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End of Semester Lab Report

Before taking this course, I expected it to be similar to AT 119, where the focus was primarily on flying and becoming more familiar with drone maneuvers. I thought we would spend most of our time improving our flying skills, learning how to fly in more complex scenarios, and going deeper into real-world drone operations. While I knew we would be doing some soldering and learning about the build of the drone, I did not expect to be building the MFE Believer from the ground up. I thought that most systems would already be configured, then which we would focus more on learning how to fly the drone and operate it.

Once the semester began, I realized that the course was very different from what I had originally expected. The amount of setup required surprised me the most, especially tasks like pairing the controller to the flight control surfaces and configuring systems that were not preconfigured at all. There was not much of a balance between building and flying, and the course leaned heavily toward construction and configuration. I would have liked more opportunities to fly or even use simulation tools, but most of the time was spent assembling and troubleshooting. The lack of step-by-step instructions also made the class challenging for me. Coming from a non-technical and non-coding background, I struggled to keep up with the software-heavy aspect of the labs. The difficulty was amplified by the fact that my group was smaller than every other group, which made the workload feel overwhelming and induced a lot of stress on me.

In the early and middle parts of the semester, the most difficult tasks for me were firmware flashing and system configuration using the ground control software. Coding and software configuration are not areas I am comfortable with, and neither did my other two group members have strong backgrounds in those areas. When something went wrong, it was difficult to even know where to begin troubleshooting or which settings needed to be adjusted. With only one teaching assistant available, it was sometimes hard to get help when we needed it, which often left us feeling behind compared to every other group. My group and I frequently felt lost during labs and struggled to understand what changes we were making and why they even mattered.

Despite the challenges, working with a system that was built from scratch helped me understand how complex UAS systems truly are. While this course was very different from AT 119 and didn’t involve much flying, it showed me another side of UAS and their workload. Building the Believer made me realize how many components and configurations are required for a drone to function correctly. Although I didn’t really enjoy this side of UAS, it gave me a broader perspective and appreciation for the amount of work that goes into designing and assembling these systems.

Throughout the semester, I gained several important skills while working outside of my comfort zone. One of the biggest areas of growth for me was teamwork under pressure. Labs often felt rushed, and there never seemed to be enough time to complete everything that was required. Because of this, my group had to stay focused and work efficiently in order to finish on time, even though we had a smaller group compared to other groups. Even though I did not fully understand how all of the systems connected during the build process, by the end of the semester, I developed a very basic understanding of how the major components interact. Being with classmates and teachers who spoke with a very technical language (like how they described parts, instructions, etc) that I did not initially understand was hard, but I eventually learned how to understand them.

Having a smaller group had a significant impact on my experience in this course. With only three group members for much of the semester, the workload felt much heavier, and my stress levels were consistently high going into lab. It was difficult watching other groups finish early while we continued to struggle, which made us feel discouraged every lab.

One moment that stands out to me was during a lab where there were only two of us present. We stayed in the lab for about thirty minutes after class officially ended, and at that point, both of us felt extremely frustrated and close to giving up. It felt unfair that other groups had more members to share the workload, and we left that day feeling like dropping the class and minor. However, we still managed to complete the lab. Unfortunately, I don’t know what we learned in that lab to this day, but I am proud that we did not give up. Even though we didn’t always understand how we reached the final result, we completed every lab assigned, and I can be proud of that.

By the end of the course, I feel slightly more confident working with UAS systems, but only in a group setting. While I would not feel comfortable completing these tasks on my own, I could probably do them with a solid group. The class also told me that I am more interested in the flying and operational side of UAS rather than the building and configuration of UAS.

Overall, this course was very challenging, especially due to the lack of clear directions, being forced to figure out problems piece by piece, having a smaller group for the majority of the semester, and not coming from a coding or technical background. For students without a computer, coding, or technical background, good luck! I eventually overcame some of the issues, but overall found the course extremely difficult and felt ill-prepared for this class. Overall, I am proud of my resilience and problem-solving under pressure.

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