UC San Diego

This thesis will present an alternative UAV design to address issues encountered by

conventional platforms when deploying in under harsh conditions. The design proposed

is a ballistically deployed UAV platform, or Ground-Launched, Air-Deployable (GLAD)

platform to be either projectile launched from the ground or inserted into the target

environment from above via a ’parent’ aircraft. This gives it the ability to punch through

sparse ground cover or be tossed clear of hazardous ground conditions such as turbulent

winds, before deploying above. Furthermore, this thesis will look into new design

strategies applied to the conception of such a platform: when designing a UAV with

the very broad goal of facilitating deployment in field conditions, the widely differing

operating environments which this infers are so broad as to make an ideal design for

this job a superfluous notion: jack of all trades, master of none. Because of this, and

the empowerment brought on by 3D printing, this thesis suggests a new, more efficient

design process for small ballistic 3D printed UAV platforms.

By creating a work-flow which allows for the individual optimization and design

of each aspect of the platform’s design, a single process can be used to design multiple

platforms with varying designs for various applications in various environments. Thus

doing away with the age-old engineering tradition of creating one-size-fits-all designs.