Abs ac — Recen ad ancemen s o unmanned ae ial
ehicles (UAVs) has led o an inc ease in public
accep ance and a ailabili y o manu ac u ing
echnologies o hese ehicles. This pape is conce ned
wi h he de elopmen o an ai -cushion ehicle (ACV)
u ilizing he a o emen ioned manu ac u ing echnologies.
Exploi ing simila i ies be ween UAVs and ACVs, and
compensa ing o hei di e ences, a unique ho e c a is
designed and ab ica ed. The goal o he p ojec is
designing an ACV which can be con olled as an UAV
wi hou he dange s o easily damaging i . An o e iew
o he de elopmen p ocedu e o he ha dwa e, so wa e
and implemen a ion o he design is p esen ed wi hin his
ex .
Keywo ds— Remo e con ol; UAV; Blue oo h;
A duino; Blende ; Mic ocon olle
I. INTRODUCTION
u en ly, he e is a as amoun o comme cially
a ailable UAVs (Unmanned Ae ial Vehicles).
Howe e hese pla o ms end o be closed sou ce, and
a e o ela i ely high cos . In addi ion, making
modi ica ions o hese UAVs is limi ed. In he mids o
hese limi a ions, i is s ill possible o design a d one
which consis s o an open-sou ce con olle . The open-
sou ce con olle s u ilized wi hin he amewo k o his
pape , include an A duino and a Linux ope a ing sys em-
based con olle .
The Uni e si y o Deb ecen, Facul y o Enginee ing,
Depa men o Elec ical Enginee ing and Mecha onics,
Building Mecha onic Resea ch Cen e, G. Husi [1] made
p o ision o all he necessa y equipmen equi ed by his
esea ch p ojec .
II. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Se e al ypes o quad o o s has been de eloped wi hin
he esea ch cen e. By analysing he cons uc ion o
hese quad o o s, and on he basis o ACV (Ai -Cushion
Vehicle) design equi emen s, a layou o he ho e c a
p esen ed in his pape is achie ed.
In compa ison o classical ho e c a , S.A.M. Ali [2],
ligh is no necessa y o achie e ansla ional ine ial
mo ion o he p esen ly p oposed ho e c a .
Fu he mo e, he p oposed ho e c a ea u es less
na iga ion powe consump ion and is easily epai ed. Fo
hese easons, he li ecycle o his ho e c a is es ima ed
a h ee imes he a e age li ecycle o a quad o o .
The i s s ep o design was o ind low densi y
ma e ials, and p oduce a Google Ske ch Up 3D model o
he ho e c a ’s geome y.
Google Ske ch Up [3] so wa e was e y use ul in
enabling modi ica ions o he 3D model o be made
quickly and p ecisely. I is in e es ing o no e ha wi h
he ho e c a ’s 3D model, one may de elop a CNC
(Compu e Nume ical Con ol) p o o ype o cu ou he
ma e ials.
Fig. 1. 3D model o ho e c a
III. CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
The ho e c a houses h ee b ushless DC (Di ec
Cu en ) mo o s, and wo o which p o ide he ehicle’s
buoyancy. They o a e in opposi e di ec ions, so ha ne
o que gene a ed by he mo o s is equals o ze o. As a
esul , he ehicle is able o achie e e ical h us ,
wi hou edundan ine ial o a ion. Ho izon al h us is
Zsol MOLNÁR1, Timo ei Is án ERDEI2, Nwachukwu C. OBINNA3, Géza HUSI4
1Uni e si y o Deb ecen, zsol .mol[email p o ec ed]
2Uni e si y o Deb ecen, imo eie [email protected]
3Uni e si y o Deb ecen, nwachukwuco[email p o ec ed]
4Uni e si y o Deb ecen, husige[email p o ec ed]b.hu
A NOVEL DESIGN OF AN AIR-CUSHION
VEHICLE AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION
C
ANNALS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ORADEA
Fascicle o Managemen and Technological Enginee ing
ISSUE #2, AUGUST 2017, h p://www.im uo adea. o/auo. m e/
105
induced by he hi d b ushless DC mo o , which is
housed a he ea o he ehicle. In o de o op imize li
con ol, he mo o s esponsible o li gene a ion a e
placed a he ehicle’s cen e.
On boa d he ho e c a is a con ollable obo a m
which con ains wi hin i s ame, 20 dices o size
(14x14x14 (mm)) each. The obo a m has one deg ee o
eedom, and is capable o ca ying ou pick and d op
asks, wi h he dices. In addi ion he obo a m may also
se e as a coun e balance o he whole s uc u e o he
ho e c a . Using he obo ic a m is mos e ec i e in
si ua ions whe e he ai c a demands au onomous ask
handling and weigh modi ica ion du ing ligh . Con ol
pe spec i e, his equi es ca e ul conside a ion by he
go e ning pa y. The obo a m posi ion is shown below
he ehicle.
