Drones have become one of the most popular fields among technological
advances. Such emphasis motivated CCU Advanced Institute of
Manufacturing with High-Tech Innovations to cooperate with FPC. FPC
in turn donated high-quality carbon fiber materials to CCU generously, in
an effort to inspire industry interaction with the school, and push drone
technology’s business application and functionality further beyond. The
signing ceremony was held on the 24th, with CCU principal Shaw-Jenq
Tsai and FPC Vice President Kuo-Ching Lien signing the letter of intent.
This cooperation has marked the start of the drone era.
CCU Drone Research and Development Group instructor Shyh-Leh
Cheng said that this batch of carbon fiber materials are going to be used
in developing the prototype of the drone. This prototype will be mainly
utilized in aerial photography. With applying the unique dual tail pipes
rear-engine aerodynamic force exterior design to the drone, it can not
only ensure its flying stability, but can also expand more free spaces to
the drone itself. By applying this design, the probability of adding
avionics and aerial photography equipment will be greatly enhanced.
Despite the cost of carbon fiber materials being quite high, with CCU
Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Professor Yi-Chuang Wu’s
negotiation, CCU gained immense support from the FPC. This successful
exchange then encouraged the R&D group to focus on creating drones
with high strength and lightweight bodies. The original design was
proposed by professor Hang-Suin Yang. After thorough discussion within
the team, they decide to implement carbon fiber aircraft skin to the entire
drone. Such improvement not only strengthens the overall mechanical
body, but also minimizes the reliance on support beams or metallic and
wooden structures. This advancement also replaces the heavy glass fiber
materials. The R&D team now has faith in increasing the overall
percentage of carbon fiber materials from 20% to 60%. This enhancement
will make the drone itself even lighter, thus marking an important
monument in developing drones.
CCU AIM-HI emphasized that their current main goal is to allow drones
to fly autonomously. The team will now utilize commercially open source
software and simple aircraft flight control systems, while adding carbon
fiber materials into the mix. By applying the team’s development ability
in automatic control and crafting drones with heightened stability, drones
will have even more potential in the future. Thanks to CCU and FPC’s
joint efforts, drone development will embark on the path to a brighter
future, and receive more achievement and pride for industry cooperation
and technological innovation.