Tilting water-air amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle and control method thereof
By coordinating the design of the tilt propulsion component and the flight control system, the problems of insufficient stability of amphibious UAVs during takeoff and landing on sloping terrain and insufficient water maneuverability have been solved, enabling stable flight and efficient operation in complex environments.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SOUTH CHINA UNIV OF TECH
- Filing Date
- 2026-04-10
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-12
AI Technical Summary
Existing amphibious unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have poor stability when taking off and landing on sloping terrain, insufficient maneuverability on water, and the tilt rotor design fails to effectively compensate for the influence of terrain slope on the alignment of thrust direction and gravity.
The system employs a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that uses a tilt propulsion assembly and flight control system to adjust the tilt angle and rotation speed of multiple rotors in real time. This compensates for UAV attitude deviations and ensures that the thrust vector is aligned with the direction of gravity. Combined with a floating body assembly and a surface propulsion device, it achieves coordinated propulsion and attitude control.
It improves the stability of UAVs taking off and landing on sloping terrain, enhances their adaptability to transitional terrains, improves their water maneuverability and aerial attitude adjustment flexibility, and extends their endurance and stealth capabilities.
Smart Images
Figure CN122009546A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, specifically to a tiltable amphibious UAV and its control method. Background Technology
[0002] With the rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, multi-rotor UAVs have been widely used in fields such as inspection, surveying, and emergency rescue. To further expand their cross-media operational capabilities, amphibious UAVs have integrated floating body components to achieve take-off, landing, and mooring on the water surface, thus enabling them to switch between operational modes in water and aerial environments. As application demands continue to increase, amphibious UAVs, in addition to possessing basic flight and hovering capabilities, also need to exhibit high stability and environmental adaptability during take-off and landing in complex terrain, high-maneuverability navigation on water, and transitions between different media.
[0003] Existing amphibious unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) primarily employ a fixed rotor structure, with their thrust axis fixed to the fuselage axis. This structure enables relatively stable takeoffs and landings on ideal horizontal water or land surfaces. However, in actual operational scenarios, UAVs often need to take off and land on pier slopes, mountain roads, or other sloping, non-horizontal hard surfaces. Because existing UAVs lack the ability to adaptively adjust to terrain slope, when the fuselage tilts with the slope, the total lift vector generated by the rotor will form an angle with the direction of gravity, generating a horizontal component force along the slope direction at the moment of takeoff and landing. This component force can cause uncontrolled slippage of the UAV on the contact surface, especially on low-friction contact surfaces such as floats, easily leading to safety risks such as takeoff and landing instability, collisions with obstacles, or even fuselage capsizing. Furthermore, existing amphibious UAVs typically rely mainly on surface propulsion devices mounted on floats for propulsion in water surface navigation mode, while the flight rotor generally does not participate in surface propulsion or steering control. Therefore, during forward, backward, turning, and rotational maneuvers on water, they suffer from limited control methods and insufficient maneuverability.
[0004] Furthermore, existing tiltrotor designs primarily focus on switching between fixed-wing and multi-rotor modes or improving forward flight efficiency, with their tilt logic mainly serving aerodynamic performance optimization at high speeds. These designs typically lack structural design for stationary or low-speed takeoff and landing phases, and do not consider using tilt degrees of freedom to compensate for the impact of ground slope on the alignment of thrust direction and gravity. Therefore, current technology still lacks a structural solution for amphibious unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can meet the requirements of cross-medium operation in both water and air, while also enabling stable takeoff and landing on sloping terrain, water-assisted propulsion, and active adjustment of the fuselage attitude in flight. Summary of the Invention
[0005] To address the problems existing in the prior art, the purpose of this invention is to provide a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle and its control method, which can improve the stability of take-off and landing on sloped landing surfaces, realize active adjustment of the fuselage attitude in the air, and enhance the adaptability to cross-medium transitional terrain.
