Centre for Drone Technology

News, Events & Talks


Dr Ajay Dashora was a jury member for 14th edition of Aegis Graham Bell Awards (AGBA) for Drone Innovations on January 16, 2024.

"Safety Considerations and Certification for UAVs in General Aerospace" at NCAQR-2024 at VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram on January 12, 2024 by Prof Pradip K Das.

"UAV Rules and Regulations in India" at SVNIT Surat, Gujarat on January 5, 2024 by Dr Ajay Dashora.

"Introduction to UAV LiDAR Remote Sensing and its Applications" at NESAC-ISRO, Shillong, on October 20, 2023 by Dr Ajay Dashora.


PhD programme

The Ph.D. programme consists of open-ended research work that is expected to make contributions to technologies related to Drones and their applications with a special emphasis on airborne data analysis.

Research areas for July 2024 Admissions

Autonomous Vehicles: Sensors, Embedded Systems, Control and Sensing, Design and development of Drones Artificial Intelligence: Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Signal Processing, Image Processing Underground Exploration, Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics (Geomatics), Geodesy, Atmospheric Science, Societal problems and mitigation.

Semester 1

Course No Course Name L-T-P-C
DT601 Drone Ecosystem 3-0-0-6
DT602 Drone Systems Lab 0-0-3-3
DT603 Scientific Exploration and Investigation by Drones 3-1-0-8
XXXXX Elective 1 (Choose any one) XXXXX

Electives:

CE652: Precision Remote Sensing (3-0-0-6)

CS566: Speech Processing (3-0-0-6)

CS666: Mobile Robotics (2-0-2-6)

ME667: Introduction to Aerospace Engineering (3-0-0-6)

ME503: Technical Writing (1-0-2-4)

CE510: Quality and Safety Management in Construction (3-0-0-6)

EE722: Video Analytics (3-0-0-6)

NOTE: All Open Electives of Institute are also included. Appropriate courses would be suggested to students by CPPC.

Course Number & Title: DT601: Drone Ecosystem

L-T-P-C: 3-0-0-6

Course Content/Syllabus: Introduction: Drone Evolution; Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS); The Aircraft Act, The Aircraft Rules, UAS: Classification - by size, range and altitude, UAS in India, Drone Rules and amendments – Application and procedures, re-registration, transfer and termination; RPCs, Insurance and fees, cancellations and suspensions.  Drone Design: Airfoil, Chord line, Relative wind, Centre of pressure, Angle of attack, Angle of incidence, Centre of lift, Centre of gravity, Bernoulli’s principle. Wing design, Aeroplane primary requirements and components, Control surfaces, Axis of flight, etc. ATC Procedures and Radio Telephony: Objectives and divisions, Designation of Airspaces, Flight Information Regions, Instrument Flight Rules, Radio telephony – need and usage in Emergencies and Contingencies, Urgency and distress.  Fixed wing Drones: Introduction – Fixed wind RPA Systems, basic controls, propulsion, fuel and control systems, Avionics – Ground Control Station, Take-off/Landing and Recovery systems, Payload systems, Operation and Maneuvers – Circuit patterns. Applications – Linear inspections, BVLOS, etc. Fixed wing Vs Multi-copters. Multi-Rotor Drones: Types, Hybrid types - pros and cons, Applications, Quadcopters – Anatomy – Propellers, Motors, ECS, Flight Controller, Camera Gimbal, Landing struts, Radio transmitter/receiver, Telemetry, ADSB, Micro-controller, Altitude and heading reference system, IMU, GPS, Power module, PDB, etc. Weather and Meteorology: The standard atmosphere: Measuring air pressure, Heat and temperature, Wind, Moisture, Cloud formation, Icing and its effects. Effect of atmosphere on RPAS operations & hazardous weather avoidance, Met Terminal Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR). Drone Maintenance: Maintenance of drones, flight control box, ground station, Maintenance of ground equipment, batteries and payloads, Scheduled servicing, Repair of equipment, Fault finding and rectification. Risk Assessment & Analysis - Safety Management: Drone Emergency & Handling, Loss of C2-link, Fly-away (Straying), Loss of power, Other emergencies, Control surface failures, Human performance & pilot incapacitation, Fail-Safe features.

