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The Diploma thesis is dedicated to design of a hovercraft. The concept of design is a small hovercraft for personal use. The hovercraft is styled into a sports category. The interior is designed for 4 persons and personal luggage. Main part of the work is the exterior of the hovercraft. But it contains also a basic vision of interior solution with basic dimensions according to antropometric measures and other ergonomical criteria. So the result is original hovercraft, which is solved in area of design with regards for ergonomics and technological limitations, which hovercraft brings.

The goals of this thesis are to modify a full-scale personal hovercraft to perform autonomous maneuvers on flat ground, develop a first principles of the craft, and present data on the vehicle behavior in field trials. The hovercraft, initially designed for manual control by a rider, was modified both physically and with software to allow for remote and autonomous operation. The design leverages the actuator control solutions that are already implemented on the hovercraft for ease of installation and control. A key modification made in the design is the addition of auxiliary fans to increase overall thrust. Controller designs are presented to manage the rotation rate of the added fans. The purpose of the dynamic model is to assist in the design and evaluation of model-based controllers for the vehicle speed and heading. A first principles model was developed to give an approximate understanding of the vehicle's behavior. Data collected during field trials was used to challenge the assumptions made in the first principles model. Based on the field data, the model was updated to provide a better basis to evaluate model based controllers. Additionally, several key observations about the hovercraft performance were noted during the field trials. Controlling the vehicle heading is a nontrivial task and will require a responsive and authoritative controller / Master of Science / Hovercraft are useful vehicles because they can travel over many terrains, including water and land, without being impacted severely by friction. However, they also have several drawbacks including being difficult to steer and having insufficient thrust to scale a steep incline. To address these concerns, we present a design for a modified hovercraft that is capable of being steered with a remote control or with autonomy software. Additionally, eight fans were added to increase the overall thrust of the vehicle to allow it to drive uphill. A model of the hovercraft dynamics was made to allow us to study its behavior. Field trials were conducted to collect data on the hovercraft's performance from the onboard sensors. This data was used to improve the dynamic model so that it can be used in the future to decide the best control design for the hovercraft steering.

The roads between Bloubergstrand and Cape Town are very congested during peak periods. The R27-freeway carries more than 80 000 vehicles per day. There is a one possible solution and that is that another form of transport be created in order to facilitate public transport. The Hovercraft ferry service is a feasible alternative to solving the traffic problems. The Hovercraft Ferry Service would be a new ocean-bound transit system. It will serve the daily Tableview and Bloubergstrand commuters, linking Big Bay and the Mandela Gateway Terminal at the V&A Waterfront. The hovercraft ferry would successfully compete with the motorcar by providing safe, secure, comfortable, fast, reliable and predictable services. The ferry has to fill a specific gap in the holistic transport network of the area and it will assist in improving the image of public transport in South Africa as a viable attractive alternative to the motorcar. Apart from the convenience, and cost savings, Hovercape will provide a pivotal stimulus for economic and social development, as well as educating the local public on the history and importance of the area, in particular the Blaauwberg Conservation Area The client, Hovercape, would use ferries of 25m long and 11m wide, which can carry 140 people. It is proposed that the hovercrafts be used during off-peak times to carry tourists when not in use by the commuters. Robben Island is literally a stone's throw from Big Bay. at the Nelson Mandela Gateway Terminal, where the new inner city public transport route would operate from. The roads between Bloubergstrand and Cape Town are very congested during peak periods. The R27-freeway carries more than 80 000 vehicles per day. There is a one possible solution and that is that another form of transport be created in order to facilitate public transport. The Hovercraft ferry service is a feasible alternative to solving the traffic problems. The Terminal's location is in Big Bay, between Tableview and Bloubergstrand. It would consist of the Hovercraft Terminal as well as the Interpretative Centre under within the same building. The distance between Big Bay and Cape Town is 21.5km and would be covered within 25 minutes by hovercraft, and each terminal would be served by park and ride facilities. The client for this Interpretative Centre and Hovercraft Terminal is Hovercape Ferry Services. This "new" service is to be implemented as soon as possible since there is a great demand and need for an additional form of public transport. Capetonians have complained time and time again of the traffic congestion problem, particularly between Bloubergstrand and the city centre. The same has occurred between Johannesburg and Pretoria, where the development of the Gautrain Service between these two major cities is considered. / Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Architecture / unrestricted

Diploma thesis deals with the developement of hovercraft prototype. Hovercraft is generally included into the category of light appliances. It is considered as a appliance for vacation or experimental utilisation. Interior is customised for 5 member crew or else up to 600 kg of loading. Diploma thesis is focused on the exterior of the hovercraf, hence there are mentioned solutions of selected node points in interior with a view to the ergonomic features. There is an outcome of original design combined with modern technological solutions and materials in this diploma thesis project.

Orientadora: Profª. Drª. Elvira Rafikova / Coorientador: Prof. Dr. Magno Enrique Mendonza Meza / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Mecânica, Santo André, 2018.

