Search and Rescue: Stinson

crash Documentation
Kathryn Dorge: n9701761
Patrick Wilson: n9766847
James Hoult: n9457453

EGB346: Unmanned Aircraft Systems

1.0 Executive Summary
As discussed in previous reports, a search and rescue mission solution is designed to utilise UAV’s to locate a
missing person. This mission consists of two UAV’s, one of which will search the Lamington National Park for
Outback Joe whom has gone missing while hiking from O’Reilly’s resort to the Stinson Crash site. The fixed wing
UAV will launch from O’Reilly’s Farm, the site of the ground control station, and search the immediate area
utilising camera recognition software. Once located the UAV will Joe’s location stored in memory will return the
base and act as a communications rely for a multi-rotor UAV. Both UAV’s will then travel to Joe’s location and
deliver medical supplies and a radio and will then return to base.
Integrating UAV’s into a search and rescue mission introduces several potential safety factors that must be
considered, such as a mid-air or ground collision. The methods put into place to prevent a mid-air collision, which
may potentially cause loss of life, from occurring includes communicating with authorities for the current location
of the UAV and other vehicles, ensure that the UAV adheres to CASA’s outline flight level and as a last resort an
avoidance system that utilises radio waves to sense if a vehicle is near is utilised. It should be noted that it is also
possible for the UAV’s to experience a mid-air collision with birds in the area. To prevent this holographic tape
can be introduced to the air frame to deter birds from approaching the airborne UAV. If these systems fail, then
the UAV must be designed in order to mitigate and reduce the chance of the worst case scenario from occurring.
These include ensuring that the UAV’s can break easily against an aerial vehicle and to prevent the chance of a
fire from occurring, any flammable internal components on the UAV are to be encased in fire retardant material.
To prevent ground collisions from occurring, the UAV is to be outfitted with a warning system which can relay
the state of the UAV systems to base. Additionally, before take-off, the rigorous testing of all systems will be
conducted to ensure their reliability and spotters are to monitor the physical state of the UAV and report if there
are any irregularities. Again if these systems fail, methods are undertaken to prevent the worst case scenario, these
include ensuring that the crash occurs in an unpopulated area, the UAV is to go immediately to ground to prevent
drifting, any spotters utilised aren’t placed directly underneath the flight path and to reduce the chance of a bush
fire any flammable components are to be placed in fire retardant material as previously mentioned. In some cases,
the UAV will go immediately to ground as this is the preferable outcome, in this case a terrain awareness system
is introduced to allow the UAV to crash in a less populated area.
The project commissioning of the UAV includes the required processes needed to maintain the UAV’s operation.
This includes investigating the functionality of the components and performing functional tests to verify the
components. These functional tests also involve examining control drawings and written sequences of systems,
examining any system code, interviewing the owner and operational crew, and installing dataloggers to analyse
the data. Furthermore, it outlines the normal operational conditions for components when maintenance work will
be conducted. Finally, the flight test regime is included to provide the necessary tests to ensure that all systems
and components are operating as expected. These tests include simple flight tests and system checks that must be
conducted to ensure that the UAV is capable of locating outback Joe and will be checked against the traceability
matrix to ensure all user requirements are met. Through this process, all technical meetings and flight tests will be
documented to guarantee that all personnel receive the current information on the project. This includes providing
a timeline of the project to ensure that all required tests are conducted on time and all mission goals are met.

2|Page
Table of Contents
1.0 Executive Summary......................................................................................................................................2
2.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................4
3.0 Mission Solution Summary ..........................................................................................................................5
4.0 Risk Assessment ...........................................................................................................................................6
5.0 Project Commissioning.................................................................................................................................9
6.0 Flight Test Regimes ....................................................................................................................................16
6.1 Individual System Testing ......................................................................................................................16
6.1.1 Payload ...........................................................................................................................................16
6.1.2 Autopilot .........................................................................................................................................16
6.1.3 Navigation ......................................................................................................................................16
6.1.4 Ground Control Station ..................................................................................................................17
6.1.5 Airframe .........................................................................................................................................17
6.1.6 Power & Propulsion........................................................................................................................17
6.1.7 Target Acquisition ..........................................................................................................................18
7.0 Traceability .................................................................................................................................................19
8.0 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................21
9.0 Appendices .................................................................................................................................................22
9.1 Appendix I: User Requirements .............................................................................................................22
11.0 References ..................................................................................................................................................23
12.0 Statement of Contribution ..........................................................................................................................24