References:

1. P G Fahlstrom, Introduction to UAV Systems, Wiley 4th edition, ISBN-13: 978-8126560141, 2016

2. Yasmina Bestaoui Sebbane, A First Course in Aerial Robots and Drones, Chapman & Hall/CRC, ISBN-13: 978-0367631383, 2022

3. Garvit Pandya, Basics of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Notion Press, ISBN-13: 978-1637453865, 2021

4. Adam Juniper, The Complete Guide to Drones, Extended 2nd Edition, Ilex Press, ISBN-13: 978-1781575383, 2018

Course Number & Title: DT602: Drone Systems Laboratory

L-T-P-C: 0-0-3-3

Course Content/Syllabus: Manual drone operation; Aerial data acquisition and analytics; Drone controller programming; motor interfacing and speed control; Accelerometer, Gyroscope, GPS interfacing; Odometry data acquisition and analytics; signal and image communication; Drone assembly; Autonomous take-off and landing; Trajectory following.

References:

1. J.A.M. Mendoza, V.J.G. Villela, G.S. Cervantes, M.M. Martinez, H.S. Azuela, Advanced Robotic Vehicles Programming: An Ardupilot and Pixhawk Approach, First Edition, A Press, 2020

2 Ty Audronis, Designing Purpose-Built Drones for Ardupilot Pixhawk 2.1: Build drones with Ardupilot, First Edition, CBS Publishers and Distributers, 2017

3. J. Ranga, J. Saiteja, M. Seshu, Speed Control of BLDC Motor with RPM Display, First Edition, LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2020

4. D. Hanselman, Brushless Motors: Magnetic Design, Performance, and Control of Brushless DC and Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors, First Edition, E-Man Press LLC, 2012

5. A. Frazier, K. Singh, Fundamentals of Capturing and Processing Drone Imagery and Data, First Edition, CRC Press, 2021

6. J. Baichtal, Building Your Own Drones: A Beginners' Guide to Drones, UAVs, and ROVs, First Edition, QUE Publishers, 2015

Course Number & Title: DT603: Scientific Exploration & Investigation by Drones

L-T-P-C: 3-1-0-8

Course Content/Syllabus: Introduction: Introduction to forensic sciences, forensic biology, environment forensics, entomology, and toxicology; Identification and examination of physical evidence, chain of custody, ethics, rules and procedures; Investigating and processing physical evidence; Forensic engineering investigations - applying scientific method to forensic engineering, surveillance and documentation. Introduction to wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, wildlife forensic and legal issues. Nature Forensics: Nature conservation and anti-poaching, census of wildlife population, forensic entomology; Nature conservation and forensics; Environment forensics, protected and endangered species of animals, reptiles, snakes, and plants etc. Drone-based Investigation: Investigation of wind damage to residential structures, lightning damages, building collapse, electrical shorting, explosions, determining the point of ignition of an explosion, arson, and incendiary fires. Drone-based Damage Assessment and Mitigation: Understanding fire, introduction to fire chemistry, fire dynamics; Types of fires, fire and combustion; Relevant properties of materials- heat transfer, combustion; Development and behavior of fires in compartments, factors affecting fire growth; Incendiary fire analysis and investigation; Fundamentals of fire Investigation: electrical fire investigation, motor vehicle fire investigation, firearms, arsons, explosives, and bombings (ballistics); Determining origin and cause, eliminating accidental causes.

References:

1. Brian L Murphy and Robert D Morrison, “Environment forensics - Contaminant specific guide”, Academic Press Inc, March 2006.

2. Robert D. Morrison, “Environmental Forensics”, CRC Press, 1999.

3. Ioana Gloria Petrisor, “Environmental forensics fundamentals - A practical guide”, Taylor & Francis, 2006.

4. Karl Ritz, Lorna Dawson, and David Miller, “Criminal and environmental soil forensics”, Springer (Germany), 2010.

5. R E Hester and R M Harrison, Environmental forensics, RSC Publishing, 2006.

6. Stephen M. Mudge, “Methods in environmental forensics”, CRC Press, 2009.