Fig. 2. The obo a m on he ho e c a
In e ms o he physical pa ame e s o he ai -cushion
ehicle has he ollowing: a ho e c a including cube
size: 480 (mm) long, 380 (mm) wide, 330 (mm) high
(wi h obo a m s a e shown in ig. 2.). The mass is small
ela i e o i s dimensions. Wi h he ba e y and dices, he
o al weigh o ehicle is 1.27 (kg).
The wo hois mo o s and he o wa d o ce p o iding
one a e he same ype, A2212 / 13T b ushless DC
mo o s. They ha e he ollowing pa ame e s [4] :
Mo o weigh : 52.7 (g ams), he maximum ope a ing
ol age: 11.1 (V) (Li hium-Polyme ba e y cell 3)
maximum ope a ing cu en : 10 (A), he maximum
achie able ope a ing powe (non-con inuous ope a ion):
150 (W), sha diame e :
3.2 (mm), speed K : 1000 (RPM / V). The b ushless DC
mo o s wi h high e iciency (o e 80%) and a high
powe / weigh a io. The obo a m wi h wo MG995-
ype se o mo o is housed.
One o he join s o he obo ic a m p o ides he
obo ic a m mo emen , and he o he will ensu e he
unc ioning o he mechanism pe o ming he emo al o
he dice. The se os as da a ha ing he ollowing main
cha ac e is ics [5]:
Weigh : 55 (g ams), he maximum ope a ing ol age
7.2 (V), he maximum o que o 0.98 (Nm) capable o
o a ing 180 (deg ees), can be posi ioned wi hin his
ange.
IV. THE CIRCUIT OF HOVERCRAFT
The ci cui was designed in KiCAD [6], he main pa
is he PIC18F ype mic ocon olle . This con ols he
b ushless mo o s wi h p oduc ion o he PWM (Pulse
Wid h Modula ion) signal, con ols he obo a m se o
mo o s, measu es he ba e y ol age le el and
communica es ia Blue oo h module o he con ol
compu e .
Fig. 3. Connec ion o he mic ocon olle used o Ho e c a
The Blue oo h module ype was HC-05. This will
allow wo-way communica ion, so can be ansmi ed o
he con ol compu e he ba e y ol age and he posi ion
o se o mo o s o he obo a m. The ba e y ype used
capable o 3-cell Li-Po (Li hium-polyme ) ba e y o
2200 (mAh) and 11.1 (V) ol age deli e y. I ell Li-Po
ba e y o choice, as he a io o capaci y / weigh applied
o la ge, making i ideal o emo e-con olled ehicles.
Fu he mo e, la ge cu en s a e able o deli e . The
ci cui is housed in wo ol age s abilize in eg a ed
ci cui s. One p o ides 3.3 (V) ol age supply necessa y
o he Blue oo h module and he o he necessa y s able 5
(V) powe supply o he mic ocon olle .
The powe equi ed o he p oduc ion o se o
ANNALS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ORADEA
Fascicle o Managemen and Technological Enginee ing
ISSUE #2, AUGUST 2017, h p://www.im uo adea. o/auo. m e/
106
mo o s, DC b ushless mo o s wi h con ol elec onics
p o ides, because hey ha e a buil -in 5 (V) ol age
s abilize and able o lead a 1 (A) cu en .
V. THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOVERCRAFT AND MATERIAL
SELECTION
Du ing he build-ou should s i e o ge he ma e ials
used a e ligh e , bu hey should ha e a high esis ance
agains a ise in he pe o mance o hei unc ions and
managemen o con lic s o mis akes. Based on hese
conside a ions, he choice ell polys y ene insula ion
e sions o di e en densi ies. Indica i ely h ee di e en
densi y polys y ene ha e been used.
The comple ed 3D model allows you o weigh he
olume o polys y ene a ious ypes o ai -cushion
ehicle designed o scale.
Thus, knowing he densi y o polys y ene [7], calcula e
he mass o he ehicle ame e en be o e designing.
The ollowing able p o ides a summa y o he di e en
ypes o polys y ene densi y and olume o his
calcula ed mass used. TABLE I
THE MASS OF VEHICLE
Densi y (g/cm3)
Volume(cm3)
Mass
(g)
Expanded
polys y ene (Whi e)
0.015
7490
112,35
Ex uded
polys y ene (Blue)
0.03
3073
92.19
Expanded
polys y ene (G een)
0.052
815
42.38
The summing calcula ed alues in he able, he main
body o he ai mass o 246.92 (g), which is added o he
elec onics, mo o s, as ene s, adhesi es, dice weigh ,
ba e y used. The o al weigh o he assembled
ho e c a is 1.27 (kg). The polys y ene has high physical
esis ance, low densi y and can be well machined.