3|Page
2.0 Introduction
The use of UAV’s or more colloquially ‘drones’ have been largely in the military sector and as such they are not
seen as a safe and useful technology for other areas. However, UAV’s have been gaining popularity in areas such
as search and rescue as they would reduce the amount of energy and people required to complete a mission.
Throughout this report a UAV has been designed to search for a missing hiker, who got lost hiking in O’Reilly’s
rainforest and deliver a package containing medical supplies and a radio to contact ground search and rescue crews
to ease their job in locating and bringing the missing person back to safety. The solution consists of two UAV’s,
one which acts as a long-range search aircraft which searches for the missing person using on-board cameras and
image processing software and another delivery multirotor which delivers the supplies to the missing person once
they have been located. In order for the solution to be accepted as viable for the presented mission a number of
items must be considered. Firstly, a risk assessment must be completed on the proposed mission to ensure that it
operates safely without endangering other people’s lives or property. This will be completed using the Barrier
Bow-Tie model on the different incidents that may occur in the area. These include mid-air collisions with other
helicopters operating in the area and ground collisions. By completing a risk assessment, the safety of all those
within the mission’s area will be ensured.
Once the Risk assessment has been completed the project must be commissioned and strategies developed so that
the solution can be implemented and maintained in a safe and proper manner. The project commissioning outlines
the process required to operate and maintain the solution as well as any improvements or upgrades that are
discovered. This would ensure that the system is sustainable and can be implemented in other scenarios different
from the one initially provided. The project commissioning also encompasses any tests that must be performed
on the system before it can be fully implemented. These flight test regimes outline the individual test required to
isolate individual components of the system to ensure they are fully functional and can perform the tasks required
for the mission. Performing the test regimes will secure the success of the system to perform the mission required.
Finally, all the steps of the commissioning and testing project must be documented to ensure the traceability of the
system so in the event of an accident the cause can be identified and improvements developed to solve the problem.
therefore, a traceability study must be performed on the system to ensure the safety of those surrounding the
solution. Overall, UAV’s have the potential to increase the efficiency of search and rescue missions but must be
properly documented and implemented to guarantee the safety of all those involved and surrounding the area the
operation is conducted in.

4|Page
3.0 Mission Solution Summary
UAV’s are commonly perceived in military applications or as special equipment used by avid hobbyists. However,
there is a large potential for their use in the commercial market as they are more efficient and require less
manpower to complete tasks compared to the traditional methods for the task. One such application that can
benefit by using UAV’s is within Search and Rescue missions. Thus, to determine if UAV’s are capable of
integrating into Search and Rescue, a UAV is designed for a specific mission. This mission involves locating
Outback Joe who has become lost while hiking from the O’Reilly’s resort to the Stinson crash in the McPherson
range.

Figure 1: Mission CONOPS

The solution for this mission involves utilising a fixed wing UAV attached with an image detection system that
can locate Joe. As demonstrated in figure 1 the fixed wing UAV is to take off from the ground control station at
O’Reilly’s farm and search for Outback Joe starting in the most likely area where he may be located. The fixed
wing, if needed is to return to the ground control station for refuelling. However, once Outback Joe is found and
confirmed by the operators it is to return to the ground control station with the location of Joe stored in its
memory. Once it has reached the GCS, it will then escort a multi-rotor UAV to the location of Joe and act as a
communications relay for it as the multi-rotor will then enter the valley of where Joe is located and deliver the
payload before both UAV’s are to return the base station.

5|Page
4.0 Risk Assessment
Operating a UAV within the McPherson range area gives the potential for mid-air collisions to occur with
helicopters in the area. This is due to the fact that the O'Reilly's resort contains a private helicopter pad, thus the
immediate area around O'Reilly's resort is classed as a no-fly zone by CASA along with the surrounding area
having a maximum flying altitude of 45 meters [1].
However, due to this mission being a part of the main search and rescue operation permission can be requested to
fly in the immediate area. Additionally, during the operation of the search and rescue mission helicopters will be
active in the search area in order to assist with the effort. Taking this and the other vehicles sharing the airspace
into account the risk of the collision with another aerial vehicle can be classified as high risk. Therefore,
precautions must be undertaken in order to help prevent the causations for a mid-air collision from occurring.
If a mid-air collision is to occur there is a range of serious incidents that may transpire, including the potential for
property damage or sever injurie. While also, there is an extremely large chance that both the UAV and the other
aircraft in the incident will be permanently damaged, this can also lead to any debris potentially harming
bystanders. Thus, systems must be integrated into the mission in order to minimise and mitigate any potential harm
that may occur.

Figure 2: Mid Air collision Risk model

In order to limit the possibility of a mid-air collision from occurring a series of systems will be put in place. In the
event that one system is to fail, then another can help prevent a mid-air collision occurring with any other vehicle
sharing the same airspace. One solution is to communicate with the helicopter pad operators to inform them that
UAV's are assisting with the search effort. Also, locational data of the UAV will be relayed to the operators and
in turn any helicopters in the area in order to alert them of possible mid-air collisions if needed. Another solution
is to introduce RF sensors to the UAV, which would allow the UAV to detect if any object is within its vicinity
and can thus take manoeuvrable precautions to avoid a collision from occurring. The final precaution that can be
undertaken is to ensure that when mission planning occurs the UAV is to fly at the necessary altitude for its
direction as outlined by CASA as seen in figure 3. While there is the potential for the UAV to crash into birds
within the airspace, this can be mitigated by not only the Radio mid-air collision system mentioned above but also
by using holographic tape that can prevent birds from flying towards the UAV.
6|Page
If a mid-air collision is to occur at any point, then there must be measures to prevent the worst case scenario from
occurring. These scenarios include any passengers on the helicopter experiencing loss of life, getting severely
injured or causing damage to the helicopter. Two systems can be implemented to help prevent these things from
occurring. Firstly, one method is to ensure that the UAV can break up easily against the helicopters. This helps
prevents the rotors of the helicopter from being damaged and potentially causing it to crash into ground. The
second system is to place any on board batteries and fuel cells within fire proof casings in order to prevent a fire
which can then damage the helicopter and thus potentially harm someone.

