The aerial camera lens largely determines the performance of the camera. It is necessary to further optimize the lens to satisfy the requirements of small-scale and lightweight aircraft camera systems. The optical system design is the primary prerequisite. Therefore, considering the image quality and working environment of the aerial camera, an aspherical aerial camera optical system is developed by studying the aerial camera optical system. The work presented in this paper decreases the overall weight of the aerial camera by using an aspherical lens instead of a spherical lens, which reduces the number of lenses and improves the image quality. The athermalization of the optical system ensures that the camera has good temperature adaptability in the temperature range of −60°C∼60°C. The definition of the aspherical surface shape is detected by a ZYGO digital interferometer. The root mean square (RMS) of the system is 0.0403λ(λ = 632 nm), and the peak value (PV) is 0.354λ, which ensures the image quality of the camera. The research results verify that the aspherical lens can be well applied to the camera optical system, improving the image quality of the system and reducing the weight of the camera.

In order to solve the problem of high cost investment in the detection and debugging of complex optical machine functional components by Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), especially the aerial camera, a novel ground-based operational test bench is presented in this paper, which can realistically simulate the attitude of UAV and could be used for research of the control system. Based on the Lagrange’s equations of motion, the exact dynamic equation of the flight simulation platform for ground-based operational test bench is derived. The structure is driven by Brushless DC motor (BLDCM) torque motor and simplifying the equations under conditions of practice, we derive the mathematical model. The static and dynamic characteristics were carried out by using the finite element theory to explain rationality of the ground-based operational test bench. Through modal analysis, the first six natural frequencies range is between 99.362Hz and 262.37Hz. The natural frequency of the first mode is much larger than the external excitation frequency. So, it is verified that the frequency response of the structure will not resonate. The ground-based operational test bench that is designed in this paper has the advantages of simple structure and low cost.

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