UAV Collision Stabilization via Reversible Thrust Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
VTOL UAVs face challenges in maintaining stable flight and rapid corrective action during collisions with obstacles, often resulting in catastrophic crashes due to external torques and forces disrupting their orientation, especially in cluttered spaces where standard controllers fail to handle situations where the UAV is hinged on an obstacle.
Innovation Solution
A VTOL UAV design featuring a multi-propeller propulsion system with reversible thrust capabilities, an outer protective cage, and a sophisticated control system that includes orientation and displacement sensors, allowing for rapid stabilization by reversing thrust on distal propellers and controlling proximal propellers to generate lift and counteract torque at the point of contact, enabling stable orientation and position stabilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If standard controllers generate torque to bring back the UAV to stable orientation quickly, then the response speed is improved, but the controller fails in cluttered spaces where a second collision occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The control system inverts the conventional approach by not merely reacting to orientation disturbances but proactively predicting collision risks using sensor data (cameras, LIDAR, ultrasonic sensors) and reversing thrust before the UAV can gain significant speed toward obstacles. This preventive inversion of control logic allows the system to prioritize collision avoidance over rapid orientation recovery, solving the reliability issue in cluttered spaces while maintaining adequate response speed.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the UAV is hinged on an obstacle, then contact is maintained, but standard controllers generate undesired torque in the opposite direction causing further orientation disturbance
Solution Approach 1:
The control system implements continuous feedback by monitoring orientation sensors, displacement sensors, and sensor data from cameras/LIDAR/ultrasonic detectors to detect when the UAV is hinged on an obstacle. Upon detection, the system adjusts torque generation dynamically, applying corrective torque in the appropriate direction rather than the opposite direction that standard controllers would generate. This feedback loop maintains contact stability while ensuring control accuracy during hinged flight conditions.
3Reliability
If a protective outer cage is added, then damage to sensitive parts is prevented, but the cage structure increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The protective outer cage is designed with multi-functionality: it protects sensitive parts (propellers, control surfaces, sensors) from damage during collisions, serves as a structural frame for mounting sensors and propulsion systems, and provides a defined boundary for collision detection algorithms. This universal design approach integrates protection functionality with structural and sensing requirements, reducing overall system complexity despite the added protective element.
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
The solution enables VTOL UAVs to maintain stable flight and rapid corrective actions during collisions, reducing the risk of crashes and allowing safe operation in confined spaces among obstacles by effectively managing torque and orientation through advanced sensor feedback and motor control.
Implementation Method 1
a propulsion system (e.g. one or more propellers) that generates an upward force (lift) to counter gravity
Implementation Method 2
the thrust is the resulting force obtained by adding up each force vector generated by each propeller
Data Source
AI summary
Vertical take off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising a multi-propeller propulsion system (“the system”), an outer protective cage surrounding the system, an autonomous power source, a sensing system, and a control system. The sensing system has an orientation sensor and a displacement sensor. The system has at least two propellers spaced apart in a non-coaxial manner. The control system controls the flight or hovering of the UAV. The control system reverses thrust on at least one propeller distal from a point of contact with an obstacle while controlling a motor of a proximal propeller from the contact point to generate lift, the thrust of the distal and proximal propellers being controlled to exert lift on the UAV to counteract gravitational force thereon and apply a moment of rotation about the point of contact to stabilize the position of the UAV or to counteract torque resulting from inertia.