Figure 3: Flight levels [2]

Ground collisions is always a risk involved when testing and operating UAV's however, before allowing the device
to operate these risks needs to be evaluated. One potential outcome of a ground collision is that the equipment on
board the UAV will be destroyed with the impact which isn't an ideal situation due to the financial costs involved.
Another risk is the potential for the UAV to hit and injure or possibly kill someone on the ground. This is an
extremely important risk as these people didn't knowingly accept the risk of this from occurring thus, this is
considered high risk and must be prevented. This will be completed by utilising the bow tie model below that helps
prevents the causations for a crash from occurring.

Figure 4: Ground Collision risk assessment model

7|Page
One system that can be put into place to ensure that the UAV remains airborne is to introduce warning systems
that relay information to the operators on the state of the UAV and determine if it will crash. This involves
incorporating a range of sensors that can monitor engine status, battery status, petrol levels and temperature levels
of the UAV. The results of these sensors can then be relayed to the ground control station for the operators to
determine if any UAV systems are about to fail and thus can take the necessary actions. Additionally, before the
UAV is to take off it must undergo extensive testing in order to ensure that each system is operating optimally
with minimal chance of failure. Also, to prevent any bush fires from occurring any flammable material, such as
LiPo batteries and the fuel cells, will be encased in fire retardant material as previously mentioned. Another system
is for the spotters that surround the area to relay the approximate altitude of the UAV back to the ground control
station to compare to the received data as a precaution. However, in some cases a controlled flight into terrain is
preferable, for example a loss of the communication system. In this case the UAV and operators will need to
understand the terrain to prevent major damage to high risk areas.
It should be noted, that in some cases a ground collision cannot be prevented, thus it is imperative for the UAV to
crash in an isolated area rather than a populated area. Thus, systems will be implemented to prevent this possibility.
One such system includes sending the UAV to ground immediately when a major system fails or when the UAV
leaves its designated area of operation. These major systems include the flight controller, navigational, and
communications systems. This will prevent the UAV from drifting into a more populated area where it could then
possibly crash, causing large amounts of damage to people and property. Additionally, to prevent the spotters from
being injured at any point, they will be stationed slightly off the UAV’s flight path such that no one will be located
in a possible area for a ground collision to occur. These systems act as barriers preventing the UAV from
potentially harming someone as seen in figure 4.

8|Page
5.0 Project Commissioning
Description:
The commission consists of two UAVs, one endurance fixed wing aircraft and payload carrying multirotor. The
multirotor consists of a DJI S1000 airframe with an Erle Brain 3 flight controller connected to a raspberry pi
computer for data collection and telemetry. The fixed wing aircraft consists of a falcon trainer airframe with an
Erle Brain 3 flight controller, SF11 laser altimeter, Reach RTK GNSS and Groove’s 9D0F IMU. The
communications system consists of two RFD900 Modems for the fixed wing and multirotor aircraft. The mission
is designed so that the endurance aircraft performs the search for the missing person using an on-board GoPro
Hero 4 camera connected to a Raspberry Pi running colour recognition software programmed to highlight the
colours of the missing persons clothes. Once the missing person has been located and their position confirmed by
the flight operator the delivery multirotor will deliver medical supplies and a radio to the missing person while the
search aircraft acts as a communication relay between the multirotor and the ground control station. This is in
order to maintain constant communication as the delivery drone drops out of line of sight with the ground control
station.
Commissioning Objectives
The following objectives have been identified as the most important components of this commissioning project.
They are in order of importance:

• Demonstrate safety and functionality of the system

• Setup documentation required for proper operation and maintenance of the system
• Bring all components to be fully operational

Scope
This commissioning project is to observe the design of the UAV system and implement operation and maintenance
practices in order to ensure that the design is fully functional and safe to operate.
The project is designed to focus on the design, operation and maintenance of the solution to the mission provided
with the attention being mainly on the operation to ensure the system is used safely and as intended. The equipment
listed below will be investigated through the use of this commissioning report.
The following tasks are included in the scope of this report and will be applied to each of the components listed
for this mission.
1. Investigate the functionality of the components to determine the optimal operation of the systems and
maintenance that would be required to ensure the safety of the component.
2. Perform functional tests to verify and document that the systems are functioning as they are designed.
3. Methods to be used for the above two tasks include:
. Examination of control drawings and written sequences
. Examination of control system code
. Interviewing of owner and operational crew
. Installing portable dataloggers and analysing data
. Initialising trend logs and analysing data
4. Under normal operational conditions document the conditions of equipment and note those that require
attention
5. Determine staff training that is required for safe operation and maintenance
6. Write system descriptions for each of the systems that are investigated.
9|Page
The following noted systems will be commissioned during this project and represent the selected equipment and
systems references in the above mission description.

