The Journey: Developing the Skyhunters "Grijper Drone"
Taking part in the 5th Edition Drone Challenge as a student from Ter AA Techniek & ICT has been an intense engineering journey. What started as a larger team project quickly turned into a true test of perseverance when setbacks left just three of us ICT students to finish the job. This is the story of how we pushed through the stress, spent countless hours prototyping at the BIC, and successfully built and tested a functional Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of our unique grabbing drone.
Design & Engineering
Every functional drone needs a solid mechanical foundation to support its payload. Using 3D design tools, our focus was on creating custom components tailored specifically for our drone's landing gear and gripping mechanism. Every millimeter mattered—from structural legs that could withstand the impact of landing, to a reliable claw housing designed to hold a standard beverage can securely. Working alongside our advisors, we iterated through multiple prototypes, focusing heavily on finding the right balance between structural strength and weight so the drone could lift off and fly smoothly as one single unit.
3D Printing & Grabbing Mechanism
A functional drone needs a reliable physical build to match its software. While Rick Welten took the lead on the core drone build and flight electronics, my focus was on the manufacturing side—specifically 3D printing and hardware assembly. Working closely with our team advisors, I was responsible for prototyping and printing the structural legs and the main gripping mechanism. The recent outdoor MVP test showed that our grijper successfully grabbed and carried the can on the first try. As we move into the next phase, I'll be focusing on optimizing the printed components to help improve the drone's overall stability and landing precision.
Teamwork & Perseverance
The Drone Challenge has been a massive lesson in handling pressure and overcoming setbacks. As a remaining team of three ICT students—including one specializing in systems and network engineering—we had to pivot fast and learn mechanical assembly on the fly. The project brought plenty of stressful moments, especially after losing two team members along the way. There were several times where I found myself working completely solo at the BIC just to keep our progress on track. Pulling off a successful MVP test after all that chaos proved that we can adapt, push through the stress, and deliver when it counts.
What's Next?
Hitting our MVP milestone gave the entire Skyhunters team a massive motivation boost, but our work isn't done yet. Over the coming week, we will be focusing heavily on refinement. Our main goals are to finetune the flight controls to improve overall stability, increase precision during the approach, and optimize our 3D-printed components for smoother operation. Stay tuned as we head into the next phase of development and continue to perfect the system!