Four final year students of electronic engineering at Rajarshi Shahu College of Engineering have come up with a project using a Playstation joystick on an unmanned aircraft for tracking purposes.
Praveen Sampath, Swapnil Aglawe, Ritesh Chaudhari and Aditya Patil built the aeroplane for their project titled ‘Surveillance System for Mobile Tracking’ guided by Dr Vaibhav Saini, a scientist in the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) and A N Paithane of Rajarshi Shahu College.
The four students built the prototype model of an unmanned plane using the latest Jennic jn5148 processor, brought specially from Singapore. The project was funded by ARDE and the Defense Research And Development Organisation (DRDO). While the idea came from the students, ARDE provided them with the resources.
Sampath told Pune Mirror, “We have built a prototype model. Now, ARDE can carry out more research on it. It is useful for tracking a moving vehicle or person from a height of 200 metres. Using the lithium polymer battery, the plane can fly for eight hours and send signals from eight kms away.
Saini said, “The students decoded the joystick and built the interface with the Jennic processor, which was launched last year. They designed the communication system themselves which was unique.” According to Saini, using a joystick rather than a keyboard or panel allows the personnel at the base station to concentrate on messages or images sent by the plane.
The programme of the communication system is designed in such a way that it can’t be hacked, Sampath claimed. “The plane has been equipped with a camera that can take pictures and send them back to the base station. It can also be fitted with a GPS system. This will help tracing vehicles or missing persons in dense forests,” Sampath added.
The students worked on their project under the guidance of Sandeep Bazare of Pune Aeromodelling Association, Hadapsar. The objective was to build an unmanned aerial vehicle and control it through radio frequency, thereby enabling it to take photographs/videos of any given environment.
The plane uses the latest 802.15.04 technology (standard wireless sensor network). It is controlled by a Sony Playstation gaming controller wired to another Jennic processor. The personnel at the base station can get live video feed through a two megapixel camera which is processed using image tracking software on a PC.
The apparatus in the plane also sends telemetry data such as speed, height, range and battery power to the PC. The plane was made using high density polymer to make it durable.
Source: The Pune Mirror
Hello,
Thank you so much for an article. Hope this would help to enthusiasts.
Hello sir… I m an electronics and communication final uear student… M also making a final year project for defence.. N same using jennic jn5148 rf module.. I want to contact these guys as there is not much help on net.. Thnk you