Design and prototyping of a UAV attitude test rig

One of the present research focuses within the MechatronicSystems.Group is unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). To this end, a UAV attitude test rig is required to facilitate testing orientation controllers within a safe, constrained space.

The attitude rig must utilise a 3 degree-of-freedom gimballed system that allows for roll, pitch, and yaw motion of the UAV. Additionally, the platform must allow for vertical motion that can be locked and unlocked depending on the use case. The solution should be able to work with a range of UAV frame sizes.

This project will require the student(s) to research, design, construct, and test an attitude rig. This will include:

• Researching current solutions
• Detailed CAD design of the physical structure
• Manufacture and refinement of the platform
• Customisation to enable locking/unlocking vertical motion
• Preliminary testing of the system

The ideal candidate(s) will have strong CAD and design ability, and ideally also have some exposure to 3D printing.

Supervisor: Arnold Pretorius