UAV Lift Motor Redundancy for Stable Flight After Failure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have relatively low flight performance and stability, leading to potential crashes and safety issues due to motor failures or power insufficiency during flight.
Innovation Solution
The UAV design includes a control module that manages multiple lift motors and propellers on motor arms, steering engines on wings, drive motors for forward motion, and vertical tails, allowing for power adjustments and control surface deflection to maintain stability and safety, even in case of motor failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple lift motors are installed on motor arms with redundant configuration, then the reliability and safety of the UAV is improved, but the device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV is divided into multiple independent motor arms, each equipped with its own lift motor and propeller. This segmentation allows individual motors to fail without compromising the entire system, as each motor arm can operate independently. The control module manages each motor arm separately, enabling selective power adjustment and failure isolation.
Solution Approach 2:
The control module is programmed with failure detection and power adjustment algorithms that activate before catastrophic failure occurs. When a motor failure is detected, the system automatically adjusts power distribution to compensate, cushioning against the harmful effects of the failure and maintaining stable flight without immediate crash risk.
2Stability of the object's composition
If power of remaining lift motors is adjusted when one motor fails, then the stability of the UAV is maintained, but the control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control module continuously monitors the operational status of each lift motor and automatically adjusts the power distribution in real-time based on feedback from motor performance data. When a motor failure is detected, the system receives feedback about the imbalance and automatically compensates by adjusting power to remaining motors, maintaining stability without requiring manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The power distribution to lift motors is made dynamic rather than static. The control module continuously adapts power allocation based on real-time operational conditions and motor status. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to respond to failures and maintain stability by optimizing power distribution according to current system state.
3Productivity
If steering engines and control surfaces are added to wings, then the flight performance and maneuverability are improved, but the device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The motor arms serve multiple functions: they provide structural support for the wings, house the lift motors and propellers for vertical flight, and incorporate steering engines and control surfaces for horizontal maneuvering. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components, thereby reducing overall structural complexity while maintaining enhanced flight performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The steering engines and control surfaces are integrated into the wing structure rather than being separate add-on components. The motor arms combine lifting and steering functions in a unified structure, merging multiple subsystems into integrated assemblies that reduce overall complexity while achieving improved flight performance and maneuverability.
4Reliability
If drive motors are provided at both front and rear ends of fuselage, then the power redundancy and safety are improved, but the weight and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The propulsion system is segmented into multiple independent drive motors positioned at different locations on the fuselage. This segmentation provides power redundancy, as failure of one drive motor does not cripple the entire propulsion system. The control module can selectively engage remaining functional motors to maintain flight capability, justifying the additional weight through improved reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle and a control method thereof. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a control module (1), motor arms (2), a plurality of lift motors (3) and lift propellers (4). The control module (1) is used to preset a correspondence between two ends of each motor arm (2) and the corresponding lift motors (3); the control module (1) is used to control each lift motor (3) to be initiated; the control module (1) is also used to determine whether a lift motor fails, determine a target lift motor and a target position if so, and adjust the power of other lift motors in all the lift motors corresponding to the target position apart from the target lift motor. The present invention improves the flight stability and safety of the unmanned aerial vehicle.