Cette thèse présente l'implémentation d'une stratégie visuelle bio-inspirée sur un aéroglisseur miniature totalement actionné, qui lui permet de naviguer dans le plan horizontal d'un tunnel inconnu. L'élaboration de ce pilote automatique, nommé LORA, fait suite aux études éthologiques menées sur l'abeille depuis ces dernières décennies et nous ont amené à énoncer le principe de la régulation du flux optique pour le contrôle du vol de croisière. Ce pilote automatique est un double régulateur de flux optique latéral constitué de deux boucles visuo-motrices interdépendantes contrôlant conjointement la vitesse d'avance et la position du robot par rapport aux obstacles sans avoir à mesurer ou estimer aucun de ces paramètres. La clé de voûte de ce système de guidage est une troisième boucle destinée à maintenir le cap grâce à un micro-gyromètre et un micro-compas magnétique permettant au robot d'effectuer des mouvements de translation qui génèrent sur son œil composé artificiel du flux optique de translation, seul dépendant du ratio vitesse/distance aux obstacles. Cet œil estime le flux optique grâce à ses deux ou quatre Détecteurs élémentaires de mouvement (total de 4 ou 8 pixels). L'aéroglisseur est alors capable de franchir sans collision, à la manière d'une abeille, divers tunnels : droit, fuselé ou présentant une pente, un virage, une absence de texture sur un mur ou même une zone non-stationnaire. Cette stratégie visuelle bio-inspirée fournit non seulement une solution de navigation élégante à destination de robots totalement actionnés mais elle permet aussi d'expliquer comment une abeille de 100mg peut naviguer sans l'aide de SONAR, RADAR, LIDAR, ou GPS. / In this work, we present for the first time a bio-inspired motion vision-based navigation strategy embedded on a miniature fully-actuated hovercraft allowing it to navigate safely on the horizontal plane of an unknown corridor. The design of this autopilot, called LORA, follows the ethological findings made on honeybees these last decades, which led us to elaborate the principle of the optic flow regulation which might be used by insects to control their flight. The bee-inspired LORA autopilot is a dual optic flow regulator which consists in two intertwined visuomotor feedback loops which control jointly the forward speed of the robot and its clearance to the obstacles. The keystone of this bio-inspired guidance system is a heading-lock system enabling the robot to move in translations and therefore experience a purely translational optic flow which depends only on the ratio speed/clearance to obstacles thanks to a micro-gyrometer and a micro-magnetic compass. The estimation of optic flow is made by a minimalist compound eye, made of two or four Elementary Motion Detectors (only 4 or 8 pixels). The hovercraft is therefore able to cross without crashing a straight or a tapered corridor, presenting a frontal sloping terrain, a bend, a textureless wall, or even a non-stationary section by automatically adapting both its forward speed and its clearance to the walls imitating the honeybee. This bio-inspired visual strategy not only provides an elegant navigation solution in an unknown environment aimed to equip fully-actuated miniature vehicles but also to explain how a 100mg honeybee can navigate with few computational ressources, i.e., without any SONAR, RADAR, LIDAR or GPS.

Orientadora: Prof. Dra. Elvira Rafikova / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Mecânica, 2017. / Este projeto aborda a aplicação do controle SDRE (State Dependent Ricatti Equation ¿ Equação de Ricatti Dependente de Estado) para controlar a trajetória de um protótipo de Hovercraft. Um Hovercraft é um veículo anfíbio sustentado por um colchão de ar em sua base, fazendo com que este não entre em contato com a superfície terrestre ou aquática. Inicialmente é feito o estudo da modelagem dinâmica desse sistema sendo que se trata de um veículo com restrições não-holonômicas em seus movimentos. São apresentadas algumas técnicas de controle aplicadas para controlar este sistema dinâmico disponíveis na literatura de referência consultada. É discutido o método de controle SDRE bem como é feita a escrita do sistema em espaço de estado de erros (sistema em desvios) garantindo, inclusive, a sua controlabilidade. O objetivo deste trabalho é simular numericamente o comportamento do sistema dinâmico controlado em relação à sua trajetória utilizando a ferramenta Matlab®. São simulados regimes de trajetórias retilíneas acelerada e uniforme, circulares e estabilização em um ponto; variando as condições iniciais do sistema dinâmico do Hovercraft. Além disso, projetou-se e construiu-se um protótipo de Hovercraft para implementar o controle projetado numericamente através do software LabView® comunicando-se com a placa Arduino®. / This project addresses the use of SDRE control (State Dependent Ricatti Equation) to control the trajectory of a Hovercraft prototype. A Hovercraft is an amphibious vehicle sustained on an air cushion at its base, causing it to not contact the land or water surface. Initially, it is made the dynamic modelling analysis of the system considering it is a vehicle with nonholonomic constraints on its movements. Are presented some control techniques applied to control this dynamic system available in the reference literature consulted. The SDRE control method is discussed as well as a system writing in the error state space (system in deviations), including its controllability. The objective of this work is to numerically simulate the behavior of the controlled dynamic system in relation to its trajectory using the software Matlab ®. Straight accelerated and uniform, circular and one-point stabilization regimes are simulated; varying the initial conditions of the Hovercraft. In addition, it is designed and built a Hovercraft prototype to implement numerically the control SDRE through LabView® software communicating with Arduino® board.