The oam cu e uses a glowing hin elec ical
conduc o , which may be o polys y ene cu o size e en
and smoo h cu s. As ou own design wi h he help o
CNC machine, which also unc ions as a oam cu e .
The 3D plans ha e been equi ed o ile gene a ing CNC
con ol, hen execu ed he inished polys y ene pa s.
Such assembly has polys y ene glue [8] and by means
o ho mel [9] is pe o med.
VI. REMOTE CONTROL AND SOFTWARE
The emo e con ol o he ho e c a Blue oo h HC-05
module has been used, which can di ec ly communica e
wi h Blue oo h module buil in o lap ops o comme cially
a ailable Blue oo h adap e wi h a USB (Uni e sal Se ial
Bus) connec ion. In he p ojec a Dell Inspi on Mini 1018
ne book has been ca ying ou he es s and was used o
con ol because o he mobili y and long ba e y li e.
The ne book has he ollowing speci ica ions [10]:
1) P ocesso : In el A om N455 1.66 (GHz)
2) RAM: 1 (GB) DDR3
3) Display: 10 ", 1366 x 768 esolu ion
4) Video ca d: In eg a ed In el NM10 Exp ess
5) S o age: 250 (GB) HDD, 5400 (RPM)
6) Weigh : 1.33 (kg)
7) Ba e y capaci y: 48 (Wh)
8) Buil -in Blue oo h 2.1 and 802.11b / g WiFi
(Wi eless Fideli y)
These speci ica ions make i sui able o un a
ho e c a made so wa e o con ol and communica e
wi h i ia Blue oo h. The so wa e has been designed so
ha use s can di ec ly om he compu e con ol he
ehicle o can ake con ol o e by using a glo e wi h
accele ome e .
The glo e is measu ing he hand il and sends ou his
da a o he compu e so wa e which gene a es he
con ol da a o he ehicle mic ocon olle .
Fig.4. Remo e con ol concep
The igu e shows ha he ne book communica es
wi elessly ia Blue oo h. The accele a ion senso glo e is
di ec ly connec ed o he no ebook ia a USB cable. The
accele a ion senso ype used is MMA7361 senso
h ee-axis, mic o-machined ype. The sensi i i y can be
adjus ed ± 1.5 (g) and ± 6 (g). The (g) alue means ha
many imes he accele a ion o g a i y will be he
maximum measu ed accele a ion alue. The g a i a ional
accele a ion is 9.81 (m / s2).
Fo il measu emen we conside ha i poin s o he
Ea h's su ace pe pendicula o he senso di ec ion and
heeling 1 (g) accele a ion, which is he Ea h's
g a i a ional ield dis ibu ed o a ying deg ees among
he h ee axes. F om hese alues can be de e mined he
o ien a ion o he glo e hus he o ien a ion o he
ope a o hand wi h espec o he Ea h's su ace. Fo he
con ol o he ai -cushion ehicle was used 1.5 (g) o
sensi i i y ange o achie e he high sensi i i y o he
senso . The ou pu o analog signals, a ies om 0 (V) o
3.3 (V) ange. These signals mus be con e ed o digi al
alues p io p ocessing.
Fo he sake o comple ion o an analog o digi al
con e sion has been A duino UNO [11] used. I has he
equi ed analog inpu s and a USB connec ion in o de o
connec o he ne book.
ANNALS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ORADEA
Fascicle o Managemen and Technological Enginee ing
ISSUE #2, AUGUST 2017, h p://www.im uo adea. o/auo. m e/
107
Fig.5. The GUI (G aphical Use In e ace) o he con olle
The main ask o he so wa e unning on he compu e
is o p o ide con inuous communica ion be ween he
compu e and he ho e c a . I is impo an ha in case
o loss o communica ion, he ho e c a con olle will
de ec and con ol he mo o s au oma ically o shu down
o sa e y. Since he ho e c a and accele a ion sensing
glo e, bo h a e ea ed as se ial po by he compu e , so
we ha e wo se ial communica ion po selec ion
d op-down lis on he GUI. These a e ‘COM3’ and
‘COM4’ by de aul .
The in e ace also eads he ac ual ba e y ol age,
which is impo an in case o Li-Po ba e ies since he
excessi e discha ge leads o damage. The bu on and a
s op bu on enabling con ol in ou di ec ions housed in
he use in e ace, i you wan o con ol you ehicle
om you compu e .
In addi ion, i is equipped wi h an ‘E-STOP’
(Eme gency-STOP) bu on on he use in e ace which
pe o ms an immedia e eme gency s op, he mo o s shu s
down and in e up s he communica ion.
