Spring Validation Demonstration – Verification Criteria
- The VTOL is able to takeoff autonomously
- The marker is detected by the VTOL from upto 40 ft in the air.
- The VTOL is able to hold a target position relative to the marker (by keeping the marker within camera view) for 60 seconds, hovering 4-6 ft from the ground.
- The delivery mechanism lowers and releases the package with full separation.
- The package lands reasonably softly (measured visibly) on the ground.
Flight Subsystem
MPF.1.1 Complete a delivery up to 8 miles away within 30 minutes.
For the spring semester, the scope was to demonstrate the quadcopter flight performance. The VTOL has fixed wing speed of 45mph. To cover a distance of 16 miles, i.e. travel to a delivery location that is 8 miles away and return, the VTOL is expected to take 22 minutes. This leaves a total of 8 minutes for delivery of the package. For SVD, our system was able to detect the marker, visually servo to delivery height and complete delivery in 2 mins 45 seconds. This is far below the 8 minute period allotted for delivery.
Perception Subsystem
MPF.3.1 Detect marker from 40 ft above ground 95% of the time.
MPF.3.2 Drop package within 2 ft of the target.
With respect to MPF.3.1, to verify the marker detection height, the GPS measurement from the flight logs is used as ground truth. During Spring Validation Demonstration, the marker was detected at 23.6m (77 ft),
To meet the requirement MPF.3.2, during the delivery phase, the center of the marker must be kept within a 2 feet distance from the camera center. The figure below shows a pink box that represents a square with side lengths of 0.5m (1.6 ft) when viewed from delivery height i.e. 3m (9.8 ft). During delivery we visually verify that the center of the marker remains within the box.
Delivery Subsystem
MPF.4.1 Ensure the package is moving slower than 1 m/s at impact with ground.
MPF.4.2 Release the package successfully 90% of the time.
MPF.4.3 Not drop the package mid-flight 100% of the time.
MPF.4.4 Deliver package from at least 4 ft above the ground.
MPF.4.5 Hold, lower, and release a package of at least 500 grams.