• Airframe (Structures, brackets)

• Communications system (Antennas, cables, modems etc.)
• Autopilot (hardware and software)
• Power (batteries, power management unit etc.)
• Propulsion (engine, propeller, fuel system etc.)
• Ground Control system (computers, modems, antennas)
• Electrical systems (motors, ESCs, power distribution)
Roles and Responsibilities

Name Role Mobile Email

James Hoult Site Manager 0421786229 james.hoult@connect.qut.edu.au

Patrick Wilson Maintenance 0449523846 p46.wilson@connect.qut.edu.au

engineer

Kathryn Dorge Operation 0455963199 kathryn.dorge@connect.qut.edu.au

manager

The individual responsibilities of each team member are:

Site Manager:

• Referred to as the ‘owner’ of the project

• Ensures that all personnel and service contractors participate as required
• Provides input into assessment
• Directs and oversees implementations of system improvements and upgrades including gathering required
documentation
• Attends required meetings
• Works with faculty staff through management of assignments to ensure operator can assist in the
assessment and commissioning process
• Approves any improvements suggested to implement into the system
Maintenance engineer:

• Assists in gathering project documentation

• Provides input into the site assessment
• Executes and documents any system calibration
• Executes requested trend logs
• Executes manual functional tests
• Implements identified O&M improvements
• Attends required meetings

10 | P a g e
Operation Manager:

• Provides input in the site assessment

• Assists in gathering project documentation
• Executes and documents system pre-operation checks
• Implements identified O&M improvements
• Attends required meetings
• Documents operation of the project
Documentation
The commissioning process begins with the gathering and review of various documentation
The plan for this project has been divided into the following primary steps:
1. Identify primary objectives
2. Obtain system documentation and general overview of the system
3. Develop a site-specific commissioning plan
4. Conduct a scoping meeting
5. Perform an initial site, operational environment assessment
6. Develop a list of O&M requirements
7. Develop a diagnostic monitoring and functional testing plan
8. Execute calibrations on selected equipment
9. Implement monitoring and testing of components
10. Analyse data acquired from monitoring and testing and identify additions or improvements to O&M
procedures.
11. Implement and verify O&M procedures and improvements
12. Consider energy and cost efficient improvements
13. Commissioning final report
The following is an outline of the commissioning plan for the project.
1. Identify primary objectives
The project objectives have been listed previously.
2. Obtain system documentation and general overview of the system
This task was completed prior to developing this plan.
3. Develop a site-specific commissioning plan
The Commissioning provider develops this plan with the Owner.
4. Conduct a scoping meeting
This meeting is held with all managers and primary staff members in attendance to describe and plan the
process required to execute the commissioning activities.
5. Perform an initial site, operational environment assessment
The site assessment begins with a meeting of all parties to go over the overall commissioning plan,
operation initial assessment procedures, risk assessments, authorization protocol documents and the
schedule for the execution of the commissioning plan. The assessment provides an understanding of the
complete system and how each of the components within the system function on their own and within the

11 | P a g e
 system. Additionally, the initial assessment provides an opportunity to begin to develop initial operational
and maintenance requirements. This is accomplished by interviewing the operation and maintenance staff
and by making site inspections. During this stage the control, sequences, control parameters and schedules
are also closely examined however actual equipment testing of the system is not completed. Initial
problems and potential improvements are identified purely based on gaining information from
documentation, facility staff, equipment vendors and the control systems of the overall design.
From this assessment, a significant amount of O&M requirements and improvements will be generated.
This initial list of requirements and potential concerns provide information about which components of
the system will most benefit from formal monitoring and testing which would most likely ease the
concerns and provide additional improvements to the initial O&M procedures.
The assessment will consist of following tasks:

• Gain an understanding of the UAV and GCS equipment and systems.

