6-DOF Test Bench for Quadcopters

This project is a test-bed system that would allow you to implement your development easier, faster, and without the risk of a collision. Save time and money, and focus on changing the game with your innovation. The system helps to understand, develop, and implement new mechanics, electronics and so

Project Title

6-DOF Test Bench for Quadcopters

Project Area of Specialization

Mechatronics Engineering

Project Summary

This project is a test-bed system that would allow you to implement your development easier, faster, and without the risk of a collision. Save time and money, and focus on changing the game with your innovation. The system helps to understand, develop, and implement new mechanics, electronics and software for vertical take-off and landing vehicles without putting at risk the equipment. It can connected to a PC (Arduino UNO/LabVIEW) to accelerate the test and implementation.

For a satisfactory control performance, especially in quadcopters, one needs a reliable model which reproduces as close as possible the behavior of the real system to be controlled. This work aimed in providing the base for a subsequent control of a quadcopter by developing a test bench and using them to identify the model parameters. The test benches were useful to find all the needed model parameters but they can also be used to test the control strategy (for attitude) in a secure way for both the designer and the system itself.

The idea underlying test bench is to quantify the key parameters of quadcopters. Test bench is able to measure without disassembling the quadcopters: (i) the thrust force, (ii) the instantaneous power consumption, and (iii) the pitch, yaw, and roll instantaneous angles during the test. The force measurements can be used to detect failures related to the propellers. The pitch, yaw, and roll instantaneous measurements are useful for analyzing the system stability. All of the measurements can be repeated before any mission.

After successful completion of this project, by using test bench, each user can evaluate the functionality of his own quadcopters immediately after the manufacturing or purchasing, and then he can use this value to establish when the quadcopter needs maintenance. Future works are focused on the discrimination of the drone faults, using the test bench measurements, for allowing targeted maintenance operations.

Project Objectives

To establish a mathematical model of the dynamics of a quadcopter, propose a  test bench which is affordable, useful and easy to build and use them to identify the model parameters of a real quadcopter. A test bench is an environment used to verify the correctness or soundness of a design of quadcopters. In the context of software or hardware engineering, a test bench is an environment in which the quadcopter under development is tested with the aid of software and hardware tools. The testbench contains encoders and load cell to apply rotational and linear inputs to the system and, ideally, to check that the correct outputs are produced. It has a gyroscopic structure which has freedom to perform all three angular motions (roll, pitch, yaw). Arduino is used for interfacing the test bench with Lab-VIEW to see the outputs of the test bench. Testing of drones before actual flight leads to the perfection of all its motions. This perfection will lead to the successful flight during project demonstration or a complex mission.

This project addresses the problems through the implementation of a mechanical platform that allows to test autonomous quadcopters in a 3-dimensional environment. In addition, it allows user to get the data about the applied thrust by the quadcopter.

• Crash Rate Decreases:

With the help of FFT Gyro, crash rate of drones will decrease as drones are made to be perfect by testing it on FFT Gyro platform.

• Removal of Errors:

The main benefit of testing is the identification and subsequent removal of the errors. However, testing also helps developers and testers to compare actual and expected results in order to improve quality.

• Training of New Pilots:

This platform allows a user to test his drone and as well as train his self to control the drone during actual flight. Performing some maneuvers on this platform makes it easy to gain some expertise of controlling drone’s transmitter. It will also help user to understand the functions of a drone and a transmitter

Project Implementation Method

This project will be completed in two phases.

In first phase, we will design a model on SolidWorks and manufacture it in workshop. The model is not in a single unit but in parts, so efficiently unite them together to avoid resistance in any rotation of the gimbals in 3 degrees of motion is the critical task of this phase. Placement of electrical components, like encoders, load cell and wirings, are also included in this phase.

The second phase includes the programming section and hardware-software interfacing. We will use Arduino to create a link between the test bench and the computer. Arduino software will be used to write a code that will deal with the data from encoders and the load cell. In computer, we will develop a LabVIEW program to process the outputs of Arduino into a human-understandable format. After successful software verification, the next task is to interface the hardware model with the software.

Benefits of the Project

• Crash Rate Decreases:

With the help of FFT Gyro, crash rate of drones will decrease as drones are made to be perfect by testing it on FFT Gyro platform.

• Removal of Errors:

The main benefit of testing is the identification and subsequent removal of the errors. However, testing also helps developers and testers to compare actual and expected results in order to improve quality.

• Training of New Pilots:

This platform allows a user to test his drone and as well as train his self to control the drone during actual flight. Performing some maneuvers on this platform makes it easy to gain some expertise of controlling drone’s transmitter. It will also help user to understand the functions of a drone and a transmitter.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

• Material of the gimbals should be solid and strong to avoid distruction and vibrations in the system.
• Alignement of all three gimbals should be in a line in a manner that there centre of origin must be same.
• Centre of gravity of the system is also very important to be aligned with the quadcopter’s CG.
• Placement of encoders and wirings should be done with perfection as per design, otherwise it will resist the free rotation of gimbals.
• Arduino-LabVIEW interface.
• Hardware-Software Interface.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Others

Other Industries

Core Technology

Others

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com