A Space to Think and Do

NC State provides students from all disciplines with the opportunity to think and do big throughout their entire college career. A common way for College of Engineering students to experience this way of learning is through their senior design project. 

A group of aerospace engineering students recently did just that for MAE 481: Aerospace Vehicle Design. The team was called ULFR (Unmanned Laser Farming and Reconnaissance), which comprised six seniors: Sachet Patil, Noah Troxler, Hannah Nguyen, Caleb Gobel, Ainsley Lundquist and Chris Basile.

For the MAE 481 senior design project, teams were tasked with developing a novel fixed-wing unmanned aviation solution for a problem farmers face today that could be implemented by the year 2035. ULFR chose to tackle problems with weeding because technology advancements in this area have been slow.

ULFR’s design for this project implements state-of-the-art laser weeding and synthetic aperture radar technologies to provide an herbicide-free solution to the weed infestations that all farms face. These systems are implemented on a Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) drone, enabling versatile takeoff and landing capabilities, and both quad-copter hover and forward flight modes. This element was necessary to complete the main mission objective, as the precision needed to weed using lasers is impossible with standard fixed-wing forward flight. The team has donated their design to the Albright Entrepreneurship Garage to be displayed in the prototyping space.

With their complexity and variety of systems required for the vehicle, the team utilized a majority of the tools in the Entrepreneurship Garage. The laser machine was essential to cut the intricate geometry of the fuselage body, and allowed quick cuts for additional fuselage walls to be made when the ones being used were damaged. The clamps and cutting tools were also a reliable and helpful resource for the plane’s construction. The soldering stations and electrical equipment were super useful as the team could depend on the functionality of the working equipment. The 3D printers were a particularly useful resource in the plane’s construction—especially for testing different design choices. A number of the more complex structural elements and moving components used on the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) were 3D printed.

The spacious prototyping area in the Garage allowed the team to build the plane at the scale we needed. The team also utilized the conference rooms for team meetings and design planning. The availability of the space was critical; the24/7 access to a makerspace meant in crunch time the team had a workplace.

The ULFR team recommends the space for all class projects, noting that the Garage has a variety of tools that allow students to bring their designs to life — whether it’s a personal project or for class. The team also highlighted the staff who are always helpful with using equipment and troubleshooting manufacturing.

Engineering students do have access to a senior design lab; however, this team emphasized the Garage being open 24/7. This allowed the team flexibility to work on their own time and create their design themselves.

Hannah Nguyen said, “I found community when being in the Garage.” She would often ask other students about their projects and chat with the Garage workers. It allowed her to connect with students from other disciplines.

Along with building interdisciplinary connections, this senior design project also taught the team crucial growth mindset skills. Sachet Patil and Noah Troxler noted the problem-solving and critical thinking skills the team utilized as they went through the engineering design process. For instance, the initial design was over-engineered and was too heavy for flight. Nguyen also shared the lesson of time management. Each of the team members had other classes and commitments that team meetings had to be scheduled around. They also had to plan out 3D prints to ensure they gave enough time.