Development of a Versatile UAV Platform for Agricultural Applications

Abstract

This paper presents the SAE-USM's (School of Aerospace Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) research initiatives in designing a versatile platform for agricultural applications. The 30 kilograms UAV is designed to allow very high resolution pictures of 1-2 centimetres to be taken in durations of 6 hours of continuous flight. The cruise speed and the design flight altitude would be determined from the payload capability in producing the required resolution. As a result, several possible airframes in modular fashion are proposed and evaluated to obtain the most promising performance to meet the design criteria. From experience learnt in designing the Mosquito UAV platform with System Consultancy Services Sdn Bhd (SCS), the UAV research group is confident to meet the requirements demanded by local agriculture-based companies on an unmanned aerial vehicle. It is anticipated that this effort will establish some common standards in the development of very small UAV platforms for wider usage in Malaysia.