UAV Systems Comparison Planes, Frames and Autopilots
Presenter: Robert Lefebvre BASc Mechanical Engineering, University of Ottawa Managing Director NOVAerial Robotics Inc. Ardupilot Developer 6 Years UAV Industry
Why Use UAV s? Cost effective for small data sets Responsive: rapid deployment Persistent: easy and cheap to remain on site Flexibility: multiple payloads Unique Perspective: Close-in, low altitude High resolution imagery, no atmospheric distortion Safety vs traditional methods Because: Flying Robots!
System Planning System Size: transportation and storage
System Planning Coverage Area: how much data do you need? Construction Site Small Farm, Vineyard Geographic Area
System Planning Flight Time: Consider desired coverage area and flight speed Single launch vs. battery changes Maximum flight distance allowed by VLOS is ~500m
System Planning Camera Sensor Payload Size Smaller cameras are easier to deploy Larger cameras provide better data quality Glass matters What does your application really need Specialized Sensors Infrared Multispectral Magnetometer Ground Penetrating Radar
System Planning Ease of Operation Vertical Take-off and Landing Hovering Wind Tolerance
Available UAV System Types Airplanes VTOL Airplanes Tail-Sitters Vertical Lift ( Quad-planes ) Multirotors Helicopters Rovers, Boats, Submarines
Think Outside the Box DJI dominates the market for pro-sumer and light-commercial systems Only make multirotor systems Affordable Reliable Easy to Use People think I need a drone. What can I do with a quadcopter? Unnecessary restriction on a world of possibilities
Airplanes Undisputed leader in flight duration and speed Great for wide-area mapping Massive area coverage in a shorter timeframe Not useful for oblique imagery, inspection, etc. Problems doing low-level terrain following in hilly regions Requires take-off and landing area Throw Launch Catapult or Bungee Belly Landings Common - Damage to airframe and payload Parachute Landings - Weight, Complexity, Reliability, Wind Drift
Multirotors Leading simplicity and ease of use Short flight times Typically 20-25 minutes Large systems 10-15 minutes Ultra-Efficient 45-60 minutes, but at a cost! Low speed Few moving parts VTOL Wide selection of Ready-to-Fly systems Typically 50-60 km/h Low area coverage per battery charge But easy to change batteries and go Does not scale well Practical limits on size and duration
Helicopters Middle-range Flight Duration and Speed Unmatched Weather Performance in a VTOL Heavy payload capability compared to size Mechanical complexity and fragile Dangerous? Difficult? 50 km/h+ wind tolerance Stable hover Ease of Transport 30-60 minutes 70-100 km/h Not more dangerous than comparable multirotor As easy to fly as multirotor Gas Power! The killer app. VTOL performance with multi-hour duration and high speed
VTOL Planes Combine range of airplane, with VTOL of Multirotor Reduced performance compared to airplane Sort of. Less range, lower speed Less payload weight and volume Poor weather tolerance Must weathervane during hover
Rovers Subs
Autopilot Systems Wide selection of systems $100 to $100,000 Open-Source vs Closed Source Vehicle Types Proprietary Systems Professional enclosures Wide range of quality Usually expensive Closed ecosystems, restricted payloads Slow to adapt Reduced features
Open-Source Luke, use The Source vs. APIs (aka: You can t do that) Power to the People Altruism Developing world initiatives Education Keep important technology in the hands of people High-school STEM clubs University competitions Post-Grad development Community, Share and Share Alike We re all in this together
Ardupilot Most widely used system in the world Users own their data! Security concerns Supports more vehicle types Rich peripheral ecosystem 1000 companies, 1,000,000 users Camera systems Lidar, Radar ADS-B Inter-Operability with other systems Linux co-computers ROS OpenCV