Samir M. Iqbal
$350,000
Regents of the University of Michigan - Dearborn
Michigan
Technology Innovation and Partnerships (TIP)
PFI-Partnrships for Innovation
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation (Mid Career Advancement) (PFI (MCA)) project is to provide a cost-effective and intelligent solution to accurately detect and recover from engineering faults and failures in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It will fill a technology gap in the UAV industry by developing modules for fault identification and failure correction that will offer economic value for potential commercialization. The next-generation UAVs will benefit from this work with intelligent fault detection and correction techniques for electric propulsion systems. Such UAVs will be able to successfully execute their missions even with faults. Without proper fault identification and correction capabilities, a sudden drop in the functions of battery, power components, and propulsion motor not only decreases the system’s performance but also leads to critical system failure, which may cause a crash. The project will substantially improve the reliability of UAVs while minimizing additional hardware costs. The project concepts and technologies will open new avenues for fault-resilient electric propulsion system for UAVs and other electrified transportation systems. The proposed project aims to investigate accurate fault detection methods and collaborative fault mitigation techniques, which are typically not easy to achieve for applications with highly dynamic loads and challenging operating conditions. The outcomes of the proposed research will significantly advance knowledge in the field of fault identification/compensation and provide a foundation for next-generation fault-resilient and reliable UAVs, which can have a significant societal impact with the potential for commercialization. The research outcomes will enable more timely and wider usage of UAVs, especially in response to natural disasters, pandemics, and war. The proposed project will offer hands-on research experiences to students in multidisciplinary engineering areas. The research activities will be integrated with education through the incorporation of the project outcomes into engineering courses. The development of an experimental platform and entrepreneurial team training will foster the next generation of researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs. The outcomes of the project will be disseminated through journal publications, conference presentations, and various outreach programs, focusing especially on underprivileged student groups. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.