Tilt-X: Development of a Pitch-Axis Tiltrotor Quadcopter for Maximizing Horizontal Pulling Force and Yaw Moment

In recent years, there has been a significant amount of research on tiltrotor multicopter unmanned aerial vehicles (TM-UAVs) in aerial robotics. Despite the varying frame types of TM-UAVs, they all still aim to decouple the propeller from the body, which means that the propeller’s attitude control i...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inApplied sciences Vol. 14; no. 14; p. 6181
Main Authors Tao, Xiaodi, Ko, Seong Young
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.07.2024
Subjects
aerial manipulator
aerial robotics
Attitudes
Design
tiltrotor quadcopter UAVs
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Vehicles
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In recent years, there has been a significant amount of research on tiltrotor multicopter unmanned aerial vehicles (TM-UAVs) in aerial robotics. Despite the varying frame types of TM-UAVs, they all still aim to decouple the propeller from the body, which means that the propeller’s attitude control is independent of the body’s attitude control. On the one hand, this solves the issue of multicopter unmanned aerial vehicles (M-UAVs) being limited by small roll and pitch angles, thereby improving flight performance. On the other hand, it addresses the drawbacks of M-UAVs as typical underactuated systems. However, the fact still remains that it cannot significantly change thrust direction, thus providing the necessary wrench direction for aerial manipulation. This paper presents a pitch-axis tiltrotor quadcopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design named Tilt-X, which can maximize horizontal pulling force and yaw moment when used as an aerial manipulator. This design contributes to tasks such as pushing, pulling, and twisting. The reliability of the design has been demonstrated through dynamic modeling and experimental validation.
ISSN:2076-3417
2076-3417
DOI:10.3390/app14146181