Conversion of a Coaxial Rotorcraft to a UAV

Abstract

A coaxial helicopter with a maximum take-off weight of 600kg was converted to an unmanned drone as part of a research and development project at the Technical University of Munich. A minimally invasive robotic actuator system has been developed which can be retrofitted on the copilot seat of the rotorcraft in a short period of time to enable automatic flight. The automatic flight control robot includes electromechanical actuators which are connected to the cockpit inceptors and control the helicopter. Most of the sensors and avionic components are integrated into the modular robotic system for faster integration into the rotorcraft. The mechanical design of the control system, the development of the robot control software, and the control system architecture will be described in this paper. Furthermore, references to other publications describing other aspects of our work such as flight dynamics, advanced aerodynamics and flight control are provided.