Downwash Detection and Avoidance with Small Quadrotor Helicopters

摘要

An onboard flow-sensing concept for quadrotor platforms is introduced along with an instrumentation package based on a set of custom wind-velocity probes. Data from ground-based tests and autonomous flight trials show that the system is capable of providing accurate wind-vector measurements in flight. A flight-path planner is designed to use these measurements to generate an estimate.of · the source of a downwash generated by a second rotorcraft; safe trajectories avoid hazardous downwash conditions. The flow measurement system and flight-path planner are tested in simulation and in a motion-capture testbed. Experiments show that the vehicle is able to successfully avoid the downwash of another quadrotor and still reach a desired goal point. Ongoing work aims to develop an autopilot that incorporates flow-speed measurements into an attitude stabilization controller.