[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: A tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle includes a fuselage, multiple tilting propulsion components mounted on the fuselage, and a flight control system. A floating assembly is located under the fuselage to provide buoyancy support and water propulsion for the drone; Each tilt propulsion assembly includes a tilt actuator and a rotor; the tilt actuator is fixed to the fuselage and connected to the rotor, and is used to drive the rotor to tilt relative to the fuselage; The flight control system is configured to control the tilt actuators and rotor movements accordingly based on the UAV's motion pattern; When the drone is in take-off and landing mode, multiple tilting actuators tilt the corresponding rotors to compensate for the attitude deviation of the drone relative to the target take-off and landing attitude, so that the floating body component is adapted to the slope landing surface, and the resultant force generated by the multiple rotors is consistent with the direction of the drone's gravity, thus realizing the vertical take-off and landing of the drone relative to the direction of gravity. When the drone is in surface navigation mode, it generates a horizontal thrust component by tilting the corresponding rotor through multiple tilting actuators. This horizontal thrust component and the floating body components form a surface-coordinated propulsion mechanism to achieve forward, backward or turning motion. When the UAV is in flight mode, multiple tilting actuators tilt the corresponding rotors to adjust the thrust vector direction and control the rotor speed to adjust the thrust magnitude. This changes the position and interaction of the thrust vector relative to the fuselage center of mass, thereby constructing a resultant force for position control and a resultant torque for attitude control. This achieves kinematic decoupling between position and attitude control, ensuring that the UAV flies stably along the desired trajectory and attitude.
[0007] Furthermore, the floating body assembly includes a float and a surface propulsion device. The float is fixed to the fuselage to provide buoyancy support for the UAV; the surface propulsion device is connected to the float and works in conjunction with the tilt propulsion assembly to achieve surface navigation.
[0008] Furthermore, the surface propulsion device is located on the outer side of the middle of the pontoon.
[0009] Furthermore, the surface propulsion device includes a propulsion motor and a propeller. The propulsion motor is fixed to the float and driven by the propeller. A flow guide is provided on the outside of the propeller.
[0010] Furthermore, the tilt actuator includes a tilt drive motor and a rudder disk. The tilt drive motor is fixed to the fuselage, and the output shaft of the tilt drive motor is connected to the rotor through the rudder disk.
[0011] A control method for a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle includes: The drone's motion mode is acquired, and multiple tilt actuators are controlled to tilt the corresponding rotors according to the motion mode. When the drone is in take-off and landing mode, multiple tilting actuators tilt the corresponding rotors to compensate for the attitude deviation of the drone relative to the target take-off and landing attitude, so that the floating body component is adapted to the slope landing surface, and the resultant force generated by the multiple rotors is consistent with the direction of the drone's gravity, thus realizing the vertical take-off and landing of the drone relative to the direction of gravity. When the drone is in surface navigation mode, it generates a horizontal thrust component by tilting the corresponding rotor through multiple tilting actuators. This horizontal thrust component and the floating body components form a surface-coordinated propulsion mechanism to achieve forward, backward or turning motion. When the UAV is in flight mode, multiple tilting actuators tilt the corresponding rotors to adjust the thrust vector direction and control the rotor speed to adjust the thrust magnitude. This changes the position and action relationship of the thrust vector relative to the fuselage center of mass, thereby constructing a resultant force for position control and a resultant torque for attitude control. This achieves kinematic decoupling between position and attitude control, ensuring that the UAV flies stably along the desired trajectory and attitude.
[0012] Furthermore, when the UAV is in flight mode, by coordinating the tilt angle and rotation speed of each rotor, the UAV's pitch angle, roll angle, and yaw angle are actively adjusted while keeping its spatial position coordinates unchanged.
[0013] Furthermore, when the drone is in flight mode, by coordinating the tilt angle and rotation speed of each rotor, the drone can achieve multi-directional translational movement and hovering at a fixed point while maintaining the horizontal attitude of the fuselage.
[0014] Furthermore, when the UAV's movement mode is water surface navigation mode, differential thrust is generated on both sides of the fuselage by adjusting the water surface propulsion device, thereby forming a yaw torque and realizing water surface turning control.
