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Mechanical Engineering Capstone, Team Lead
AME 4553 - Design Practicum (Spring 2026)
For my senior capstone, I led a multidisciplinary team developing a drone to support the Sooner Rover Team’s University Rover Challenge missions. The goal was to give rover operators an aerial perspective for scouting terrain, locating targets, and reading elevated signs, with communications relay capability considered as an additional objective.
My work focused on team leadership, CAD development, system integration, and technical documentation. I helped keep the mechanical, electrical, and software work connected so that our individual contributions could come together as a complete platform.
TURNING MISSION -> DESIGN
We started with a $1,000 budget, a maximum system mass of 5 kg, and a requirement to use 2.4 GHz communications. Within those constraints, we needed a drone that could carry its camera and onboard electronics while providing enough thrust and endurance for useful scouting.
These requirements made component selection an interconnected problem. A larger battery could store more energy, but its additional mass would increase the thrust required to fly. Larger propellers could improve hover efficiency, but they also needed more clearance and affected the frame layout.
Our team compared airframe configurations, propeller sizes, and battery options before selecting a carbon fiber quadcopter with 10-inch propellers and a 6S lithium-polymer battery. The design targeted a thrust-to-weight ratio of at least 1.5 and flight endurance exceeding 15 minutes, with actual endurance still requiring flight validation.
CAD ASSEMBLY
I worked on the CAD assembly to bring the selected components into a coordinated physical design. This helped us evaluate how the frame, propulsion hardware, battery, camera, and electronics would fit together before completing assembly.
The mechanical design needed to support the equipment while accounting for propeller clearance, component access, and mass distribution. It also needed to accommodate the mounting and protection features required by the electrical and software systems.
We selected a carbon fiber frame for the main structure and retained custom 3D-printed parts for mounting and protective features. The project’s CAD and drawing documentation included the complete assembly, landing struts, camera enclosure, and frame spacers.
CONNECTING SYSTEMS
A major part of my role was making sure the team’s mechanical, electrical, and software decisions worked together. The final architecture separated flight stabilization from higher-level processing. A MicoAir H743 flight controller running PX4 handled stabilization and motor commands, while an Orange Pi 5 companion computer supported camera processing and communications.
The propulsion system used four brushless motors and a 4-in-1 electronic speed controller powered by the 6S battery. A voltage converter supplied the lower-voltage electronics, connecting the power system to the flight controller, companion computer, and camera. Keeping these interfaces coordinated mattered throughout development. A component choice could change its mounting requirements, power demand, wiring, or software compatibility. I helped the team work through those dependencies as the design moved from CAD into hardware.
LEADING DEVELOPMENT EFFORT
Our team brought together mechanical and aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science students. As team lead, I helped coordinate responsibilities and keep the work moving toward shared deliverables.
Several of us also held responsibilities on the Sooner Rover Team, so we were balancing the drone project with the rover’s development schedule. This required prioritizing tasks and understanding which activities depended on other work being finished first.
My involvement in both CAD and documentation helped me maintain a view of the complete project. I could connect the physical assembly to the subsystem decisions and identify where the team still needed to resolve an interface or complete a verification step.
TESTING
We began experimental testing with a single-motor thrust stand borrowed from the University of Oklahoma Design-Build-Fly team. The setup allowed us to measure thrust from the selected motor and propeller combination and compare its behavior with our analytical predictions. The measurements provided preliminary evidence for propulsion sizing, although test-stand alignment and measurement uncertainty limited their precision.
After assembly, the team completed electrical and software bench testing. With PX4 and QGroundControl configured, all four motors responded to throttle commands, confirming the command path through the flight controller, electronic speed controller, and motors.
By the end of the project, we had an assembled prototype with preliminary propulsion and integration testing completed. Full-system flight testing had not yet been performed, so endurance, flight stability, and mission performance remained to be validated.
DOCUMENTATION
I also worked on the technical documentation so future members could understand how the drone was developed and continue testing it. The final documentation brought together mission requirements, component trade studies, system architecture, CAD drawings, calculations, test results, and a staged flight-test plan. I wanted it to explain the reasoning behind the design as well as describe the finished hardware.
That handoff was an important part of the project. The prototype gave the rover team a starting platform, while the documentation preserved what we had learned and identified the work needed before competition deployment.
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