Student applauded for research

Joshua Haynes with the 'octocopter' and fellow researchers Jan Loots (left) and David Hunt. Photo / Supplied

An "octocopter" may not sound like an important piece of research equipment.

But it was this tool that a Napier engineering student used to help Unison investigate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Napier Boys' High School old boy Joshua Haynes will be graduating from the University of Canterbury's mechanical engineering honours programme in Christchurch this Wednesday.

For his final year research and development project, he was part of a student team that investigated the flight performance of the octocopter - an aircraft with eight sets of rotating blades.

UAVs are used by some companies for inspection and repair work, but often don't perform reliably in windy conditions.

Lines company Unison, which is investigating their use, commissioned Mr Haynes' team to evaluate the specific reasons behind UAVs' poor performance in wind.

The team tested several potential problems, and discovered the octocopter was experiencing "localisation error," or a failure to register when it had moved out of position.

As a result, the team was able to make several recommendations to Unison to improve performance, and the University of Canterbury congratulated Mr Haynes for his "outstanding research contributions".