1. Executive Summary
January was focused on finalizing documentation for the dev-kit and assisting manufacturers with order placement. Landing gear and updated aluminum plates were ordered after design changes and additional validation testing, while simultaneously testing the updated PCBs and Raspberry Pi integration.
The second half of the month centered around investigation into the root cause of a test unit crash during an autonomous mission. Many discussions took place investigating the landing procedure, power architecture, and system logging procedures. This has shifted the focus for February to concluding the crash investigation, validating the IP53 waterproofing with new silicon seals, and publishing the comprehensive documentation suite.
2. Project Progress
Team Formation
The Project Quiver team remained the same for January.
| Member | Experience Level | Team | Weekly Commitment (hrs) | Areas of Expertise / Championed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21stCenturyAlex | Level 3 | Core | 20 | Avionics |
| alperenag | Level 4 | Core | 28 | Project Co-Lead |
| Dow Fisher KBM | Level 3 | Core | 15 | FEA, Systems Engineering |
| errrks.eth | Level 4 | Core | 35 | Project Co-Lead |
| Julius | Level 4 | Core | 35 | PCB Layout, Power Storage, Prototyping, Propulsion System, Electrical Communication |
| ZeynepB | Level 4 | Core | 30 | Flight Mechanics, Flight Test |
| kjcerveny | Level 3 | Contributor | 5 | Electrical design, System testing, Product development |
Progress Summary
Mechanical & Structural
To avoid Lunar New Year delays, the design for the 4mm aluminum bottom plates was frozen and ordered via Rapid Direct. A bulk order for 120 units of custom 30mm landing gear was placed with RJX Hobby to support 30 builds. Waterproofing efforts required a redesign of the 3D printed lid, which now features a trench for liquid silicon seals and sturdier latches. Additionally, provisions for vibration dampers were integrated directly into the CAD model to avoid future retrofits. The changes were included on the aluminum plates included in the Rapid Direct order.
Electrical
The updated PCBs arrived, assembled, and successfully tested to ensure desired operation. A thin finish was applied on all the PCBs by the manufacturer to improve the dev kit weatherproofing. An instruction manual detailing the Ethernet integration was made available but still requires a peer review by another manufacturer.
Software
A REST File Get Client was established for two-way communication, and battery data is now successfully displayed via MAVSDK on the web interface. Obstacle avoidance (OA) tuning also progressed, with parameter adjustments resolving issues where dust was being detected as an object at low altitudes.
Documentation
Significant progress was made in preparing the first drafts of various documents.
The team transitioned collaboration to HackMD and Github to streamline version control. The goal is to release the following documents in February:
- Dev Kit Engineering Report
- includes various information notes that are being actively worked on
- Pilot’s Handbook
- Assembly Guide
- Developer SDK
3. Major Studies
The following studies are ongoing and information notes will be created upon completion. Many of the information notes will be made available on GitHub in early February.
- Design changes for cockpit waterproofing and dustproofing
- Obstacle avoidance tuning
- Quiver payload SDK
- CAD changes for transport case
- PCB updates
- Ethernet Integration and setup
- Structural weight reduction robustness test results
- SITL simulation results
- Wiring and Harnessing Model
- Endurance Testing with various payloads
4. Goals for Next Month
- Continue flight testing and record endurance and heavy payload limitations.
- Finalize obstacle avoidance system.
- Conduct waterproof testing with silicon seal.
- Test SIYI MK32 RC.
- Test and integrate RemoteID.
- Place order for multiple transport cases.
- Publish all Dev Kit documentation
- FAA registration
- Conclude crash investigation
5. Budget & Resource Allocation
- Project Expenses:
A total of $4,196.55 was reimbursed for PCB ordering and shipping, Fusion 360 tokens, 3D Printed part testing, and HackMD/Notion subscriptions.
Link - Team Members Compensation
The project team was compensated a total of $36,403.00. The breakdown can be found here. - Total
The total expense of Project Quiver in January was $40,599.55, which is below the monthly maximum spending cap. In addition, the team members received 20,224 $ARROW in total as part of their compensations.