UWE Bristol Engineering showcase 2015

Findlay E. Jenkins
MEng Aerospace Systems Engineering
Project Supervisor
Dr. Steve Wright
UAV Quadcopter Control Modelling & Software Co-Simulation
Introduction:
This project is looking at the mechanics and flight characteristics of a quad rotor helicopter
UAV, with two main aims; to develop a stabilisation system to stabilize the UAV under normal
conditions and when confronted with wind factors and also to research the creation of a
network bridge to enable co-simulation of two software programmes, Matlab and Scilab and
their dynamic modelling packages Simulink and Xcos respectively.
Quad rotor helicopter stability has always been an issue for the development of the UAV, but
due to the increase of modern microprocessor technology, usage has been growing within
the civil and military sectors. Quad copter flight before electronic assistant was very difficult
since it requires a large amount of workload from the pilot; the electronic stabilisation
system aids the quadcopter to help it fly autonomously.
Project Outline:
Both of the project objectives were completed. The quadcopter model was modelled into
two parts, the Dynamics aspect within Xcos (Scilab) and the Control aspect within Simulink
(Matlab).
The Bridge was successfully made, data is able to be sent over the network through
client/server technology, the quadcopter simulation co-simulates in real-time.
The control system utilizes PID technology for the control aspects of the system. The PID
controllers were manually tuned to suit the system requirements.
Investigation was also undertaken to see how the PID control system deals with external
disturbances such as wind.
Project summary
The aim of the project was to create a control system
for a quadcopter UAV, using two different types of
software; Matlab and Scilab.
Project Objectives
There were two main goals for the MEng Part A;
1. Create a quadcopter model in two halves within
Scilab and Matlab, the model will use PID control
to deal with external disturbances such as wind.
2. Create a network connection between the two
programmes to join the quadcopter model.
Project Conclusion
The success of the project relied heavily on the
working bridge connection between the two software
Matlab and Scilab.
The PID controllers were deemed sufficient for the
quadcopter system, the analysis of the system
response proved that PID controller was suitable for
quadcopter application.
The testing for Wind disturbance showed the power
of Matlab and how complex the quadcopter model
can become. The model was able to cope with small
wind disturbances, the control configuration will have
to analyzed and re-configured in order for the model
to cope.
Matlab was able to provide a animation GUI which
allowed the user to visual on screen the flight
behavior, and the quadcopter attitude when
confronted with certain factors.