Quad-Tilting Rotor Convertible MAV: Modeling and Real-Time Hover Flight Control

This paper describes the modeling, control and hardware implementation of an experimental tilt-rotor aircraft. This vehicle combines the high-speed cruise capabilities of a conventional airplane with the hovering capabilities of a helicopter by tilting their four rotors. Changing between cruise and hover flight modes in midair is referred to transition. Dynamic model of the vehicle is derived both for vertical and horizontal flight modes using Newtonian approach. Two nonlinear control strategies are presented and evaluated at simulation level to control, the vertical and horizontal flight dynamics of the vehicle in the longitudinal plane. An experimental prototype named Quad-plane was developed to perform the vertical flight. A low-cost DSP-based Embedded Flight Control System (EFCS) was deThis work was partially supported by the Institute for Science & Technology of Mexico City (ICyTDF) and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). G. R. Flores (B) · J. Escareño · R. Lozano Heudiasyc Laboratory, University of Technology of Compiègne, CNRS 6599, 60205 Compiègne, France e-mail: [email protected] S. Salazar French-Mexican Laboratory on Computer Science and Control, CINVESTAV, Mexico City, Mexico signed and built to achieve autonomous attitudestabilized flight.