From classroom to test range
Published: Jan 19, 2024 3:15 PM
By Carla Nelson
An Auburn engineering graduate student project has matured from a concept for a class project to a collaboration with the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.
Adam Wade, a student in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering’s (ISE) Master of Engineering Management program, is also a systems engineer for Torch Technologies, working as a contractor with the Department of Defense at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida.
He began working on an “Architecting the Swarm” class project in ISE’s Systems Architecting course, instructed by Professor of Practice Susan Askew in the fall of 2022. Wade’s drone swarm, Rapid Aerial Autonomous Assessment (RA3), was designed to speed up artificial intelligence (AI) collection on runways and to ensure that damage assessments were thoroughly evaluated to ensure safety of recovery and civil engineer personnel.
The project has a 50-drone swarm using a meshed network of Android cell phone devices used as flight computers to run the autonomous software located on each drone and perform communication and location of each drone. Android devices link to the ground control station laptop to send and receive data upon command as well as an Android tablet that is more portable by the operator. Each drone has a computer to perform in-flight AI detection assessment.
“What made Adam’s project stand out to me was that he was taking the class project and using it to shape and refine what he was doing at work,” Askew said. “Adam was able to take content from the class lectures and activities and immediately apply the concepts to his drone work-in-progress to include new capabilities and scalability options. As the semester continued, he was able to incorporate suggestions from his fellow students and instructors on his class project and discuss other work-related concepts with them as well.”
The students had the opportunity to present their final projects in front of an industry review panel. Askew said she views the networking between students and guest subject matter expert speakers as one of the most important possible impacts ISE classes can have that will last well beyond their time at Auburn and hopefully have positive outcomes for more than just our students.
“The students’ project topics drove the panelist selection in order to get a good match for both students and panelists,” she said. “My biggest reward that semester was hearing that Adam’s Air Force project received approval for funding and would be moving forward.”
Among the panel members was a representative from the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), who expressed an interest in Wade’s work. He reached out to set a meeting with Wade and Askew.
“This meeting marked the inception of a collaborative effort between the Army and the Air Force, with a focus on enhancing unexploded ordnance detection capabilities,” Wade said. “Leveraging AI algorithms deployed on drones, we aimed to create a more efficient and safer approach to this critical task. Currently, WSMR is considering bringing the system out for assessment on a future test. This may lead to future funding depending on the assessment of the system.”
Wade said enrolling in the Systems Architecting class was a transformative experience.
“This class has significantly enriched my professional life as a systems engineer working with the Department of Defense,” he said. “The comprehensive curriculum provided me with a solid foundation in systems engineering principles and practices, enabling me to approach my work at Tyndall AFB with greater confidence and competence. Moreover, the class encouraged networking and collaboration, a key aspect of any successful engineering endeavor.”
Media Contact: , carla@auburn.edu, 334-844-1404
Adam Wade (pictured right) began working on an “Architecting the Swarm” class project in ISE’s Systems Architecting course, instructed by Professor of Practice Susan Askew (pictured left) in the fall of 2022.
