Bobby Tang ’16 and Utsav Shah ‘19, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology students, presented two papers at the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI) conference on July 20, 2017. Says Tang, “We’re excited to participate again at the LACCEI event this year and hope we do well at the student competition.” Their focus on drones is timely in light of the ever-increasing use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in everything from agriculture to real estate video tours of properties.
The two mechatronic engineering students developed papers on”Innovative Drone Design for the AHS Micro Air Vehicle Competition” which was crafted this past spring as part of the American Helicopter Society International 2017 Micro Air Vehicle Student Challenge on May 8, 2017, and “Self-Designed Drone as a Platform for Engineering Education.” The first paper outlines a project idea of creating two micro aerial vehicles weighing less than 500 grams and sized less than 450 millimeters in any dimension. The quadcopters designed in this project are two different types of package delivery and pickup drones capable of autonomous and manual control.
The Student Challenge’s drones’ design follows strict restrictions with the necessity of high performance and endurance. In this project, the drones will be developed to provide a pilot with the ability to control the drone via a radio transmitter and First Person View (FPV) goggle headset. The autonomous drone, however, will be designed to incorporate multiple sensors capable of target detection and obstacle avoidance. The results demonstrate the successfulness of the designed mechanical drone systems.
The second paper describes an educational approach that uses the development of a drone system as a teaching and learning platform to introduce engineering concepts to middle and high school students. Vaughn College hosted International Drone Day last May 6, 2017, inviting hobbyists and members of the community to learn more about drones, flying robots, graphics design and animation. Members of the College’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) club welcomed the public and shared their excitement and knowledge of unmanned aerial vehicles. International Drone Day is a worldwide event where over 150 cities simultaneously celebrate drones and their uses. This global experience is a collaborative effort that was started three years ago to educate the public, media and local governments about the incredible ways drones are used for good in our society, such as in search and rescue, conservation, agriculture, sport, and film.
The Vaughn College students presenting at LACCEI were accompanied by Dr. Hossein Rahemi, engineering and technology department and associate professor Dr. Khalid Mouaouya.
VAUGHN COLLEGE: Founded in 1932, Vaughn College is a private, four-year college that enrolls more than 1,700 students in master’s, bachelor’s and associate degree programs in engineering, technology, management and aviation on its main campus in New York City and online. The student-faculty ratio of 15 to 1 ensures a highly personalized learning environment. Ninety-two percent of Vaughn College graduates are placed in professional positions or choose to continue their education within one year of graduation. They work in 20 countries and all 50 states. The institution serves many first-generation college students and is recognized by the US Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. For more information on the Vaughn College, visit www.vaughn.edu.
LACCEI -The mission of LACCEI is to be the leading organization of Latin American and Caribbean engineering institutions that will bring innovations in engineering education and research, and emerge as a major force in this hemisphere to foster partnerships among academia, industry, government and private organizations for the benefit of the society and the nations.
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