On the Design and Optimization of an Autonomous Microgravity Enabling\n Aerial Robot

Abstract

This paper describes the process and challenges behind the design and\ndevelopment of a micro-gravity enabling aerial robot. The vehicle, designed to\nprovide at minimum 4 seconds of micro-gravity at an accuracy of .001 g's, is\ndesigned with suggestions and constraints from both academia and industry as\nwell a regulatory agency. The feasibility of the flight mission is validated\nusing a simulation environment, where models obtained from system\nidentification of existing hardware are implemented to increase the fidelity of\nthe simulation. The current development of a physical test bed is described.\nThe vehicle employs both control and autonomy logic, which is developed in the\nSimulink environment and executed in a Pixhawk flight control board.\n