Package package Arducopter 2.8 board finally came from China, which was the weight of our expectation. I remember raising it, the cardboard box was a bit from its trip. As I tore through the layers of the tape, it felt like opening a long -awaited gift. But as soon as I drove the Ordukopter 2.8 board out of the box, my heart drowned. The board, which was the cornerstone of our project, looked out and old, with visible and bent pin. This was one of a waterfall of failures facing my team.
All this started when I was assigned a project in the machine design Obafami avolovo university (OOU), is located in the center of an ancient Yoruba city of Il-IF, in the state of Osun in the southwest Nigeria, where I am a mechanical engineering student entering its final year of the five-year program. OOU is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Nigeria, known for its beautiful campus and architecture. Some people who know that it has been referred to as “Stanford of Nigeria” because it has shut down due to the significant number of spectacular startups. Despite its reputation, however, Oau -Nigeria is the least like an organization owned by every other association and Priced by faculty attacksLeaded for interruptions in academics. Lack of funding means that students will have to pay themselves for their graduate projects, so that the success of any project is very much dependent on the financial capabilities of the students.
Dr. Of Oluvesen. AjayA specialist from computer aided design (CAD), machine design and mechanism gave us freedom to choose their last project. I proposed a research project based on a paper, titled “Advanced simulation method for wheel-terrain interaction of Space Rovers: A case study on UAE Rashid Rover” By Ahmed Abubkar And coauthors, But due to the need for computational resources, it was rejected. Dr. Ajay instead proposed that my fellow students and I manufacture a monitoring drone, as it is aligning with its own research. Dr. Ajay, an emotional and operated researcher, was inspired by the potential real -world applications of our project. Their continuous push for progress, while sometimes heavy, was inherent in their desire to see a meaningful work.
As my team abolished the initial concepts of drones in CAD designs, we were ready to contribute money towards implementing our idea. We made a cost analysis and decided to use a third-party seller to help us order our components from China. We went to this route due to shipping and customs issues, which we had experienced earlier. Taking the third-party route was about to solve the problem. We had a little doubt what was coming.
By the time we finalized our cost analysis and started collecting funds, the cost of the components we needed had a sudden economic crisis and the depreciation of Nigerian Naira had touched 35 percent of the sky against the US dollar at the end of January 2024. This was the origin of our problem.
Initially, we were a group of 12, but due to high cost per person, Dr. Ajay asked another group, under whose leadership Tambara suouraTo merge with me. Tonbara’s team was planning a robotic arm project until Dr. Ajay did not merge our teams and instructed us to work on drones, for the purpose of displaying it National space research and development agencyAbuja, in Nigeria. The merger extended our group to 25 members, helping personal financial burden, but also meant that not everyone would actively participate in the project. Many people contributed only to their share of money.
Tonbara and I pushed the project forward.
Dr. With Ajay’s consent, my colleagues and I scattered the “surveillance” part of the drone project and raised funds to develop just 350,000 Naira (about US $ 249). We had to cut the costs, which meant that some components away from the original specifications of some components, like the flight controller, battery and power-distribution boards. Otherwise, the cost would be more unbearable.
We were ready to order components from China on 5 February 2024. Unfortunately, it was a long holiday in China, we were told, so we will not get the components until March. This gave Dr. There was a tense discussion with Ajay, despite that he was informed about the situation. Why pressure? Our school ends in semester march, and being a component in March will mean that the project will last long as long as we finish it. At the same time, we students had a mandatory educational-industrial training at the end of the semester.
Oluvatocin Kolde, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Obafami Avolovo in Nigeria, says the drone project taught him the value of failure.Andrew Essebo
But what option did we have? We cannot return from this project – who spend us our grade.
We found most of our components by mid -March, and immediately started working on drones. We had 3D-print for the 570-gram frames for a total cost of 28,500 Naira (about US $ 18) (approx US $ 0.03) at a cost of 570-gram frames.
Subsequently, we built the power-distribution system for electrical components. Initially, we planned to use a power-dysfunction board to distribute power to speed controller and rotors equally to the battery. However, the board that we ordered was no longer available. Forced to improve, we used one Werobard instead. We have connected the battery to a configuration parallel to speed controllers to ensure that each rotor gain equal power. This blessing meant additional cost, as we had to hire soldering irony, hand drills, hot glue, cables, a digital multimeter, and other equipment from an electronics hub in the city’s Il-Eph.
Everything was running smoothly until the flight controller had time to configure – Arducopter 2.8 Board – With the aid of a software program Mission plannerWe did not benefit all, while combing daily, YouTube videos, online forum, stack exchange, and other resources for guidance. We downed the mission planner software one or two times, only to find out that the board we were waiting so patiently was obsolete. It was really heartbreaking, but we could not order another because we did not have time to wait for it. In addition, an additional amount to get another flight controller will cost for -240,000 Naira (about US $ 150) Pixahocal 2.4.8 Flight Controller-We did not have it?
We knew that without flight controller our drone would be half back. Nevertheless, given our semester-ending time barrier, we decided to proceed with the configuration of the transmitter and the receiver. We made the final connection and tested components without a flight controller. To ensure that the transmitter can control all four rotors simultaneously, we tested each rotor individually with each transmitter channel. The target was to assign a single channel on the transmitter that would activate and synchronize all four rotars, allowing them to unite during the flight. This was important, because without proper synchronization, the drone would not be able to maintain a stable flight.
“This experience taught me invaluable lessons about the harsh realities of engineering projects made by students in Nigeria.”
After the final configuration and the test of the components, we are ready to test our drone in its final form. But a few minutes in the test, our battery failed. This failure meant that the project had failed, and we were incredibly disappointed.
When we finally Dr. When Ajay presented his project, the deadline was fixed. He asked us to charge the battery so that he could see the drone alive, even if he could not fly. But the circumstances did not allow us to order a battery charger, and we were in a disadvantage where we were in a disadvantage to get aid with the flight controller and battery. There are no tech hubs available for such things in Il-Ef. We Told Ajay that we could not do it as he had asked and explained the situation to him. He finally allowed us to present his work, and all the team members received the syllabus credit.
Funding is not an option
This experience taught me invaluable lessons about the harsh realities of engineering projects made by students in Nigeria. This showed me that while technical knowledge is important, the ability to favorable and improve it is equally important when encountered with unexpected challenges. I also learned that failure, although disappointing, is not an end, but a step towards growth and improvement.
In my school, the demand for mechanical engineering students is exceptionally high. For example, in the same semester, I was sometimes assigned four different major projects, each from a separate professor. Along with the drone project, I worked on two other adequate projects for other courses. The reality is that in these projects a student’s ability to score well is often very much dependent on financial resources. We are the burden with the cost of running many projects continuously. The ongoing economic challenges, including currency devaluation and inflation, only increase this burden.
In short, when the world evaluates tape from Nigerian engineering graduates, including the world, graduate-school-entry committees and industry recruitments, it is important to identify that a grade cannot fully reflect a student’s abilities in a given course. They can also reflect the difficulties in financial obstacles, sourcing equipment and materials and the comprehensive economic environment. The understanding should inform how the tape is explained, as they not only tell a story about academic performance, but also about the perseverance in front of important challenges.
As I proceed in my education, I plan to implement these lessons in future projects, knowing that perseverance and resourceness would be important to overcome obstacles. The unsuccessful drone project has also given me a realistic glimpse in the working world, where unexpected failures and lack of budget are common. This has prepared me to contact my career with both a practical mindset and an understanding that success often comes from how well you manage difficulties, not only how you execute the plans.
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