Simulation Platform for Quadricopter: Using Matlab/Simulink and X-Plane

Abstract

The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has grown in military and civilian areas of application. Several industries (automotive, military, factories, space, etc.) use robots for dangerous and repetitive tasks. This paper is dedicated to a special type of aerial platforms, the quadricopter. This platform has been highlighted by having unique characteristics in flight and construction, for example, hovering flight, vertical takeoff and landing, high maneuverability, low speed flight, and simple mechanics. This work proposes a tool for simulation and visualization of an aerial air-type quadricopter robots, using the flight simulator X-Plane 9, Matlab and Simulink. The aircraft under study is control the so-called ITA-001, developed by the quadricopter study group the Aeronautical Institute of Technology -- ITA.