Bright, Glen.Botha, Ingrid Retha.Swanepoel, Matthew Adrian.2026-01-222026-01-2220242024https://hdl.handle.net/10413/24245Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The integration of mechatronic devices in daily life and the commercial environment has undergone a profound transition in response to the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Included in 4IR, falling under the” intelligent devices” category, are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). 4IR has highlighted the potential of UAVs to assume tasks previously performed by humans or other less efficient production systems. Could this potential function of UAVs be extrapolated into the disaster management and humanitarian aid scenarios? More specifically, could the UAV be used to transport medical supplies and essential items such as food, water, vaccines, and blood samples? This dissertation details the research and design of a two-axis, roll-pitch Inertial Stabilization Platform (ISP), which is compatible with the DJI Matrice 300 (DM300) UAV for humanitarian applications. The research aimed to assess the operational viability of the device within the disaster management and humanitarian aid scenarios. The intention was to assist current strategies, most notably during timesensitive situations and when access to the region of interest was obstructed. The design was required to repetitively stabilize the load being transported by the UAV. This accounted for the transportation of fragile cargo, vaccines, and blood samples. Additionally, this enabled unbalanced loads to be transported without potentially destabilising the UAV. Owing to the 2.7kg payload carrying capacity of the DM300 UAV, the design was required to be lightweight to maximise the operational payload capacity of the ISP. Subsequently, Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) was proven applicable for the fabrication of the device. The research undertook an experimental investigation into the optimisation of the FDM process parameters to identify the most durable, lightweight parameter combinations. The outcomes thereof proved the most structurally resilient, lightweight, components to be produced with no infill and increased part wall thicknesses under the expected loading conditions. FDM fabrication of the ISP consisted of 19 individual components with a combined mass of 329.7g. The final design assembly featured an Arduino Nano microcontroller, an Adafruit BNO055 Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), two DSSERVO 35kg.cm servo motors, and two 7.4V lithium-ion batteries in addition to the FDM components. Hinging on the final ISP assembly mass of 709.86g, the final operational payload capacity of the ISP was specified to be 1900g. Evaluation of the ISP operational capabilities was achieved through a series of experimental testing procedures that logged the device’s stabilisation responses in both static and dynamic environments, as well as loaded and unloaded states. Findings validated the prototypes functionality, with acceptable stabilisation capabilities being exhibited in both axes. Under fully loaded and kinematic conditions, the ISP roll and pitch axes were noted to settle in 1.89 seconds and 1.92 seconds, respectively. These figures represented a maximum 33.33% increase in settling time, resulting from UAV noise transferral and loading in comparison to baseline results.enCC0 1.0 Universalhttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM).Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU).Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU).Thesis