• Obtain the necessary approvals from Civil Aviation Safety Authority required for the mission.
• Identify the which system would potentially be the most problematic in terms of control, operational
and comfort of use.
• Identify the design and operational intent of the control sequences. Document all missing control
sequences required for the operation of the system.
• Identify procedures and practices to reduce unnecessary runtime and capacity levels.
• Identify changes to control strategies, parameters, setpoints, sequences or required maintenance to
improve efficiency, comfort, operation and control of the system.
• Document condition of equipment and identify any noticeable problems such as deterioration, cracks,
dents etc.
• Identify required staff training
• Scope the monitoring (determine feasibility of desired monitoring points and gather necessary
nameplate data)
• Document the assessment process and results
During the assessment, staff will be required to work the control system to view schedules and setpoints
6. Develop a list of O&M requirements
During the commissioning process the provider develops a master list of all O&M requirements for
possible implementation. The lost includes the name of the system or component involved, a description
of issues that must be addressed and a suggested solution. The list of initial opportunities and
recommendations generated during the initial site assessment is submitted to the Maintenance manager
and owner for review, prior to developing a monitoring and testing plan.
7. Develop a diagnostic monitoring and functional testing plan
The Monitoring and functional testing plan consists of three reports. Firstly, a Monitoring and Testing
scope is produced which provides an outline of the equipment and components that are initially intended
to be tested, the general modes and functions that will be tested, expected sampling strategies and who
executes the testing. The Commissioning provider develops this list after consulting with the maintenance
manager and operations in light of the results of the initial site assessment.

12 | P a g e
 Secondly a monitoring plan is developed by the commissioning provider which includes a diagnostic plan
focused on equipment and systems as identified in the site assessment. Where possible, and only after
calibration of the system, the energy management control system will be used to monitor data.
Finally, a functional testing plan is developed. As determined in the site assessment and monitored data ,
some components will require manually testing through various mode of operation. Detailed test
procedure forms will be developed describing each specific procedure and the expected or correct
response. These procedure forms will direct the testing and be used to document the results.
8. Execute calibrations on selected equipment
The commissioning provider will provide forms for calibrating equipment sensors and actuators that will
be trended. These are completed and provided to the commissioning provider. Successful completion of
the calibrations is required prior to starting any monitoring, trending or manual functional testing.
9. Implement monitoring and testing of components
Monitoring:
The commissioning provider provides a detailed request for the required trend logs for the faculty staff to
execute the trends and provide the data t the provider in the requested format. The provider programs the
dataloggers and installs them with assistance of the facility staff. At the end of the monitoring period it
will be the responsibility of the facility staff to remove the sensors and dataloggers, package them and
send them back to the provider for analysis.
Functional Testing:
The commissioning provider oversees manual tests on selected equipment, with the tests being conducted
by facility staff. Manual tests will be comprised of changing parameters, set points or conditions and
observing the system or equipment response through various modes and conditions (both simulated and
real) and documenting the results. For equipment being monitored with sufficient points, manual testing
may be accomplished by changing the parameters during the monitoring period. The monitored data is
then examined and used to document and verify correct or incorrect operation.
10. Analyse data acquired from monitoring and testing and identify additions or improvements to
O&M procedures.
Once the data has been gathered from the monitoring and testing, the commissioning provider analyses
the results by comparing the actual operation of the system to the required operation and control sequences
(when available). Improvements are identified and documented. The list of improvements that were
generated were prioritised by the owner and commissioning provider with the factors that are taken into
account including the operation improvement, power/energy savings, assets value and the overall cost to
implement the improvement. The commissioning provider will provide estimates of estimates of saving
and installation costs of the improvements to the O&M procedures to assist the owner in the decision of
what improvements will be implemented. Once the owner has made the decision of which improvements
are to be implemented, the commissioning provider will develop a plan that outlines the process of the
improvements implementation. An interim report will also be generated at this point by the
commissioning provider which summarises the activities to date.
11. Implement and verify O&M procedures and improvements
The commissioning provider will develop a plan that outlines the process of implanting the selected
improvements to the O&M procedures. The owner will provide the finance required for the installation
and implementation of the improvements. Both the owner and commissioning provider will oversee the
13 | P a g e
 installation of the improvements with the commissioning provider providing some assistance in a review
and consulting mode for the owner. The installation work may be completed by in-house staff as well as
by contracted parties. The improvements can include, for selected components in the system, the
correction of unclear or incorrect documentation of control sequences of operation and to create written
sequences if they are missing or non-existent, and a listing of recommended training required for facility
staff to undertake. Systems will be manually retested and trended to verify the success of the
implementation and improvement, where appropriate and as needed. Appropriateness and need will be
determined based on the complexity and magnitude of the impacts of the improvements and the cost of
retesting the selected components. The data loggers will be reinstalled after improvements are made to
verify the improvements, for assiting in making calculations for further improvements, and for logging all
further operations of the system.
12. Consider energy and cost efficient improvements
The list of possible cost and energy effective improvements to equipment and operation procedures that
were discovered by the commissioning provider during the preceding work will be considered by the
owner and commissioning provider. The outcome of this will generally be a recommendation for more
detailed investigations of specific measures. Implementation of these improvements will not be part of
the scope of this project however.
13. Commissioning final report
The commissioning provider will prepare a final report that generally includes the following information:

• Executive summary
• Project background
• List of systems and associated general description.
• Scope of the overall commissioning process
• All completed functional tests and results
• Corrected and created control sequences
• The master list of all improvements and descriptions of the improvements that were implemented into
the system.
• A cost analysis for the estimates of savings and improvement costs for each one implemented.
• List of capital improvements recommended for further investigation.
In Appendix

• The commissioning plan

• The filled out operations initial site assessment forms
• The monitoring plan and annotated results
• All completed functional tests and results
• Corrected and created sequences of operation
• The estimates of energy savings for the final report will be developed using primarily spreadsheet
calculations based on data receive during monitoring and testing stage
Progress Reports:
The commissioning provider will develop and distribute monthly periodic progress reports until the completion of
the commissioning project.

