Design of an unmanned aerial vehicle blimp for indoor applications

• Main Authors: Van Asares, Anthon V., Ko, Phil Seon, Minlay, Joshua Samuel, Sarmiento, Brian Raymund, Chua, Alvin
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2019
• Subjects: Drone aircraft—Design and construction; Airships—Design and construction; Drone aircraft—Control systems; Microcontrollers; Mechanical Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/2340
• Institution: De La Salle University

This paper presents the design of an unmanned aerial vehicle blimp (UAVB) which may be used for different indoor applications. It was equipped with a 3.8 GHz FPV camera that could transmit video data to a ground station. The design of the blimp was initially tested through a fluid flow simulation software that determines the drag coefficient which is in turn used to determine the optimal streamlined profile of the blimp. A 4:1 slenderness ratio was found to be the most efficient design in terms and speed and stability. This paper focuses on the creation of a blimp that includes selection of materials, profile making, microcontroller programming, and flight testing. Due to the limited lifting capacity of the blimp, careful consideration of the parts on the blimp was done. The blimp was able to fly successfully and maneuver throughout the testing area at speeds of 1-2 m/s and at an average height of 5 m. © 2019 Int. J. Mech. Eng. Rob. Res.