Taxiing Thrust Control for Stable Ground Contact in Aerial Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aerial vehicles, such as helicopters, face challenges during ground taxiing due to errant control inputs or environmental conditions causing unintended lift-offs, which can lead to unstable operations and potential damage to landing gear.
Innovation Solution
A data processing system separates pilot inputs from control outputs, using sensors to adjust thrust components via rotors or propellers based on force distribution and environmental conditions to maintain stability and prevent lift-off.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If control inputs are used to maneuver the aerial vehicle during taxiing, then directional control and propulsion are achieved, but unintended lift-offs occur due to errant control inputs or environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors forces applied to ground contact points using sensors and feeds this information back to the control system. The control system compares measured forces against thresholds and automatically adjusts thrust to prevent lift-off, creating a closed-loop feedback mechanism that maintains reliable ground contact during taxiing operations
Solution Approach 2:
The control system acts as an intermediary between pilot control inputs and the actual thrust generation. It receives control inputs, processes them through control laws that consider ground contact forces, and generates adjusted control outputs that prevent unintended lift-off while maintaining desired directional control, effectively mediating between operator intent and safe vehicle behavior
2Stability of the object's composition
If thrust adjustments are made to prevent lift-off, then ground contact stability is maintained, but fine grain control becomes limited and operations become cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The control system segments the thrust control into independent components that can be adjusted separately. It can modify individual thrust components (vertical, horizontal, lateral) based on specific ground contact conditions while leaving other components unchanged, enabling precise stabilization without affecting overall vehicle control or requiring cumbersome manual adjustments
3Reliability
If control laws are enforced to maintain aircraft stability, then lift-off prevention is achieved, but the system complexity increases due to sensor integration and real-time processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs multiple functions using a unified architecture: it processes sensor data from various ground contact points, evaluates multiple control inputs, enforces control laws to prevent lift-off, and generates adjusted control outputs all through a single integrated data processing system. This multi-functional approach reduces overall system complexity compared to having separate dedicated systems for each function
Data Source
AI summary
Aerial navigation is disclosed. A system can detect a difference between forces applied to a plurality of ground contact points of an aerial vehicle taxiing on a ground surface. The system can determine an adjustment to a vertical component of a thrust. The thrust can be produced by at least one of a rotor or a propeller of the aerial vehicle to reduce the difference between the forces applied to the plurality of ground contact points of the aerial vehicle. The system can generate a control output to cause the at least one of the rotor or the propeller to adjust the vertical component of the thrust to reduce the difference between the forces.