High Altitude Avionics Retrieval

Collaborators: Helicopter Lab (IIT Kanpur) & Kalam Labs

We were developing an airship retrieval system that could help solve the problem of wasted investment in weather balloons. Our high-altitude glider is designed to retrieve avionics successfully, which can be used continuously for ~7 months, saving a lot of cost. 

I was involved in the first phase of on-ground testing and iterative evolution of the mechanism, where we tested the customized flight control software for autonomous drop detection and recovery of the fixed-wing plane.​

Here are some of the testing photos and videos:

Persistent Energy Relay via High-Altitude Airship

Supervisors: Dr. Dhwanil Shukla (Low Speed Exp. Aero Lab) & Dr. RK Pant (Lighter than Air Systems Lab)

Electric unmanned aerial vehicles consume a significant portion of their stored propulsion energy when gaining altitude. The analysis of shortfall in cruise range as a function of climb altitude confirmed that if the energy required for climbing is conserved, then the cruise range of the UAV would improve significantly. In this project, we looked into the idea of a High Endurance UAV on an Aerostat, a novel system that would enable electric UAVs to operate continuously from an aerostat deployed at the cruising altitude of the UAVs. 

I was involved in target detection, local navigation, and landing for the UAV, specifically on a grounded platform. The following are some of the testing videos:

IARC Mission 9 (International Aerial Robotics Competition Mission 9)

Supervisors: Dr. Dhwanil Shukla

At UMIC (Aerove), the team developed a mothership–daughtership system capable of carrying a 15 kg payload along with a detachment mechanism. To meet the requirements of the challenge, the mothership was integrated with several supporting systems, including a gripping mechanism and a module replacement mechanism, which formed the core of the overall design.

I was involved in avionics, mechanism design, and their control. The following are some of the testing videos: