Hybrid Electric VTOL Aircraft With Redundant Flight Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multirotor aircraft designs are not capable of safely and reliably carrying human passengers due to lack of safety, structural, and redundancy features, and they do not have the ability to generate their own power, limiting their application to passenger-carrying implementations and operation within complex airspace environments.
Innovation Solution
A full-scale vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a lightweight airframe that generates electricity from fuels like LPG, CNG, or hydrogen, featuring counter-rotating electric motors, a redundant autopilot system, and advanced avionics for navigation and stability, allowing for autonomous or manned operation with features like collision avoidance and 'highway in the sky' navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If reduced scale multirotor aircraft are used, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability and safety are insufficient for carrying human passengers
Solution Approach 1:
The aircraft control system is divided into multiple independent flight controllers that operate in parallel with voting mechanisms. This segmentation provides redundancy where if one controller fails, others can maintain control, thus improving reliability without significantly increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The aircraft incorporates pre-planned emergency procedures and redundant systems that activate automatically upon detecting failures. Safety features such as backup power systems, emergency landing protocols, and fault-tolerant control algorithms are built in beforehand to cushion against potential failures before they compromise passenger safety.
2Ease of operation
If battery power is used, then ease of operation is improved, but duration of action is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The power system transitions from pure battery operation to a hybrid configuration where battery parameters (voltage, current delivery) are optimized for high-power phases like takeoff and maneuvering, while a fuel cell system provides sustained lower-power operation for extended flight duration, combining the advantages of both energy sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrical power system is designed to perform multiple functions: batteries provide immediate high-power bursts and serve as backup power, while fuel cells provide sustained energy for extended operations. The system can operate in different modes (battery-only, fuel cell-only, or combined) depending on flight phase and requirements, making it universally adaptable to various operational needs.
3Duration of action of moving object
If on-board fuel generation is implemented, then duration of action is extended, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A power management control system acts as an intermediary between the fuel cell stack, batteries, and motor controllers. This intermediary intelligently manages power flow, charging/discharging batteries based on flight phase, and coordinating between different energy sources to extend operational duration while maintaining manageable system complexity through centralized control.
4Reliability
If advanced avionics and redundant systems are added, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple flight control functions are merged into integrated avionics modules that combine navigation, communication, monitoring, and control functions in unified systems. This consolidation provides redundancy and reliability through cross-checking and failover capabilities while reducing overall complexity compared to separate independent systems for each function.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables safe and reliable operation of multirotor aircraft for passenger transport and various applications by providing power generation, redundancy, and advanced navigation systems, enhancing safety and operational simplicity while reducing noise and environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
motor-generator, fuel cell or other on-board source of power transforms fuel into electricity
Implementation Method 2
multiple electric motors... each driving a propeller or rotor
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for a clean fuel, manned or unmanned aircraft, having an electric, low-emission or zero-emission lift and propulsion system, an integrated ‘highway in the sky’ avionics system for navigation and guidance, a tablet-based motion command, or mission planning system to provide the operator with drive-by-wire style direction control, and automatic on-board-capability to provide traffic awareness, weather display and collision avoidance. Automatic computer monitoring by a programmed multiple-redundant autopilot control units control each motor-controller and motor to produce pitch, bank, yaw and elevation, while simultaneously restricting the flight regime that the pilot can command, to protect the pilot from inadvertent potentially harmful acts that might lead to loss of control or loss of vehicle stability. By using the results of the state measurements to inform motor control commands, the methods and systems contribute to the operational simplicity, reliability and safety of the vehicle.