1C21 Development and control of non-planar hexarotor helicopter(The 12th International Conference on Motion and Vibration Control)
Katsuaki Okuma, Daisuke Iwakura, Kenzo NONAMI · The Proceedings of the Symposium on the Motion and Vibration Control · 2014
In this paper we propose a novel design of a hexarotor helicopter called "Non-planar Hexarotor Helicopter." The purpose of this study is to perform autonomous flight control of the proposed helicopter and put it into practical use. First, we present the characteristics and application examples. Six rotors are divided into three pairs and placed on three orthogonal planes. This configuration allows for decoupling of translational and attitude motions and realize absolutely free flight in three dimensional space that has never been achieved by any other aircraft. Variable thrust can be generated via variable-pitch rotors. Additionally, by enclosing all mechanical parts within a frame, it is possible to protect it from collisions, fly in narrow space, and roll on the ground. Unless it is needed to hover, it can move to the destination using rolling motion, thereby reducing energy consumption. The proposed helicopter is suitable for a number of flight missions, such as the scene of an accident and the inspection of the sewer. Other applications imaginable are shown in this paper. Second, We performed mechanical design of the proposed helicopter in detail towards flight testing. Its hardware specification and CAD drawings are described. Third, static and dynamic models are derived from geometrical relations and simple aerodynamic models. We also designed control systems using modern control theory and backstepping. Finally, we simulated the designed system to examine whether the performance meets requirements.