UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE (UAV).

INTRODUCTION

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, also known as a drone, an aircraft without a human operator on board. The largest modern unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have a wingspan of more than 30 m (100 ft.); the smallest UAVs can be carried in a backpack. UAVs originated during World War I (1914-1918), but modern UAVs were first developed in the 1970s.

Almost all UAVs are military aircraft. Most of them are used for reconnaissance (exploration to gather information), although a few UAVs are armed with missiles. UAVs are employed when a piloted reconnaissance aircraft would run a high risk of being attacked or for very long missions that would exceed a pilot’s physical endurance. Often, a UAV is smaller and cheaper than a piloted aircraft designed to do the same job.

In the near future, UAVs are expected to be used for civilian missions as well. The United States Coast Guard planned to use UAVs for search, rescue, and patrol operations. UAVs could also be used for aerial surveys and to inspect pipelines and power lines—jobs done today by piloted airplanes.

CONCEPT

UAVs are flown and navigated by onboard computers and operated by humans on the ground. Software code containing the entire mission plan is downloaded to the UAV’s computers before it is launched. The operator on the ground does not “fly” the UAV, but can change the mission plan by sending new software instructions to the computers via radio, so that the UAV will change course, circle a target, or return to base. The UAV will continue to fly even if it loses radio contact with the operator, who may be hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away.

The most widely used UAV in the United States military is the Predator, made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., based in San Diego, California. The Predator weighs about as much as a small private airplane, such as a Cessna 172. It has a 110-horsepower (hp) engine, similar to a snowmobile motor, and a wingspan of 15 m (48 ft.). It can remain airborne for 14 hours and travel 740 km (460 mi) from its base, while flying at up to 8,000 m (25,000 ft) above sea level.

Under the Predator’s nose is a rotating turret that houses a video and an infrared camera. The video camera provides the clearest daytime picture. The infrared camera, which detects heat radiation, provides a daylike picture at night. The infrared camera can visualize people and vehicles because they are warmer than their surroundings. The Predator also carries a small radar system. The radar sends radio signals to the ground and receives those signals after they are reflected back from the ground. The radar can detect small objects on the ground despite cloud or smoke cover.

Above the Predator’s nose is a radome, an object that covers a satellite antenna dish. The satellite dish sends images from the video and infrared cameras to the operators’ control station on the ground. The Predator has two operators: One controls the airplane and the other works the cameras and the radar.

With the satellite dish, images from the cameras can be sent “live” to video monitors at the operators’ control station and from there can be transmitted directly to senior commanders or even national leaders. Data revealing the type of target and the location of the target can be linked by radio to computers onboard a fighter aircraft, a process known as data-linking. The fighter aircraft can then find and attack the target easily.

Predators can also be equipped to attack a target. Some Predators carry a laser designator that can mark a target for laser-guided bombs or missiles. A laser produces a beam of intense light that can light up a target many kilometers away. The Predator can carry under its wings a pair of Hellfire missiles, designed to destroy tanks. The Predator aims its laser at the target, and the missiles home in on the reflected laser energy.

The Predator has limitations. Minor mechanical failures can lead to a crash when there is no pilot on board to correct a problem. Some Predators have crashed after they blundered into bad weather that the operators could not see. Also, the UAV is defenseless and can be easily shot down.

 

 

IDEA.

Here is what I have in mind. There are two versions of the drone. The first version will be using electrical motors for propulsion while the second will be using a turbine jet engine. I am going to focus on the first version. Am going to list all the parts required and estimated cost. All parts can be purchased online from hobby king.

Parts

  1. Electrical motor
  2. Aluminum sheets
  3. Servos
  4. Transmitter
  5. Receiver
  6. Electronic speed controller
  7. Rechargeable battery
  8. Aluminum frame.
    9. So that’s the idea, it is left to you to figure how to make it work.

URINE POWERED GENERATOR

Honestly, this idea is not mine, just a submitted idea from my friends in lagos.

Possibly one of the more unexpected products at Maker Faire Africa this year in Lagos is a urine powered generator, created by four girls. The girls are Duro-Aina Adebola (14), Akindele Abiola (14), Faleke Oluwatoyin (14) and Bello Eniola (15).

1 Liter of urine gives you 6 hours of electricity.

The system works like this:

  • Urine is put into an electrolytic cell, which separates out the hydrogen.
  • The hydrogen goes into a water filter for purification, which then gets pushed into the gas cylinder.
  • The gas cylinder pushes hydrogen into a cylinder of liquid borax, which is used to remove the moisture from the hydrogen gas.
  • This purified hydrogen gas is pushed into the generator.

Along the whole way there are one-way valves for security, but let’s be honest that this is something of an explosive device…