[0015] Furthermore, in takeoff and landing mode, the tilt angle of each rotor is independently adjusted according to the stress state of the float assembly, the order of ground contact, and the current attitude of the fuselage. When the flight control system determines that the float assembly on one side of the fuselage has landed first, the rotor on the corresponding side is tilted through the tilt actuator, so that the thrust vector direction of the rotor on that side tends to be consistent with the direction of gravity, thereby suppressing the additional attitude disturbance caused by asymmetric support and improving the takeoff and landing adaptability of the UAV in complex ground, water-shore interface and slope environment.
[0016] In summary, the present invention has the following advantages: 1. The tiltable amphibious UAV of this invention adopts an independent tilt propulsion component design based on traditional amphibious UAVs, realizing independent real-time adjustment of multiple rotor thrust directions. When taking off and landing on sloping surfaces, it can actively compensate for the fuselage tilt angle, ensuring that the thrust vector coincides with the direction of gravity, eliminating the lateral component force along the slope direction, effectively avoiding the risk of takeoff and landing slippage, and significantly improving the adaptability to non-horizontal terrain such as docks and riverbanks.
[0017] 2. The tilt propulsion assembly of this invention increases the controllability of the UAV, achieving kinematic decoupling between position control and attitude control. By precisely coordinating the tilt angle and rotor speed of multiple rotors (driven by the flight motor), the UAV can achieve multi-directional translational movement, hovering, and attitude stabilization while maintaining a constant fuselage attitude. This significantly improves flight stability and maneuverability in strong winds and confined spaces. Furthermore, the tilt propulsion assembly enables the UAV to actively adjust its pitch, roll, and yaw angles while hovering, thereby enhancing its environmental adaptability and mission execution capabilities in special operational postures.
[0018] 3. This invention adopts an integrated structural design of the float and the water surface propulsion device, overcoming the limitation of high energy consumption in traditional cross-medium UAVs on the water surface. By integrating a dedicated flow-guiding water surface propulsion device on the outer side of the middle of the float, it achieves low-power, low-noise independent drive in water surface mode, significantly extending the overall endurance and stealth of the UAV in cross-medium operations. Simultaneously, the tilt propulsion component can also provide auxiliary propulsion and additional steering torque through rotor tilting in water surface navigation mode, further enhancing the UAV's propulsion capability and maneuverability on the water surface. Attached Figure Description
[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the front view structure of a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle.
[0020] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A magnified structural diagram at point A.
[0021] Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle.
[0022] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A magnified structural diagram at point B.
[0023] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of the control method for a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle.
[0024] In the picture: 1-Fuselage; 11-First carbon fiber plate; 12-Second carbon fiber plate; 13-Support column; 14-Hexagonal nut; 2-Arm; 21-First arm; 22-Second arm; 23-First connecting rod; 24-Second connecting rod; 25-Arm connector; 3-Tilted propulsion assembly; 31-Propeller cap; 32-Flight rotor blade; 33-Flight motor; 34-Motor mounting base; 35-Rotating shaft connector; 36-U-shaped pitch support; 37-Rudder disk; 38-Tilted drive motor; 39-U-shaped mounting frame; 4-Float assembly; 41-Float; 42-Thruster mounting bracket; 43-Thruster connecting shaft; 44-Surface propulsion device; 45-Diffuser. Detailed Implementation
[0025] The present invention will now be described in further detail.
[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, a tilting amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes a fuselage 1 with two symmetrically arranged float assemblies 4 below it. Four arms 2 are located around the fuselage 1. These four arms 2 are connected to the fuselage 1 in an H-shape to ensure balanced force distribution and structural stability. Each arm 2 is equipped with a tilting propulsion assembly 3 and a tilting actuator. The tilting propulsion assembly 3 includes a flight motor 33 and a rotor driven by the flight motor 33. The tilting actuator is used to drive the flight motor 33 and the rotor to tilt relative to the arm 2.
[0027] In this embodiment, the tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle is based on a flight control system built into the fuselage 1.
