Vertical Take-Off and Landing UAV

Mission

Our mission is to design and develop a sustainable, safe, and reliable VTOL aircraft that combines high efficiency with the structural strength to carry additional payloads, while maintaining the agility and maneuverability of a drone.

The challenge

We are planning on making a VTOL aircraft that can carry a payload. What we currently have in mind is having a tilt rotor, which allows for vertical lift off and then a propeller plane-like efficiency (for example, V22 Osprey). But the problem with them is that they tend to be very unstable in the transition phase, with pilot-induced oscillations being a major issue. Also, there is an extra aerodynamic complexity with rotors affecting the flow over the wing. Having to carry an extra payload will imply strong rotors and, hence, more structural complexity.

The solution

To reduce the unstable transition state, we intend to implement an autonomous control feedback on the rotors. We will be free to choose the tilt angle and the speed of the rotors. We intend to have a control system that can tune the optimal tilt and speed based on the desired manoeuvre autonomously. For the aerodynamic complexity, we intend to try out different configurations of rotor placement that can guarantee the best result. Making the plane using reinforced polymer should guarantee enough structural strength and be light enough to carry an extra payload.