UAV Consumable Replenishment: Design Concepts for Automated Service Stations

Abstract

A key requirement for the complete autonomy of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is the replenishment of its energy source and other consumables. Such processes are typically overseen and conducted by a human operator, may be time consuming and effectively reduce the operating range of the system. To satisfy the requirements of UAV customers such as military surveillance networks, that seek faster, broader and more fully autonomous systems, and hobbyists, who seek to avoid the hassle associated with changing the fuel source, we develop automated energy recharging systems. Focusing on battery operated remote control helicopters, we employ the Axiomatic Design methodology to develop design concepts of platforms to act as automatic service stations. We propose three station designs for refilling platforms and one concept for battery exchange platforms. In addition, we analyze the economic feasibility of automatic consumable replenishment stations, consider two types of station (container refilling and container exchange) and discuss the application of these systems. Refilling platforms better suit low coverage unmanned aerial systems (UAS) while exchange stations allow high coverage with fewer UAVs.

Classification of robotic battery service systems for unmanned aerial vehicles

“…We demonstrated that refilling stations are economically superior for low target coverage. For high coverage systems, exchange stations are better [13].…”

“…In work [13] three types of charging stations for the UAV are proposed: Rollin 'Mat, Concentric circles, Honeycomb. They differ in cost, features and functions.…”

“…But this solution is more expensive, therefore the Honeycomb platform is recommended in case when exact landing is required on a small site in difficult weather conditions. Also [13] proposed a system for changing the UAV battery. Using an exchange process could increase significantly the ratio of maximum possible flight time (from take-off to landing) per ground time, therefore, decreasing the total number of UAVs.…”

“…Considering the wide range of training of operators and functional capabilities of the multi-copters, it is necessary to distinguish three most popular applications of multicopters: 1) researchers; 2) farming; 3) security [1][2][3]. Table 1 lists the main requirements for service systems of multi-copter power supply systems for the three above categories [4]. The potential uses for security multi-copters are reconnaissance, target spotting, riot control and border patrol, among others.…”

Towards Long-Term Collective Experiments

“…Several designs have been considered and tested [2,5,9,10,11,12]. The problem was also studied using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) [4,16]. However, with such an approach, the robots are unusable during the whole recharge process.…”