[0028] At the sensing end, the system communicates in real time with the binocular camera, inertial measurement unit, attitude sensor, barometer, satellite positioning module, electronic compass, speed measurement module, and float contact sensor unit installed on the fuselage 1. This allows for comprehensive acquisition of the UAV's motion status (attitude, position, speed, heading, etc.) and interface contact feedback of the float assembly 4. The float contact sensor unit can be located at the bottom of the float 41 or in the connection area between the support column 13 and the float 41 to detect the contact status between the float assembly 4 and the support surface. At the execution end, the flight control system determines the current operating condition and the corresponding motion mode based on the aforementioned real-time data. It then outputs precise commands to each tilting actuator, flight motor 33, and water propulsion device 44 to achieve dynamic collaborative control across media and multiple operating conditions. The tiltable amphibious UAV can operate in air flight mode, water surface navigation mode, and take-off and landing mode. The tilt propulsion assembly 3 not only generates lift but also achieves thrust vector control through tilt adjustment to meet functional requirements such as take-off and landing on slope terrain, water surface assisted propulsion, and hovering attitude adjustment.
[0029] like Figure 3 As shown, the fuselage 1 serves as the core mounting carrier, comprising a first carbon fiber plate 11, a second carbon fiber plate 12, four support columns 13, and several hexagonal nuts 14. The first carbon fiber plate 11 and the second carbon fiber plate 12 are arranged vertically at intervals and are fastened together by the support columns 13 and hexagonal nuts 14, forming a central fuselage structure that can be used to install batteries, electronic control modules, and mission payloads.
[0030] The second carbon fiber plate 12 has several symmetrical screw holes. The first connecting rod 23 and the second connecting rod 24 are fixedly connected to the middle of the second carbon fiber plate 12 through the screw holes by fasteners, thereby realizing a reliable connection between the middle fuselage structure and the arm 2, and improving the rigidity and stability of the overall structure.
[0031] Arm 2 includes a first arm 21, a second arm 22, a first connecting rod 23, a second connecting rod 24, and an arm connector 25. The first connecting rod 23 and the second connecting rod 24 are parallel and symmetrically distributed at the center of the UAV, perpendicular to the first arm 21 and the second arm 22, and connected by the arm connector 25 in an H-shaped layout. The upper parts of both ends of the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 are fixedly connected to the U-shaped mounting frame 39 via mounting bases, and the lower parts are connected to the float assembly 4 via mounting bases.
[0032] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, each arm 2 is equipped with a tilting propulsion assembly 3 at its end. Figure 4Taking the tilt propulsion assembly 3 as an example, the rotor includes a rotor cap 31 and flight rotor blades 32. The flight rotor blades 32 are mounted on the output shaft of the flight motor 33 and are used to generate lift or propulsion under the drive of the flight motor 33. Figure 4 As shown, the flight motor 33 is fixedly mounted on the motor mounting base 34. The motor mounting base 34 is fixedly connected to the U-shaped pitch support 36 via a rotating shaft connector 35. The two sides of the U-shaped pitch support 36 are connected to the tilt drive motor 38 via two rudder discs 37, allowing the flight motor 33 and rotor assembly to tilt around the rudder discs 37 along with the U-shaped pitch support 36. The tilt drive motor 38 is fixedly mounted within the outer U-shaped mounting frame 39 by screws on both sides and the bottom, and simultaneously fixedly mounted within the outer U-shaped pitch support 36 by screws on both sides. A rudder disc 37 is mounted on the output shaft of the tilt drive motor 38, and the rudder disc 37 is connected to the inner side of the U-shaped pitch support 36 by screws, thereby converting the rotational motion of the rudder disc 37 shaft into the rotational motion of the U-shaped pitch support 36, achieving adjustment of the rotor thrust direction. The lower part of the outer U-shaped mounting frame 39 is fixedly connected to the boom 2 via a mounting structure, which is used to stably install the entire tilt propulsion assembly 3 at the end of the boom 2.
[0033] In this embodiment, the flight control system can control the UAV in takeoff and landing mode, water surface navigation mode, and aerial flight mode. In different operating modes, the flight control system adopts different control allocation strategies for the tilt actuator and rotor, enabling the tilt propulsion component 3 to realize attitude adjustment functions during vertical takeoff and landing, water surface navigation, and aerial flight on the same hardware basis.
