Page 291 - Robots Androids and Animatrons : 12 Incredible Projects You Can Build

unreliable, and the pilot needed to keep a visual eye on the remote
aircraft to fly it accurately.
Today remotely piloted aircraft have video cameras transmitting
pictures back to the pilot. The pilot may be situated anywhere in
the world. The systems have developed into telepresence virtual-
reality (VR) systems.
The aerobot we will build is a flying telepresence blimp. The reason
I chose this mode of flight (a lighter-than-air framework) over a
model helicopter or model airplane is safety, silence, low cost, and
ease of use.
Blimps are quiet, slow, graceful, and forgiving in flying errors. Safety
was the major factor in my decision. If a blimp bumps into a person
or object, there will be little or no harm. Airplanes and helicopters
on the other hand are potentially lethal weapons (the propellers on
airplanes and helicopters) when in close proximity to human life.
The blimp we will build is limited to indoor use. Care must be
taken in choosing components that are extremely lightweight. The
payload capacity (lift) of the blimp is approximately 6 ounces (oz).
This means our radio-controlled (R/C) receiver, propulsion, power
supply, charged coupled device (CCD) camera, and video trans-
270 mitter together must weigh in at or under this 6-oz weight restric-
tion. Tough, but not impossible.

Lighter-than-air aircraft background
Lighter-than-air aircraft fall into three categories: rigid, semirigid,
and nonrigid. Rigid aircraft have internal frames usually made
from lightweight aluminum. The most famous of these are the
Zeppelins.
Semirigid aircraft have a rigid lower keel section. A nonrigid enve-
lope that is filled with helium is secured above it.
Nonrigid aircraft are the ones we are most familiar with today.
These are blimps. One of the more famous blimps is the Goodyear
blimp used for advertising. Nonrigid aircraft are made of huge gas
envelopes. The envelope shape develops when it is filled with he-
lium gas.

Blimp systems
The most widely known use for blimps today is for a bird’s eye view
of major football games. Another popular use people are familiar
with is for advertisements.
Team LRN
Chapter fourteen