14 | P a g e
General Schedule:
The task list provides an indication of the general scope of the work completed throughout the project and the
order that they will be completed in. The time frame required for each task will vary but a detailed schedule will
be provided by the commissioning provider at the beginning of the project. Any changes that are made to the
original schedule as work progress will reported to all parties that may be affected.

15 | P a g e
6.0 Flight Test Regimes
6.1 Individual System Testing
6.1.1 Payload
• [TEST-01] Release Mechanism (REQ-03)
o Payload will be attached to the multirotor and the release mechanism activated to ensure proper
detachment of payload.
• [TEST-02] Can support weight of the payload (REQ-03)
o Multirotor will take off with the payload attached and run through each degree of freedom.
• [TEST-03] Payload can withstand the drop distance (REQ-04)
o Payload will be dropped from multirotor at the pre-programmed drop distance.
• [TEST-04] Meets CASA requirements for dropping packages from aircraft (REQ-04)
o CASA approval must be obtained and guidelines followed to ensure that the mission operates
safely and legally.
6.1.2 Autopilot
• [TEST-05] Hardware Inspection
o Hardware will be inspected to ensure all connections are solid and there are no visual issues with
the Autopilot.
• [TEST-06] Autopilot Boot Testing
o Autopilot will be booted up and calibrated to ensure full functionality.
• [TEST-07] Sensor and Firmware Updating
o The systems firmware and sensors will be updated to the latest software that has been tested and
well received.
• [TEST-08] Detection and Response of PC (REQ-11)
o GCS computer will be connected and Autopilot pinged to ensure proper connection is acquired.
• [TEST-09] Axial Rotation Rig Testing
o System will be attached to axial rotation rig and moved through all degrees of freedom to ensure
autopilot system detects movement and reacts as programmed.
• [TEST-10] P.I.D Tuning
o Where required the PID gains will be adjusted and documented to ensure proper reaction of
autopilot system to external movements.
• [TEST-11] Test accuracy of augmented GPS Positioning
o Received GPS coordinates from autopilot will be compared to GPS coordinates of the area
measured by separate independent systems.
• [TEST-12] Receive Automatic Updates from the GCS about mission parameters on the fly (REQ-12)
o System will be manually moved through specific flight parameters and telemetry received
monitored to ensure proper operation of in-flight telemetry.
6.1.3 Navigation
• [TEST-13] Integration with QGroundControl
o System will be connected to GCS and information presented checked to ensure accuracy
• [TEST-14] Automatic Generation of Search Waypoints (QGroundControl) (REQ-02)
o Simulated flight will be run and systems monitored to ensure search waypoints are generated
automatically and appropriately.

16 | P a g e
6.1.4 Ground Control Station
• [TEST-15] Establish Uplink with UAV’s whilst they are sitting still
o Communication will be established with UAV and monitored to ensure proper connection is
obtained.
• [TEST-16] Enable position tracking so Yagi antenna are always pointing at the UAV’s (REQ-12)
o Antenna tracking will be setup and tested by manually moving UAV to ensure antenna continues
pointing at aircraft.
• [TEST-17] Test range of uplink by flying the UAV directly away from GCS until video quality starts to
decay, then about turn back to land (REQ-07)
• [TEST-18] Provide sufficient power and machine resources for the operation
o System is connected to mains power or sufficient sized generator to ensure the required power is
provided.
• [TEST-19] Test ability to take-off/ land on rough terrain at O’Riellys farm (REQ-05)
o Aircraft will be taken off and landed under the conditions of the mission for each test flight
completed.
• [TEST-20] Establish Image Stream to GCS so users can see what the UAV see’s (scale up or down
depending on bandwidth usage) (REQ-11)
o Image capture software will be tested to ensure that images are received and at high enough quality
to analyse.
• [TEST-21] Check radio communications (REQ-09)
o Radio communication with other aircraft in area will be established and documented complying
with CASA guidelines.
6.1.5 Airframe
• [TEST-22] All components are housed in airframe
o Aircraft will be loaded with all equipment required for mission to be completed.
• [TEST-23] Landing gear and undercarriage are strong enough to withstand hard landings
o Aircraft will withstand multiple landings at increasing degrees of roughness to test landing gear
and airframe.
• [TEST-24] Can withstand a loss of thrust upon landing from a height of 1m.
o Engine power will be cut as aircraft is within 1m of altitude on landing approach.
• [TEST-25] Aircraft is visible to other aircraft (REQ-09)
o Airframe will be visually checked to ensure that it is as visible as possible.
o Attached systems will be checked to see that they are fully functional, e.g. strobe lights, hi
visibility paint and coatings.
6.1.6 Power & Propulsion
• [TEST-26] Test the thrust output for each motor (REQ-03)
o Aircraft will be attached to test rig and thrust output of each motor measured and documented
• [TEST-27] Test maximum flight time (REQ-06)
o Aircraft will set to fly a short pattern repeatedly until low power protocols are activated and
flight time recorded and documented. The maximum flight time must be long enough to
accommodate a flight of at least 20km (max 10km to Joe and 10km return).
• [TEST-28] Test maximum strain on ESC’s (full throttle, getting stuck in net)
o With the aircraft restrained the throttle will be increased until full throttle is reached and amperage
through ESC is measured and documented.

