An Airborne Package Retrieval Delivery System with Mechanized CG Relocation

摘要

This paper is one of two in a dual abstract submission to AIAA Aviation 2016, "Air Transportation Integration and Operations - Unique and/or transformational Flight Systems" and details the design, construction, testing and results of a team-devised package pickup system and CG relocation apparatus. Said technology was created in parallel with a tailsitter vehicle, Proteus, whose design, construction and testing are outlined in the companion paper, "An Unmanned VTOL and Fixed Wing Package Retrieval and Delivery Vehicle". Note that all technology outlined in this paper may be integrated into various vehicle configurations, not just Proteus. The vehicle itself and subsequent technology are the culmination of a project assigned to the 2015 NASA Multidisciplinary Aeronautics Research Team Initiative (MARTI) at Langley Research Center. MARTI was tasked with developing an unmanned vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle for the purpose of package identification, pickup and delivery. From conception to completion, the team had 12 weeks. To meet these and other requirements, MARTI constructed a dual-functioning, tail-sitting aircraft, named Proteus, which is capable of transition from traditional quadrotor mode to fixed wing design for drag-efficient forward flight. Consult "An Unmanned VTOL and Fixed Wing Package Retrieval and Delivery Vehicle" for additional vehicle details, as such information will only be referenced in support of the topics discussed in this paper.