Carlson, Stephen (University of Nevada, Reno), Karakurt, Tolga (University of Nevada, Reno), Arora, Prateek (University of Nevada - Reno), Papachristos, Christos (University of Nevada Reno)

Integrated Solar Power Harvesting and Hibernation for a Recurrent-Mission VTOL Micro Aerial Vehicle

Scheduled for presentation during the Regular Session "Micro and Mini UAS I" (WeB1), Wednesday, June 22, 2022, 15:30−15:50, Asimon

2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), June 21-24, 2022, Dubrovnik, Croatia

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on April 18, 2024

Abstract

This work addresses the electronics and behaviors of a Hibernation-Enabled Maximum-Power-Point-Tracking power converter and power management system. This enables a Recurrent-Mission profile that can be performed by VTOL Micro Aerial Vehicles for persistent presence in real-world unstructured environments. The typical mission cycle consists of solar energy harvesting while the vehicle is landed and in an energy-conserving state, followed by a vertical take-off and entry into forward flight when the battery is fully charged. The flight mission is concluded with a vertical landing and entry into hibernation for the process to repeat indefinitely, for multiple instances each day and through the night to the next day. The presented MPPT implementation demonstrates a functional prototype and the successful demonstration of a multi-day mission cycle using our open-access Tricopter/Fixed-Wing Vertical Take-Off and Landing MAV.