Hexacopter with gripping module

The 2018 CPS-VO challenge is a competition focusing on the development of a drone which has the ability to search a area for a lost drone and recover it to a specific destination, all this is to be done autonomous. To participate in the challenge three thesis projects was done by three different teams. Those three projects combined created an autonomous hexacopter to compete with in the challenge. The thesis focuses on the development of a hexacopter with a gripping module which is to be used in the challenge. There are two main goals with the thesis. The first goal was to create a computer model of a hexacopter with a gripping module to be used in a simulation software called Gazebo. The simulation is controlled via Robot Operating System and is used as a basis for hardware development. The second goal was to use the results from the simulation to build a real hexacopter with a gripping module which can be used in the challenge. The hexacopter construction was based on own designs and all fabrication of parts for the gripping module was done using SolidWorks and 3D printers. The result became a hexacopter with a high thrust and a gripping module which can grab and hold on to recovered objects. The hexacopter was used during 2018 CPS-VO Challenge which was taking place in Arizona in May 2018