[0034] When the UAV is in takeoff and landing mode, the flight control system controls multiple tilt actuators to drive the corresponding rotors to tilt based on the attitude angle and angular velocity information of the fuselage 1 and the contact state between the float assembly 4 and the landing surface. This compensates for attitude deviations of the fuselage 1 caused by the slope of the landing surface or uneven terrain. Specifically, when the UAV lands on a slope, embankment, beach, or other non-horizontal support surface, the float assembly 4 will tilt accordingly with the attitude of the contact surface. The flight control system adjusts the thrust direction of each rotor according to this tilt trend, so that the resultant force generated by multiple rotors is consistent with the direction of the UAV's gravity, thereby eliminating the lateral component force and enabling the UAV to achieve vertical takeoff and vertical landing relative to the direction of gravity. At the same time, the flight control system can also jointly adjust the speed of each flight motor 33 to compensate for pitch moment, roll moment, and yaw moment while maintaining the total lift to meet the takeoff and landing requirements. This allows the float assembly 4 to better fit the landing surface and form stable support, reducing the risk of rollover, slippage, or bounce upon touchdown.
[0035] Furthermore, in takeoff and landing mode, the tilt angles of each tilt actuator can be set identically, or they can be adjusted independently according to the force state of the corresponding float assembly 4, the order of contact with the ground, and the current attitude of the fuselage 1. When the flight control system determines that a certain side float assembly 4 will contact the ground first, it can prioritize controlling the corresponding rotor on that side to tilt, so that the thrust vector direction of that rotor tends to be consistent with the direction of gravity, thereby suppressing the additional attitude disturbance caused by asymmetric support and improving the UAV's takeoff and landing adaptability in complex ground, water-shore interfaces, and slope environments.
[0036] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, a float assembly 4 is installed below the UAV. The float assembly 4 includes floats 41 symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the UAV, a thruster mounting bracket 42, a thruster connecting shaft 43, a surface propulsion device 44, and a fairing 45. The floats 41 have a slender cylindrical structure with a sealed cavity structure inside to provide sufficient buoyancy support. The floats 41 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the UAV, giving them good longitudinal stability and anti-capsulation capability in water. The floats 41 have a streamlined structure with smooth transitions at the front and rear ends to reduce the drag encountered by the floats 41 when navigating on the water surface and improve the stability of the float during water surface movement. The floats 41 are fixedly connected to the mounting bases on the corresponding arms 2 by two support columns, so that the floats 41 are suspended below the UAV, providing buoyancy support for the UAV during take-off, landing, and mooring on the water surface. The connection between the support column and the float 41 is located on the upper surface of the float 41 to ensure the reasonable stress distribution of the float 41 under load, and to avoid affecting the attitude of the UAV due to the swaying of the float 41.
[0037] like Figure 4 As shown, a surface propulsion device 44 is provided on the outer side of the middle of each float 41. The surface propulsion device 44 includes a propulsion motor and a propeller. The propulsion motor is fixed to the float 41 and driven by the propeller to drive its rotation. A flow guide 45 is provided on the outer side of the propeller. The flow guide 45 has a cylindrical structure, with an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end. The flow guide 45 is used to constrain the direction of water flow, improve propulsion efficiency, and protect the propeller.
[0038] The surface propulsion device 44 is fixed to the outer middle part of the float 41 by a mounting bracket, enabling it to provide propulsion or auxiliary steering capabilities for the UAV in water-surface conditions. This allows for surface propulsion without significantly increasing the width of the float 41, while preventing interference between the surface propulsion device 44 and ground or water obstacles during takeoff and landing. Preferably, the mounting bracket and float 41 are integrally formed and fixed. In one embodiment, by adjusting the differential thrust generated by the left and right surface propulsion devices 44, a yaw moment is generated in the UAV's surface navigation mode, thereby achieving surface propulsion and steering control for the UAV.
[0039] When the UAV is in water surface navigation mode, the flight control system controls multiple tilting actuators to drive the corresponding rotor components to tilt, making the rotor thrust a horizontal thrust component. This horizontal thrust component works in conjunction with the water surface propulsion device 44 to form a water surface synergistic propulsion mechanism. Furthermore, in water surface navigation mode, the water surface propulsion device 44 provides the basic thrust, while the tilted rotors provide auxiliary horizontal thrust and additional steering torque. When working together, they can improve water surface maneuverability under conditions such as high-speed cruise, rapid turns, and stationary turns. Especially when rapid changes in course are required or maneuvering in narrow waters are needed, the horizontal thrust component generated by the rotors can form a significant synergistic propulsion effect with the water surface propulsion device 44, enabling the UAV to achieve higher water surface maneuverability without significantly increasing structural complexity.
