The increasing number of drones forms a more significant problem every year. Negative impact becomes more apparent during daily life as, for example, airport operations are shut down due to unauthorized users of drones. This report focuses on designing a new wideband antenna array as part of an integrated radar system to detect small objects, such as drones or birds. The design is done by studying generic array design assuming uncoupled antenna elements with omnidirectional radiation patterns. A comparative study of possible antenna element types has been conducted, concluded with selecting the best candidate. An antenna array has been designed with the embedded antenna elements and is verified using a prototype. Finally, an additional enhancement using meta-materials is done in an attempt to improve the antenna’s performance further. A wideband patch antenna array is proposed, which achieves a verified impedance bandwidth of 0.90 GHz with a scanning capability of ±30 degrees in azimuth and ±15 degrees in elevation. The measurements verify what the simulations have shown at broadside. Also, simulations have shown that the impedance could be increased to 2.96 GHz if a smaller feeding pin is used. It is also demonstrated that an AMC ground plane doesn't improve the antenna's performance and is, therefore, not implemented.

In this thesis the implementation of Field Oriented Control in the car of the NUON Solar Team will be discussed. The team decided to do research into the possibilities of a custom motor controller, and this thesis covers the beginning of that process. First a comparison between different control methods is made, and sensorless FOC is decided as the method to be used. Then the implementation of FOC is discussed. The Texas Instruments InstaSPIN™ technology has the preference for this implementation. This because it has all the elements of the control embedded in one microcontroller, along with a software estimator which eliminates the use of expensive sensors like a shaft encoder. Also the ease of use and the familiarity of TU Delft staff with this technology played a big part in this decision. With this technology, a simulation set-up was made as a proof of concept, which can also be used to teach the NUON Solar Team members the basics of motor control. After that the connections from the controller to the inverter are discussed, so it can be connected to other inverters in the future. In the controller, a CAN-interface is also implemented, which is essential for using it in the Nuna car. With the information presented in this thesis, the NUON Solar Team can continue the development of a controller. It is recommended to eventually leave the development kits used during this project, and integrate the MCU directly into an inverter. This will allow for well-tuned, efficient control of the motor with a small
footprint.