STUDENT PRESENTATIONS

Kammi Matsumoto

A quadcopter is simulated with constant PID coefficients while changing the length to determine a range of lengths for these PID coefficients. A MATLAB simulation determines gamma and compares it to the max gamma and torques for a predetermined length. It is impossible if the experimental torque is greater than the maximum torque for the PID coefficients. Quaternions eliminate the singularities that result from using roll, pitch, and yaw and can be extended to determine the classical Rodrigues parameters. Possible future studies PID control could be used on Rodrigues parameters based on the direction cosine matrix for the (313) sequence.

Tyler Myers, Branden Lucas

Retrieving samples from Mars is of the utmost importance, as it allows us to take the first steps in developing a colony. The tools used will be insightful, but only if they are not contaminated by Earth organisms. A biobarrier is used to prevent Earth microbes from contacting the tools that will interact with the Martian environment. This in turn allows the data collected to truly reflect Mars. Guidelines have been put in place by the Planetary Protection Office, but making a system work within these limits can be tough. A thorough inspection of the goals, the requirements, and the intended purpose opens the door to possible solutions, starting with our design concepts.

Seoyoung Kwon

The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th derivatives of the aircraft equations of motion are determined to compute the velocity, acceleration, jerk and snap vectors. These vectors are presented as functions of the flight path angle and time. The analytical solutions for each of the derivatives can be used when expressing these vectors in terms of the flight path angle. The magnitudes of the jerk and snap vectors allow us to study the noise profile in terms of flight path angle and time.

Agnes Straatman, Kayla Valera, Mahealani Kini, Neezcha Dinman

We analyzed regions originally proposed by the Human Exploration of Mars Scientific Analysis Group (HEM-SAG) report for possible extinct and extant microbial life, compared them to High Energy Neutron Detector (HEND) readings to determine areas with high abundance of hydrogen, and determined which regions were topographically favorable for a rover mission. Utopia Planitia has shown to meet all the criteria. In addition, our past research of Martian Water Extraction focused on two methods – extracting from the hydrated regolith and ice mining. We have concluded Utopia Planitia to be a viable candidate for ice mining due to its potential ice reserves..

Matthew Kohatsu

In this project, we developed alternatives to the United States’ current missile defense program by exploring explicit guidance control as the main maneuvering procedure to intercept incoming missile threats. By using the classic orbital elements, and Keplerian mechanics, we were able to code a program, using MATLAB’s ode45 function, that plots the trajectories of one “attacking” missile and one “intercepting” missile. We calculated these plots factoring constant gravitation, flat Earth, and constant velocity in a two-dimensional plane, but in future iterations we will incorporate aerodynamic forces, variable gravity, variable velocity, round Earth, and true anomaly.

Sam Jung, Kenny Uehara

Proportional Integral Derivative, also known as PID, is a key component to ensuring the stability of the drone during flight. Having quick and accurate tuning methods is highly desired. The automatic PID tuning method was simulated in MATLAB to determine the most optimal coefficients by using extremum seeking, as well as gradient descent. The PID tuning method used is compared to Ziegler-Nichols PID tuning to help determine which tuning method gives the most optimal coefficients for flight stability.

Reece Bastardo

Inoperable satellites, dead payloads, and empty rockets are all examples of pieces of space debris cluttering Earth’s atmosphere. With millions of pieces of space debris it is important to be able to track and catalog the positions and orbits of space debris to ensure the safety of working satellites and other spacecrafts. Through using the orbital elements it was possible to catalog and track space debris allowing a safer passage for future space missions and satellites, and ensuring the safety of current satellites.

Mahealani Kini, Takuya Wise, Michael Li, Yvon Edades, Arvin Hontake, Mikayla Carias

The purpose of a robotic arm is to replicate functions of a human arm, with a priority in grabbing objects. However, these mechanics can also be applied to supporting unstable systems. By using a cylindrical object, the robotic arm holding the object can be treated as a whole system. The complete system then becomes an inverted pendulum. Through programming and design, we have been working to balance a perpetually falling object autonomously in a 1-dimension plane using a robotic arm.

Drew Watanabe, Weihang Mai, Kayla Valera

When attempting to minimize damage to a descending rocket a system must be integrated to account for the distance the rocket is to the ground and a mechanism to allow the rocket to hover before landing. Our research is focused on the former, the height detection of the rocket to the ground. To ensure the height measured would be accurate, 3 different time-of-flight sensors were used at their most effective ranges. After combining and re-coding the sensors into a single Arduino controller, we were able to produce an accurate value of height and velocity.

Sean Tadekawa, David Chuang, Kevin Williams, and Christian Gale Rieta

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will be deployed for agricultural applications to Kauai Coffee Company (KCC), which contains four million coffee trees spanning 3100 acres. ACTUAS followed a systems engineering approach where its mission is to design a fixed-wing drone and a quadcopter to survey KCC’s fields. Both drones will have multispectral cameras. Mission Planner will be used to analyze flight data and conduct waypoint navigation. MATLAB will simulate the drones’ quadratic relationship of thrust and velocity and response time for varying Proportional, Integral, and Derivative (PID) coefficients. If successful, ACTUAS can be expanded to other islands for similar applications.