Please tell us a bit more about the Team Peryton
University of Surrey students consisting of a 3rd year design project group and volunteers who are passionate about making an impact on the world using UAVs.
Congratulation on wining the fly-off, how does it feel to be winners
Suarav: Absolutely great, we still can’t believe we did it! But it’s all our hard work from past 10 months, it had to pay off. We feel very proud to be honoured but also feel a sense of responsibility to keep up for the coming years.
Jonathan: Pretty good!
What were the best moments of the fly-off?
Jonathan: Getting a successful autonomous circuit. The avionics system was the last big hurdle in the project and proved to be one of the most challenging.
Oliver: We spent a lot of time testing over the year and having this experience meant the aircraft performed predictably (for the most part) on the day. Seeing this come together for each flight was really rewarding.
What are the key areas of your UAS and reports that led to your win?
Jonathan: Simplicity in the design. We wanted to get something robust and able to fly reliably.
Julian: Healthy internal competition. In addition to what the others have already mentioned about our “make it fly first” approach, the fact that we had two dissimilar aircraft concepts in development at the same time was a real advantage. This allowed us to not only directly compare the performance impact of different design choices rather than relying on rough estimates, but also encouraged everyone to get the very best performance out of every part of the design, no matter how small.
Oliver: A pragmatic approach throughout the design process to ensure we arrived at an aircraft which would score the maximum number of points in the competition, with minimum complexity. Our project management ensured we could start flying as soon as COVID restrictions eased. We used Agile Sprint methods to concentrate the team on bring the design to the manufacturing stage. We made prototypes from the get-go, using rapid manufacturing techniques such as laser cutting and 3d printing. We made a total of 7 fuselage prototypes and 2 full aircraft. Each prototype enabled us to spot problems which are difficult to find in simulations and CAD.
Tell us more about your UAS and the thought process behind your engineering decisions
Saurav: This year our initial focus was on getting simple but effective design i.e., targeting maximum points with minimum risk. Our main motto always has been "Early Manufacturing and Testing". We believe that sufficient testing from component to system level can only get product ready for launch. In technical perspective, the design of each component has been carefully studied in 5 areas: aerodynamics efficiency, system integration and modularity, mass reduction, quick & easy manufacturability, and finally reasonable cost.
Oliver: A significant amount of the team’s time was spent on evaluating the trade offs between performance and manufacturing complexity. For example, Arias wings are not tapered at all to significantly reduce part complexity, since we considered the points increase of using a taper to be small.
What have been the biggest engineering challenges in developing your UAS so far? How have you overcome these?
Oliver: Avionics systems knowledge is not taught through our course, so either group members need prior experience or research quickly. We overcame this with our testing days, getting the autopilot and sensors on the aircraft as early as possible.
Co-ordinating a large team is tricky, ensuring everyone is on the same page becomes more difficult compared to smaller projects team members have done. Some of the tools we used to ease this were:
- Fusion 360: Cloud based CAD meant everyone had access to the latest version of parts
- Teams: Communication and file sharing
- Microsoft Planner: Setting and managing tasks for sub teams
What made your team members be a part of the UAS challenge?
Saurav: The thrill to be in the competition as well as regular manufacturing and flying sessions.
Oliver: For me, having the competition as the end goal is very motivating. Getting involved means we have access to lots of resources to do what I am passionate about. Working with everyone in the team with different perspectives and ideas is very fun.
As defending champions of the fly-off, what are your plans for 2022?
Julian: Focus on our avionics systems. bring the cost down and improve capabilities and reliability – lots of early testing. We are also thinking of doing a more adventurous fuselage design.
Saurav: Early testing of the avionics system on the existing UAVs.
Oliver: Testing the more advanced avionics areas, such as the glide section, as well as more in-air image recognition testing.
Is there anyone you would like to thank?
Saurav: We are thankful to everyone, our family, friends and the whole IMechE team for providing this fantastic opportunity to unleash our potentials. A special thanks for the University of Surrey for creating an environment to manufacture our aircraft even in this difficult pandemic situation.
Julian: Dave, from our local BMFA club. He has at this point volunteered hundreds of hours flying aircraft for Surrey students, both as part of the universities “Design, Make, Evaluate” module as well as for the IMechE competition. Without his excellent skills, many more of our prototypes would be nought more than splinters scattered around a windy field.
Oliver: Dave, our pilot, has repeatedly taught us the reality of making an aircraft which actually works.
What would you say to anyone thinking of taking part?
Saurav: We would like to encourage every aerospace as well as related engineering student to take part in this competition. This is not just a competition, it is one of the best educational journeys, which teaches you the significance of engineering in practical world whilst get the opportunity enhance your passion and creativity. Working in a team for technical as well as management work, it develops a professional skill within you. We can assure you that you will love this Journey. But we would like to remind that, a real hard work and strong team coordination from the initial phases are absolutely necessary to make it to the competition. We are excited to see you next year.
Oliver: I would 100% recommend to any student interested in electronics, programming, structures, or aerodynamics. Working in a team towards such a relevant objective is super rewarding. The project has allowed me to hone many skills in project management and design, which are going to be invaluable going forward.
How can we keep up with your teams’ updates?
Instagram - @surrey_team_peryton
YouTube: Surrey Team Peryton
Facebook - @SurreyUAS
LinkedIn – Team Peryton
Email - teamperyton@surrey.ac.uk