Initial inspiration
My original idea was to create a drone capable of vertical takeoff and landing in addition to normal forward flight, as this had not been done properly in insti before. My initial idea was to create an aircraft like the V22 Osprey or the F35-B. My teammates were Aditya Nimbalkar, who I had worked with earlier on the RC plane, and Sri Charan Raj Kanakala, who I had worked with as part of the tech team SeDriCa.
Role of mentors
It goes without saying that mentors are absolutely critical in this process, both from a technical and non-technical viewpoint. The input from our mentors was absolutely critical. Our tech mentor, Arnav Dutt Sharma, was especially important in honing our ideas into something more practical. He had suggested that we reduce the complexity of the design, concluding in us taking inspiration from Nicholas Rehm’s Spinning Drone – a drone that used its wings for both forward flight and as helicopter wings.
Design and refinement
Due to competition within our tech teams, none of us could dedicate much time during the summer towards the construction of the drone. Nevertheless, we persevered. My experience with RC plane, XLR8, MS101, etc, had taught me to make my systems as modular as possible and to maximise the use of fasteners to allow for easy repairs in case of a crash, so I designed the main structure using fusion 360, while my teammates finalised the aerodynamic design and electrical systems respectively.
Actual build
Rather, unfortunately, after all this, we only became free enough to start working on our project three weeks before the final exhibition. This is when we truly began to face the music. To begin with, nearly every ITSP team was in the same boat as us, trying to finish their projects in the final sprint. This meant an increased demand for all the shared resources, in particular the TL 3d printers. In addition to nearly 24-hour use cycles, unskilled use of the printers meant that they would often jam or get damaged(not to mention the TL convenors, who would often put on 20-30-hour prints during such a sensitive time). Nevertheless, after many prototypes and failures, we were able to complete the mechanical build of the drone but could not get it to fly due to software issues.
Addendum- Funding:
The official funding policy for ITSP is that up to around 10k will be given – however, this is largely unreliable. To begin with, this is not given as cash but rather as a reimbursement. For all reimbursements, you are required to submit a bill with an attached GST no. This means that you cannot make a purchase without such a bill. This leads to higher prices in some shops e.g. Mangaldeep. Finally, and unfortunately, insti is absolutely horrid at refunds, with some refunds from previous ITSP teams pending for nearly two years.
Learnings:
-If you want a quick, painless ITSP process, it is highly recommended that you go for a software project.
-Tech is not the most important hardware in ITSP; logistics is. Ask for help, parts, advice or just talk to seniors, and you will get it. Make sure to ask as many people as possible for help, as you may never know who will turn up with your answers.
-The more ambitious your project is, the more time it will take over your estimates. In particular, tech teams may heavily erode the amount of time you have in a day. Make sure to also have an appropriate estimate of the time your teammates have.
-If your project depends on shared resources like TL, your situation will be pretty precarious if you don’t finish on time.
-ITSP is not just about your result but also about your efforts. Make sure to document your efforts well so you can present them just as well.
-In general, it may be a better idea to get a hardware project under a professor as many of the above issues will be alleviated to some extent
