Capstone Project Leads to High-Speed Drone To Shadow Race Cars
For their capstone project, a group of mechanical engineering students led by David Lobo, E’24, developed a high-speed, first-person-view drone capable of traveling 187 mph while shadowing race cars. The drone could be a game changer in high-speed video capture.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Cesareo Contreras. Main photo: A group of mechanical engineering seniors tested out their high-speed drone at Northeastern University’s Dedham Field. Courtesy photo
Northeastern engineering students design drone for high-speed IndyCar filming
Professional race car drivers and executives want fans to feel the rush of driving an IndyCar racing at speeds that can hit 236 mph (380 kph).
Through cinematography, enthusiasts can experience those extreme speeds.
But capturing cars traveling that fast can be difficult, says Wes Rising, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major at Northeastern University.
“In IndyCar, currently, they mainly use stationary cameras or driver car-mounted cameras,” Rising says. “With stationary cameras, you can only track a car for a handful of seconds at a time. Car-mounted cameras give you a first-person perspective, which is interesting, but oftentimes the view is obstructed by the inside of the car.”
Drones could offer the perfect solution.
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The students tested out the drone at Northeastern University’s Dedham Field. Courtesy photos
As part of a senior capstone project, Rising and a group of other senior mechanical engineering students at Northeastern have developed a high-speed first-person view (FPV) drone capable of traveling up to 187 mph (302 kph). By the end of the semester, they plan to bump that up to 248 mph (400 kph).
Operating this type of drone requires a special pair of goggles, allowing users to get an immersive “video-game like experience” akin to playing a realistic racing simulator like Forza or Mario Kart, Rising explains.
RC planes to high-speed drones
The idea was the brainchild of Northeastern graduate David Lobo. He’s been an avid fan of drones and flight for nearly his entire life, spurred by his father who introduced him to RC planes when he was 9. Over the years, the mechanical engineering major has built over a dozen drones and runs a drone video production company with his brother, shooting concerts, festivals and other events.
As Lobo was approaching his final semester at Northeastern last fall, he gave a lot of thought to what he wanted to focus on for his senior capstone project. Leveraging his expertise in drones, he knew there was a lot of untapped potential for drones capable of filming high-speed objects.
Lobo decided to target the IndyCar racing scene and reached out to McLaren Automotive, one of the world’s foremost luxury race car makers. He pitched them his idea of developing a drone capable of shadowing their cars during practices.
“The goal would be to film a commercial video where they could show how fast their cars really are,” he says. “Why they found that very interesting is because a lot of people don’t know what IndyCar is and how fast their cars can go.”
Shortly after Lobo proposed the project, other senior mechanical engineering students joined, including Rising, Colton Ray, Amberly Martinez, Mason Carpenter and Maya Atassi.
Read full story at Northeastern Global News