UAVs

A model drone with propellers, remote control, and antenna on a wooden conference table in an office room.
Workstation with a partially assembled remote-controlled airplane on a table, surrounded by electronic tools and equipment.
A large drone with multiple rotors and sensors placed on a wooden table in an office setting.

I have extensive experience in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design, fabrication, and operation, focusing on custom multi-rotor and fixed-wing platforms for diverse applications including environmental monitoring, photogrammetry, and formation flying. Specialized in carbon fiber frame construction for quad-rotor and octo-rotor configurations, achieving payloads from mini (<5kg) to large-scale (15kg) systems with flight durations of 45 minutes to 2 hours. Developed vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) hybrids and fixed-wing drones optimized for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations using antenna trackers for extended range and reliability. Integrated open-source autopilots like ArduCopter and ArduPlane, with custom Lua scripting for mission automation, sensor fusion, and real-time data processing. Utilized ground control stations such as Mission Planner and QGroundControl for flight planning, telemetry analysis, and swarm coordination. Conducted computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and wind tunnel testing to refine aerodynamic profiles, while employing power budget analysis to maximize endurance through efficient propulsion and energy management. Designed and fabricated custom sensor suites, including laser-based particulate detectors housed in aerodynamic nose cone shrouds, sonic anemometer arrays for wind velocity mapping, temperature/humidity probes, and pressure sensor boards for precise atmospheric data collection. Implemented onboard algorithms for wind estimation via thrust-yaw correlations and enabled rapid landing/battery swap protocols for near-continuous multi-hour operations in field deployments.

Key skills and techniques:

- Frame Design and Fabrication: Engineering carbon fiber composites for multi-rotor (quad/octo) and fixed-wing/VTOL airframes; structural analysis for load distribution, vibration damping, and crash resistance in 1-20kg classes.

- Autopilot Integration and Programming: Configuring ArduCopter/ArduPlane firmware; Lua scripting for custom behaviors like autonomous waypoint navigation, failsafe routines, and sensor-triggered actions.

- Mission Planning and Control: Proficient in Mission Planner/QGroundControl for route optimization, real-time telemetry, BVLOS tracking with antenna systems, and multi-UAV formation flight coordination.

- Sensor System Development: Custom electronics soldering and PCB design incorporating pressure sensors for pitot-static wind measurement, sonic anemometers in phased arrays for turbulence profiling, and environmental sensors (particulates, temperature, humidity) with protective housings for aerodynamic integration.

- Data Collection and Analysis: Photogrammetry missions for high-resolution ground mapping; ultra-accurate atmospheric sampling via onboard algorithms estimating wind from thrust/yaw dynamics; data fusion for real-time environmental modeling.

- Aerodynamic Optimization: CFD modeling (e.g., OpenFOAM/Ansys) and wind tunnel validation to minimize drag and enhance stability; power budget calculations balancing propulsion, avionics, and payload for extended 45min-2hr endurance.

- Operational Enhancements: Rapid autonomous landing sequences and hot-swappable battery systems for seamless multi-hour deployments; troubleshooting techniques for GPS-denied environments, EMI mitigation, and sensor calibration to achieve 99% mission success rates.

- Simulation and Testing: Finite element analysis (FEA) for frame integrity; hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations for autopilot tuning; field testing protocols for formation flying and data validation in varied terrains.