Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Testbed for Control Theory Implementation

The goal of this project is to design, construct and fly an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, by computer control using a feedback-based program. Feedback loops take the system output into consideration, which enables the system to adjust its performance to meet a desired output response. For aircraft, a human pilot traditionally does this. For a UAV, the controller receives a signal and compares it to the desired signal value, then sends a corrected signal based on this comparison. This process repeats rapidly throughout the mission. In this design, the feedback-control system sends thrust and angle values to the flight controller, analyzes the reaction, and then sends corrected values. The control program can be uploaded to the aircraft for a mission instead of using a human pilot. The small, durable UAV is designed for indoor flight to enhance a control theory class by adding hands-on experience. The communication ground station can toggle between manual and computer control. The scope of this project is to demonstrate system communication, simple computer-controlled commands, and aircraft flight performance.