17 | P a g e
6.1.7 Target Acquisition
• [TEST-29] Successful capture of images
o Image software will be activated and placed over test image to ensure that system captures the
image at the detail required.
• [TEST-30] Saving images on-board
o Images captured will be downloaded from on-board memory to ensure images are captured and
saved.
• [TEST-31] Recognise Joes clothing (Bright Yellow and Blue) (REQ-08)
o Test image with humanoid shape with yellow and blue colouring will be presented to the
imaging system and the image capture downloaded and analysed to ensure system is fully
functioning.
• [TEST-32] Detect if a successful image is found (with Joe in it) (Locate and Identify Joe) (REQ-01)
o Imaging system will be presented multiple test images with one containing shape representing
joe’s clothing and the output analysed to see if the system successfully identifies Joe.
• [TEST-33] Relay a selected image back to GCS for approval (REQ-10)
o Full imaging and communication system will be tested to see if it can successfully identify and
send images containing shape representative of Joe.

18 | P a g e
7.0 Traceability
The purpose of traceability in a project is so that an element can be traced to another related element. This helps
to manage the scope of the project, changes to requirements, and ensure that the UAV is verified and
validated. Therefore, several methods can be undertaken in order to trace the cause of the failure within the UAV
system and possibly why these failures occurred in the first place, if the user requirements have been met, the
design processes undertaken, and the capabilities of each system.
By keeping a timeline of the project, the progress and any important changes that have been made during the
project can be easily determined and tracked. This can be used by the system designers to determine deadlines that
need to be followed while also providing them information of the state of other systems within the UAV’s. Some
simple solutions to help traceability of what occurs in the project is to keep a record of all technical meetings of
which have taken place and what topics and actions where developed. This helps ensure that the entire team stays
up to date with all technical information and any changes made, thus decreasing the chance of a misunderstanding
occurring between system designers and help avoid compatibility issues. This also allows the changes in UAV
design to be tracked if a certain system needs to be investigated in case an error is to occur.
Another method to improve traceability is to keep a record of all revisions made to any technical drawings,
electrical schematics, code, or technical notes and manuals. This again allows systems to be investigated in depth
if at any point a failure occurs after a revision has been completed. Additionally, it ensures that system designers
stay up to date with the current state of the project. Finally, utilising a camera to photograph team meetings,
equipment, developed hardware, notes, in-field set ups, and the UAV can help trace when tests and changes
occurred during the project time line.
While it is important to track when decisions and important events occur for the UAV design project, it is also
important to keep a record of the UAV’s testing regime and whether the user requirements have been met.
Therefore, the following traceability matrix will be utilised to record the outcome of the UAV testing which can
then be used to help determine the reliability of the systems, thus verifying the UAV. This also helps determine
whether the user requirements for the mission have been met to an acceptable standard, further validating the
UAV. It should be noted that some test cases will only test certain elements of a system and not the entirety of the
system. From this table, if a test case is failed the system that fails can be traced and thus analysed for the result.
Additionally, this is a method for keeping track of the state and performance of the UAV systems during the
prototyping stage. For each test case see section 6.0 Test Regimes and for all user requirements see ….

