How We Operate
UC - Riverside Unmanned Aerial Systems is a multidisciplinary organization that operates with two departments: Business and Engineering.
This division allows us to maximize each of our team members' efforts and potential to fulfill our goal to inspire, educate, and innovate solutions to solve real-world issues. Depending on which department you are applying to, your subsequent sub-team(s) will differ. A full breakdown of what teams are available are listed below.
This division allows us to maximize each of our team members' efforts and potential to fulfill our goal to inspire, educate, and innovate solutions to solve real-world issues. Depending on which department you are applying to, your subsequent sub-team(s) will differ. A full breakdown of what teams are available are listed below.
Recruitment:
For the 2021-2022 school year, UCR-UAS will be restructuring with a new team of Leads and the addition of a Board of Directors.
We have open positions in Board, Leads, and Business Department. Please email us at [email protected] with your portfolio and the team(s) you're interested in for more information!
We have open positions in Board, Leads, and Business Department. Please email us at [email protected] with your portfolio and the team(s) you're interested in for more information!
Our Structure
Engineering DepartmentExperience in UAV technology is not necessary to join. However, depending on your skill-set, your involvement within UCR-UAS will vary. Our department operates with seven different teams: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Unmanned Ground Vehicle, Ground Control Station, Computer Vision, Computer Science, Electrical and Antenna/Gimble. To apply please send an email to the contact below, we will contact you back within 48 hours.
ContactCo-Project Coordinator/UAV Lead
Kenneth Chew | [email protected] |
Business Department
Help develop UCR UAS's mission to inspire, educate, and innovate. Establish and maintain connections with local communities including schools, small businesses, and large corporations. Ensure the progression of UCR UAS as an organization and innovators of autonomous technologies. Our department divides into several specialist roles: Operations, Outreach and Marketing. To apply please send an email to the contact below, will contact you back within 48 hours.
ContactBusiness Lead
Pengchi Xiao | [email protected] |
Engineering Sub-Teams
Unmanned Aerial VehicleThe Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is the core of the entire unmanned aerial system and is the aerial platform for imaging and the deployment of the Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV). The UAV will also be tasked with flying a planned way point route while avoiding obstacles in its path. The UAV will consist of the structural airframe, actuators, electronics, power systems, and imaging systems. These systems will be developed via analysis using tools such as XFLR5 and Solidworks Flow Analysis as well as through iterative design and prototyping. The completed UAV will seamlessly operate in tandem with the Ground Control Station (GCS) to accomplish mission tasks.
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Unmanned Ground VehicleThe Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) is responsible for autonomously driving to a given destination once dropped out of the UAV. It focuses on object, location, and orientation detection in order to safely navigate towards its final destination while maintaining communication with the GCS.
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Ground Control StationOne of the features our solution provides
is the Ground Control Station (GCS) which manages all communication with other systems and personnel. The GCS’s primary connections to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) are established with secure and redundant links via radio controllers, Wi-Fi links, and wired connections. In addition, GCS manages competition interoperability server download and upload, manual and automatic object recognition of images sent by our drone, safety precautions, and transportation. |
Computer Vision
The Computer Vision team is responsible for the imaging system on the UAV, which includes the camera, the object detection, localization, and classification (ODLC), and the software that sends image information between the UAV and the GCS. CV is using neural networks to quickly and accurately perform ODLC, running on an NVIDIA Jetson TX2 GPU.
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Computer ScienceThe Computer Science team is responsible for writing and handling many of the programs that manage key elements of the UAV: Pathfinding, Flight Control, and Ground Station. For pathfinding, we will focus on using autonomous flight programs that fit within the bounds of our aircraft so that it is capable of flying to various waypoints while correcting its predicted trajectory for any obstacles. For flight control, we will be using the Pixhawk 4 tuned for our aircraft which will work in tandem with the pathfinding program. For ground station, we will be handling communications with the UAV and helping CV with processing images and sending them the the competition database.
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Antenna/GimbleThis Subteam is tasked to design a satallite tracker for the ground station and a camera gimbal package for the UAV. Skills you may pickup from working include CAD, 3D print, C/C++, ROS, PCB design, Robotics, and general engineering work strategies.
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Electrical EngineeringThe electrical/EE team provides the means for control of the electromechanical systems on the UAV by supplying power and control signals to those systems. This involves selecting, testing and wiring electrical components for the UAV while planning for how sufficient power will be provided to the system. The team is also responsible for implementing a robust power supply system for the GCS. The team’s work will primarily focus on wiring and soldering, power supply design, and interfacing sensors and actuators with the autopilot system.
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Business Team Specialists
Operations
The Operations Specialists focus on ensuring the smooth and effective operation of the entire Business Department. Their responsibilities range from maintaining safety during build days, organizing events and managing internal communications.
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Marketing
Marketing Specialists manage UCR-UAS’s branding and image, from social media channels to website and newsletters. They are also responsible for creating and implementing marketing plans for each event.
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Outreach
The Outreach Specialist is the point of contact between UCR-UAS and other entities; they capture and maintain professional relationships with both on-campus and off-campus organizations while managing and organizing mass email communications such as weekly newsletters.
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Finance
The Financial Specialist will be responsible for managing UCR-UAS's cash flows and make decisions based off of detailed budgeting estimates and financial reports.
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Visual Media
The newest addition to our team, Visual Media Specialists create, manage and direct video production for upcoming projects and assist Marketing Specialists in creating promotional content.
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Want To Learn More?
Unmanned Aerial Systems strives to expand this rapidly growing industry within our community to reshape the way we operate on a day-to-day basis. Be a part of that change today!