Verminator

Team Name

Verminator

Timeline

Fall 2024 – Spring 2025

Students

• Tyler Nguyen – Computer Science
• Isaac Medrano – Computer Science
• Rajesh Yaksho – Computer Science
• Luis Narez – Software Engineering
• Nishchal Shrestha – Computer Science

Abstract

The Verminator Wasp Drone is a remote controlled aerial spraying platform modelled after larger and more expensive agricultural drones. The drone is outfitted for the removal of wasp nests and is equipped with a first-person camera and an insecticide sprayer to neutralize wasp nests from a safe distance. Users can remotely pilot the drone with the first-person camera and industry-standard RC receiver. Custom firmware modules to control the sprayer allows for programmatic control and automation for future applications. The Verminator Wasp Drone proposes a new application for agricultural drones, but without the burdensome costs that stem from commercial operations.

Background

The current methodology for removing wasp nests in homes or small businesses involves soaking the nest in insecticide or using foaming sprays at the opening of the wasp nest. This can pose several issues. First, wasp nests can be located in hard-to-reach areas, requiring the use of ladders, which can be risky for those attempting to remove wasp nests. Second, both methods require someone to be within close proximity to the wasp nest which raises safety and health concerns. This project seeks to address these challenges by providing a solution that allows customers to safely remove wasp nests from a distance.

Our drone is modelled after agricultural drones and sprayers that are used in industry to dispense pesticides and herbicides. Several commercial solutions exist, but they are prohibitively expensive for homeowners, hobbyists, and other small-scale operations. For our project, we are focusing on a low-cost solution to spraying hard-to-reach insect nests with influences from agricultural aerial sprayers.

Project Requirements

• Drone should be affordable and stick close to the $800 budget.
• Drone needs to be easy to maneuver in tight spaces and without line of sight.
• Sprayer needs to have enough range and pressure to spray insect nests from a safe distance.
• Software for the drone and camera application is to be free and open source for enthusiasts and tinkerers.
• Drone needs to be built from industry-standard components. STL files for custom hardware components will be made available.
• A FPV camera and live video feed is to be made available for the user to pilot the drone, identify a wasp nest, and aim the spray nozzle.
• The FPV camera needs to be capable of night operations.
• Drone needs to be manually controlled, but software should allow limited use of automation for future applications.
• Insecticide sprayer needs to be able to safely and precisely spray a wasp nest and prevent the unwanted dispersal of insecticides.
• Drone needs to comply with FAA and FCC regulations regarding unmanned aircraft and radio communications.

Design Constraints

• One of the target demographics for this project are hobbyists. Because of this, the drone needs to be constructed from standard off-the-shelf components for ease of maintenance and allowing the user to modify the drone as they see fit. If off-the-shelf parts are not available, CAD files should be provided.
• Because of safety concerns, the drone should have minimal automation features.
• To aid in interoperability, the drone’s flight controller and RC system should be standard. The flight controller used is a Pixhawk-compliant system, giving the drone access to a wide-range of Pixhawk accessories which can be added by the user. Through a Pixhawk-compliant flight controller, the user has the option to use a gamepad to control the drone instead of the RC system.
• Hardware selection, drone construction, and wiring needs to be robust and durable to survive multiple crashes. For this drone, carbon fiber frames, larger gauge wires, and steel and brass fasteners are used throughout the build to provide the necessary durability.
• Cost requirements impose a significant design limitation. This project had to stay close to the predefined budget. Because of this, careful design considerations were made when it came to hardware selection. Custom 3D printed parts were used throughout to keep costs low.

Engineering Standards

• Comply with 14 CFR Part 107 which regulates small unmanned aircraft systems with regard to design, implementation, and user operation.
• Comply with 14 CFR Part 137 which regulates the safe dispersal of chemicals and agricultural products using unmanned aircraft.
• Comply with 47 CFR Part 15 which regulates the emission of radio energy and unlicensed broadcasting. Hardware selection for this project must comply with FCC guidelines and the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations to be included. Components such as telemetry radios on the 2.4 GHz band are affected.
• Comply with 47 CFR Part 97 which regulates amateur radio licenses. FPV drones typically use the 5.8 GHz frequency band for video transmission. Selection of hardware must utilize this frequency band because it is reserved for amateur radio usage in the United States.
• Sprayer system needs to follow ANSI B1.20.1. ANSI B1.20.1 defines several common pipe standards for water and air systems. Our drone uses standard National Pipe Threads as fittings for the sprayer system. Usage of common pipe threadings allow the drone system to be modified by the user for other missions.
• IEEE 1936.1-2021 specifies standards for drone flight control software and ground control software.

System Overview

At a high level, the major components of the product will include the drone platform, a desktop application to capture video stream from a first-person camera on the drone, custom firmware to control the water sprayer, and the hardware components that make up the sprayer itself. The user will control the drone using a remote controller, and the desktop application will be used to receive and display the video feed from the first-person camera. These components are organized into the following systems: Avionics System Controls System, Sprayer System, Camera Application System, Power and Propulsion System, and Camera System.

The Avionics System serves as the “brain” of the drone. All commands for the drone and sprayer are first sent to the Avionics System for processing. This processing occurs at the flight controller. The chosen flight controller is a Pixhawk-compliant CubePilot Cube Orange+ running the PX4 Autopilot Firmware. After the flight controller processes commands, the messages, signals, or other commands are sent to other hardware components to perform a task. The Avionics Systems also contains other subsystems in charge of telemetry, positioning of the drone, and ensuring the drone can communicate with ground station software.

The Controls System allows the user or pilot to interact with the drone. The Controls System allows the user to use both a command-line interface or RC controller. The RC controller interacts directly with the hardware through the flight controller and dedicated RC receiver. The command-line interface allows the drone to be configured to operate programmatically, enabling future automation if desired.

The Sprayer System will be the first payload device designed for the Verminator Wasp Drone platform. With the Sprayer System attached, the drone’s mission is to spray insecticides at wasp nests. This will be carried out using a liquid pump and spray nozzle. The liquid pump is to be toggled with a PWM-controlled switch. The PWM-controlled switch is operated by the flight controller. An onboard software module in the firmware toggles the switch programmatically, or the RC controller can toggle the switch through the RC receiver and flight controller directly.

A software application to display the live video feed from the drone’s camera will be developed alongside the drone. The purpose of this application is to provide the user with information overlays, a targetting crosshair, and live video. This system will allow the user to fly the drone in tight spaces, or in spaces that are outside the line-of-sight of the user.

This system will provide the drone with necessary thrust to lift itself and its payload to fulfill its mission. The drone is designed as a 3S LiPo system giving it a wide-range of hardware to pick from. Other functions of the Power and Propulsion System is to provide sufficient power to other components of the drone and payload.

The Camera System will provide the Camera Application System with a wide-angle, low-light capable, first-person view from the drone’s perspective. This will allow the user to fly the drone in a wide-range of conditions, times, and continue to fly when the drone is out of the pilot’s visual field.

Results

We successfully created a prototype that demonstrates the feasibility of an affordable aerial spraying platform and meets the requirements of our sponsor. The biggest limitation of our implementation is the limited payload capacity.

Future Work

Switch to larger 650mm quadcopter airframe with a 4S or 6S power system for higher payload capacity.

Equip the drone with a rotating nozzle that can spray objects in front or below the drone to fulfill various missions.

Modify the RC832S video receiver and video capture card to be a single USB-powered unit.

Project Files

Project Charter
System Requirements Specification
Architectural Design Specification
Detailed Design Specification
Poster