Ce travail est dédié au contrôle non linéaire d'un drone de type quadricoptère dont la spécificité est de pouvoir voler aussi bien que se déplacer en glissant sur le sol, à la façon d'un aéroglisseur. Dans un contexte d'exploration autonome de bâtiment, ce concept hybride permet d'économiser les batteries lorsqu'il n'est pas nécessaire de voler puisque le drone profite des surfaces planes pour se déplacer sans avoir à compenser la gravité ; il peut ainsi prolonger l'autonomie au-delà de la vingtaine de minutes typique d'un quadricoptère classique. Contrairement aux véhicules terrestres à roues, les capacités de franchissement de notre drone sont fortement augmentées car son aptitude au vol l'autorise à éviter les obstacles, à changer d'étage ou passer par une fenêtre. L'étude menée ici concerne essentiellement le déplacement surfacique de ce drone hybride, et vise à concevoir et implémenter une loi de contrôle capable d'asservir ce système sur des trajectoires planes au sol. Ce drone terrestre est similaire à un système sous actionné de type glisseur ; le problème de la stabilisation en un point est donc distingué du suivi de trajectoire en raison de la condition de Brockett que ce système ne satisfait pas ; notre plateforme ne peut donc pas être stabilisée par des retours d'états continus. En s'appuyant sur la littérature, cette thèse propose différentes approches théoriques en temps variant, fonctions transverses, platitude ou encore par "Backstepping" pour répondre à ces problèmes. Après une phase d'identification du modèle dynamique employé, la partie expérimentale, exploitant un système de Motion Capture pour récupérer les informations de position et d'orientation du système, valide ces lois de contrôle et de commande pour le suivi d'une trajectoire circulaire simple. / This thesis is dedicated to the non-linear control of a special hybrid quadrotor which is able to fly, and slide on the ground like an hovercraft. In the context of an autonomous indoor exploration this hybrid concept allows saving energy when flying is not necessary, since the drone can then slide on the ground without having to compensate for the gravity; autonomy can last beyond the 20 minutes typical of a standard quadrotor. Contrarily to wheeled mobile robots, the hybrid drone ability to move across space is strongly increased since it can fly to avoid obstacles, to move between two levels, to get in through a window. The study under consideration is essentially focused on the displacement of the drone on the ground and aims at designing and implementing a control law so that our system is able to track a 2D xy plane trajectory. This terrestrial quadrotor is similar to a slider underactuated vehicle. The point stabilisation is then separately studied from the trajectory tracking issue because of the Brockett condition, which is not satisfied in that case; our platform cannot be stabilized by means of continuous state feedbacks. This thesis proposes different theoretical developments based on the literature and deriving from time varying control laws, transverse functions, flatness or backstepping techniques to solve both point stabilisation and trajectory tracking. The experimental part of the thesis is based on the recovering of the drone position in real time and orientation via a Motion Capture system for feedback loop in the control law; the proposed dynamical model was validated as well as the control and command laws for the tracking of a circular trajectory.

A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool is developed in this thesis to solve complex fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems. The fluid domain is based on Smoothed Particle Hydro-dynamics (SPH) and the structural domain employs large-deformation Finite Element Method (FEM). Validation tests of SPH and FEM are first performed individually. A loosely-coupled SPH-FEM model is then proposed for solving FSI problems. Validation results of two benchmark FSI problems are illustrated (Antoci et al., 2007; Souto-Iglesias et al., 2008). The first test case is flow in a sloshing tank interacting with an elastic body and the second one is dam-break flow through an elastic gate. The results obtained with the SPH-FEM model show good agreement with published results and suggest that the SPH-FEM model is a viable and effective numerical tool for FSI problems. This research is then applied to simulate a two-dimensional free-stream flow interacting with a deformable, pressurized surface, such as an ACV/SES bow seal. The dynamics of deformable surfaces such as the skirt/seal systems of the ACV/SES utilize the large-deformation FEM model. The fluid part including the air inside the chamber and water are simulated by SPH. A validation case is performed to investigate the application of SPH-FEM model in ACV/SES via comparison with experimental data (Zalek and Doctors, 2010). The thesis provides the theory of the SPH and FEM models incorporated and the derivation of the loosely-coupled SPH-FEM model. The validation results have suggested that this SPH-FEM model can be readily applied to skirt/seal dynamics of ACV/SES interacting with free-surface flow. / Ph. D.