Hex-Wife
A custom hex-rotor UAV for autonomous missions, onboard vision, and payload-carrying field operations.
Hex-Wife is a custom hex-rotor UAV built for autonomous missions, onboard vision, and competition-ready field operations. The platform was developed around open-source autopilot hardware and software for the AUVSI SUAS 2019 challenge, with an emphasis on reliability, payload capacity, and practical field deployment.
Overview
This project focused on building an inexpensive but reliable autonomous UAV capable of operating within the SUAS 2019 competition constraints. The aircraft combined long-range data telemetry, medium-range media telemetry, onboard vision, static obstacle avoidance, and a payload capacity of roughly 3 kg in a fully custom-built platform.
Rigorous testing shaped the final system and established reliable operational performance under competition-style requirements rather than as a one-off prototype.
System Highlights
- Fully custom hex-rotor UAV platform for autonomous missions and payload experiments
- Open-source autopilot software and hardware stack
- Long-range data telemetry and medium-range media telemetry
- Onboard vision system for mission support
- Static obstacle avoidance capability
Competition Deployment
Team Mavericks UAS from Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues College of Engineering fielded Hex-Wife as the primary aircraft at AUVSI SUAS 2019. The team received the Just Joe Sportsmanship Award, and the project served as a full-stack exercise spanning airframe design, avionics integration, control-stack setup, and test-driven field readiness.
