Kelsi Sumter
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Kimberlee Kearfott
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: NERS/BME / Engineering
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 1 – 10am – 10:50am
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Kelsi H Sumter, Marlee E Trager, Kimberlee Kearfott
Presenter: 78
Abstract
A team of undergraduate researchers has been working on configuring a PX4 drone that detects radiation sources in the environment and reports their exact locations. PX4 is an open source flight control software for drones and other unmanned vehicles capable of supporting many configurations like multicopters and rovers. PX4 allows the user to deploy their own code and install their own apps so they can use the mission computer for their own purposes. The team is focused on not only the drone’s ability to detect radiation sources accurately but its ability to fly smoothly. The diagnostic data interface that is being developed for the PX4 drone will help if something goes wrong during a flight test and the drone team needs to look at a clear analysis of what the drone was doing during the flight. To help with this a diagnostic data interface will be created using the coding language Python. This interface will operate by connecting to QgroundControl, existing software which logs each flight from the drone and inputs the information into a different file. The data that comes from the drone and QGroundControl will be input into the Python program which will then compile the data. The spreadsheet output by the program will enable the team to determine the next steps for the drone testing experiments. The program will relay information from each test flight such as the battery level and the propeller velocity. Some goals for the program are to display variables such as velocity and GPS coordinates in a more user-friendly interface than spreadsheets. The ultimate goal is to have a clearer idea of what happens every time the drone takes flight.
Engineering, Interdisciplinary
