Emergency Response Team

The team must find a way to construct a drone that will help assist Hazardous Materials Response Teams. Though emergency response teams are implementing drones more and more frequently, there is still no drone on the market that serves the very specific needs of Hazmat teams. This is unfortunate, because research shows that drones have been helping emergency response teams be safer and more effective in urgent situations (Hall, 2015). Drones can be used instead of humans when a dangerous situation, like a fire or chemical leak, must be dealt with. They can be equipped with high-level technology to help the emergency response team understand what the situation entails (Hall, 2015). If the engineering team is to successfully construct a drone

that fits the need the specific needs of a Hazmat team, they must ensure that it has a carry weight of at least 4 pounds, a live feed camera with the possibility of a thermal attachment, a GPS, a range of approximately 4 miles, and a battery life of at least 30 minutes.
The most important aspect of the drone is its ability to carry 4 pounds, since the Hazmat team uses a 4-pound device to take air samples to determine the chemical contaminant that they must address. In addition, the drone needs to be able to carry this 4-pound weight a reasonable distance and for a reasonable amount of time. As such, the engineering team will need to manipulate several variables, such as the type of battery and the shape and mass of the drone, to maximise the dependent variables of flight duration and carry capacity. These two variables are both far too important to focus on only one. As such, the engineering team will attempt to satisfy both of these requirements simultaneously. However, in the event that the engineering team can only consider one variable (due to time or financial constraints, for example), then the engineering team will focus on carry capacity as the dependent variable, since a drone with a higher carry capacity will be able to carry a slightly bigger battery, and therefore achieve a longer flight duration (Darack, 2015). As for the independent variable, again it is important to note that all of the possible manipulable variables are equally important, and the team will attempt to manipulate as many variables as possible to achieve the desired outcome. However, in the interest of data collection, the engineering team must select one particular independent variable to measure and compare to a dependent variable. The team will focus on how the mass of the drone in kilograms affects the carry capacity in pounds; however, the team will also pay attention to how an increase in mass impacts the flight duration in minutes.
The engineering team hypothesizes that a greater drone mass will yield a greater carry capacity.

This is supported by research; by definition, a drone with a greater mass must contain more material, bulk, and will be larger in general, and therefore will be able to support a greater weight (Benson, 2015). The effect that the mass and bulk of the drone will have on flight duration is less clear. A more massive drone will be able to carry a more massive battery, and thus it is a fair assumption that flight duration will also increase as mass increases. Unfortunately, as mass increases, so too does the amount of material needed, and most high-quality materials are prohibitively expensive (Benson, 2015). The engineering team will have to determine a material that maximises sturdiness and weight-support while minimizing cost. Currently, aluminium and wood seem like viable options do their sturdy thickness and relatively low cost (Benson,

2015).
Unfortunately, the engineering team has not set the procedure of the drone construction in stone. The team has been researching potential companies from whom to buy parts, and the drone supply company 3DRobotics seems like a viable option. They sell numerous individual drone parts, as well as internal wiring and complete drone kits. Though the parts are relatively expensive, that comes as no surprise. Most helpfully, 3DRobotics provides a full set of instructions regarding how to wire the internal power mechanisms inside the drone, a topic that has proven to be extremely difficult to research anywhere else. For example, the DIY Quad from 3DRobotics requires Deans connectors to be soldered to electronic speed controllers at specific charged connection points, followed by connecting the electronic speed controllers to a power distribution board (3DRobotics, 2015). This assembly is then wired to an “XT60 controller,” which is unfortunately distributed only by 3DRobotics, for the relatively hefty price of $200 (3DRobotics, 2015). Further research must be conducted to determine alternatives to these particular pieces. As for the materials for the frame, the team is still discussing the optimal material; it needs to be a relatively cheap material, to compensate for the cost of the internal wiring. Wood seems to be a very viable option, surprisingly. It is a firm and sturdy material, and it is very inexpensive (Benson, 2015). It is also extremely easy to cut custom pieces from wood, as opposed to milling pieces from carbon fibre or metal (Benson, 2015).
This project has a number of safety concerns associated with it that will have to be considered.

The Federal Aviation Administration has placed restrictions on where drones are allowed to be flown, for example. The drone must fly below 400 feet, and it cannot fly over densely populated areas or for commercial purposes (E. 2014). The Hazmat drone will certainly not need to have any commercial applications, but it will important to note that highly dense population areas are off-limits. The team will need to research what the FAA specifically and numerically defines as “dense.” Weak wireless transmissions or unreliable communication links, mechanical mistakes, and/or busy air traffic can present a danger to the drone’s flight, and so some amount of training would be extremely advantageous to the pilots of the drone (Whitlock, 2014). A drone’s camera also has a very limited scope of vision; it is suggested that drone pilots work in tandem, one as the driver and one as a spotter (Betancourt, 2014). Furthermore, a positional-awareness program that surpasses the abilities of a GPS can help keep drones out of airplane paths and no-fly zones and can utilize a mobile app to assist with integrating it (Patel,

2015).
The engineering team intends to compile a series of tests on the drone design; it will be placed into a situation not unlike those it would face as part of the Hazmat team, and its “success rate” will be measured, so to speak. The engineering team hopes to get the Hazmat team itself to test the drone, to determine qualitatively whether it is appropriate for their needs. In addition, the drone’s mass, flight duration, and carry capacity will be recorded. To supplement the qualitative responses from the Hazmat team, the team will compile two graphs: one graphing mass on the x-axis and flight duration in the y-axis, and one graphing mass on the x-axis and carry capacity on the y-axis. The hope is that this graphs will both show a significant positive trend. The data table will appear something like this:

Mass (kg)
Flight Duration (min)
Carry Capacity (lbs)