[0040] When the UAV is in flight mode, the flight control system controls each tilt actuator to drive the corresponding rotor to tilt, and adjusts the speed of each flight motor 33 to regulate the direction and magnitude of the thrust vector corresponding to each rotor. Furthermore, by considering its position relative to the center of mass of the fuselage 1, a resultant force for position control and a resultant torque for attitude control can be constructed, thereby achieving kinematic decoupling between the UAV's position control and attitude control.
[0041] In this embodiment, each rotor can actively change its thrust direction under the action of the tilt actuator, enabling the UAV to achieve forward, backward, left, right, or oblique translation through the horizontal component of the thrust vector even when the fuselage 1 attitude remains unchanged. Conversely, when the UAV's spatial position remains unchanged, pitch moment, roll moment, and yaw moment can be generated by changing the distribution of each rotor's thrust vector relative to the center of mass of the fuselage 1, thereby actively adjusting the attitude angle of the fuselage 1. Thus, the flight control system can separate position adjustment requirements from attitude adjustment requirements, improving control accuracy, interference resistance, and mission adaptability during hovering operations.
[0042] In scenarios such as fixed-point observation, aerial sampling, sling operations, or close-to-obstacle flight, the flight control system can keep the mission payload on fuselage 1 always facing the target direction, while simultaneously achieving lateral fine-tuning or headwind compensation through the coordinated tilt and rotation speed of multiple rotors; or, when the UAV's spatial coordinates remain unchanged, only the pitch, yaw, and roll angles of fuselage 1 are adjusted to meet the mission requirements of camera line-of-sight adjustment, sensor scanning, or directional communication. This control method effectively improves the UAV's hovering stability and precision operation capabilities in complex environments.
[0043] This invention integrates the independently tiltable tilt propulsion assembly 3 with the suspended float assembly 4 in a structural and functional design, achieving coordinated control of the UAV in three working conditions: takeoff and landing on complex terrain, navigation on water, and aerial operations. During takeoff and landing on sloped surfaces, the tilt actuator adjusts the multi-rotor thrust vector direction in real time according to the contact state between the float assembly 4 and the slope, aligning it with the direction of gravity. This compensates for attitude deviations caused by the float assembly 4 tilting with the slope, eliminates lateral slippage forces, and transforms the float 41 from a source of instability into an adaptive support point, improving takeoff and landing stability on slopes. During navigation on water… In this mode, the coordinated tilt propulsion component 3 generates a horizontal thrust component, which, in conjunction with the hydrodynamic characteristics of the float component 4, forms a synergistic propulsion mechanism of rotor-assisted propulsion and float stability support, allowing the previously idle flight rotors to contribute to water surface maneuverability. During hovering operations, the kinematic decoupling of position control and attitude control is achieved through independent adjustment of the multi-rotor thrust vector, enabling the UAV to perform multi-directional translational movements while maintaining the fuselage 1's attitude, or to actively adjust the fuselage 1's attitude angle while maintaining its spatial position, thereby meeting the operational requirements in complex environments. The aforementioned structural and control coordination together constitute the core support for the water-air cross-medium operation capability of this invention.
