Anže Rezelj (2013) Autonomous charging of a quadrocopter by landing at a mobile platform. EngD thesis.
Abstract
Autonomous off-road vehicles are equipped with powerful but very heavy batteries. To save weight, the autonomous aircraft are equipped with less powerful batteries with less weight. This problem is also found in quadrocopter AR.Drone from company Parrot. Quadrocopter is unlike as helicopter equipped with four rotors, which allows him greater stability in the air. Due to equipment with two cameras, built-in wireless and simple management enjoys great popularity in academic circles. In this thesis we touch issue with battery life. The problem we try to solve is to enable autonomous off-road vehicles and quadrocopter to work in mutual symbiosis. We developed a system that is capable of landing and automatic battery charging. During landing, we use computer vision, through which quadrocopter is controlled that can land at the site for battery recharge. For recharging we created a dedicated control circuit that controls and monitors charging. We also implemented a landing platform with special landing mechanism for easier landing. Finally we suggest further options for future improvements.
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