Physical Prototyping and Flight Testing for Drone Control Validation
Application deadline: Feb 16, 2024
This internship is open to students registered in a Bachelor's degree program. The plan is to fund this internship with the Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) or the Concordia Undergraduate Student Research Award (CUSRA).
The project will begin the week of April 29th, 2024. The duration is 16 consecutive weeks on a full-time basis (35 hours per week) at the High Reliability Aerospace Design Laboratory (HiRAD). The work period does not include provisions for holidays, except statutory holidays. We are looking for students not enrolled in a course during the duration of the internship.
Internship Description
The HiRAD lab specializes in advancing the design of safety-critical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by creating new methodologies and tools. Recent research has demonstrated the possibility of improving UAV reliability control through a physics- based approach [1–3]. Figure 1 illustrates the virtual and physical prototypes employed as case studies in this research.
Figure 1. HARV - Virtual (left) and Physical (right) Prototypes
The goals of this internship are:
1. Refine and enhance the physical prototype's design to increase its robustness and functionality. This involves completing the synchronization of the data acquisition system with the flight controller and incorporating additional sensors like thermal sensors.
2. Improve the process for integrating custom control laws into the prototype. This includes tasks such as calibration, pre-flight ground testing (for instance, checking attitude control), and designing a straightforward attitude test stand.
3. Conduct flight tests, gather and analyze the test data. This data will then be compared with results from the virtual prototype (simulation model) to verify its accuracy and reliability.
The project's key steps include:
1. Familiarization with the physical prototype and the process of importing control laws, utilizing Matlab-UAV Toolbox and PX4 controller.
2. Enhancing the design of the prototype and refining the implementation process of in-house control laws, which involves creating an attitude test stand.
3. Performing ground and flight tests, and supplying test data to the Physics- Based Reliability Modelling team and the Virtual Prototyping team for validation.
4. Reporting.
References
[1] Dimitri L, Liscouët J. Optimizing Flight Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with Physics-Based Reliability Models. In: 2023 IEEE International Conference on Prognostics and Health Management (ICPHM). 2023, pp. 265–273.
[2] Liscouët J, Uwantare I, Remoundos A, et al. Validation of Reliability-based Flight Control Optimization for UAVs. In: AIAA SCITECH 2024 Forum. Orlando, FL: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, p. AIAA 2024-0341.
[3] Nnamdi-Nwosu I, Liscouët J. Control Allocation with Physics-Based Reliability Models for Multirotor UAVs. In: AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum. National Harbor, MD & Online: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, p. AIAA 2023-2371.
Qualifications & Skills
• Good programming skills (e.g., completed MECH 215)
• Good knowledge of aerospace and control engineering.
• Knowledge of reliability engineering is a plus.
• Experience with Matlab-Simulink.
• Interest in drone technology.
• Good writing skills.
• Professionalism.
How to apply
Qualified and highly motivated candidates are invited to send their application per email to jonathan.liscouet@concordia.ca using the subject " Application: Physical Prototyping and Flight Testing for Control Method Validation (USRA/CUSRA)" with the following elements:
1. Brief email with your motivation and relevant experience
2. Clarify if you are a candidate for either USRA or CUSRA
3. Up-to-date transcript
4. Up-to-date CV
Concordia Undergraduate Student Research Award (CUSRA) Values of awards: $8,120 (NSERC) + $1,500 (FRQNT, competition) + $2,500 (CIADI, competition)
Prerequisite: Be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada as of February 1st 2024. Be registered in a Bachelor’s degree. Have a Cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 (“B” average).
Additional information:
• (Concordia) https://www.concordia.ca/students/financial/scholarships-funding/awards/nserc-usra.html
• (FRQNT) https://frq.gouv.qc.ca/en/program/supplements-of-the-nserc-%20undergraduate-student-research-awards-usra-bpca-2023-2024/
Concordia Undergraduate Student Research Award (CUSRA) Values of awards: $8,120 (GCS) + $2,500 (CIADI, competition)
Prerequisite: Canadian, Permanent resident or International Concordia undergraduate students; Completed at least 30 credits in the program and a minimum 3.3 CGPA is required at the time of application.
Additional information:
• (CUSRA) https://www.concordia.ca/research/students-and-postdocs/undergraduate-opportunities/cusra.html