UNI-Copter: A portable single-rotor-powered spherical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an easy-to-assemble and flexible structure

• Published in: Journal of mechanical science and technology Vol. 32; no. 5; pp. 2289 - 2298
• Main Authors: Moon, Jae-Sung, Kim, Choonghyun, Youm, Youngil, Bae, Joonbum
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers 01.05.2018; Springer Nature B.V; 대한기계학회
• Subjects: Control; Controllers; Dynamical Systems; Engineering; Feedback control; Flight tests; Hovering flight; Industrial and Production Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Military technology; Portability; State feedback; Unmanned aerial vehicles; Vibration; Wind speed; 기계공학; Attitude control; Portable single-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); Spherical UAV; Easy-to-assemble structure
• ISSN: 1738-494X; 1976-3824
• DOI: 10.1007/s12206-018-0440-1

This paper presents the design and modeling of the UNI-Copter, a portable spherical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is powered by a single rotor. This type of single-rotor spherical UAV has many advantages over other types of multi-rotor UAVs, but the spherical external structure takes up more volume, thereby reducing its portability. We focus on designing and building the UNI-Copter to provide ease of assembly and portability while taking advantage of the existing spherical structure. This paper explains our design concepts and the development process of improving the performance through various prototypes. We also verify flight stability of our new design by conducting several flight tests. To do so, a mathematical model of the UNI-Copter is derived in detail, and then we implement a state feedback controller for hovering flight. As a result, the indoor flight tests show stable performance, and the outdoor flight tests show that stable performance could also be achieved provided that the wind speed is low.