Multirotor motion enhancement using propeller speed measurements
File(s)HAwad_ICUAS23.pdf (1.12 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Awad, Heba
Heggo, Mohammad
Pang, Oscar
Kovac, Mirko
McCann, Julie
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
Multirotor autopilots often depend on open-loop control without the feedback of propeller speeds, although they are a critical factor in determining motion characteristics. This paper proposes a system that leverages actual propeller speeds as direct feedback to the autopilot to improve the state estimation and dynamics of the multirotor. Software-in-the-Loop (SITL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) simulations with real data, in different scenarios, are conducted to demonstrate the impact of combining propeller speeds with typical drone sensors. The results show that the drone becomes more stable with lower trajectory errors. Further, a noticeable reduction in the vehicle position median error while following a trajectory is shown, and a considerable increase in the flying duration time before crashing in case of a motor fault. These results highlight the potential of adding propeller speed feedback to increase the autopilot’s controllability which enhances drone performance in sensitive applications.
Date Issued
2023-06-26
Date Acceptance
2023-04-01
Citation
2023, pp.401-406
Publisher
IEEE
Start Page
401
End Page
406
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2023 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Identifier
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10156123
Source
The 2023 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Publication Status
Published
Start Date
2023-06-06
Finish Date
2023-06-09
Coverage Spatial
Warsaw, Poland
Date Publish Online
2023-06-26