Tendon-Sheath Mechanisms in Flexible Membrane Wing Mini-UAVs: Control and Performance

Tjahjowidodo, Tegoeh; Lee, Shian

doi:10.1155/2017/8181743

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Though these are the four common types of UAVs, there is a unique type of UAV called the Flexible Membrane Wing (FMW) UAV [10]. The FMW has wings made from flexible membrane material, with the advantages of this being easy of storage (as the wings can simply be folded up) and better control and maneuverability in windy conditions (as the flexible wings dynamically adjust to cater for wind preventing "adaptive washout").…”

Section: Autonomous Vehiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sky-Farmers: Applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in Agriculture

Yinka-Banjo¹,

Ajayi²

2020

Autonomous Vehicles

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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are unpiloted flying robots. The term UAVs broadly encompasses drones, micro-, and nanoair/aerial vehicles. UAVs are largely made up of a main control unit, mounted with one or more fans or propulsion system to lift and push them through the air. Though initially developed and used by the military, UAVs are now used in surveillance, disaster management, firefighting, border-patrol, and courier services. In this chapter, applications of UAVs in agriculture are of particular interest with major focus on their uses in livestock and crop farming. This chapter discusses the different types of UAVs, their application in pest control, crop irrigation, health monitoring, animal mustering, geo-fencing, and other agriculture-related activities. Beyond applications, the advantages and potential benefits of UAVs in agriculture are also presented alongside discussions on business-related challenges and other open challenges that hinder the wide-spread adaptation of UAVs in agriculture.

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Section: Autonomous Vehiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sky-Farmers: Applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in Agriculture

Yinka-Banjo¹,

Ajayi²

2020

Autonomous Vehicles

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“…Its flight safety is threatened by the complex near-ground environment and unpredictable air flow conditions. Its frequent crash incidents indicate that the traditional flight control strategies designed for a conventional large aircraft are not suitable for SUAV's flight control due to its low-speed, lightweight, coarse sensor, and low-cost actuator [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers and engineers propose hundreds of methods to improve an SUAV's flight performance [2][3][4]. Some researchers get their inspirations from the nature, such as flying creatures like birds and insects which are capable of high-performance flight.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gust Perturbation Alleviation Control of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Based on Pressure Sensor

Ren

Yan

2018

International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

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A gust perturbation alleviation control method based on a real-time pressure sensor is proposed. Pressure measurement provides phase-advance information on external disturbance, while the conventional inertial measurement cannot. Two pairs of pressure sensors embedded on the main wing surfaces are employed to estimate the disturbance of gust-induced rolling moment. The estimated rolling moment is incorporated into a traditional flight controller as an additional feedforward channel. The simulation results show that the additional information on flow field is helpful and that the composite controller's architecture is more effective for alleviating gust perturbation than the conventional ones.

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“…If the pre-tension is significantly varying, the model will change extensively and thus rendering the feed-forward control not as effective. To investigate this issue, an adaptive backstepping controller has been implemented to the TSM actuated wing warping system in [97]. In that study, it was found that the adaptive backstepping controller performs well and is more robust than the feed-forward controller.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Actuation and control of wing warping via tendon-sheath mechanism for flexible membrane wing mini-UAV

Lee¹

Self Cite

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Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, also known as drones are very suitable and efficient for border patrol and surveillance missions. No human pilot is being put at risk, but they are usually not fully utilized due to the costs and operational difficulties. The introduction of the mini-UAV, which is much less expensive and also easier to operate, can minimize losses even if the aircraft perishes during the mission. However, given the frequent gusty conditions in lower altitudes, the mini-UAV can be difficult to maneuver. The flexible membrane wing (FMW) developed in this thesis helps to mitigate the effects of the gusts with the adaptive washout effect. Additionally, the FMW provides the convenience of quick deployment and storage by being foldable along the fuselage. This thesis details the research to achieve more roll control authority while preserving the adaptive washout and also foldable feature. A novel method of wing warping was discovered, which relies on the tendon-sheath mechanism. The nonlinearities of the tendon-sheath mechanism (TSM) actuated wing warping were identified and then modeled using a modified General Bouc-Wen (GBW) model for hysteresis. The parameters for the modified GBW model was found by utilizing optimization methods. A TSM wing warping controller, which is the main contribution of this thesis, was designed with a feed-forward and feedback control. The comparison between open loop and closed loop wing warping is shown. A significant improvement in warping accuracy was achieved in the closed loop system and is documented in the thesis. Further verifications such as computational fluid dynamic simulations, wind tunnel tests and flight tests were conducted to show the robustness and real world usability of the TSM wing warping controller on the FMW mini-UAV. This thesis has demonstrated the feasibility of the TSM wing warping roll control on the FMW mini-UAV while keeping the adaptive washout mechanism and the foldability of the FMW for storage purposes.

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Tendon-Sheath Mechanisms in Flexible Membrane Wing Mini-UAVs: Control and Performance

Cited by 5 publications

References 23 publications

Sky-Farmers: Applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in Agriculture

Sky-Farmers: Applications of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in Agriculture

Gust Perturbation Alleviation Control of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Based on Pressure Sensor

Actuation and control of wing warping via tendon-sheath mechanism for flexible membrane wing mini-UAV

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