Aerocare - Unmanned Aerial Delivery Vehicle
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Poster
Abstract
Certain remote areas have limited access to life saving medical supplies. Currently medical delivery efforts are reliant on ground transportation, which consumes both valuable time and resources. Studies show that aerial transport of supplies significantly decreases delivery time in both urban and rural environments. An unmanned aerial transport has the potential of reducing cost and delivery time while filling this need for medical supplies. The AeroCare project aims to pursue the development of an unmanned medical delivery aircraft capable of dropping a payload midflight. The aircraft will fly for at least 100 miles in under an hour while carrying 4 pounds of medical supplies. A normal mission will start with a short take-off (less than 56 feet), followed by a 1000 ft/min climb to the cruising altitude of 1000 feet above ground level. A descent to 400 feet will be performed before delivery where the medical package will be deployed from the internal payload bay. The aircraft will then climb back to its cruising altitude to return for recovery and resupply. Preliminary analysis has been completed on multiple design concepts, which were compared to pick a singular aircraft shape. A high-wing, conventional-tail aircraft was selected after analysis into the cruise efficiency, stability, and manufacturability of each design. The plane will be powered by a 2-stroke gas engine since gasoline has high energy density and low cost. A 2-stroke is also lighter than a 4-stroke and more reliable than a turbine at this scale.
Aerocare - Unmanned Aerial Delivery Vehicle
Certain remote areas have limited access to life saving medical supplies. Currently medical delivery efforts are reliant on ground transportation, which consumes both valuable time and resources. Studies show that aerial transport of supplies significantly decreases delivery time in both urban and rural environments. An unmanned aerial transport has the potential of reducing cost and delivery time while filling this need for medical supplies. The AeroCare project aims to pursue the development of an unmanned medical delivery aircraft capable of dropping a payload midflight. The aircraft will fly for at least 100 miles in under an hour while carrying 4 pounds of medical supplies. A normal mission will start with a short take-off (less than 56 feet), followed by a 1000 ft/min climb to the cruising altitude of 1000 feet above ground level. A descent to 400 feet will be performed before delivery where the medical package will be deployed from the internal payload bay. The aircraft will then climb back to its cruising altitude to return for recovery and resupply. Preliminary analysis has been completed on multiple design concepts, which were compared to pick a singular aircraft shape. A high-wing, conventional-tail aircraft was selected after analysis into the cruise efficiency, stability, and manufacturability of each design. The plane will be powered by a 2-stroke gas engine since gasoline has high energy density and low cost. A 2-stroke is also lighter than a 4-stroke and more reliable than a turbine at this scale.