Search & Rescue Flying Tank: Prototype Mk3

We replaced the acrylic sheets with aluminium shafts as the total weight of the drone would be reduced while maintain the same structural rigidity.

We managed to maintain its firmness and sturdiness after replacing the acrylic sheets with aluminium shafts. We tried flying it again and we managed to lift it off the ground. However, it could only lift off the ground at maximum throttle, and it only flew to about 20cm in altitude, and would sink back to the ground easily. This was not ideal as in order for us to achieve autonomous flight, we had to be able to fly with great stability at about 40-50% throttle. We had to work with two major constraints – weight distribution and airflow. At this stage, the entire drone weighed 2.5kg. As we were working around a time and budget constraint, we could not afford to undergo a major redesign and hinder the progress of the entire project and hence we decided to separate land-air drone into an air drone and land rover. We could not afford to spend more time experimenting around and redesigning the land-air drone.