Morphing Concept for Multirotor UAVs Enabling Stability Augmentation and Multiple-Parcel Delivery

Abstract

This paper presents a novel morphing concept for multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles \n(UAVs) to optimize the vehicle \night performance during multi-parcel deliveries. Abrupt \nchanges in the vehicle weight distribution during a parcel delivery can cause the UAVs to be \nunbalanced. This is usually compensated by the vehicle \night control system but the motors \nmay need to operate outside their design range which can deteriorate the stability and \nperformance of the system. Morphing the geometry of a conventional multirotor airframe \nenables the vehicle to continuously re-balanced itself which improves the overall vehicle \nperformance and safety. The paper derives expressions for the static stability of multirotor \nUAVs and discusses the experimental implementation of the morphing technology on a Y6 \ntricopter configuration. Flight test results of multi-parcel delivery scenarios demonstrate \nthe capability of the proposed technology to balance the throttle outputs of all rotors.