Abstract
The study described in this paper deals with the issue of a design tool for the autopilot of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and the selection of the airdata and inertial system sensors. This project was processed in cooperation with VTUL a PVO o.z. [1]. The feature that distinguishes the autopilot requirements of a UAV (Figs. 1, 7, 8) from the flight systems of conventional manned aircraft is the paradox of controlling a high bandwidth dynamical system using sensors that are in harmony with the low cost low weight objectives that UAV designs are often expected to achieve. The principal function of the autopilot is flight stability, which establishes the UAV as a stable airborne platform that can operate at a precisely defined height. The main sensor for providing this height information is a barometric altimeter. The solution to the UAV autopilot design was realised with simulations using the facilities of Matlab® and in particular Simulink®[2].
Highlights
Civil and military usage of low cost UAVs is becoming more needed
Simulated flight quantities were evaluated with comparing with real flight records and submitted by real Sojka operators
The model of the UAV design system helps to create a powerful tool for a suitability testing of the autopilot and its sensors
Summary
Civil and military usage of low cost UAVs is becoming more needed. Possibly the most expensive design items are the control and navigation systems. One of main questions that each system designer has to face is the selection of appropriate sensors for a specific autopilot system. Higher sensor quality can lead to a significant rise in costs. In aircraft design this kind of consideration is especially important due to the safety requirements expressed in airworthiness standards. Question is how to determine the optimal solution This problem is mostly solved by the designer’s experience and by thorough testing. The problem can be resolved by using a suitable simulation method, for example in the Matlab® Simulink® program environment. This program can be considered as a facility fully competent for this task. By using suitable simulations it is possible to evaluate the sensors, and to optimise their filters and control algorithms
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