Autonomous Flight Test of a Novel Nonconventional Biplane Micro Air Vehicle

Abstract

This paper presents detailed mathematical modeling, controller design, and flight test results for the autonomous mission of a nonconventional fixed-wing biplane micro air vehicle (MAV) called Skylark having span and chord length within 150 mm. Although numerous fixed-wing MAV designs are reported in the open literature, an MAV’s reliable autonomous flight is still a challenge. The primary difficulties in performing the autonomous mission of fixed-wing MAV are system integration within the weight and power budget, center of gravity (CG) management, and flight controller design for fast dynamics. In this paper, the key challenges are addressed by using the higher payload capacity of Skylark, suitable selection and design of avionics components, and design of controller after detailed development of the mathematical model, including the additional effect of propeller wash and motor countertorque. An autonomous flight test is successfully demonstrated after the validation of algorithms and software architecture through nonlinear six-degrees-of-freedom simulation. The detailed design and development approach will increase the MAV’s performance and reliability in civil and military applications.