Description:

This project aims to model and design a variable-pitch quadcopter, for use in a range of research activities. Traditional speed-controlled quadcopters are controlled by adjusting the speed of the quadcopter’s four motors in a coordinated manner. While this is sufficient to stabilise and control the quadcopter, the system is underactuated, as a result of having four control inputs and six degrees of freedom — thereby limiting the quadcopter’s flying potential. To combat this, the drone is to redesigned such that the blade pitch of each motor-propeller subsystem can be actively altered, which would result in an overactuated system with up to eight control inputs. This has the potential to greatly increase the flight envelope of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Objectives:

• Investigate the dynamics of a variable-pitch quadcopter.
• Investigate previous approaches to the mechanical design of a variable-pitch quadcopter.
• Component selection for quadcoper, such as motors, drive trains, and aerofoils.
• Mechanically model and design a variable-pitch quadcopter
• Low-level testing of the platform, such as thrust and torque generation and estimation.
• Remotely piloted test flights to demonstrate functionality of variable-pitch quadcopter.
• Write-up of dissertation.

Key skills/interests:

Mathematical modelling, mechanical design, instrumentation and embedded systems integration.

Expected outputs:

1x MSc (Eng), 1x Journal/Conference paper in a leading publication.

Supervisor:

Dr Arnold Pretorius

Prof. Ed Boje (Department of Electrical Engineering)

Funding:

Student bursary funding has been allocated for this project.