Tan, Yu Herng (National University of Singapore), Chen, Ben M. (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

A Lightweight Waterproof Casing for an Aquatic UAV Using Rapid Prototyping

Scheduled for presentation during the Regular Session "Micro- and Mini- UAS II" (ThC4), Thursday, September 3, 2020, 17:40−18:00, Naousa

2020 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), September 1-4, 2020 (Postponed from June 9-12, 2020), Athens, Greece

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on April 20, 2024

Abstract

Aquatic unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are a unique type of UAVs which have the ability to operate in both air and water. However, the vastly different medium properties of air and water pose significant challenges to the design of such vehicles. One of these is the contradicting requirement of minimising weight in air while ensuring that the vehicle is sufficiently dense to obtain near neutral buoyancy in water. In addition, being submerged requires the vehicle to be adequately waterproof, which will inevitably contribute to a significant portion of the vehicle's weight and volume. Here, we look into the design and manufacturing of such a waterproof casing for a proposed aquatic UAV design. Rapid prototyping using low cost desktop 3D printers was used to develop and produce a customised hull casing with complex geometry for the vehicle. Through the use of different materials, printing methods, and hardware design to seal the access openings, a small lightweight casing can create a waterproof hull while achieving the desired vehicle dynamics in both mediums.