19 | P a g e
 Table 1: Traceability Matrix

Reqs REQ REQ REQ REQ REQ REQ REQ REQ REQ REQ REQ REQ
-01 -02 -03 -04 -05 -06 -07 -08 -09 -10 -11 -12
Test
Case:
TEST-01 X
TEST-02 X
TEST-03 X
TEST-04 X
TEST-05 X
TEST-06 X
TEST-07 X
TEST-08 X
TEST-09 X
TEST-10 X
TEST-11 X X
TEST-12 X
TEST-13 X X
TEST-14 X
TEST-15 X
TEST-16 X
TEST-17 X
TEST-18 X
TEST-19 X
TEST-20 X
TEST-21 X
TEST-22 X
TEST-23 X
TEST-24 X
TEST-25 X
TEST-26 X
TEST-27 X
TEST-28 X
TEST-29 X
TEST-30 X
TEST-31 X
TEST-32 X X
TEST-33 X
8.0 Conclusion
Integrating UAV technology into the commercial market is a challenged faced by manufactures due to their history
in the military sector. However, the benefits that they can provide to areas such as search and rescue missions
could drastically improve the efficiency and cost involved. Thus, a mission solution is designed to locate Outback
Joe whom has gone missing after hiking from the O’Reilly’s resort to the Stinson air crash site. The solution
consists of a fixed wing UAV with imaging recognition software which will locate Joe, once found his location
will be stored within memory and will return to the ground station located at O’Reilly’s farm. From here a multi-
rotor UAV will be sent out to deliver the first-aid supplies and radio with the fixed wing acting as a
communications relay. After this has been completed both UAV’s is to return to the ground control station.
During the course of investigating the mission solution several lessons were learnt. These include the need to plan
for the worst case scenario when designing and implementing the UAV to prevent any major harm from coming
to anyone. While also, the rigorous extent of testing the functionality of each system of the UAV during the
designing and prototyping phase and not the UAV as a whole is extremely important in designing process. While
finally, the extent of documentation to cover the timeline of the project is extremely important in producing a
viable model.
The limitations of this model could hinder the reliability and effectiveness of any systems suggested in this report.
Such as an inability to effectively test any risk-assessment systems implemented in order to verify their
effectiveness in preventing or mitigating a mid-air or ground collision. This issue also exists when verifying the
effectiveness of any flight-testing regimes proposed, this is due to the fact that there currently isn’t a possible way
of testing these systems before implementing them in the design process of the UAV.
These systems can be enhanced further to improve the UAV’s effectiveness and reliability during the mission.
One suggestion to achieve this is to introduce more robust testing during the design process that tests for each
element of a system to verify it and then test the system as a whole. Another suggestion is to incorporate a complex
algorithm into the autopilot system which can gather information of the vehicles sharing the same airspace,
gathered from either input from the authorities or through on-board sensors, and alter its course to avoid these
vehicles.

For a video describing the mission solution please visit: https://youtu.be/wBj60yD_veU

21 | P a g e
9.0 Appendices
9.1 Appendix I: User Requirements
• REQ-01: Need to be able to locate Outback Joe
o Using high resolution cameras and image processing we will use a grid search pattern looking
for any signs of Joe. Suspicious images will be identified and sent to GCS for approval.
• REQ-02: Need to create automatic search patterns
o Because the search area is so big we will be using automatic search pattern features to meet this
requirement.
• REQ-03: Need to be able to deliver a package of medicine and radio to outback joe
o This will be achieved by stripping the quad-copter of all weight, adding powerful motors and a
release mechanism underneath. The drone will then fly to Joe before dropping the gear down to
him.
• REQ-04: Need to deliver packages without damage
o The outside of the drop package will consist of bubble wrap and a sacrificial landing gear, which
when it meets the ground, will shatter, absorbing the force of impact.
• REQ-05: Need to launch and land at O’Reilly’s farm
o We will use the drive-way as a runway for the fixed wing UAV. As for the quad-copter, it will
vertically take-off like normal.
• REQ-06: Need to travel around 10 km to search area before beginning search
o The fixed wing will run on a gas engine, allowing it to run for a very long period before
returning to refuel. The quad copter will be equipped with very high capacity batteries and will fly
straight to the target location and back.
• REQ-07: Communication needs to have 10km range
o Using line of sight and high-powered Yagi Antennas this will be easily achieved.
• REQ-08: Camera recognition to find yellow rain jacket and blue pants
o Using OpenCV image processing (a node for ROS), we will be able to train a classifier to look
for the clothes that Joe is wearing.
• REQ-09: Need to have plans to avoid mid-air collisions with helicopters
o We will be placing high powered strobe lights on both UAV’s, which will pulsate every now
and then to show other aircraft our location.
o We will also have a qualified radio operator which will broadcast on local frequencies alerting
pilots of helicopters and light aircraft that there is an active search and rescue operation underway
using small UAV aircraft.
• REQ-10: Need to visually confirm that joe has been found before package drops
o When Joe is suspected of being located, the images will be forwarded to the GCS for approval
before the quad-copter is launched to deliver the packages
• REQ-11: Need a way to visualise video feeds at the ground control station
o There will be a second computer setup, dedicated to reviewing imagery and confirming Joe
sightings
• REQ-12: Need to be able to communicate with UAV’s about mission parameters
o A high-powered Yagi Uplink will be used to communicate with the UAV’s. The ERLE brain
autopilots can be updated mid-air with new mission parameters should the need arise.

22 | P a g e
11.0 References

[1] "Can I fly there? - Drone safety app | Civil Aviation Safety Authority", Casa.gov.au, 2017. [Online]. Available:
https://www.casa.gov.au/droneapp. [Accessed: 14- Oct- 2017].
[2]"Airspace regulation | Civil Aviation Safety Authority", Casa.gov.au, 2017. [Online]. Available:
https://www.casa.gov.au/airspace/landing-page/airspace-regulation. [Accessed: 17- Oct- 2017].

23 | P a g e
12.0 Statement of Contribution
All persons listed below worked and completed this report in equal segments
James Hoult: n9457453
Patrick Wilson: n9766847
Kathryn Dorge: n9701761

24 | P a g e