UAV Control System

01 · Context & Problem

Technician UI for a multi-payload farm drone

Teammates owned Pilot and Specialist screens; this case study focuses on the Technician role—payload operations, diagnostics, and repairs in the field.

466 acres

Average U.S. farm: manual monitoring doesn't scale.

$15k+

Typical single-task drone: three systems is unrealistic.

One platform Mapping, spray, and thermal in one system
12-hour shifts UI must stay clear under long field load
Zero overload Payloads, diagnostics, repairs, all without friction

AgriDrone Showreel: multi-role agricultural workstation UAV system in action. (This video is provided by Prof. Cameron Rennacker and Shoaib Ahmad.)

02 · Project Goals

Three goals for the Technician tablet

Role-specific UI

A focused workspace for payload ops: cameras, spray, cargo, and repairs.

Lower cognitive load

Fast health reads, clear alerts, and troubleshooting without split attention.

Ecosystem fit

Technician UI aligned with Pilot and Specialist screens from the team.

03 · Key Solutions / Final Design

A clear tablet workspace in the field

Health cards, actionable alerts, and maintenance logs: everything a technician needs on one digestible screen.

Health monitoring

Status cards for fluid, pressure, and temperature at a glance.

Actionable alerts

Pop-ups show the issue and recommended next steps.

Maintenance logs

Automated history so technicians don't rely on memory alone.

04 · Design Process

Research through AI-assisted troubleshooting

Phase 01 · Research

Concept Development

One tablet for every payload.

Sprayers, seeders, radar: one screen, no app switching.

UAV technician interface concept mockup — Concept mockup: interchangeable payloads on one technician screen.

Phase 02 · Information Architecture

Wireframing

Three dashboards: overview, mission, statistics.

Overview for health, mission for active tasks, statistics for logs, so each view shows only what the technician needs.

Technician Overview Dashboard with at-a-glance UAV and attachment health monitoring — Overview Dashboard: at-a-glance UAV and attachment health.

Technician Mission Dashboard tracking active spraying zones and usage trends — Mission Dashboard: active task zones and usage trends.

Technician Statistics Dashboard with post-flight data and maintenance logs — Statistics Dashboard: post-flight data and maintenance logs.

Phase 03 · Human Factors

Iteration

Proximity, mental models, and salience tame dense data.

Grouped module cards, a 3D UAV diagram, and green/yellow/red alerts cut scan time and tie digital warnings to physical parts.

Contextual alert workflow pop-up with blocked nozzle alert and recommended next steps — Contextual Alert Workflow: salience and proximity applied to critical nozzle alerts.

Phase 04 · AI Integration

Troubleshooting

AI chatbot: step-by-step fixes or specialist handoff.

When a module fails, an in-app chatbot walks through fixes or escalates to a specialist, with no deep software expertise required.

AI Troubleshooting Chatbot integrated into the Technician interface — AI Chatbot Integration: predictive aiding and specialist escalation via a centralized messaging hub.

05 · Visual Demonstration

Technician interface in context

AgriDrone ecosystem context mockup showing multi-role agricultural workstation UAV system — AgriDrone Ecosystem Context: multi-role agricultural workstation UAV system.

06 · Reflection & Impact

Fix problems, not just read errors

Field stress proved human factors and predictive aiding matter: the outcome is a readable workspace that ships with Pilot and Specialist UIs.

Problems solved

Complex multi-tool diagnostics became a readable tablet workspace for technicians.

Goals achieved

Full Technician UI/UX delivered in sync with Pilot and Specialist roles.

Vision

Less fatigue and faster maintenance keep AgriDrone flying, and farmers saving time.

Technician UI for a multi-payload farm drone

Three goals for the Technician tablet

A clear tablet workspace in the field