Power & Propulsion
Kevin and Noodle use a common propulsion system consisting of four electronic speed controllers, four brushless DC motors, and carbon fiber propellers. Their battery configurations differ to meet the requirements of each vehicle.
Kevin and Noodle use a common propulsion system consisting of four electronic speed controllers, four brushless DC motors, and carbon fiber propellers. Their battery configurations differ to meet the requirements of each vehicle.
Kevin and Noodle each use four T-Motor Alpha 40A electronic speed controllers (ESCs) for propulsion. The ESCs were selected for their robust construction and integrated heat sinks, which provide additional heat management during operation.
The ESCs are rated for the vehicles' 22.2 V 6S battery systems and are compatible with the T-Motor U5 400 kV motors used on both UAV platforms.
Both Kevin and Noodle use four T-Motor U5 400 kV brushless DC motors for propulsion. Each motor is paired with a 16-inch carbon fiber propeller, with the complete propulsion system producing approximately 11 kg of thrust.
The motors are mounted to the vehicle arms using carbon fiber plates to provide a strong and lightweight mounting structure.
Kevin and Noodle use a 9000 mAh lithium-ion battery configured as a 6S2P pack, providing a nominal voltage of 22.2 V to the vehicle's electrical systems.
The team selected lithium-ion batteries over lithium-polymer batteries because of their higher power density and smaller overall size. Preliminary analysis of Kevin's design indicated that two batteries would be required to achieve the target 30-minute flight time. The compact battery configuration allows two packs to be installed in parallel without major modifications to the vehicle.