Precision Position Control of the DelFly II Flapping-wing Micro Air Vehicle in a Wind-tunnel

Conference paper (2016)
Copyright: © 2016 T. Cunis, M. Karasek, G.C.H.E. de Croon
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Published Date

2016

Language

English

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Abstract

Flapping-wing MAVs represent an attractive alternative to conventional designs with rotary wings, since they promise a much higher efficiency in forward flight. However, further insight into the flapping-wing aerodynamics is still needed to get closer to the flight performance observed in natural fliers. Here we present the first step necessary to perform a flow visualization study of the air around the flapping wings of a DelFly II MAV in-flight: a precision position control of flight in a wind-tunnel. We propose a hierarchical control scheme implemented in the open-source Paparazzi UAV autopilot software. Using a decoupling, combined feed-forward and feed-back control approach as a core, we were able to achieve a precision of 2:5 cm for several seconds, which is much beyond the requirements for a time resolved stereo PIV technique.

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