00a0drone first. The Little Dipper design is open source and downloadable, or alternatively, a complete kit may be purchased.\u00a0The authors walk you through building the Little Dipper with detailed, step-by-step instructions and include color photos and graphics.\u00a0Issue 51 of \u00a0Make : Technology on Your Time (Join the Drone [R]evolution)<\/em>\u00a0also has step-by-step instructions (with color photos) explaining how to build\u00a0a Little Dipper.<\/p>\n

Ian Cinnamon, author of DIY Drones for the Evil Genius,<\/em> recommends purchasing the small (fits in the palm of your hand), inexpensive ($15 or $25 with a simple camera) Cheerson CX-10 to learn and practice flying a drone – before designing and building your own. Basic flight instructions are included (with graphics), AND there are instructions on how to learn to flip your drone! Ready to build your own, from-scratch, not-from-a-kit drone? Cinnamon takes you through the process from the beginning (deciding what your drone will be used for – racing? photography?) to attaching LED lights and a radio-controlled switch for night flying! (Check out this review & flight of the Cheerson CX-10 on youtube<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

Interested in using your drone for search and rescue (SAR)? Make : Technology on \u00a0Your Time<\/em>\u00a0(issue 51) has a section on amateur drone pilots (that could be you!) and SAR volunteering. Information on how to volunteer, what gear you need, how to prep – and do’s and don’ts are all included. There is also information about Search With Aerial RC MultiRotor (SWARM), an organization where volunteer pilots can register to participate in SAR.<\/p>\n

If you feel creative when designing your drone, you could have a Death Star….<\/p>\n