Colloquium: Jagadish Kumar Modachakanahalli Ramesh (C&O)

The rise in high-speed quadrotor applications demands aerodynamic models that explain the flight characteristics at these broader flight regimes. For developing these models using system identification methods, having information-rich data at these flight conditions is crucial. While there have been sufficient works in the input design for identification procedures in quadrotors, there are limited guidelines for high-speed flights. This work focuses on two key contributions to aid the high-speed quadrotor model identification process. First, various input designs within the framework of high-speed flight supporting experimental firmware are explored. Three input designs are considered: position tracking, trajectory tracking, and finally, attitude injection during trajectory tracking with the goal of obtaining feature-rich data at high velocities. As a second contribution, an automated flight testing pipeline has been developed to support the iterative input design process using various supporting software tools. Finally, the designed inputs were practically tested using the automated flight testing pipeline. In addition to high speed flight testing capabilities of up to 7 m/s at the Cyberzoo, the HITL simulation tool was used to iteratively design and verify input designs before actual flights. This work is an initial attempt at understanding the effects of input design for high-speed identification. The methodology and pipeline developed here serve as a platform to build and explore various other identification inputs with the scope to push the quadrotor flight speeds even further.

Supervisor: Dr.ir. Coen de Visser