Route Logic and Data Requirements

A route is not a drawing. It is a sequence of decisions that must produce the required evidence.

Week 16 defined the mission. Week 17 asks whether the mission concept can survive contact with geometry, time, energy, data quality, and operating constraints.

Start from the product, then work backward.

Product first, route second

Suppose the capstone product is:

A labeled image set covering four drainage zones with enough detail for visible-condition comparison.

The route must now answer:

• Which viewpoints are required?
• Which areas must remain outside the flight path?
• What capture spacing or dwell behavior is needed?
• What happens if one required view is missed?
• Where does the aircraft begin and recover?
• How is energy margin protected?
• Which conditions force the route to be shortened, changed, or rejected?

A route that looks neat but cannot produce the product is not a mission plan.

Build the route as states

Represent the proposed mission as a sequence of states rather than only as a line on a map.

PREP
  |
  v
LAUNCH -> TRANSIT -> CAPTURE ZONE A
                     |
                     v
                 CAPTURE ZONE B
                     |
                     v
                 CAPTURE ZONE C/D
                     |
                     v
                   RETURN
                     |
                     v
                  RECOVER

For each state, define:

• purpose;
• required evidence;
• entry condition;
• exit condition;
• abort or fallback condition.

This makes the route reviewable as logic.

Data requirements drive capture decisions

“Take pictures” is not a data requirement.

A data requirement describes what the evidence must contain.

Example:

Now the route has a reason for existing.

Time and energy are part of the route

Every added leg consumes time and energy. A plan should protect margin rather than assuming the battery will somehow make it.

Use a simple planning model:

required mission time
+ contingency time
+ recovery reserve
= minimum planned endurance need

You do not need a universal reserve percentage for this classroom design exercise. You do need to show that the mission is not planned to the edge of the assumed endurance.

If verified aircraft data is unavailable, label endurance as an assumption and make the plan conditional.

Worked route review

A team proposes:

Fly one large loop around the roof, record video continuously, then choose useful frames afterward.

Problems:

1. The route does not guarantee the four required drainage zones are captured at useful viewpoints.
2. Continuous video creates lots of data without guaranteeing the needed evidence.
3. There is no explicit completion check before leaving each zone.
4. There is no recovery decision if time or energy margin falls faster than expected.

A stronger plan defines four capture states and a completion condition for each state.

Example:

Zone B is complete when the image log contains a clear labeled view of the assigned drain and surrounding surface, and the reviewer confirms the image is not blurred or obstructed.

Now the route can be evaluated against the product.

Failure mode: route optimization too early

Students often optimize distance before proving coverage.

That is backwards.

First prove the route can collect the required evidence. Then reduce unnecessary travel while preserving safety and margin.

The shortest route is worthless if it skips the product.

Build the mission route table

Create a planning table for your capstone:

Then add one time/energy note showing where margin is protected.

Route readiness question

Can a reviewer point to every required product element and identify where in the mission it is produced?

If not, the route is not ready. It is only a path.