Distributed Drone-Payload Control With DOF Allocation for Hover Tasks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drones face challenges in performing heavy industrial tasks while hovering, as they lack modular capability to switch between tasks and require complex, expensive drones for each specific function, and there is a lack of integration between drone and payload manufacturers, leading to operational and regulatory issues.
Innovation Solution
A loosely coupled distributed control system where a drone controller and payload controller operate independently to allocate degrees of freedom, allowing the payload to exert additional forces without compromising drone controllability, enabling easy switching between tasks and integration of different drone and payload vendors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a drone is designed with complex specialized systems to perform heavy industrial tasks, then the drone's capability to perform specific tasks is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the drone into modular components: a base drone platform and interchangeable active payloads. Each payload is a self-contained module with its own controller and thrust sources, allowing tasks to be segmented into reusable components rather than requiring complex integration for each task
Solution Approach 2:
The base drone is designed as a universal platform capable of carrying multiple different active payloads. The drone controller can identify and adapt to different payload types, enabling a single drone to perform multiple industrial tasks by simply changing the attached payload module
2Adaptability or versatility
If the payload exerts additional forces to improve task performance, then the payload's operational capability is improved, but the drone's flight controllability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The drone controller acts as an intermediary between the payload controller and the drone's flight control system. It receives force exertion plans from the payload controller, calculates the impact on drone flight, and adjusts drone thrust sources to compensate, maintaining flight controllability while allowing payload force exertion
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where the payload controller communicates its intended force exertion to the drone controller, which then adjusts drone thrust in real-time to compensate. This closed-loop control ensures that payload operations do not compromise drone stability or controllability
3Reliability
If the drone controller maintains full control over all degrees of freedom, then the drone's flight stability is improved, but the payload's ability to exert forces independently deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The control architecture is dynamic and adaptive. The drone controller identifies the attached payload type and automatically adjusts the control model to allocate specific degrees of freedom to the payload controller. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the system to transition between different control modes based on the active payload
Solution Approach 2:
Different degrees of freedom are allocated to different controllers based on local requirements. The drone controller maintains control over flight-critical DOFs to ensure stability, while releasing control over task-specific DOFs to the payload controller, allowing independent force exertion in those directions
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple specialized drones are manufactured for different tasks, then the task-specific performance is improved, but the manufacturing cost and inventory complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the functional requirements into a common drone platform and specialized payload modules. This allows manufacturers to produce standardized drone bases and separate task-specific payloads, reducing the need for multiple complete drone systems and simplifying manufacturing and inventory management
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for distributing control over a drone and an active-payload carried by the drone to loosely coupled drone controller and payload controller, are disclosed. The active-payload includes a self-embedded payload controller and at least one controllable thrust source or moving weight. The drone controller identifies a current active-payload type that is coupled to the drone for performing one or more tasks and selects a control-type, which defines degrees of freedom (DOFs) to be controlled by the drone controller and released DOFs to be controlled by the payload controller, accordingly. The drone and active-payload perform the one or more task, wherein the drone controller controls maneuver instructions in drone controller controlled DOFs and simultaneously and asynchronously the payload controller controls maneuver instructions in the released DOFs by exerting controllable force or torque in the released DOFs by the at least one thrust source and/or moving weight.