Platform for Simulating Six-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

The purpose of this study was to establish a platform for the simulation of a six-rotor aircraft. We developed a novel remote control system in which the flight characteristics of the aircraft are adjusted by varying the speed of the rotors. We derived equations describing the translation and rotation of the vehicle as well as an algorithm to maintain stability based on data provided by a three-axis accelerometer. MATLAB simulations were used to probe the effects of the six motors on the flight characteristics of the aircraft to provide empirical values by which to guide the design of the control system. The simulations display flight status information and the rotation speeds of the rotors as well as a computer animation showing the movement of the aircraft, including elevation, roll, pitch, and yaw, in a three-dimensional simulation space.