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Design of a low-cost mini quadrotor and altitude control using a micro laser sensor

JeongHwan Kim (Department of Smart Vehicle Engineering, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, The Republic of Korea)
Steven Aurecianus (Department of Aerospace Information Engineering, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, The Republic of Korea)
Seonglok Nam (Department of Aerospace Information Engineering, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, The Republic of Korea)
Jungkeun Park (Department of Smart Vehicle Engineering, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, The Republic of Korea)
Taesam Kang (Department of Aerospace Information Engineering, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, The Republic of Korea)

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems

ISSN: 2049-6427

Article publication date: 13 September 2019

Issue publication date: 26 June 2020

116

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a low-cost quadrotor that can be used for educational purposes and investigate the applicability of a low-cost MEMS laser sensor for accurate altitude control.

Design/methodology/approach

A single printed circuit board is designed to form the structure of the quadrotor. A low-cost MEMS motion sensor, a microcontroller and four small motors are mounted on the board. A separate laser sensor module measures the altitude. A remote controller is designed to control the quadrotor’s motion. The remote controller communicates with the quadrotor via wireless connection. Roll and pitch attitude stabilization is achieved using the proportional and derivative control algorithm. The applicability of an MEMS laser sensor for altitude control is also studied.

Findings

The low-cost quadrotor works well even though its body structure is made using a printed circuit board. Low pass and Kalman filters work well for attitude estimation and control application. The laser sensor is very accurate and good for altitude feedback; however, it has a relatively short measurement range and its sampling rate is relatively slow, which limits its applications. The vertical velocity obtained by differentiating the laser altitude has delay and inhibits suitable damping. Using the vertical velocity obtained by integrating the vertical accelerometer’s output, the damping performance is improved.

Originality/value

Developing a low-cost quadrotor that can be used for educational purposes and successfully implementing altitude control using a laser sensor and accelerometer.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This paper was written as part of Konkuk University’s research support program for its faculty on sabbatical leave in 2016.

Citation

Kim, J., Aurecianus, S., Nam, S., Park, J. and Kang, T. (2020), "Design of a low-cost mini quadrotor and altitude control using a micro laser sensor", International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 163-176. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJIUS-01-2019-0008

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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