Embedded UAS Autopilot and Sensor Systems

This objective of this article is to give an overview of autopilot software design for small and miniature unmanned air systems. An architecture that is typical of commercially available autopilots is described. A detailed explanation of the inner-loop control structure is described, including the lateral directional feedback loops and the longitudinal directional feedback loops. We give a brief description of the sensor package that is usually on small UAS, and describe simple filtering schemes for extracting estimates of the states needed by the autopilot. Finally, we briefly describe GPS navigation for following straight lines and orbits.