Space Drones
Conference Year
2023
Abstract
On Earth, aerial drone technology has been demonstrated to be a safe and cost efficient means to inspect, search, and explore inaccessible areas. Propulsion for drones on earth, however, uses lift created by rotating propellers in the fluid of Earth’s atmosphere. To control drones in low-gravity, no-atmosphere environments, this study replaces propellers with thrusters in the form of pneumatic actuators. These thrusters are used in two physical test beds coupled with a digital environment. The first test bed is for translational movement and the second for attitude regulation, both using robust controllers to achieve the desired translation and attitude trajectories.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Luis Duffaut Espinosa
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
Program/Major
Mechanical Engineering
Primary Research Category
Engineering and Math Science
Space Drones
On Earth, aerial drone technology has been demonstrated to be a safe and cost efficient means to inspect, search, and explore inaccessible areas. Propulsion for drones on earth, however, uses lift created by rotating propellers in the fluid of Earth’s atmosphere. To control drones in low-gravity, no-atmosphere environments, this study replaces propellers with thrusters in the form of pneumatic actuators. These thrusters are used in two physical test beds coupled with a digital environment. The first test bed is for translational movement and the second for attitude regulation, both using robust controllers to achieve the desired translation and attitude trajectories.