The adjus able ‘Le i a e’, ‘Tu n’, ‘FWD’ a e he
alues o he maximum powe o he mo o s, which
ope a e while loa ing o u ning. The u ning is highe
alue, because in such a case, only one li mo o
unc ions due o he use o he o que o u n and i mus
ensu e he inope a i e mo o pe o mance as well. In
addi ion, he p og am has h ee con ol modes. The i s
is he ‘cushion’. In his mode, wi h he il o he glo e
he mo o s can be swi ched on and o in o de o o a e
he ho e c a . The e a e no ansi ional alues, he
inclina ion o he glo e is only used by he so wa e o
h esholds ha he engine is u ned on o o .
This con ol mode is ecommended when walking nex
o he ho e c a and canno be gua an eed he s abili y o
he go e ning hand o he pe son. The ollowing is he
‘Robo a m’, in his case wi h he il o he glo e can be
a ied he inclina ion o he obo a m. The hi d mode is
he ‘Analog Con ol’ when i comes o managing people
can keep hei hands i mly and p ope ly in his mode,
he so wa e con ols he engine speed o he deg ee o
inclina ion o he glo e.
The con ol so wa e is w i en o Windows 7 64-bi
ope a ing sys em, he so wa e is in C # using Visual
S udio [12] de elopmen en i onmen ha is ee o
s uden use.
VII. CONCLUSION
The planned ho e c a was buil and es ed.
Func ionally, as expec ed, i is di icul o con ol, he
abili y o mo e wi h g ea speed, i equi es a en ion, as
in he case o quad o o s.
Du ing es ing, smalle collisions occu ed, which
causes no damage in ehicle ame due o he polys y ene
impac abso bing abili y.
The emo e con ol wo ks in e ms o a s able, open
space o 30 m ange is also a ailable wi h i .
In e ms o ba e y li e depending on e ain, indoo s,
whe e he loo is smoo h o ope a e he hois mo o s
small amoun o powe is equi ed, bu ou doo s mo e
powe is needed in o de o a oid any une en g ound.
In summa y i can be said ha i mee s he expec ed
condi ions, howe e , wi h u he so wa e de elopmen
a ious ligh si ua ions can be implemen ed, such as he
simula ion o ai u bulence o quad o o s becomes
possible.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The p ojec was suppo ed by Uni e si y o Deb ecen,
Depa men o Elec ical Enginee ing and Mecha onics.
REFERENCES
[1] G. Husi, “Indus y 4.0 echnology in Uni e si y o Deb ecen”,
h ps://www. esea chga e.ne /publica ion/301607839_Indus y_40
_Hunga ian, accessed on May 2017
[2] S.A.M. Ali, “Guidance, Na iga ion, modeling and con ol o a
ho e c a ”, h ps://www. esea chga e.ne /publica ion/
277776432_Guidance_Na iga ion_modeling_and_con ol_o _a_h
o e c a , accessed on Feb ua y 2017
[3] Ske chUp P o, h p://www.ske chup.com/
download?ske chup=p o, accessed on Janua y 2017
[4] A2212/13T TECHNICAL DATA, h p://www. hydolabz.com/
documen s/26/BLDC_A2212_13T.pd , accessed on Ap il 2017
[5] MG995 High Speed Me al Gea Dual Ball Bea ing Se o,
h p://www.elec onicoscaldas.com/da ashee /MG995_Towe -
P o.pd , accessed on Ap il 2017
[6] KiCad EDA, h p://kicad-pcb.o g/, accessed on Janua y 2017
[7] Kuns s o e in e na ional, Rigid Polys y ene Foam (EPS, XPS),
h p://www.plas icspo al.ne /wa/plas icsEU~i _IT/ unc ion/con e
sions:/publish/common/upload/ echnical_jou nals/plas ics_ end
epo s/Rigid_polys y ene_ oam.pd , accessed on Feb ua y 2017
[8] Polys y ene Foam Adhesi e, h p://www.genkem.co.za/genkem/
index.php/diy-wi h-genkem/i em/polys y ene- oam-adhesi e,
accessed on Ma ch 2017
[9] Ho Mel Glue Gun, h ps://www.amazon.com/CCbe e -
Tempe a u e-Mel ing-Flexible-P ojec s/dp/B01178RVI2,
accessed on Feb ua y 2017
[10] Dell Inspi on Mini 1018, h p://www.dell.com/en-
us/shop/p oduc de ails/inspi on-mini1018, accessed on Ap il 2017
[11] A duino UNO & Genuino UNO,
h ps://www.a duino.cc/en/main/a duinoBoa dUno, accessed on
Ap il 2017
[12] Mic oso , Visual S udio IDE, h ps://www. isuals udio.com/,
accessed on Ma ch 2017
ANNALS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ORADEA
Fascicle o Managemen and Technological Enginee ing
ISSUE #2, AUGUST 2017, h p://www.im uo adea. o/auo. m e/
108