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Engineering Students Launch “Intelligent Blimp” Project
Engineering students at Rensselaer are designing an embedded control system that will lift an 11 1/2 foot blimp off the ground and make it fly indoors, and in the process they are launching a new phase for a showcase course at the university.
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Kris Qua
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“The challenge is to develop the software and sensors to autopilot the blimp in an indoor environment,” said Paul Schoch, associate professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering. He noted that most autopilot technologies on the market rely on Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance, which will not work indoors.
The “Intelligent Blimp Project” is being designed by 18 students, with the guidance of Schoch and Syed Murtuza, clinical professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering. Rensselaer is receiving financial and technical support for the project from BAE Systems at the company’s Information and Electronic Systems Integration Sector based in Nashua, N.H.
“We are pleased to help create this new opportunity for fundamental engineering learning that will have immeasurable and unlimited possibilities!” said Galen Ho, president of BAE Systems’ Information and Electronic Systems Integration Sector.
Ho joined Rensselaer Provost Bud Peterson, School of Engineering Dean William Baeslack, students, and other invited guests (including several Rensselaer graduates working at BAE Systems) for the Oct. 16 test launch of the student-designed blimp in the Alumni Sports and Recreation Center on the Troy campus.
The students are taking the Institute’s highly regarded Laboratory Introduction to Embedded Control (LITEC) course to new heights, shifting from designing controls for miniature cars in the classroom to designing the autopilot system for blimps.
“The team of engineering students actively involved in this redesign of Rensselaer’s LITEC course are getting the interdisciplinary design experience that is the hallmark of our program,” Baeslack said. “Rensselaer engineering students for years to come will benefit from the ingenuity and effort going into creating this exciting new classroom experience, and we appreciate the partnership with BAE Systems that is making it possible.”
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