2.5 - Research: Weeding Out a Solution

Considerations:

                                i.            The margins in the UAS is extremely subjective

                              ii.            Cutting down fuel margin will hugely affect the safety

                            iii.            The amount of fertilizer to the be carried by the device cannot be reduced

                            iv.            The device must be efficient enough to do the specified work successfully

                              v.            The solution must be relevant to the project objective

                            vi.            The solution must fulfill the organization objective

                          vii.            The issue must be resolved as soon as possible

                        viii.            The changes has to be done within proposed time so that proposed project period does not extend

                            ix.            Payload delivery must not be hampered

Priority:

                                i.            Reducing weight while not violating any safety margins

                              ii.            Including both the team members in the research so that more realistic approach can be obtained

                            iii.            Carrying out the solution within the project deadline

                            iv.            Making the drone to fulfill the organizational goals

Approach to Solution:

     The objective of the project is to build a drone that will spread a specified amount of fertilizer over the specified area of land. The problem arising is that since the UAS parts are purchased off-the-shelf hardware rather than custom designed parts, weight budget has been exceeded.  Since both the Guidance, Navigation & Control and Payload delivery sections of the UAS are both useful for the success of the project, as a Systems Engineer, I will call the teams together to discuss which section of the project could be cut back without greatly affecting the entirety of the project. Knowing that cutting down the amount of fuel will reduce the length of the field the UAS will fly to spread fertilizer but will not end the project in its entirety. However, reducing the weight of say the guidance, navigation or control payload by removing one of those systems can lead to the end of the project as the UAS might be able to reach its goal of spreading fertilizer over the land area without a piece of the guidance, navigation and control system. And since the parts are being purchased off-the-shelf, it is difficult to redesign these systems to reduce weight.
    It is with this knowledge that I will instruct the payload team to do their calculation and see how much fuel can be cut back to enable the UAS spread as much fertilizer as possible over the given area. It is good to note that reducing a given amount of fuel weight will also increase the performance of the UAS which will also enable it cover a longer stretch of land. The area of land not covered than be done after the first interval.

The V-1 Buzz Bomb or the German Fieseler Fi 103 is one of the most notable examples of historical Unmanned Aerial System that was used during the World War I (Walker, 2016). The UAS was powered with a pulsejet engine that produced a distinctive buzz sound. The UAS can fly approximately 150 miles while carrying a load of 2000 pounds. The operation system of the UAS was developed using barometers, an anemometer, and gyroscope.

On the other hand, one of the most notable contemporary design of the UAS is Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk. The design of the RQ-4 Global Hawk is equipped with various sensors capable of monitoring through the dust storms, haze, fog, and cloud (Chesworth et al., 2016). In addition to that, the communication through data transmission is much faster than any other UAS. 

Similarities: The design of the V1 Buzz Bomb is based on the sophisticated guidance system based on various detailed sensors that help in evaluating the environment and calculating the flight distance (Walker, 2016). Similarly, in the case of the RQ-4 Global Hawk, the infrared and optical sensors are used for providing systematic surveillance of the target and flight.

Dissimilarities:

The V1 does not have any specified communication system in the design. The RQ-4 is equipped with MCE (Mission Control Element) and LRE (Launch and Recovery Element) communication system for providing a continuous connection with the ground unit (Chesworth et al., 2016). 

Design Change: The VI wasdesigned with welded steel and plywood was used for constructing the wings. The use of pulsejet engine has powered the UAS with 50 pulses per seconds. In the case of the RQ-4, the system is powered by “Allison Rolls-Royce AE3007H turbofan engine" that provide the system with the thrust of 31.4 kN (Tao, & Hansman, 2016).

The technological advancement in the aeronautics and dynamics has led to the evaluation of the UAS. In the historical period, the UAS was used only for the warfare and as a defensive weapon. The application of the sophisticated technology with the new designs has expanded the capabilities of the UAS from military usage to ground mapping, mineral exploration, crop monitoring, search and rescue mission and even surveillance.