Snowstorm, the personal flying machine. (Photo: S Shiva)
Comprising an intricate design of motors, propellers and inflated landing gear set within a hexagonal frame, Snowstorm is an electric-powered aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing that can be controlled by a single person seated within it. The NUS team envisions this as a clean and simple way to realise our dreams of flying.
The personal flying machine was built over a one-year period, under the auspices of FrogWorks, a collaboration between NUS Faculty of Engineering’s Design-Centric Programme (DCP) and the University Scholars Programme (USP). FrogWorks engages students in the study, design and construction of clean leisure craft, a rapidly growing segment of green technology. Previous projects include the conversion of a sport motorcycle and a yacht from petrol to electric propulsion.
In its current prototype, the personal flying machine can bear the load of a single person up to 70kg for a flight time of about 5 minutes. Rather than a mode of transportation, the team envisions this more as an electric aircraft for personal recreational use in a large indoor space, to satisfy one’s desire to fly freely.
Aside from the construction of the physical frame, the students also designed and implemented the craft’s electronic control and stabilisation system, a pilot safety system as well as an electric energy management and supply system where the 3 batteries that power the craft can function independently in the event any of the batteries malfunction.
The electric flying machine sports 24 motors, each driving a propeller of 76cm diameter with 2.2kW of power. Its hexagonal frame is made up of anodised aluminium beams, carbon fibre plates and tubes with Kevlar ropes. The pilot seat is positioned at the centre of the machine, its weight supported by 6 landing gear legs, the bottom of which is an inflated ball that adsorbs shock when landing. Three independent rechargeable lithium batteries sets provide a total power of 52.8kW.
To ensure pilot safety, the seat is installed with a 5-point harness that secures the pilot to the centre of the machine. The flight control system allows the pilot to adjust thrust, pitch, roll and yaw of the craft. In addition, Snowstorm provides a variety of automated flight modes familiar to operators of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), including altitude hold, loiter and position modes. For safety, the team has also worked in a separate switch that can be controlled from the ground to end the flight and bring the machine to a landing, should the pilot lose control of the machine.
The NUS team hopes the improvements in the coming year will bring Snowstorm closer to commercialisation.
http://news.nus.edu.sg/press-releases/9747-frogworks-personal-flying-machine
Recent Comments