TY - GEN
T1 - Design of a modular offline reconfigurable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
AU - Rinauto, Benjamin
AU - Gupta, Sanchit
AU - Maldonado, Victor
AU - Chowdhury, Souma
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - This paper aims to develop a computational framework to design reconfigurable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are inspired by modular platform planning. These reconfigurable UAVs are unique in their ability to be assembled on-field into configurations that can perform diverse missions. While reconfigurable UAV platforms are rare in the literature, specialized frameworks to design modular/ reconfigurable UAVs are even rarer. A new design framework founded on object-oriented computing is presented here. Such an approach to modular design allows flexible addition and evolution of modules, and integration of different algorithms that interact with the module objects in estimating the quantities of interest (e.g. aerodynamic forces). A corollary benefit is the provision for automated batch execution of 3D CAD updates during design optimization. A case study is performed to design a set of modules that can be assembled either into a quadrotor UAV or into a fixed-wing UAV, where their endurances are simultaneously maximized, subject to various constraints associated with mission requirements (e.g., payload), geometry, and module interactions. Results show that the best trade-off reconfigurable UAV designs, while expectedly compromising on endurance, provide a remarkable 40% mass savings compared to a set of optimized dedicated quadrotor and fixed-wing UAVs.
AB - This paper aims to develop a computational framework to design reconfigurable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are inspired by modular platform planning. These reconfigurable UAVs are unique in their ability to be assembled on-field into configurations that can perform diverse missions. While reconfigurable UAV platforms are rare in the literature, specialized frameworks to design modular/ reconfigurable UAVs are even rarer. A new design framework founded on object-oriented computing is presented here. Such an approach to modular design allows flexible addition and evolution of modules, and integration of different algorithms that interact with the module objects in estimating the quantities of interest (e.g. aerodynamic forces). A corollary benefit is the provision for automated batch execution of 3D CAD updates during design optimization. A case study is performed to design a set of modules that can be assembled either into a quadrotor UAV or into a fixed-wing UAV, where their endurances are simultaneously maximized, subject to various constraints associated with mission requirements (e.g., payload), geometry, and module interactions. Results show that the best trade-off reconfigurable UAV designs, while expectedly compromising on endurance, provide a remarkable 40% mass savings compared to a set of optimized dedicated quadrotor and fixed-wing UAVs.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85017425509&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85017425509
SN - 9781624104497
T3 - AIAA Information Systems-AIAA Infotech at Aerospace, 2017
BT - AIAA Information Systems-AIAA Infotech at Aerospace, 2017
PB - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA
Y2 - 9 January 2017 through 13 January 2017
ER -