Acceleration control of a multi-rotor UAV towards achieving microgravity

Abstract

In this paper, we present control and parameter estimation strategies with theoretical guarantees to turn a hex-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) into a microgravity enabling platform. We make the UAV to maintain a constant acceleration equal to freefall acceleration for it and any payload on-board to experience microgravity. Towards this, we derive a feedback linearisationbased acceleration control law exploiting the differential flatness property of our system. The proposed control law requires the estimates of the system parameters. Therefore, ancillary to this control law, we propose a parameter estimation scheme and prove that the proposed control law along with the parameter estimation scheme ensures convergence of acceleration to the desired value under certain conditions. We also characterize these conditions that guarantee convergence. The flight tests that we have performed employing the proposed control and parameter estimation schemes gave microgravity levels of the order of 10 −3 g for 1.6 s. To our knowledge, our hex-rotor UAV is the first multi-rotor UAV to achieve microgravity, and the first UAV-fixed-wing or rotary-to attain and maintain such levels of microgravity.

An investigation on the structural vibrations of multi-rotor passenger drones

“…Improving the autonomy of drone systems can be done by enhancing their level of intelligence, such as in environmental perception, 14 planning, 16,15 and control. 17 However, there is less attention given to the structure of drones. As a new mode of transportation, the safety and comfort of passenger drones are undoubtedly important, so the structural damage caused by drone vibrations and the impact of noise should also be more widely recognized.…”