[0044] The above embodiments are preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiments. Any changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, or simplifications made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be considered equivalent substitutions and shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that, It includes the fuselage, multiple tilt propulsion components mounted on the fuselage, and the flight control system; A floating assembly is located under the fuselage to provide buoyancy support and water propulsion for the drone; Each tilt propulsion assembly includes a tilt actuator and a rotor; the tilt actuator is fixed to the fuselage and connected to the rotor, and is used to drive the rotor to tilt relative to the fuselage; The flight control system is configured to control the tilt actuators and rotor movements accordingly based on the UAV's motion pattern; When the drone is in take-off and landing mode, multiple tilting actuators tilt the corresponding rotors to compensate for the attitude deviation of the drone relative to the target take-off and landing attitude, so that the floating body component is adapted to the slope landing surface, and the resultant force generated by the multiple rotors is consistent with the direction of the drone's gravity, thus realizing the vertical take-off and landing of the drone relative to the direction of gravity. When the drone is in surface navigation mode, it generates a horizontal thrust component by tilting the corresponding rotor through multiple tilting actuators. This horizontal thrust component and the floating body components form a surface-coordinated propulsion mechanism to achieve forward, backward or turning motion. When the UAV is in flight mode, multiple tilting actuators tilt the corresponding rotors to adjust the thrust vector direction and control the rotor speed to adjust the thrust magnitude. This changes the position and interaction of the thrust vector relative to the fuselage center of mass, thereby constructing a resultant force for position control and a resultant torque for attitude control. This achieves kinematic decoupling between position and attitude control, ensuring that the UAV flies stably along the desired trajectory and attitude.
2. The tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The floating body assembly includes a float and a surface propulsion device. The float is fixed to the fuselage to provide buoyancy support for the UAV; the surface propulsion device is connected to the float and works with the tilt propulsion assembly to achieve surface navigation.
3. The tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that, The surface propulsion device is located on the outer side of the middle of the pontoon.
4. The tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that, The surface propulsion device includes a propulsion motor and a propeller. The propulsion motor is fixed to the float and driven by the propeller. A flow guide is provided on the outside of the propeller.
5. The tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tilt actuator includes a tilt drive motor and a rudder disk. The tilt drive motor is fixed to the fuselage, and the output shaft of the tilt drive motor is connected to the rotor through the rudder disk.
6. A control method for a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, include: The drone's motion mode is acquired, and multiple tilt actuators are controlled to tilt the corresponding rotors according to the motion mode. When the drone is in take-off and landing mode, multiple tilting actuators tilt the corresponding rotors to compensate for the attitude deviation of the drone relative to the target take-off and landing attitude, so that the floating body component is adapted to the slope landing surface, and the resultant force generated by the multiple rotors is consistent with the direction of the drone's gravity, thus realizing the vertical take-off and landing of the drone relative to the direction of gravity. When the drone is in surface navigation mode, it generates a horizontal thrust component by tilting the corresponding rotor through multiple tilting actuators. This horizontal thrust component and the floating body components form a surface-coordinated propulsion mechanism to achieve forward, backward or turning motion. When the UAV is in flight mode, multiple tilting actuators tilt the corresponding rotors to adjust the thrust vector direction and control the rotor speed to adjust the thrust magnitude. This changes the position and action relationship of the thrust vector relative to the fuselage center of mass, thereby constructing a resultant force for position control and a resultant torque for attitude control. This achieves kinematic decoupling between position and attitude control, ensuring that the UAV flies stably along the desired trajectory and attitude.
7. The control method for a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that, When the drone is in flight mode, it actively adjusts the pitch, roll, and yaw angles of the fuselage by coordinating the tilt angles and rotation speeds of each rotor, while keeping the drone's spatial position coordinates unchanged.
8. The control method for a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that, When the drone is in flight mode, by coordinating the tilt angle and rotation speed of each rotor, the drone can achieve multi-directional translational movement and hovering at a fixed point while keeping the fuselage attitude horizontal.
9. The control method for a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that, When the drone is in water surface navigation mode, the differential thrust on both sides of the fuselage is generated by adjusting the water surface propulsion device, thereby forming a yaw torque and achieving water surface turning control.
10. The control method for a tiltable amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that, In takeoff and landing mode, the tilt angle of each rotor is independently adjusted according to the stress state of the float assembly, the order of ground contact, and the current attitude of the fuselage. When the flight control system determines that the float assembly on one side of the fuselage has landed first, it tilts the rotor on the corresponding side through the tilt actuator, so that the thrust vector direction of the rotor on that side tends to be consistent with the direction of gravity, thereby suppressing the additional attitude disturbance caused by asymmetric support and improving the takeoff and landing adaptability of the UAV in complex ground, water-shore interface and slope environment.