Design and development of a modular unmanned aerial platform

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have become important platforms in robotics and aerospace engineering. They are used in inspection, mapping, agriculture, surveillance, search and rescue, logistics, and environmental monitoring. However, developing a complete UAV platform remains a multidisciplinary challenge, especially in contexts where most systems are imported as ready-made drones or commercial kits. This limits the development of local expertise in mechanical design, embedded integration, flight-controller configuration, communication, control, and autonomous operation. This final-year project focuses on the design and development of a modular unmanned aerial platform from scratch. The objective was not only to assemble a drone, but to study and integrate the main layers of a complete aerial robotic system. The work includes the analysis of UAV architectures, the design of a compact quadrotor, the selection of the propulsion and power systems, the integration of embedded electronics, the configuration of the flight controller, sensor integration, communication with the ground control station, and preparation for autonomous navigation. The main contribution of this work is the establishment of a complete modular UAV development framework combining mechanical design, embedded systems, firmware integration, control, simulation, and autonomous navigation. This project represents a step toward building local competence in advanced drone technologies in Algeria and Africa, with future potential for research and startup-oriented development.