METHOD OF PILOTING A ROTARY WING DRONE HAVING MULTIPLE ROTORS

• US 20120091260A1
• Filed: 09/06/2011
• Published: 04/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Parrot Drones
• Original Assignee: Parrot SA
• Inventors: Callou, Francois
• Granted Patent: US 8,474,761 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 244/17.13
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 27/12 Helicopters A63H27/04 takes precedence; Flying tops
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0858 specially adapted for vertical take-off of aircraft

Abstract

This method implements a transition from i) moving state in which the drone is flying at speed and tilt angle that are not zero to ii) hovering state in which the drone has speed and tilt angle that are both zero. The method comprises: a) measuring horizontal linear speed, tilt angles, and angular speeds at the initial instant; b) setting stopping time value; c) on the basis of initial measurements and set stopping time, parameterizing a predetermined predictive function that models optimum continuous decreasing variation of horizontal linear speed as a function of time; d) applying setpoint values to a loop for controlling motors of the drone, which values correspond to target horizontal linear speed precalculated from said parameterized predictive function; and e) once hovering state has been reached, activating a hovering flight control loop for maintaining drone at speed and tilt angle that are zero relative to the ground.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a rotary-wing drone having multiple rotors driven by respective individually-controllable motors for controlling the drone in attitude and in speed,

the method being a method for implementing a transition:

from a moving state at an initial instant in which the drone is flying with a non-zero horizontal linear speed and a non-zero angle of tilt relative to the horizontal;

to a hovering state at a final instant in which the drone has a zero horizontal linear speed and a zero angle of inclination;

the method being characterized by the steps consisting in;

a) acquiring initial measurements representative of the components of the horizontal linear speed, of the tilt angles, and of the angular speeds at the initial instant;

b) setting a value for stopping time between the initial instant and the final instant;

c) on the basis of the initial measurements acquired in step a) and of the stopping time set in step b), parameterizing a predetermined predictive function that models optimum continuous decreasing variation in the horizontal linear speed as a function of time from the speed at the initial instant to a zero speed at the end of the set time;

d) generating setpoint values for a loop for controlling the motors of the drone, these setpoint values corresponding to a precalculated target horizontal linear speed, at a given instant, on the basis of the predictive function as parameterized in step c); and

e) once the hovering state has been reached, activating a hovering flight control loop suitable for stabilizing the drone with a zero horizontal linear speed and a zero tilt angle relative to the ground.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined predictive function is a polynomial function, and the step c) of parameterizing the function is a step of determining the coefficients of the polynomial.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the polynomial function is a fourth order polynomial function.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the polynomial function is a function of the type:

u(t)=(T−

t)³*(au*t+bu)

v(t)=(T−

t)³*(av*t+bv)

where;

u(t) is one of the components of the precalculated target horizontal linear speed;

v(t) is the other component of the precalculated target horizontal linear speed;

T is the value of the stopping time set in step b); and

au, bu, av, and bv are the coefficients of the polynomial as determined in step c).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the value for the stopping time set in step b) is a value that is a function of the horizontal linear speed of the drone at the initial instant.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the value of the stopping time set in step b) is a value that is a function of the presence or absence of protective fairing installed on the drone.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the value of the stopping time set in step b) is a value that is independent of the vertical speed of the drone.