A Small Semi-Autonomous Rotary-Wing Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV)

Small radio controlled (R/C) rotary-wing UAVs have many potential military and civilian applications, but can be very difficult to fly. Small and lightweight sensors and computers can be used to implement a control system to make these vehicles easier to fly. To develop a control system for a small UAV, an 8-bit microcontroller has been interfaced with MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) gyroscopes, an R/C transmitter and receiver, and motor drivers. A single angular degree of freedom test bed has been developed to test these electronics and successful pilot-in-the-loop PI control has been achieved for this test system. A quadrotor with a stability augmentation system that uses these electronics to control the vehicle has also been developed. The future goals of this research are to incorporate more sensors to increase the level of autonomy for UAV operation.

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