Classes
Hands-On Learning
We offer two hands-on courses that engage students in vehicle design and autonomy. In Autonomous Sports, students design and build lighter-than-air vehicles, applying principles of aerodynamics, control, and modularity to create agile, versatile platforms. In Unmanned Aerial Systems, students focus on fixed-wing aircraft, integrating a variety of onboard sensors to develop reliable, stable flyers capable of straight and controlled flight. Both courses emphasize practical experience, encouraging innovation and teamwork as students bring autonomous vehicles from concept to flight.
ENGR-E399/599
Autonomous Sports
In the Autonomous Sports course, students design, build, and test autonomous lighter-than-air vehicles—blimps—that compete head-to-head against other universities. Centered around the "Defend the Republic" (DTR) intercollegiate drone competition and sponsored by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, the challenge is to autonomously capture balloons and score them into goals. Similar to robotic Quidditch, this course offers hands-on experience with advanced autonomy and vehicle design in a competitive, fast-paced setting.
ENGR-E399/599
Unmanned Aerial Systems
This project-based course will teach students about Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), specifically the underlying the physics, dynamics, control, and guidance of fixed-wing electric unmanned aircraft. In the lab component, students will work in teams to interface, control, and debug autopilot sensors (inertial measurement, airspeed, etc.) and aircraft hardware (servo actuators and propulsion system) using a microcontroller, incrementally integrating the physical hardware into a basic autopilot.