Tri-copter UAV with Individually Tilted Main Wings for Flight Maneuvers

Abstract

A tri-copter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with individually tilted main wings for various flight maneuvers is presented. In contrast to conventional tilt wing UAVs, thrust vectoring and control of the directions of main wing surfaces are attained by tilting main wings individually. Such individually tilted main wings allow more efficient maneuvers of the UAV. Even though the UAV is a tri-copter, it can compensate the reaction torque created by the tail motor by the individual control of the main wings. Few publications have appeared in the literature, dealing with tri-copter UAV with individually tilted main wings. Dynamic model of the UAV is established via the Newton-Euler formulation and effect of individual wing control is examined. The PID controller and PI controller for control of flight maneuvers are implemented and used for simulations and experiments. Results of simulations and experiments are presented for validation of flight performance of the UAV, including the roll rate 80% larger than that of the conventional UAV with ailerons as control surfaces.