Abstract
The relationship between my technical capstone project and my Science, Technology,
and Society (STS) research paper is grounded in the advancement of drone technology and its
life-saving use cases in real-world contexts. The technical project, ICARUS-1, was motivated by
the desire to expand the field of bioinspired flight, which still has much to discover and
understand. We aimed to develop an unmanned aerial system capable of performing precise,
rapid maneuvers inspired by dragonfly flight. The goal of this approach is to overcome the
mobility and speed constraints in current drone designs. In my STS research paper, I wanted to
understand and analyze how drones can be used for non-military applications. This led to the
identification and management of the sociotechnical interactions involved in drone use during
real-world disasters, such as the 2025 Palisades Fire. Both projects were chosen to address fields
with significant room for improvement and the potential to deliver real benefits to society.
The technical project, ICARUS-1, confronts the engineering trade-off between stable
hovering and mobility in tight spaces. Current bio-inspired unmanned aerial systems (UAS) fail
to practically replicate dragonfly flight capabilities, including hovering, immediate stops, and
acceleration in any direction, achieved by flapping their wings rather than relying solely on
propeller thrust. To tap into these abilities, our team developed a quad-winged drone system with
four independent wings, each driven by a specialized flapping mechanism that converts a
brushless motor into vertical flapping motion. We focused on iterative weight reduction to keep
the prototype below the 250-gram Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) threshold, thereby
avoiding various registration requirements. We used carbon brush motors and H-bridge speed
control to reduce current spikes and optimize torque. A Teensy 4.1 microcontroller controls the
system, while being guided by a custom vehicle control program. ICARUS-1 demonstrates the
application of dragonfly flight principles at an engineering scale, targeting indoor intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance missions where typical drones underperform.
In my STS research paper, I argue that the main obstacle to effective drone
implementation in disaster response is not a lack of technical capability, but rather organizational
and system failures. I draw on Diane Vaughan’s framework of organizational failure and
information management to better analyze my case study. I examined the 2025 Palisades Fire to
reveal how hierarchical bottlenecks and interagency boundaries undermined the emergency
response. I discuss why response agencies disregarded critical information because of a rigid
command structure that undervalued input from lower-level personnel. Additionally, I highlight
that the absence of unified command among agencies such as the LAPD and LAFD resulted in
delayed evacuations and uncoordinated asset allocation, as well as the role that funding and
infrastructure deficits played. My research shows that even an ideal autonomous drone system
would not have compensated for the resource shortages that left municipal reservoirs depleted
and fire departments understaffed. I ultimately argue two points. One is for drone technology to
realize its full potential, emergency organizations must shift from vertical, centralized hierarchies
to horizontal, non-centralized networks capable of exchanging real-time operational data across
agency boundaries. Two, this systematic change needs to be coupled with efficient response
resources and infrastructure to carry out these actions.
Working on both projects throughout the year gave valuable insight into the problems of
depending solely on technical solutions and thinking. Handling the challenges of ICARUS, such
as weight reduction and structural design, made it clear how difficult it is to create advanced
systems while collaborating within a large team. The STS research opened my eyes to the gap
between intended technical design capabilities and the practical uses of that technology in real
life conditions, such as the Palisades Fire. Working on ICARUS informed my STS project by
grounding my expectations for prototype performance under imperfect conditions. Conversely,
studying the sociotechnical dynamics of the Palisades Fire prompted me to re-evaluate the goals
of the work we did on ICARUS, from aiming for a perfectly functional unmanned system to
using the project to build team members' engineering skills and to produce something we could
be proud of at the end. I recognized that achieving technical milestones, such as stable hovering,
represents only part of the challenge. Working on both projects together gave me better insight
into the work it takes to create a proof of concept and a clearer understanding that the distance to
a fully realized, impactful technology is still huge. The combination of my STS research and
technical capstone has made me a more holistic engineer, one who appreciates that successful
project design calls for not only innovation but also a deep understanding of how users will
interact with the technology.
Notes
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering
Technical Advisor: Dr. Haibo Dong
STS Advisor: MC Forelle
Technical Team Members: Lily Byers, Kathryn Geoffroy, Theodore LengKong, Jafar Mansoor, Justin Matara, Owen McKenney, Andrew Mercer, Carter Nickola, Nicholas Owen, Mark Piatko, Luis Ramos-Garcia, James Scullin, Matthew Sendi, George Zach
