Wang, Ya (HKUST), Lyu, Ximin (HKUST), Gu, Haowei (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), SHEN, Shaojie (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), Li, Zexiang (Hong Kong Univ. of Science & Tech.), Zhang, Fu (Hong Kong Uversity of Science and Technology)

Design, Implementation and Verification of a Quadrotor Tail-Sitter VTOL UAV

Scheduled for presentation during the "Autonomy - III" (WeC1), Wednesday, June 14, 2017, 18:00−18:20, Salon E

2017 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, June 13-16, 2017, Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay, Miami, FL,

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on April 24, 2024

Abstract

This paper presents the design and implementation of a cost-effective, lightweight, yet power efficient tail-sitter Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The UAV consists a pair of wings for efficient level flight and four rotors for attitude control. The aerodynamic and mechanical configurations of the UAV are designed and implemented from scratch to meet the required power efficiency, and subsequently optimized to enhance the stability and maneuverability. The developed VTOL UAV has a weight and cost comparable to a typical quadrotor, while consuming only half power, as shown by real flight tests. In addition, it can achieve all key VTOL maneuvers, including vertical take-off, landing, hovering, cruising and transition.